Mumbai, 12 April

Asha Bhosle, who not only survived in the shadow of her sister's greatness but stepped out of it with a genre-defying voice to create her own universe in Hindi playback singing, died on Sunday. She was 92.

Asha, one half of the Mangeshkar sisters whose versatility was unmatched even by her sister, was admitted to Breach Candy Hospital on Saturday evening due to chest infection and exhaustion, her granddaughter Zanai Bhosle said.

Asha, who got married to Ganpatrao Bhosle in 1949 when she was 16 and later in life married collaborator and composer RD Burman, is survived by her son Anand and her grandchildren.

The singer's son, Anand, said the last rites will be held on Monday.

"People can pay their last respects to her at 11 am tomorrow at Casa Grande, Lower Parel, where she lived. Her last rites will be performed at 4 pm tomorrow at Shivaji Park," he told reporters.

Asha, who got listeners jiving to “Aaja, Aaja” just as skilfully as she got them to mourn lost love in “Chain Se Ham Ko Kabhi”, ruled the Hindi playback singing world along with her sister Lata for seven decades with virtually every movie song recorded in Bollywood for female leads using their voices.

Asha herself sang for more than eight decades, recording an incredible 12,000 songs. Her first song was in 1943 at the age of 10 for the Marathi film ‘Majha Bal’. She continued to sing until the late 2010s and beyond, making her the longest performing singers in global music history.

Unlike Lata, her voice remained steady and its timbre fresh, even when she was singing at the age of 80.

Lata died in February 2022 also at the age of 92.

While Lata was the go-to choice for music director Madan Mohan, the master of melody and ghazals, Asha was equally accomplished in that genre, and is still remembered for her ghazals in “Umrao Jaan”. She won a National Film award for the movie.

But she also established her own identity, partnering first with OP Nayyar for his rhythmic, peppy songs and later with RD Burman for songs inspired by cabarets, romance, lament and every other emotive tonality.

Still, there was never any hint of rivalry between the two sisters who occupied almost an equally high seat in the pantheon of India's singing gods.

Among Asha's most popular songs are “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', among others.

She was the voice for many leading ladies, from Meena Kumari, Madhubala, Zeenat Aman to Kajol, Urmila Matondkar and also South actors like Padmini and Vyjayanthimala.

In 2023, she performed at a special concert, ‘ASHA@90: Live in concert', in Dubai to celebrate her 90th birthday.

Born on 8 September, 1933 in Sangli (Maharashtra), she was initiated into music by her father Dinanath Mangeshkar just like her sister was. Music was perhaps in her destiny. Of the four sisters, Lata, Usha and Asha were playback singers while Meena is a music composer. As is their brother Hridaynath Mangeshkar.

The much awarded Asha, who was also was also a successful entrepreneur and ran the popular restaurant Asha in Dubai and the UK, won multiple awards, including the Dadasaheb Phalke, Padma Vibhushan, National Awards and other music honours.

Tributes poured in from the film and music fraternity.

Singer Leslee Lewis, called Asha "the fairy godmother of music".

"Today doesn't feel like silence... it feels like something inside music has paused, held its breath for a moment. But even in that pause, I can hear her because voices like hers don't fade," Lewis, who worked with the singer on indie pop hit "Raat Shabnami", said.

Actor Vicky Kaushal said, "your melodies, yourkindness, your grace and warmth will live on forever."

"A very sad day for all of us and a very sad day for Indian music. I just cannot believe that our dearest Asha Tai is no more. I'm not able to express my sorrow and what I'm feeling right now as a musician, as Didi's worshipper, as a very, very close family friend. And looking up to her like Ma Saraswati, I'm sure that every single Indian is just heartbroken," singer Shankar Mahadevan said.