‘If not for didi’s stern stand, playback singers’ names would not have got printed,’ reveals Asha Bhosle

Interacting with everyone present at the Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Memorial Awards, Bollywood’s legendary singer Asha Bhosle got nostalgic as she remembered her sister Lata Mangeshkar. “I have always sung on this stage as every year April 24 coincides with my father’s death anniversary. However, I never knew today I would have to come on this stage for didi,” an emotional Asha said.

Opening up about her beloved sister’s nature, Asha reminisced, “Lata didi was intelligent; her mind was like Chanakya. Didi would think about far off things. She knew where to open her mouth. She would always correct me by saying, ‘You always keep saying anything and everything at the wrong place’. She would scold us, and we would fight at times. She was very fast in running, but the only way we could catch hold of her was by her plaits.”

Recalling the nightingale’s immense love for their aai-baba, Asha Bhosle revealed a secret. “Lata didi was just four years older than me. She would say those children who drink the water that touched the feet of their parents would reach heights in life. One day, while we resided in Kolhapur, she asked me to bring some water in a bowl and poured it on the feet of my parents, who were fast asleep. Then pouring it into our palms, we both ingested that water. Today’s generation will not do so. They will ask you to wash your hands and serve them water,” Bhosle revealed.

All praise about Lata Mangeshkar’s passion for work, Bhosle added, “She started working at the age of 13. She would go to work even if she was running at a high temperature. I remember she went to work running 103 degrees, and she had to sing being a fairy hanging high up in the air. Her dedication and determination were rare. An artist’s job has never been easy.”

Asha stated that it was thanks to her elder sister’s efforts that singers finally got respect and recognition in the film industry. “It was in 1940 when the singers’ names would not be printed on the gramophone recorder. Surprisingly the name of the actor got printed. I was literally didi’s chamchi, so I pointed out that she sang the song, yet the name went missing. Didi being didi, calmed me down by saying, ‘Have patience; we shall point this only at the right time’. When she was merely 15 or 16 years old, her hit song Aayega Aanewala was released, and she went and told the producer to inscribe her name; thus, her name got printed. Every playback singer needs to agree that if not for didi’s stern stand, playback singers’ names would not have got printed,” Bhosle avered.