Playback singer Sukhwinder Singh shared a poignant final conversation with the legendary Asha Bhosle, just days before her passing. He recounted how the iconic singer, even then, was completely immersed in music, requesting him to sing.
Playback singer Sukhwinder Singh, best known for his chartbusters ‘Chaiyya Chaiyya’, and ‘Chak De! India’, recalled talking to Asha Bhosle about 10 days before her demise. Iconic singer Asha Bhosle passed away on Sunday, April 12.
She was 92.
Sukhwinder Singh recalls his last conversation with Asha Bhosle
Sukhwinder Singh, who shared a close rapport with the legend, recalled having a conversation with her recently. Talking to Mid-Day, Singh recalled how Asha Bhosle was true to form and completely immersed in music. “I spoke to her on the phone 10-12 days before she passed away. She was singing even then and was also asking me to sing something. There was no other conversation,” the ‘Chaiyya Chaiyya’ singer said. Singh revealed that the twenty-minute conversation was all about music. “‘How are you?’ she would just ask that much. ‘How are things? Are you okay?’ That was it. After that, there was a 20-minute conversation where she was singing something and asking me to sing something. But what could I sing in front of her? But I would sing so that her heart would feel lighter,” he added. Sukhwinder Singh also added that Bhosle’s entire existence revolved around music.
“Every time I met her, she never talked about the world; she only talked about music. Her wealth, her popularity, her empire—everything was contained within the seven notes. I never saw her outside that circle of seven notes, she lived within them.”
Healing power of Asha Bhosle’s vocals
Sukhwinder Singh also expressed that Asha Bhosle’s vocals were therapeutic. “Asha ji is the art of versatility. Such versatility has never been heard before. Making a beautiful attempt in songs, which even good singers realise how difficult it is, she did in live recordings.
And people will always love this voice. Her singing could remove someone’s fatigue. Her singing could bring someone out of a serious problem,” he told the outlet.
Legendary singer Asha Bhosle breathed her last on Sunday, April 12, at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai. Hospital officials confirmed that the cause of death was multi-organ failure following a cardiac arrest. Asha Bhosle, who started singing at the age of 10, recorded her first song, ‘Chala Chala Nav Bala’, for the 1943 Marathi film ‘Majha Bal’. In her career spanning nearly eight decades, she recorded more than 12,000 songs in over 20 languages. Some of her most memorable songs include ‘Abhi Na Jao Chhod Kar’, ‘In Ankhon Ki Masti’, ‘Dil Cheez Kya Hai’, ‘Piya Tu Ab To Aaja’, ‘Duniya Mein Logon Ko’, and ‘Zaara Se Jhoom Loon Main’.Her last rites are scheduled at Shivaji Park crematorium today, April 13, for 4 p.m.
