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Lata exhorts Ganguly to win the World Cup
The singing legend was inaugurating a dance school started by the cricket captain's wife Dona
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M Chhaya
Singing legend Lata Mangeshkar on Thursday urged India's cricket captain Sourav Ganguly to win the World Cup and give the country a boost.
I hope we will win the World Cup, Lata, popularly known in the Hindi film industry as Didi [elder sister], said at a colourful function in Kolkata to mark the inauguration of a dance school started by Ganguly's wife Dona.
We know Sourav and his boys can do it for India," she said to thunderous applause at the Netaji indoor stadium. "This year they have performed so well.
Mangeshkar, dressed in a white saree with red border, launched the dance school known as 'Diksha Manjari' by lighting a lamp. West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya stood by her side as she did the honours.
Dona is a well-known Odissi dancer. Students at her school will be able to learn classical dances like the Odissi, Bharat Natyam, Kuchipudi, and Manipuri.
Lata reminisced about her father and legendary Marathi stage artiste Dinanath Mangeshkar's cricket team. Our family's attachment with cricket probably began with this team of my father," she said. "Such is our attachment with cricket that once when India lost in a match at Sharjah, my brother fell sick.
The melody queen noted that Maharashtra and Bengal share a love for cricket and literature. "I love Bangla [the Bengali language]. I have read works by Sarat Chandra and Bankim Chandra. This was the state that gave birth to such great names as Subhash Chandra Bose. We should worship this soil, she said.
Speaking in Hindi, she said she loved and regularly listened to Rabindra sangeet, which she described as another great tradition of Bengal.
Bhattacharya, who inaugurated a function marking 50 years of Barish Sporting, where Ganguly began his cricketing career, praised the Indian captain's acts of charity and hoped he would continue to remain a generous person. We earnestly hope that Sourav will continue the good work he has begun, Bhattacharya said, presenting the cricket star a shawl.
Other Indian cricketers like Yuvraj Singh and Rahul Dravid were expected to attend the function, but couldn't make it because of other engagements. Bollywood singers Babul Supriyo, Alka Yagnik and Kavita Krishnamurthy belted out popular songs. A dance choreographed by Sudha Chandran was presented by children with physical disabilities.