Page 10 - Seniors Today -Volume no1

Who was your favourite co-singer?
Kishoreda (Kumar) without doubt. We were
constantly entertained during, before and
after recordings with him. He would have us
in splits. But he would get serious in front
of the music composer. He was very sad
under the mask, though. A month before his
death I got to know how unhappy he was. He
called me to share his sorrow. He didn’t want
to come home as there would be too many
people there. So we met at mutual friends’
place where I saw the other, somber side of
him. I’ll never forget what he told me about
his life that evening.
What did he tell you?
I can’t share that. But I had never imagined he
was so unhappy from within. He said I was
his rakhi sister and he wanted to share his
grief with him. After listening to him I told
him I was there for him whenever he needed
me.
You have been very lucky with your family
life?
Yes, indeed. I had to look after my family from
a very young age. But they never made me feel
burdened. My siblings have always given me
great strength and joy. They could have easily
felt I was getting more (fame, recognition, etc)
than them. But they never felt that way. To
this day my one and only brother Hridaynath
has never shown any interest in my wealth.
The same goes for my sisters as well. They
care deeply for me. In fact when I am unwell
I hate to tell my family about it as they get so
worried, Unke chehre utar jaate hain. Only
the blessed get such a family.
Didi, tell us, was Ae mere watan ke logon
supposed to be Ashaji’s song?
I’ll tell you the complete story. Hemantda
(Hemant Kumar) came to me and said that in
the wake of the Indo-China war, I must go to
Delhi for a show on the occasion of Republic
Day. I was hesitant. My sister Meena was
getting married after 15 days. I was going
through ill health. But every composer
was after me to sing his composition at the
function. I said no to everyone and decided to
With younger sister Asha Bhosle
take four musicians with me to Delhi and sing
Allah tero naam (Jaidev’s song in Hum Dono).
Then C Ramchandra came to me and said
that poet Pradeepji had written a patriotic
song that he wanted only me to sing at the
function in Delhi. Who knew at that time
that Ae mere watan ke logon would become
such a momentous song? Since I had turned
down other composers I was hesitant. But
C. Ramchandra insisted. He felt that Ae
mere watan ke logon would pull his career
out of the doldrums. So I agreed. During
the rehearsals, I suggested that we should
turn the song into a duet with Asha. I don’t
know if she rehearsed for the song or not. But
four days before we were expected to leave
for Delhi, Asha backed out. I was shocked.
Finally I had to rehearse and memorise the
entire song from a tape on the aircraft, just a
few hours before the show. I sang the song.
Panditji loved it. I went to his home to meet
Indira Gandhi and Rajiv. When I returned
to Mumbai, newspapers were splashed with
pictures of Panditji and me. I have never
stolen songs from anyone. I had suggested
Asha’s name myself. So why would I snatch
the song away from her? I swear on my music
that this is the truth. I have a feeling that
someone instigated Asha into believing that
Ae mere watan ke logon was meant to be her
song. But you can ask Pradeepji. He’ll tell you
what the truth is.
You’ve been working with three
generations of music composers. Isn’t
there a generation gap between you
SENIORS TODAY | Volume 1 | Issue 1