India Post News Service

LOS ANGELES: She has captured the hearts of audiences around the world, for sixty years and here she was, aged 75, singing her heart out at the prestigious Walt Disney Concert hall in Los Angeles. Some of the world's greatest names have graced this hall and Asha Bhosle joins the illustrious roster.

Radiant, gorgeous, and shimmering in diamonds and flowers on stage, she affirmed to us during the two and a half hour program without intermission the power of her thrilling , joyous, intimate, poignant irresistible voice and that she will always be young at heart..

It was a capacity crowd at the Disney Concert Hall, and the crowd was whipped into a frenzy the moment the eight piece ensemble with heavy metal guitar, drums, percussion, keyboards went into a rip roaring full out explosive rhythmic intro for Asha.

She emerged, in a pristine white, heavily embroidered, glittering saree, with the trademark bunch of jasmine pinned to her hair, glowing and ready to take on LA! From then on this remarkable world treasure celebrated he 75th birthday, with wonderful musicianship, and style, spanning Hollywood genres as she called out to the ecstatic crowd, "Do I look good? And the crowd roared a resounding "YES!!" Perfectly at ease, she ranged from Indian classical to pop, impressing the crowds with her dynamism, her soaring thrilling notes, mementos from her early recordings, which included jazz, world beat rhythms, nostalgic beguiling lyrics, standout Bhangra songs, (Nagada Baja) when she even donned a turban, and more.

She sang songs that she had recorded with Kishore Kumar, Mohammed Rafi, RD Burman, Hemant Kumar, and other artistes. She began with Ye zameen ga rahi hai, and segued into Chain se humko kabhi apne jeene na diya, Raat baaki, baat baaki, imitated singer Nur Jehan, Lata Mangeshkar, a couple of Punjabi songs, Bari Barsi and at the audience request Monica my darling, bringing almost the rafters of the Disney Hall down.

Seamlessly blending her songs with hilarious anecdotes about her father, elder sister Lata Mangeshkar (the nightingale of India) and the other siblings, she highlighted the early struggles, hardships and the deep love and respect for her father and sister Lata.

She spoke of moving to Bombay with Lata after the death of her father and the struggles of working and acting in films to support the family. She was nine years old at that time. She recalled meeting Kishore Kumar at a railway station, wearing a muffler in the humid Mumbai heat. At the studio she met the same man with whom she has sung countless songs.

Since then she has lip synched for most of Bollywood actresses for 66 years, and worked with Boy George, the Kronos Quartet code Red and Michael Stipes. Cornershop paid tribute with their album Brimful of Asha. This year she has released 75 Years of Asha, a Musical Journey.

There are new recordings, of all time favorites including songs written specially for her by her long time musical associate Nitin Shankar. Another famed singer whom Asha admires, Mirian Makeba will be on this recording. This song was specially produced by Hugh Masekela. Asha exudes soul and experience. She has a blend of empathy, warmth, showmanship and a genuineness that makes you want to rush onto the stage and embrace her joyfully.

I was content to sit in my seat , sigh when a beloved song evoked strong emotion, listen intensely to her heartbreaking memoirs of trying to get work and groove to the wild beats of this wonderful playback singer who has sung 12,000 songs and is still hopelessly romantic and a powerful force in the music world. She is a one of a kind international artiste and her enthusiasm, wit and winning presence on stage makes her timeless.

Amit Kumar, the son of Kishore Kumar, a Bollywood actor-singer partnered Asha with a few songs and did solos from time to time. With songs of SD Burman and Kishore Kumar including the madly boisterous Roop tera Mastana. Blessed with a strong, compelling voice he evoked shades of legendary Kishore, his father.

Amit's career began in the 80s with the Qurbani chart topper, Laila O Laila. He has sung with SD Burman, Bappi Lahiri, Anand-Milind, Usha Khanna, Shankar Jaikishan, and Hridayanath. And recorded for stars like Sanjay Dutt, Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor and Dharmendra. Most recently he sang Dil Mein Baji Guitar in the movie Apna Sapna Money Money in 2006.