Ahead of her first visit to the Indian capital in nearly two decades, music legend Runa Laila of Bangladesh said that music has the ability to heal and unite people across national borders. Speaking to The Hindu over the phone from Dhaka, the singer paid tribute to the late Asha Bhosle and Lata Mangeshkar, calling them “pillars of South Asian music” and called for more cultural collaboration among South Asian countries. Ms. Laila will receive the Minar-e-Dilli award at the 15th Delhi International Film Festival, which will take place from May 4-8.

“I have seen that music has a healing property and that there is something divine in it that can touch everyone, irrespective of one’s faith or beliefs. Music doesn’t know boundaries and it always unites people,” said Runa Laila, who has been singing for sixty-three years. The daughter of a Pakistani civil servant who started performing in the 1960s, Ms. Laila started recording music at 12 and was a sensation in the nascent Pakistani TV scene in the 1960s. Her life took a turn when Bangladesh was born following the Liberation War of 1971, prompting her to return to her roots in Bangladesh, leaving West Pakistan, where her father was posted at that time.