'I am an open book, everyone knows everything about me'

India's most loved singer turns a glorious 70.

The ride has been a roller coaster. Peppered with unforgettable songs and personal landmarks that ranged from the blissful to the wretched. Yet, the decades that have rolled by sit lightly on the shoulders of the legendary Asha Bhosle.

Today, as she looks back at the years gone by, it is not her professional achievements that matter to Ashaji. In this reflective interview – a serious note from the normally chirpy Ashaji -- she looks back and shares with rediff.com readers her real joys and sorrows.

In many ways, Ashaji today is the mother-next-door. The matriarch who has firm control over her life and her home. That is what keeps her happy.

The rest – fame, adulation, money – is, as she says, incidental.

Could you share some of the more memorable moments in your life with us?

[Laughs; a long pause as she thinks] It is difficult to focus on any one such moment.

Becoming a mother is one of the most beautiful and unforgettable moments in a woman's life. I had a son. Then my daughter, Varsha, was born. Then there was Anand. Now, after a long time, there are children in my house again. I have twin grandchildren. These are moments of happiness.

It is such a great feeling when you record a song well and the listener enjoys it and praises you.

It is such a happy feeling when you prepare a mouth-watering meal and everybody enjoys it.

There are many such moments of happiness in a person's life. And, if he wants to, can be happy in any situation.

Unfortunately, most people tend to forget the happy moments in their life and focus on the sad ones instead. It is a question of mindset. For example, we live in a joint family. My daughter [rediff.com columnist] Varsha [Bhosle] and I fight all the time; my daughter-in-law and I seldom do.

Yet, if Varsha tells me something, I would not be as upset if my daughter-in-law said something. This is the mentality many women have; they are more tolerant and forgiving of their daughters. This is just inviting grief. This is not my attitude; I am not interested in investing in grief.

I have this habit of focusing on only the happy things in life. As Lord Vishnu has said in the [Bhagvad] Gita: don't mourn the past and don't worry about the future. Only the present belongs to you. Even that, you leave to me. Main is cheez ko bahut maanti hoon [I believe in this very strongly].

That is why my life is filled with happiness.

When I get angry or upset, I don't brood over it. Main dhaad-dhaad-dhaad bol deti hoon [I say what is bothering me immediately]. Then it is the problem of the other person; he or she has to deal with it. It is out of my system, so I am happy [laughs].

It is important to be happy; I try to be happy all the time.

Trying to have a certain outlook towards life -- you say you have always tried to focus on the good things in your life and derive happiness from them -- is one thing. Implementing it is another, especially when times are difficult and one is going though a lot of pain.

That is true.

How have you managed to hold on to this philosophy and implement it in your life?

When someone faces a difficult time, God also gives him the strength to deal with it. You find within yourself the ability to deal with the crisis facing you.

Some people have it in greater measure, some people have it in lesser measure. Some people are unable to deal with the unhappiness and crisis in their lives and fall ill. Some are unable to deal with the problems in their lives and commit suicide. Some take out their anger against life on the people around them.

But one has to remember that after every night, a new day dawns. Never doubt that. One should also remember that the darkness becomes more forbidding just before dawn.

Life is a like a roller coaster or a Ferris wheel. There are ups and there are downs. There have been many ups and downs in my life. When the downs came, they were bad. But when the highs came, they were really very good. That is why I feel those who face life bravely will get to see its good side.

This does not mean that just because you know the bad times will pass you don't do anything about it. You have to keep trying to deal with the bad times, you have to fight it; you have to attempt to get out of your bad times. I do. And I keep hope alive in my heart.

One should also remember everything is transient. All the artistes who came before me were such huge stars. Today, they are no longer here. One day, I too will not be here.

Man must be prepared for everything, including death. Tomorrow, my fame will no longer exist. I could lose all my money. My body will become weak.

Those who are prepared for death will not feel pain or sorrow when it is time for them to leave this world. But those who believe the good times, that fame and the fortune will always exist will suffer terribly when life takes a downturn.

My father had once told me that the sun that rises will also set. Even when it sets, it is a beautiful, fiery-red glowing ball that mesmerises us. A human being should be like that. Glorious till the last moment.

My father used to say another thing. He would say a crow can sit on top of a high peak, but he will still remain a crow; he will not become an eagle. An eagle is always born, not made.

My father would always tell me: you are the child of an eagle; whenever you fly you will always soar to the skies. His prediction came true; thanks to his blessings and the blessings of God.

Sometimes I would feel this is the end; iske baad kuch nahi ho sakta [I will not survive this]. But, somehow, things always worked out. Today, the bad times have passed.

Now, I am used to the good times and the bad. These things do not matter to me any more. Today, I have fame and money; tomorrow I may not. It does not matter.

The only thing that matters to me today is my family. If something happens on that front, I will be unhappy. Other than that, nothing can affect me.

There are moments in life when both the present and the future seem dark. Were there any such moments in your life when you felt you could not carry on?

There were many such moments.

Can you give us an example?

[Laughs and thinks for a while] There came a time in my life when I was on the street. I had two young children, I was pregnant, I had no money. There was nobody I could depend on.

It is a sad truth that however good a woman may be – she could even be another Sita – society will always point fingers at her and label her bad. Society has never given woman a standing where she could be right and the man wrong. It is always the woman who is wrong.

I knew the blame for what had happened would be laid at my door.

Mind you, I did not leave. I was thrown out. Who will leave their own house? And this house was mine in every sense of the word. I had worked for it from the start, I had invested in it. I had no place to go but my mother's home.

This was not the only blow. The industry was wary of approaching me. They thought I would not sing any more. The attitude was iska kya hoga maloom nahin [God knows what will happen to her]. They stopped giving me songs and started calling other singers.

It was a very, very difficult time for me. I kept wondering what I should to. But I never lost faith in my ability to work hard.

At that time, a very big man had told me, 'You don't have work, you don't have a house, you have small children. What are you going to do?'

I said, 'I am a very good cook. I will work as a cook in someone's house and bring up my children. I have strength and the courage. So what if I don't get songs? Main ghar kaam karoongi [I will work as a servant in people's homes]. I'm not afraid of hard work and don't consider any kind of work too small. After all, I am not stealing.'

He told me, 'Tumhari himmat ki main daad deta hoon [I salute your courage]. But this is a very big step you are taking.'

When I see my youngest son now – he is 43 years old and has his own children [laughs] – I think I took the right decision.

Where do you get this drive to go on? Is it because of your father?

You don't get it because of anyone. It has to come from within you. It has to be there when you were born. A person is born with a particular nature. People are born thieves or bad people or sadhus or singers or artistes.

I cannot say that I am this way because someone inspired me. Mere saamne koi bhi nahi tha jo mujhe inspire kar sake. Is kaam ke liye to koi bhi nahi tha. [There was no one who could have inspired me. And in this particular situation, there was definitely no one]. Sab mujhe darrate the [Everyone would frighten me].

When you look back, are there certain events in your life that you feel should have never happened?

There have been many such incidents. My life would have been so much better if they had not happened. I wish they hadn't.

Par mere kehne se kuch nahi hota hai [But that does not mean things will happen the way I want them to].

They were fated to happen. No one can change that. If these things were to happen in my next life and I had a choice about it, I would say, okay, I don't want it to happen. But what is the point brooding over something that has already happened in this life? But yes, but I always think this should not happen in the future [laughs].

You must be very happy about your grandchildren.

I am really happy. My other granddaughter, who is 16 years old, is studying in Scotland. The twins are 17 months old [shows a framed photograph of the twins].

To tell you the truth, this is life. The rest of it is transient.

Do you think your legacy will be carried on by your family?

It is a very difficult thing to do. Even if there is talent in your family, they may not want to opt for the same line.

Varsha used to sing very well. She is a trained singer. Then, one day, she told me she does not want to sing any more. When I asked her why, she said, 'Mujhe tarazu mein tolenge har waqt [people will constantly compare me to you].'

She gave me examples of children who had taken after their parents and become actors. If they were not as good as their parents, everyone was highly critical; comparisons were constant. She did not want that to happen with her. In a way, I feel the decision she took was correct.

She will not be a Lata Mangeshkar or an Asha Bhosle. But the comparison will still be there, like I was constantly compared with Lata didi. Varsha changed her line altogether. Now I am after her to write a novel; bahut peeche padti hoon [I prod her constantly]. I know she will do a good job.

Do you feel happy that you will leave behind an immortal legacy?

There is nothing that is immortal. You may remember my voice, but the next generation may not.

With the surfeit of remixes today, it will be very difficult for people to remember the original compositions and the original voices.

Aajkal utpatang gaane hote hain; utpatang picturisation hoti hai; gande se ganda dikhaten hain [Today the songs are bad and their picturisations are worse]. Girls have no qualms about exhibiting their bodies. They strip to the barest possible minimum.

There is a song of mine – Tu tu hai wohi dil ne jise apna kaha. It is such a beautiful, pure song. See how they have picturised it! Look at how they have destroyed Dum maaro dum and Kaanta laga. With such shameful things happening, the real singers and composers will be lost in the mists of Time.

Children will only remember the remixes and the singers of those remixes in future.

I realise the extremes people go to in order to make money. And I am not just talking about songs. I see on television how people adulterate milk and that same milk is then given to innocent children.

School children don't have clean water to drink. They are given water from the dirtiest gutters. They don't have a bathroom to go to. Yet, the people who run these schools ask what better resources they can give the children.

Thirty years ago, people were not as bad as they are today. Insaan itna gira hua nahin tha, aaj bahut gir gaya hai [Man wasn't so bad earlier. Now man has fallen].

Today's youngsters – in the age group of 16-20 – are trying to improve the world. But their elders, those who are running things, are destroying the country. When I see this in the country I love so much, it makes me very unhappy. When I see the country in which I was born being destroyed by people without conscience, I feel it would be better if I were no longer alive. It would be better if I die.

Do you miss the past?

Bilkul! [Of course!] Those kind of people no longer exist.

I was talking to my brother just yesterday about this. And he said, "Ashatai, that world no longer exists. Today, there are no honest people left. Kisi rishte mein honest nahin hain [No relationship is honest]."

Why do you think this is happening?

Let me give you an example. I travel abroad regularly. When I visited Dubai on May 14, 1970, the airport was just a hangar.

When I go there today, chalte chalte pair toot jaate hain [your legs will ache from walking]. Their airport is so big. They have such tall buildings. They have so many trees in a place where one was once hard-pressed to spot a leaf.

Today, Dubai seems like Paris.

This is because they care about their country. You go to any country today, people are honest towards their nation. They love their nation.

Hindustan was once known as the suvarna bhoomi [golden country]. We had everything that we needed.

Today, there is nothing. Today, there is only dishonesty.

When India became independent, I was 13 or 14 years old. I have known this country from earlier, when the British were still here. When warplanes used to fly in the skies and our parents would hide us in the cellars because they feared a bomb would fall on us.

I saw the period when people died for India's independence; when people were hanged because they were fighting for their country. We had leaders like Gandhiji and [Veer] Savarkar.

Then, I saw the slow deterioration till we reached the depths in which our country is enmeshed today.

I wonder, why did we become independent? To see India the way she is today? Where, instead of milk, Fevicol and God knows what else is being mixed together to create a liquid that is filled into bottles and fed to children?

Is this why we have become independent? So that we could see how our children drink water from the gutters?

Why are these things happening? Why are parents not able to impart values to their children?

I really can't understand it.

Earlier, for example, music directors would make each other listen to their good compositions. Today, they will not do that because they are afraid their work will be plagiarised.

Today, people don't have faith in the future. They don't trust each other. They have no faith in themselves.

Everybody has become insecure.

Singers are insecure. Actors and actresses are insecure. They feel, if our movie fails, what will happen to us?

Singers feel that if they demand royalty, they won't get songs. So they give up their royalty. If one singer asks Rs 20,000 for a song, there is someone always willing to undercut him and sing for Rs 5,000. This is because they are insecure.

When man becomes insecure, he begins to lose character. He becomes dishonest. First he will be dishonest with himself, then with others. The root cause for all this is money.

Money is a very big thing, but it is not everything. People don't understand that.

Can you tell us something about yourself that people do not know about you?

[Smiles] There is nothing about me that people don't know.

Everyone says Asha is an open book. Everyone knows everything about me.

Written by Savera R Someshwar
Interviewed by Savera R Someshwar, Syed Firdaus Ashraf