EDITORIAL
Legendary singer Asha Bhosle transcended all boundaries and surpassed challenges
The legendary music composer Rahul Dev Burman had in a passing remark once said, “If Lata Mangueshkar is the Don Bradman of music, Asha Bhosle is its Gary Sobers.” There cannot be a more apt comparative description of the musical prowess of Mangueshkar sisters, which ‘Pancham’ did so effectively through this cricket analogy. If Lata, the ultimate word in Indian music was as unshakable as Bradman, then Asha was not afraid to take risks, and could go to any levels of experimentation in singing. The passing away of Asha Bhosle has almost brought to an end the long line of illustrious personalities from the world of Hindi film music.
It is said that only the tip of the iceberg is visible above water, just as 90 per cent of its mass is submerged. Asha’s musical repertoire is like an iceberg; if its tip is her film songs, then the remaining part consists of her huge contribution to non-film music that includes various albums dedicated to Marathi Bhavgeets and Natyasangeet, besides Bhajans, Ghazals, classical Hindi poetry, English songs and many more. And then language was no limitation for her. She was comfortable singing Bengali Durga Puja songs as much as she was as ease singing Marathi Lavni or say, the title song from the Konkani film, ‘Bhuierantlo Munis’. She transcended all boundaries and surpassed every challenge, to come out with fantastic results in her songs. The singer even went a step forward to play the title role in the 2013 Hindi film, ‘Mai’.
Asha, born as the third child of the celebrated Goan stage actor/ singer Master Dinanath, had to always confront with her destiny, right from her childhood. The untimely death of her father, who once ruled the Marathi musical stage, pushed the family of a widowed mother and five young children into abject poverty. The nine-year-old Asha had to take care of her younger brother, Hridaynath who was suffering from bone tuberculosis, besides doing all household chores, in a distant backward town of Thalner, in the Dhule district of Maharashtra, as her elder sister Lata went to the then Bombay, to earn for her family. At 16, Asha married Ganpatrao Bhosle who was much older than her. The abusive marriage led her to separation from her husband along with her three young children. She later married Rahul Dev Burman in 1980, who passed away 14 years later. The singer also had to bear the loss of her daughter by way of suicide and her son who died of cancer.
If destiny was unkind to Asha in one way, it also provided her with immense success. She received countless top honours from Dada Saheb Phalke Award to Padma Vibhushan, Grammy award to Maharashtra Bhushan award, and many more. She worked with all top composers, lent her voice to the songs and poems of iconic lyricists and poets, and did playback singing for all top actresses of their time. Asha also knew the pulse of the film industry and acted very professionally. In fact, when OP Nayyar – he never worked with Lata Mangueshkar – who honed Asha’s talent and gave some of her best songs, developed differences with her, she left him to secure her career with RD Burman.
The passing away of Asha Bhosle, who had an astonishing career of 83 years, will no doubt create a void in the world of music. However, her work like that of her elder sister will live for eternity, which is the real accomplishment of any genuine artist.
