<p>As he received the first-ever Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar Award, Prime Minister Narendra Modi cherished his bond of over four decades with the Nightingale of India. </p>.<p>“She was my Lata Didi, she was like an elder sister to me. I have always received love and blessings from her. The coming Rakhi festival will be first one without her,” an emotional Modi said after receiving the award instituted by the Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Smruti Pratishthan Charitable Trust.</p>.<p>“What can be a greater privilege than to have got the love of an elder sister from Lata Didi, who has given the gift of love and emotion to generations,” he said at the event held at the Shanmukhananda Hall in Mumbai. </p>.<p>“I have known the Mangeshkar family for the last four to four-and-a-half decades, I recall it was (singer-composer) Sudhir Phadke who introduced me to them,” he said.</p>.<p>Modi said that Lata Didi was like ‘Ma Saraswati. “She has sung for four to five generations of actors-from gramophone to cassette to VCD to DVD to pen drives to online, she has left her mark and inspired generations," the prime minister said. </p>.<p>“She gave voice to India, even before its Independence. The 75-year journey of the country was always tied to her ‘sur’. Our entire nation is grateful to the contribution of the Mangeshkar family towards the country. “Apart from singing, the passion of ‘rashtra bhakti’ that was within her, was due to her father,” he said and pointed out how Master Deenanath Mangeshkar sung a song penned by Veer Savarkar before a Viceroy in Shimla.</p>.<p>Modi also recalled Lata’s songs - <em>Jai Hind ke sena</em> and <em>Aye Mere Watan ke Logon</em> - and saluted her nationalism. </p>.<p>The Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Award was presented to Rahul Deshpande (music), Asha Parekh (cinema) and Jackie Shroff (cinema). </p>.<p>The Anandmayi Award would be presented to Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers’ Charity Trust, the organisation of the Mumbai Dabbawalas. </p>.<p>The event was hosted by Harish Bhimani.</p>.<p><strong>Watch the latest DH Videos here:</strong></p>
<p>As he received the first-ever Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar Award, Prime Minister Narendra Modi cherished his bond of over four decades with the Nightingale of India. </p>.<p>“She was my Lata Didi, she was like an elder sister to me. I have always received love and blessings from her. The coming Rakhi festival will be first one without her,” an emotional Modi said after receiving the award instituted by the Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Smruti Pratishthan Charitable Trust.</p>.<p>“What can be a greater privilege than to have got the love of an elder sister from Lata Didi, who has given the gift of love and emotion to generations,” he said at the event held at the Shanmukhananda Hall in Mumbai. </p>.<p>“I have known the Mangeshkar family for the last four to four-and-a-half decades, I recall it was (singer-composer) Sudhir Phadke who introduced me to them,” he said.</p>.<p>Modi said that Lata Didi was like ‘Ma Saraswati. “She has sung for four to five generations of actors-from gramophone to cassette to VCD to DVD to pen drives to online, she has left her mark and inspired generations," the prime minister said. </p>.<p>“She gave voice to India, even before its Independence. The 75-year journey of the country was always tied to her ‘sur’. Our entire nation is grateful to the contribution of the Mangeshkar family towards the country. “Apart from singing, the passion of ‘rashtra bhakti’ that was within her, was due to her father,” he said and pointed out how Master Deenanath Mangeshkar sung a song penned by Veer Savarkar before a Viceroy in Shimla.</p>.<p>Modi also recalled Lata’s songs - <em>Jai Hind ke sena</em> and <em>Aye Mere Watan ke Logon</em> - and saluted her nationalism. </p>.<p>The Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Award was presented to Rahul Deshpande (music), Asha Parekh (cinema) and Jackie Shroff (cinema). </p>.<p>The Anandmayi Award would be presented to Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers’ Charity Trust, the organisation of the Mumbai Dabbawalas. </p>.<p>The event was hosted by Harish Bhimani.</p>.<p><strong>Watch the latest DH Videos here:</strong></p>