Even though Lata Mangeshkar was a legendary singer, her love and passion for sports was never hidden. As Lata didi bids adieu to this world, we look at a special moment when Lata Mangeshkar sang the iconic, 'Tu Jahan Jahan Chalega' on the request of batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar.
It was an occasion when the who's who of Mumbai city came together to celebrate 100 International cricket centuries of Sachin Tendulkar. Lata Mangeshkar was on the stage talking about Tendulkar. She said Sachin Tendulkar, in a private conversation, had called her his 'mother'.
Sachin, who is sitting among the crowd, requests her to sing, 'Tu Jahan Jahan Chalega' from the movie 'Mera Saya' starring Sunil Dutt and Sadhana. Mangeshkar smilingly replies saying, "I am a little excited right now, so I don't know if I'd be able to sing the song."
Still, she sings it and fulfills Sachin Tendulkar's wish. Here is the video of that incident:
Lata Mangeshkar was fond of cricket and it is a well-known fact. Her tweet when MS Dhoni was about to retire is also remembered fondly. In her tweet, she urged MSD not to retire as "the country needs" the services of the then Indian wicket-keeper.
In 1983, when the Indian team won its first World Cup title, the BCCI did not have enough money to honor its players. Lata Mangeshkar came forward to help. The then Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President NKP Das urged Lata Mangeshkar to do a live concert in Delhi.
20 lakh rupees were collected from this concert, but Lata Mangeshkar did not take a single penny. Thus, all the players of the Indian team could get 1 Lakh rupees each.