When Preeti Sagar struck the right notes for Prince Charles

The late Dr Verghese Kurien loved the song Mero Gaam Katha Parey which was used as the theme song for Shyam Benegal’s Manthan, the film based on Dr Kurien’s life. Later the song became iconic and was used to advertise Amul products. Preeti Sagar who sang the number admits she is to this day known for the Manthan number. “When we were recording the number we never knew it would become so popular. I remember I was in the studio with the Manthan director Shyam Benegal and composer Vanraj Bhatia. We were not getting the lyrics right. Vanrajji was not happy with words. My sister Neeti who is now in the US, was 15 then. She was also sitting with us in the recording studio. Shyam Babu asked Neeti to try writing the lyrics for the song. That’s how Neeti wrote the first ever Hindi film song in Gujarati and Hindi for Mero Gaam Katha Parey. Neeti got nominated for Filmfare’s Best Lyrics award alongside stalwarts like Gulzar and Anand Bakshi.” Preeti won the Filmfare Award for Best Playback Singer for Mero Gaam Katha Parey. Her proudest moment regarding the iconic Manthan song was when she sang it for Prince Charles. Fondly recalling the momentous event Preeti says, “When Prince Charles visited India in 1982 he saw Manthan and loved my song. He visited Dr Kurien’s dairy farm at the Anand village. Dr Kurien invited me to Anand to sing the song for Prince Charles. I went there and I sang the number. And the Prince was gracious enough to compliment me for my rendition.”