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In a lighter vein, Chin2 Bhosle loved to call his grandmother Asha Bhosle by a different name. He says, “I would call her ‘Annapurna Devi’. If we were hungry, we knew where to go, as she would cook the most delicious meal and serve it personally. She would make wonderful mutton biryani and tisrya. Among vegetarian dishes, my favourite was pithla.”

Chin2, a singer and music educator, says the legendary singer’s death on April 12 was unexpected. He says, “Just a week before she passed away, I had gone to her place in Lower Parel and the maid said she had gone out. Apparently, she had gone to watch a play in Vile Parle. That was her. She had become frail, but lived life till the very end.”

The son of Asha Bhosle’s elder son Hemant, Chin2 got to know her only after he turned 23. He recalls, “I spent my younger days staying with my mother. I didn’t stay with Asha Ji as such, and I don’t have any childhood memories to talk of. I knew the impact she and my aunt Lata Mangeshkar had on the music world, but I personally was drawn to western music, beginning with the Beatles.”

After completing his management, Chin2 joined the company Percept. They were involved with the launch of a new song that Asha had recorded with the British boy band Code Red. He says, “It was then that I got to interact with her properly. She was so warm, and she welcomed me wholeheartedly. We soon began meeting frequently, and our bonding developed.”

Despite his job, Chin2 loved music and wanted to enter the field. In 2001, he became part of the pop group A Band Of Boys. For the album launch in Tardeo the following year, he invited his grandmother to do the honours. “She readily agreed and was very friendly with the band members,” he reminisces.

For some time, the idea of working together didn’t come up. Chin2 laughs, “Maybe it was our Bhosle ego. I wanted to do things on my own without depending on her, and she might have expected me to make the first move. But out of the blue, she invited me to do one song at her show in Surat.”

For Chin2, the concert was an eye-opener. He says, “I realised how she got into the song while performing on stage. She would own the song, and start dancing. When I sang, she observed me closely, and I noticed her stare when I went off once. The crowd didn’t notice but for me, it was scary.”

In 2009, Chin2 invited her to sing on his song ‘Pyaar Khushnaseeb’. He says, “It was a rock n’ roll number. Till the last minute, I was scared she would cancel the recording as she had just returned from a hectic tour. But she came on time. It took her a while, but once she got the hang of the song, there was no stopping her. At 75-plus, she stood three hours in the studio.”

One statement stuck. He continues, “In this song, don’t be my grandson. Be the music director. Yet, she would provide her inputs. Even after recording, she called up to say maybe this could have been done this way. That was her level of involvement.”

The duo worked again on the song ‘Coming Home’, which Chin2 released in different languages. He says, “I wanted only live musicians, no keyboards. Asha Ji didn’t have words, but sang alaaps. It was wonderful to see her keep improvising.”

According to Chin2, her values impressed him most. He elaborates, “Her discipline and sense of commitment inspired everyone around her. She would believe that most singers had the technique and taiyyari. The difference lay in how they expressed themselves, where to show off one’s skills and where to keep them hidden. She believed a song is a story told through music. It had to be told like a story.”

Chin2 says she would love suddenly singing at home, and a harmonium was always at hand. He adds, “She would suddenly sing songs she recorded in the early 1950s, and remember the words. I also spent a lot of time listening to old LPs with her. Many of them were from R.D. Burman’s collection. She would enjoy Spanish music, Latin sounds, Frank Sinatra.”

Having been involved in radio at Big 92.7 FM and also composed ad jingles, Chin2 started his company SRGMs, which aims to create a magical musical experience for kids between 18 months and eight years of age, through performances, stories and songs. “When I told my grandmother about my plans, she was very happy, I now want to use this project to carry forward her legacy, as today’s children have a lot to learn from people like her,” he says. That’s a wonderful tribute he’ll keep paying.