Shreya Ghoshal on Asha Bhosle: 'She broke a lot of barriers, never bowed down to mediocrity'

Shreya Ghoshal. Pic/Yogen Shah

The 5 time National Award-winning playback singer Shreya Ghoshal is remembering the late singing legend Asha Bhosle.

Shreya spoke with IANS following the launch of her All Hearts Tour live album and called Asha Bhosle, a personification of power and feminism.

She told IANS, "Lata ji, Asha ji have been like a guru to me. I met with them rarely but, I always learnt from their craft and their music. Their voice has become the inner voice of my musical soul. For me, Asha ji is. That kind of an artist. Who broke a lot of barriers. In spite of her struggles, she is the personification of power, feminism, and never bowed down to mediocrity".

The National Award-winning singer lauded the discipline of her seniors, and shared that the younger crop of artistes can learn so much from her.

She further mentioned, "Brilliant is probably an understatement. Even today, though she is not there, but her stories, the way she performed every song, listening to the story behind them, it serves as an inspiration. The kind of riyaz she was doing. Even at the age of 92, she was doing Riyaz every day. She will continue to inspire. The last show in London, my most important concert at the O2 arena where the biggest of the artistes have performed. So, when I heard the news about her, I was very nervous. But I thought that is her legacy. That we need to take forward. And she would be happy thinking that there is a female headliner from India, ‘Bharat Ki Awaaz', ‘Bharat Ki Beti'".

"So I thought, she would be blessing us. The London concert was a tribute to her in every sense. She was the last greatest pillar of Indian music whom we lost. And nobody can ever take the place or the kind of energy and the hard work and excellence that Lata ji, Asha ji, Rafi sahab, Kishore da and others gave us. Nobody can match up to all these great artistes", she added.

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