1705469612280.jpg)
- By Srishti Pandey
- Wed, 17 Jan 2024 11:33 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
PM Narendra Modi has been sharing several Bhajans dedicated to the seventh avatar of Lord Vishnu, Ram, ahead of the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony at the newly-built Ram mandir in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh on January 22. And now, he has shared a shlok sung by India’s greatest singer of all time, Lata Mangeshkar. Taking to Instagram stories, the Prime Minister wrote, "As the nation awaits 22nd January with great enthusiasm, one of the people who will be missed is our beloved Lata Didi. Here is a Shlok she sung. Her family told me that it was the last Shlok she recorded. #ShriRamBhajan."
Unfortunately, the shloka was the last India’s nightingale sang before her death on February 6, 2022, due to multiple organ failure. He has also shared the link to the shlok, ‘Shree Ramarpan, Mata Ramo Matpita Ramchandrah’ The vocals are credited to Lata Mangeshkar while the music is by Mayuresh Pai.
IMAGE: PM Modi Instagram Story (Source: Instagram/@narendramodi)
The shloka description on YouTube says, “It was her eternal wish to lend her voice to sing the hymns of ‘Ram Raksha’ by ‘Budh Kaushik Rishi’ and offer it to the Ram Mandir. Due to some reasons, she couldn’t complete the recording of all the hymns. It is a belief that if one cannot bring the waves of the water of Maa Ganga home, even a few drops of Gangajal have the same purity and its pure essence is retained. In the same manner, though Didi couldn’t complete all the hymns of Ram Raksha, her rendition of the last hymn ‘Mata Ramo, Mat Pita Ramchandrah’ resonates the very essence of Ram Raksha in totality. This is her heartfelt homage to Lord Ram.”
It reveals that though Mangeshkar could not complete recording the hymns, the dedication with which she sang these shlokas and recorded several other bhajans before this testify to her devotion to the supreme lord. Lata Mangeshkar has gifted India several of Bollywood’s iconic songs such as ‘La Jaa Gale’, ‘Tere Liye’, ‘Luka Chuppi’, and others. She is considered one of those rare singing gems whose voice stood the test of time and is still loved by people of all ages truly giving life to her song 'Meri Awaz Hi Pehchan Hai'.