Asha Bhosle: A Life Well Lived

Asha Bhosle was not just a good singer. She was a woman of many talents. She was aterrific anecdotist and a great conversationalist. And she loved to cook for her friends. “If Ashaji has cooked for you it meant she liked you,” says filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali who had many occasions to spend time with Ashaji. “She was so full of life, it’s hard to imagine her gone. It seems just the other day she had come to office. She asked for two spoonfuls of sugar for her tea, saying, ‘Main toh sab kuch khati hoon, mast hoke jeeti hoon’ She was so vibrant and alive.”

Luckily for her Asha Bhosle remained in robust health right till the end. Her contribution to the world of playback singingt ranscends scholarly analysis. Ashaji sang everything with the conviction of one who has experienced every emotion of life. She was open to life’s toughest challenges and came out a winner in spite of the wounds and bruises. At the age of 16, she eloped with 31-year-old Ganpatrao Bhosle, marrying him against her family’s wishes. The marriage was a disaster. Her sister Lata Mangeshkar never forgave her for marrying against the family’s wishes. Asha once told me, “It was a tough life, a very tough life. I was out on the streets with three little children.

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Singing opportunities were limited. Didi ruled the playback world. I got the random song. Jo bhi mila maine gaya (I sang whatever I got).._.You know the song I sang for Nayyar Saab(OP) Chayan se humko kabhi aapne jeene na diya (You never let me live in peace… that’s the song of my life.”

Later Ashaji married composer RD Burman. That marriage proved far more successful. Thereafter Asha Bhosle’s career reached an unparalleled zenith. She was also a proud restaurateur owning a worldwide chain of eateries where Ashaji’s own home recipes are on the menu. “Mujhe gana phir khana bahot pasand hai. Bas donon mujhe Bhagwan ne de diya. Aur kya chahiye?” (I love music/song and also food/cooking. Both are gifts from God. What else does one need?), Ashaji once told me.

Even at 90, Ashaji was far from smug about her vast achievements. *My son recently asked me why I speak to everyone from my residences watchman to the guy who does our laundary. I inquire about everyone. That’s an old habit. My son asked, Do you know who you are?’ I thought about it. My son said, You’re Asha Bhosle. And you must maintain a distance from people. I disagree with that. Just because I sing, it doesn’t I mean I am not a human being. I like to see myself as a simple person. I may dress up in public.But at home you’ll see me in a simple saree.”

Recalling the days of struggle Ashaji says, “When there was already a Taj Mahal I cameto build another one. Bahut mushqil thi. (It was very difficult)….Who would want to goto another singer when there was already a Lata Mangeshkar? On top of that, I was her younger sister.

Hamesha humein ek tarazu mein tola gaya. Janam bhar hum ussi tarazu mein baithe rahe. (There was always the weight of that comparison.Throughout life I have dealt with this. It was very tough for me to escape all these hurdles. I still haven’t escaped those comparisons. Didi and I had to be different singers.Copying her would have meant the end of my career even before it started. Noone would haveentertained acopy of Didi. Just as long as Kishore Kumar was there no other male voice stood a chance. I first had to get songst hat were comparable with Didi’s. I had to cultivate a Western style of singing. I had no choice. I had to be prepared to do any kind of song that was offered to me. Didi became instantaneously successful.

Plus there were other great singers like Geeta Dutt.” Ashaji attributes her resilience and staying power to her honesty.*I am like glass. You can see right through me. I also refuse to cling to negativity. I like to move on. I am blessed because I get so much respect both in India and abroad, even at places like Spain and Portugal.No one has ever misbehaved with me in public. I think this world is beautiful. Not that I’ve forgotten any of the pain that I’ve gone through. It’s there all stored away.I am the soldier who has taken wounds on

chest. I am proud of them. I faced all the adversities. Today I am happy and peaceful. No regrets. God gave me endurance power and because of Him I am still standing tall today. Main Bhagwan ki laadli hoon (lam God’s beloved daughter.)* In addition Ashaji had to fight off the image of singing only naughty numbers. “Peopleduring those days considered cabaret and dance numbers tobe very lowly. Anyway I managed. On second thoughts, maine nahin kuch kiya, hota gaya. (Actually I didn’t do anything… everything just happened.) God was kind….And here I am. People think I’ve achieved a lot. Mujhe kuch nahin lagta. (But I don’t really feel all that). I still feel I’ve plenty to do. People hanker for recognition.
But these are so temporal. If I stop singing for a year everyone would forget me. The public memory is very short.

I never get carried away by fame and recognition. I am far more concerned about giving my attention to my home and family.” Ashaji’s immaculate appearance, eye-catching sarees and posh jewelry were the talk of the town. She once told me with a laugh, “People loveto see me looking glamorous. They say I don’t look my age. I say, well that’s wonderful, but I am 90. I dress up in elaborate sarees and jewellery and the public sees me as decked up.
Then when they see me on the road without the finery they say, You look good on television and even better in real life.’ The public image is different from real life. In real life I am a very domesticated, just like any middleclass woman. Whenl am told Iam Asha Bhosle, I wonder what the means. I love to look after the kids and cook in the kitchen. Jewellery is only for the public eye. At home lam myself” Speakingon new generations ofsingers Ashaji ponders, “The world has moved on. Earlier the female singer sang at a high pitch and the male singer at a low pitch. Now that has been reversed. There’s no time for slow soft sentimental songs. No point in clinging to the past and pining fornostalgia. If you remember, happy occasions whether it is the mehndi ceremony ora wedding, have always been celebrated with songs.

Every individual wants to dance and sing. Rhythm ka zamana hai. (It’s the age of the rhythm.) No one listens to the words. You can’t stopthe world from moving on. If you try you 1l get left behind. People at my age are confined to retirement. I am still singing. The languageisn’t of primary importanceas longasI singsomething that land my fans are satisfied with.” She was enthused by food as much as music and is proud of her growing chain of restaurants. “In my opinion khaana (food) comes first, gaana (song) later. You can live for three days without music.But you can’t live without food for a day. I am a mother by nature. I loveto feed people. I started cooking for my children. Then later when I becamegood at it my son suggested I write a cookery book. But I refused.

Who cooks from books? But my son wanted to take his mother’s food to the people. That’s how the first restaurant came about. Now we have ten restaurants in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Kuwait, etc.” Ashaji personally supervised the menu at these restaurants. “I had two kitchens for vegetarian and non-vegetarian food.

The design and décor, menu card have all been done with great care. The menu card has rare pictures of me and other singers. I not only put my own recipes on the menu, I also included recipes Hearnt from my colleagues. For examples there is the Sultanpuri Kebab. I got the recipe from the poet-lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri Saab. The restaurants are dotted with my pics with Lata Didi and others who figure in my life. I couldn’t have hoped for a better life.” Now that sprightly voice is stilled.But Asha Bhosle will live on through her songs.

(The writer is a veteran journalist and film critic.)