Senior BJP leader L.K. Advani expressed anguish at the passing of legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar on Sunday morning, revealing that she had recorded a Shri Ram Bhajan and sent it to him when he was about to embark on his Ram Rath Yatra from Somnath to Ayodhya in 1990. The yatra triggered the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, and all its implications for Indian politics.
Adieu Lata! Music legend cremated with state honours
“Lataji has been my all time favourite among popular singers and I feel fortunate to have shared a long association with her. I recall the time when she recorded a beautiful Shri Ram Bhajan and sent it to me when I was about to undertake my Ram Rath Yatra from Somnath to Ayodhya,” he said in a condolence note released by his office.
He added the song “Ram Naam main jaadu aisa, Ram naam man bhaaye, man ki Ayodhya tab tak sooni, jab tak Ram na aaye (there is magic in taking Lord Rama’s name, but the Ayodhya in my heart will be bereft till Rama arrives)” became the theme song for his Yatra.
Mr. Advani was arrested in Bihar during the course of this Yatra as it was leading to communal clashes, and this subsequently led to the fall of the then V.P. Singh government.
