How do you possibly describe an artiste’s relationship with an art form they’ve devoted an entire lifetime to? The answer reveals itself as we meet the legendary Indian singer Asha Bhosle at a hotel in Dubai following the launch of a new Hyderabadi menu at Asha’s restaurant. Music, it is evident, is a way of life for her. She has a song for every reason and season, and she sings them to her heart’s delight, depending on who the audience is. For example, when she realises that this interviewer hails from Bengal, she begins singing one of her iconic Bangla songs. Anybody in the room engaged with anything else drops the task at hand only to listen to a voice that has mesmerised India for eight decades.

Her relationship with food has stood parallel to her love for music. It’s not just eating, but the very act of preparing food that has led to some sweet memories. For example, she recalls the time when she would come home after a recording session and her son, Anand, whose astute vision for Asha’s has catapulted the restaurant into our collective imagination, would ask if she was tired. That question, she says, would be an indicator that he is hungry and Bhosle would find herself headed to the kitchen to prepare something for him. “It was my son’s idea to take the food that his mother would prepare to the world,” she recalls. “Even now, every time he comes from Dubai, I ask him what he would like to eat. His palate is very diverse, he likes food from Lucknow a lot.”

There is a story behind every dish — or a cuisine — that is introduced at Asha’s restaurants in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The launch of the Royal Hyderabadi Table, for instance, is rooted in 1962 when after performing at a concert with her sister Lata Mangeshkar, she chanced upon Nizami cuisine and was immediately drawn to it. This, she says, has been a constant with her. “Whenever I would visit any new city, I would make sure to pick up some recipes that would be their speciality. That was the first time I had had food in Hyderabad. Eventually, I learnt how to make Biriyani in Hyderabadi style, and their famous eggplant dish,” she says.

Asha Bhosle

Food has played a central role in the iconic singer’s life. It was in her formative years that she witnessed what elaborate rituals of cooking truly entailed. Her father, Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar, died when she was only nine years old. “Every year, on my father’s death anniversary, we would prepare elaborate meals to feed others in his memory. There would be at least seven different types of dishes that we’d prepare. My sister and I would start cooking at 10 at night, and it would go on till next day. This habit eventually took me from vegetarian food to non-vegetarian fare,” she says. Which perhaps explains why, whenever a new menu is introduced, Bhosle is often present to cook with the culinary team of the restaurant.

Today, Asha’s has not only become a reminder of the legacy of the living legend, it also holds its own in the uber competitive F&B landscape of the UAE, having been in the business for more than 22 years. Bhosle is aware that in Asha’s, she and her son Anand have well and truly crafted a culinary legacy that people are likely to remember for a long time to come. “I don’t live here,” she says, “but I often hear people in Bombay talking about visiting the restaurant. They tell me how much they enjoyed the food and service. That encourages us to bring many more cuisines to the restaurant. After Hyderabad, it will be the turn of Rajasthani food,” she says.

Indian singer Asha Bhosle

Singing freely and eating liberally don’t always go hand in hand. Over the years, says Bhosle, she has had to give up on many things she liked to eat. “Yoghurt being one of them,” she says. “Forget everything, I had to give up on ice cream when I was 13 years old because it was not good for my voice.”

Is there a song, from her vast repertoire, that sums up her magnificent journey through life and music? Bhosle doesn’t quite think so. What she does remember are the moments that made memories of a lifetime. One such moment is her collaboration with the late music director RD Burman. “His songs used to be particularly difficult. I could sing classical songs easily. But RD Burman’s songs demanded that I changed my voice. Of course, after we started doing it, many people copied us. But the person who actually has to do it first finds it toughest.” Pretty much a metaphor for life itself!

From Nizami kitchens to UAE: Asha Bhosle to unveil 'The Royal Hyderabadi Table' at Asha's 90 years of Asha Bhosle, 80 years of musical excellence