I woke up this morning to the unfortunate news that Lata Mageshkar, “The Nightingale of India”, is no more with us 😢
Lata ji was the most beloved singer of Indian cinema giving her voice for over 70 years, singing over 25,000 songs in 14 languages. To me, ever since I started understanding and appreciating music, Lata ji’s voice was there. Every year when we celebrated India’s independence and republic day, Lata ji’s song “aye mere watan ke logo” was there. Today, I feel like I have lost a part of my childhood.
After finding out about Lata ji today, I felt numb and sad and spent an hour or so listening to her great songs but then I thought of giving her a special tribute.
It was 7 °F (-14 °C) but I wanted to do something that was close to my heart. I drove 45 minutes to Brighton (mile 22) and did my first ever run to the Boston Marathon Finish Line. I have been dreaming about crossing this finish line for the past 7 years, from the time I have been dreaming of running Boston Marathon. Running the last 4 miles to and from the finish line was like a dream come true but the feelings were pretty weird.
This was weird, different and unexpected for 2 reasons:
First, this was the first time in the past few years when I was running listening to something other than my running playlist. It was super cold, I was emotional and wasn’t sure if I was happy or what crossing the line.
And second, all these years, I had pictured myself crossing this line with my arms up in the air, looking at the camera, waving at the crowd, trying to find a familiar face in the crowd. But here I was, doing it with no cheers, no screaming, no one congratulating me, just me in my wet shoes from the freezing cold and snow in the sidewalk and dreading with the thought of running back 4 miles to my car.
By the time I got back to my car, I could barely feel my toes but it gave me a sense of peace that I was able to pay my tribute in a special way to Lata ji. May God give peace to Lata ji’s soul. Her songs will stay forever in Indian music industry she will remain my favorite singer for as long as I live.
I am running Boston Marathon in April as part of the Spaulding Rehabilitation marathon team. My goal is to be able to raise $3800 by Feb 28th. Thanks to all of you for getting me over 50% of my next goal. Boston Spaulding is an amazing organization, helping people recover from, or learn to live fully with, illness, injury or loss of ability. Please consider donating to them and help my fundraiser https://bit.ly/agmarathon2022
