“My mother still listens to her songs”

World Cup winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga recalls meeting with Lata Mangeshkar  

By Bipin Dani

Sri Lanka’s World Cup winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga can’t forget his first meeting with India’s nightingale Lata Mangeshkar, who at the age of 92, passed away in Mumbai on Sunday. 

Recalling the meeting, the ex-captain said, “It was our great pleasure to have played a Charity match to raise funds for her Pune’s cancer hospital in 2003. The BCCI’s late president Raj Singh Dungarpaur, who had been my friend and an admirer of Sri Lanka cricket had invited us to play the match in Mumbai and we participated”. 
Ranatunga had reached the ground in a helicopter from a nearby destination.

“It was the best of things we could do for an ever-enterprising lady. When I informed her that my mother (Nandani) is her great fan and has watched many Indian films in which Lata ji has sung songs, she immediately gave me a set of few CDs signed by her, and my mother, who is 84 now, still has been listening to her voice.” 
“I am very sad to hear about her passing away. She was not only an icon for India, but internationally famed. Her music touched the hearts of millions of people around the world, and her legacy will live on for many more years through her music,” Ranatunga added.