28 October,2010 08:42 AM IST | | Urmimala Banerjee
For someone who is not used to celebrating his birthday, Pt Hridaynath Mangeshkar had quite a lavish do in the form of the Hridayesh Festival. The illustrious musician who turned 73 talks about music aaj-kal:
Birthday boy
Well, we didn't have the concept of cake cutting and blowing candles in our time. I remember my mother doing my aarti, performing puja and making a special dish for me on my birthday. Thereafter, we used to head off to seek blessings from our elders and gurus.
Even today, I don't celebrate my birthday in a lavish way. The fact that the organisers have held this festival on my birthday is a nice feeling. It feels good to get this kind of appreciation at this age.u00a0
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A life without regrets
I can say that my life has been one without regrets. Yes, it's true I missed out on my childhood because we had to go out and earn for our family but there was no other option.
I have been very fortunate to be associated with music throughout my life. A true musician is a pure soul untouched by the corruption around him. My music has helped me survive the ups and downs really well, so it's been the biggest blessing.u00a0
Music aaj kal
Frankly, I am not too fond of the music today. I feel it lacks melody and soul. Also, the standard of lyrics in the yesteryears was far better. The songs have a recall value even today. That's not the case in modern day songs. The quality is missing.u00a0
