Bengal ( , ''Bôngo'', ''Bôngodesh'', or ''Bangladesh'') is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh (previously East Bengal / East Pakistan) and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous kingdoms of Bengal (during local monarchical regimes and British rule) are now part of the neighboring Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Tripura and Orissa. The majority of Bengal is inhabited by Bengali people (বাঙালি ''Bangali'') who speak the Bengali language (বাংলা ''Bangla'').

The region of Bengal is one of the most densely populated regions on earth, with a population density exceeding 900/km². Most of the Bengal region lies in the low-lying Ganges–Brahmaputra River Delta or Ganges Delta, the world's largest delta. In the southern part of the delta lies the Sundarbans—the world's largest mangrove forest and home of the Bengal tiger. Though the population of the region is mostly rural and agrarian, two megacities, Kolkata (previously Calcutta) and Dhaka (previously Dacca), are located in Bengal. The Bengal region is renowned for its rich literary and cultural heritage as well as its immense contribution to the socio-cultural uplift of Indian society in the form of the Bengal Renaissance, and revolutionary activities during the Indian independence movement.

==Etymology== The exact origin of the word ''Bangla'' or Bengal is unknown, though it is believed to be derived from the Dravidian-speaking tribe ''Bang'' that settled in the area around the year 1000 BC.

Vanga was a known to be a kingdom during the times of Mahabharata.

Other accounts speculate that the name is derived from ''Banga'' (বঙ্গ ''bôngo''), which came from the Austric word "Bonga" meaning the Sun-god. The word ''Banga'' and other words speculated to refer to Bengal (such as Anga) can be found in ancient Indian texts including the Vedas, Jaina texts, the Mahabharata and Puranas. The earliest reference to "Bangala" (বঙ্গাল ''bôngal'') has been traced in the Nesari plates (805 AD) of Rashtrakuta Govinda III which speak of Dharmapala as the king of Vangala.

Some accounts claim that the word may derive from bhang, a preparation of cannabis which is used in some religious ceremonies in Bengal. Dravidians migrated to Bengal from the south, while Tibeto-Burman peoples migrated from the Himalayas, followed by the Indo-Aryans from north-western India. The modern Bengali people are a blend of these people. Smaller numbers of Pathans, Persians, Arabs and Turks also migrated to the region in the late Middle Ages while spreading Islam.

History

{| class="toccolours" style="float:right; margin:0 0 1em 1em;" | style="background:#f8eaba; text-align:center;"| |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | Image:Subhas Bose.jpg|Subhash Chandra Bose is one of the most prominent leaders and freedom fighters from Bengal in the Indian independence movement against the British Raj |- |} Remnants of Copper Age settlements in the Bengal region date back 4,300 years. After the arrival of Indo-Aryans, the kingdoms of Anga, Vanga and Magadha were formed by the 10th century BC, located in the Bihar and Bengal regions. Magadha was one of the four main kingdoms of India at the time of Buddha and consisted of several Janapadas. One of the earliest foreign references to Bengal is the mention of a land named Gangaridai by the Greeks around 100 BC, located in an area in Bengal. From the 3rd to the 6th centuries AD, the kingdom of Magadha served as the seat of the Gupta Empire.

The first recorded independent king of Bengal was Shashanka, reigning around early 7th century. After a period of anarchy, the native Buddhist Pala Empire ruled the region for four hundred years, and expanded across much of the Indian subcontinent into Afghanistan during the reigns of Dharmapala and Devapala. The Pala dynasty was followed by the reign of the Hindu Saiva Sena dynasty. Islam made its first appearance in Bengal during the 12th century when Sufi missionaries arrived. Later, occasional Muslim raiders reinforced the process of conversion by building mosques, madrassas and Sufi Khanqah. Beginning in 1202 a military commander from the Delhi Sultanate, Bakhtiar Khilji, overran Bihar and Bengal as far east as Rangpur, Bogra and the Brahmaputra River. Although he failed to bring Bengal under his control, the expedition managed to defeat Lakshman Sen and his two sons moved to a place then called Vikramapur (present-day Munshiganj District), where their diminished dominion lasted until the late 13th century.

During the 14th century, the former kingdom became known as the Sultanate of Bengal, ruled intermittently with the Sultanate of Delhi as well as powerful Hindu states and land-lords-Baro-Bhuyans. The Hindu Deva Kingdom ruled over eastern Bengal after the collapse Sena Empire. The Sultanate of Bengal was interrupted by an uprising by the Hindus under Raja Ganesha. The Ganesha dynasty began in 1414, but his successors converted to Islam. Bengal came once more under the control of Delhi as the Mughals conquered it in 1576. There were several independent Hindu states established in Bengal during the Mughal period like those of Maharaja Pratap Aditya of Jessore and Raja Sitaram Ray of Burdwan. These kingdoms contributed a lot to the economic and cultural landscape of Bengal. Extensive land reclamations in forested and marshy areas were carried out and trade as well as commerce were highly encouraged. These kingdoms also helped introduce new music, painting, dancing and sculpture into Bengali art-forms as well as many temples were constructed during this period. Militarily, they served as bulwarks against Portuguese and Burmese attacks. Koch Bihar Kingdom in the northern Bengal, flourished during the period of 16th and the 17th centuries as well as weathered the Mughals and survived till the advent of the British.

In 1534, the ethnic Afghan Pashtun Sher Shah Suri, or Farid Khan — a man of incredible military and political skill — succeeded in defeating the superior forces of the Mughals under Humayun at Chausa (1539) and Kannauj (1540). Sher Shah fought back and captured both Delhi and Agra and established a kingdom stretching far into Punjab. Sher Shah's administrative skill showed in his public works, including the Grand Trunk Road connecting Sonargaon in Bengal with Peshawar in the Hindu Kush. Sher Shah's rule ended with his death in 1545, although even in those five years his reign would have a powerful influence on Indian society, politics, and economics.

Shah Suri's successors lacked his administrative skill, and quarreled over the domains of his empire. Humayun, who then ruled a rump Mughal state, saw an opportunity and in 1554 seized Lahore and Delhi. When Humayun died in Jan.1556, Hemu, also called Hem Chandra Vikramaditya, the then Hindu Prime Minister-cum- Chief of Army, of the Sur dynasty had already won Bengal in the battle at Chapperghatta, killing Muhammad Shah the then ruler of Bengal. This was Hemu's 20th continuous win in North India. Knowing of Humanyun's death, Hemu rushed to Delhi to win Agra and later on Delhi and established 'Hindu Raj' in North India on 6th Oct. 1556, after 300 years of Muslim rule, leaving Bengal to his Governor Shahbaz Khan. Akbar, the greatest of the Mughal emperors, who defeated the Karani rulers of Bengal in 1576. Bengal became a Mughal subah and ruled through subahdars (governors). Akbar exercised progressive rule and oversaw a period of prosperity (through trade and development) in Bengal and northern India.

Bengal's trade and wealth impressed the Mughals that they called the region the "''Paradise of the Nations''". Administration by governors appointed by the court of the Mughal Empire court (1575–1717) gave way to four decades of semi-independence under the Nawabs of Murshidabad, who respected the nominal sovereignty of the Mughals in Delhi. The Nawabs granted permission to the French East India Company to establish a trading post at Chandernagore in 1673, and the British East India Company at Calcutta in 1690. The most notable among them is Murshid Quli Khan, who was succeeded by Alivardi Khan. Around the early 1700s, the Maratha Empire led expeditions in Bengal. The leader of the expedition was Maratha Maharaja Raghuji of Nagpur. Raghoji was able to annex Orissa and parts of Bengal permanently as he successfully exploited the chaotic conditions prevailing in the region after the death of their Governor Murshid Quli Khan in 1727. The expeditions resulted in Bengal becoming a tributary region of the Marathas for a period of time.

Portuguese traders arrived late in the fifteenth century, once Vasco da Gama reached India by sea in 1498. European influence grew until the British East India Company gained taxation rights in Bengal ''subah'', or province, following the Battle of Plassey in 1757, when Siraj ud-Daulah, the last independent Nawab, was defeated by the British. The Bengal Presidency was established by 1766, eventually including all British territories north of the Central Provinces (now Madhya Pradesh), from the mouths of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra to the Himalayas and the Punjab. The Bengal famine of 1770 claimed millions of lives. Calcutta was named the capital of British India in 1772. The Bengal Renaissance and Brahmo Samaj socio-cultural reform movements had great impact on the cultural and economic life of Bengal. The failed Indian rebellion of 1857 started near Calcutta and resulted in transfer of authority to the British Crown, administered by the Viceroy of India. Between 1905 and 1911, an abortive attempt was made to divide the province of Bengal into two zones. As a direct consequence of this failed attempt to partition Bengal, the British moved the capital of British India from Calcutta to Delhi.

Bengal has played a major role in the Indian independence movement, in which revolutionary groups were dominant. Armed attempts to overthrow the British Raj reached a climax when Subhash Chandra Bose led the Indian National Army against the British. Bengal was also central in the rising political awareness of the Muslim population—the Muslim League was established in Dhaka in 1906. In spite of a last-ditch effort to form a United Bengal, when India gained independence in 1947, Bengal was partitioned along religious lines. The western part went to India (and was named West Bengal) while the eastern part joined Pakistan as a province called East Bengal (later renamed East Pakistan, giving rise to Bangladesh in 1971). The circumstances of partition were bloody, with widespread religious riots in Bengal.

Post-1947 history

The post-partition political history of East and West Bengal diverged for the most part. Starting from the Bengali Language Movement of 1952, political dissent against West Pakistani domination grew steadily. Awami League, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, emerged as the political voice of the Bengali-speaking population of East Pakistan by 1960s. In 1971, the crisis deepened when Rahman was arrested and a sustained military assault was launched on East Pakistan. Most of the Awami League leaders fled and set up a government-in-exile in West Bengal. The guerrilla Mukti Bahini and Bengali regulars eventually received support from the Indian Armed Forces in December 1971, resulting in a decisive victory over Pakistan on 16 December in the Bangladesh Liberation War or Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The post independence history of Bangladesh was strife with conflict, with a long history of political assassinations and coups before parliamentary democracy was established in 1991. Since then, the political environment has been relatively stable.

West Bengal, the western part of Bengal, became a state in India. In the 1960s and 1970s, severe power shortages, strikes and a violent Marxist-Naxalite movement damaged much of the state's infrastructure, leading to a period of economic stagnation. The Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 resulted in the influx of millions of refugees to West Bengal, causing significant strains on its infrastructure. West Bengal politics underwent a major change when the Left Front won the 1977 assembly election, defeating the incumbent Indian National Congress. The Left Front, led by Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) has governed for the last three decades. The state's economic recovery gathered momentum after economic reforms in India were introduced in the mid-1990s by the central government, aided by election of a new reformist Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya in 2000. In the West Bengal state assembly election, 2011,in West Bengal, CPI(M) alliance with 62 seats suffered a setback after 34 years of continuous rule, losing to Trinamool Congress led alliance's 226 seats. Its Chief Minister candidate who was also an incumbent Chief Minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee also lost from his Jadavpur assembly constituency.

Geography

Most of the Bengal region is in the low-lying Ganges–Brahmaputra River Delta or Ganges Delta. The Ganges Delta arises from the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna rivers and their respective tributaries. The total area of Bengal is 232752  km²—West Bengal is and Bangladesh .

Most parts of Bangladesh are within 10 meters (33 ft) above the sea level, and it is believed that about 10% of the land would be flooded if the sea level were to rise by 1 metre (3 ft). Because of this low elevation, much of this region is exceptionally vulnerable to seasonal flooding due to monsoons. The highest point in Bangladesh is in Mowdok range at 1,052 metres (3,451 ft) in the Chittagong Hill Tracts to the southeast of the country. A major part of the coastline comprises a marshy jungle, the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world and home to diverse flora and fauna, including the Royal Bengal Tiger. In 1997, this region was declared endangered.

West Bengal is on the eastern bottleneck of India, stretching from the Himalayas in the north to the Bay of Bengal in the south. The state has a total area of . The Darjeeling Himalayan hill region in the northern extreme of the state belongs to the eastern Himalaya. This region contains Sandakfu ()—the highest peak of the state. The narrow Terai region separates this region from the plains, which in turn transitions into the Ganges delta towards the south. The Rarh region intervenes between the Ganges delta in the east and the western plateau and high lands. A small coastal region is on the extreme south, while the Sundarbans mangrove forests form a remarkable geographical landmark at the Ganges delta.

At least nine districts in West Bengal and 42 districts in Bangladesh have arsenic levels in groundwater above the World Health Organization maximum permissible limit of 50 µg/L (micro gram per litre) or 50 parts per billion and the untreated water is unfit for human consumption. The water causes arsenicosis, cancer of skin and various other complications in the body. Arsenic is four times as poisonous as mercury.

Major cities

The following are the largest cities in Bengal (in terms of population): #Kolkata (Calcutta) #Dhaka (Dacca) #Chittagong #Howrah #Khulna #Rajshahi #Siliguri #Durgapur #Asansol #Sylhet #Barisal #Chandannagar #Nabadwip #Haldia #Agartala

Demographics

:''Main articles: Demographics of Bangladesh and Demographics of West Bengal About 250 million people live in Bengal, around 68% of them in Bangladesh and the remainder in West Bengal. The population density in the area is more than 900/km²; making it among the most densely populated areas in the world.

Bengali is the main language spoken in Bengal. English is often used for official work. There are small minorities who speak Hindi, Urdu, Chakma. There are several tribal languages including Santhali. Nepali is spoken primarily by the Gorkhas of Darjeeling district of West Bengal.

50% of the total Bengali population is Muslim, and 48% is Hindu. Life expectancy is around 63 years, and are almost same for the men and women. In terms of literacy, West Bengal leads with 69.22% literacy rate, in Bangladesh the rate is approximately 53.5%. The level of poverty is high, the proportion of people living below the poverty line is more than 30%.

About 20,000 people live on chars. Chars are temporary islands formed by the deposition of sediments eroded off the banks of the Ganges in West Bengal which often disappear in the monsoon season. They are made of very fertile soil. The inhabitants of chars are not recognised by the Government of West Bengal on the grounds that it is not known whether they are Bengalis or Bangladeshi refugees. Consequently, no identification documents are issued to char-dwellers who cannot benefit from health care, barely survive due to very poor sanitation and are prevented from emigrating to the mainland to find jobs when they have turned 14. On a particular char it was reported that 13% of women died at childbirth.

Economy

Agriculture is the leading occupation in the region. Rice is the staple food crop. Other food crops are pulses, potato, maize, and oil seeds. Jute is the principal cash crop. Tea is also produced commercially; the region is well known for Darjeeling and other high-quality teas.

Historically, Europe once regarded Bengal as "the richest country to trade with".

West Bengal

The service sector is the largest contributor to the gross domestic product of West Bengal, contributing 51% of the state domestic product compared to 27% from agriculture and 22% from industry. State industries are localized in the Kolkata region and the mineral-rich western highlands. Durgapur–Asansol colliery belt is home to a number of major steel plants. West Bengal had the third-largest economy in India, with a net state domestic product of US$ 21.5 billion. During 2001–2002, the state's average SDP was more than 7.8%—outperforming the National GDP Growth. The state has promoted foreign direct investment, which has mostly occurred in the software and electronics fields; Kolkata is becoming a major hub for the information technology (IT) industry. Owing to the boom in Kolkata's and the overall state's economy, West Bengal had the third-fastest-growing economy in India.

Bangladesh

Since 1990, Bangladesh has achieved an average annual growth rate of 5% according to the World Bank, despite the hurdles. The middle class and the consumer industry have seen some growth. Bangladesh has seen a sharp increase in foreign direct investment. A number of multinational corporations, including Unocal Corporation and Tata, have made major investments, the natural gas sector being a priority. In December 2005, the Central Bank of Bangladesh projected GDP growth around 6.5%. Although two-thirds of Bangladeshis are farmers, more than three quarters of Bangladesh’s export earnings come from the garment industry, which began attracting foreign investors in the 1980s due to cheap labour and low conversion cost. In 2002, the industry exported US$5 billion worth of products. The industry now employs more than 3 million workers, 90% of whom are women. A large part of foreign currency earnings also comes from the remittances sent by expatriates living in other countries.

The provision of microcredit by Grameen Bank (founded by Muhammad Yunus) and by other similar organizations has contributed to the development of the economy of Bangladesh. Together, such organizations had about 5 million members by late 1990s.

Culture

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The common Bengali language and culture anchors the shared tradition of two parts of politically divided Bengal. Bengal has a long tradition in folk literature, evidenced by the ''Charyapada'', ''Mangalkavya'', ''Shreekrishna Kirtana'', ''Maimansingha Gitika'' or ''Thakurmar Jhuli''. Bengali literature in the medieval age was often either religious (e.g. Chandidas), or adaptations from other languages (e.g. Alaol). During the Bengal Renaissance of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Bengali literature was modernized through the works of authors such as Michael Madhusudan Dutta, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Rabindranath Tagore, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and Kazi Nazrul Islam.

The Baul tradition is a unique heritage of Bangla folk music. The scholar saint Sri Anirvan loved Baul music, and in fact described himself as a simple Baul. Other folk music forms include Gombhira, Bhatiali and Bhawaiya. Folk music in Bengal is often accompanied by the ektara, a one-stringed instrument. Other instruments include the dotara, dhol, flute, and tabla. The region also has an active heritage in North Indian classical music.

Bengal had also been the harbinger of modernism in Indian arts. Abanindranath Tagore, one of the important 18th century artist from Bengal is often referred to as the father of Indian modern art. He had established the first non-British art academy in India known as the Kalabhavan within the premises of Santiniketan. Santiniketan in course of time had produced many important Indian artists like Gaganendranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose, Jamini Roy, Benode Bihari Mukherjee and Ramkinkar Baij. In the post-independence era, Bengal had produced important artists like Somenath Hore, Meera Mukherjee and Ganesh Pyne.

Rice and fish are traditional favorite foods, leading to a saying that in Bengali, ''mach ar bhaath bangali baanaay'', that translates as "fish and rice make a Bengali". Bengal's vast repertoire of fish-based dishes includes Hilsa preparations, a favorite among Bengalis. Bengalis make distinctive sweetmeats from milk products, including ''Rôshogolla'', ''Chômchôm'', and several kinds of ''Pithe''.

Bengali women commonly wear the ''shaŗi'' and the salwar kameez, often distinctly designed according to local cultural customs. In urban areas, many women and men wear Western-style attire. Among men, European dressing has greater acceptance. Men also wear traditional costumes such as the ''panjabi'' with ''dhuti'' or ''pyjama'', often on religious occasions. The lungi, a kind of long skirt, is widely worn by Bangladeshi men.

The greatest religious festivals are the two Eids (Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha) for the Muslims, and the autumnal Durga Puja for Hindus. Christmas (called ''Bôŗodin'' (Great day) in Bangla), Buddha Purnima are other major religious festivals. Other festivities include Pohela Baishakh (the Bengali New Year), Basanta-Utsab, Nobanno, and ''Poush parbon'' (festival of Poush).

Bengali cinema are made both in Kolkata and Dhaka. The Kolkata film industry is older and particularly well known for its art films. Its long tradition of film making has produced world famous directors like Satyajit Ray, while contemporary directors include Buddhadev Dasgupta and Aparna Sen. Dhaka also has a vibrant commercial industry and more recently has been home to critically acclaimed directors like Tareque Masud. Mainstream Hindi films of Bollywood are also quite popular in both West Bengal and Bangladesh. Around 200 dailies are published in Bangladesh, along with more than 1800 periodicals. West Bengal had 559 published newspapers in 2005, of which 430 were in Bangla. Cricket and football are popular sports in the Bengal region. Local games include sports such as Kho Kho and Kabaddi, the later being the national sport of Bangladesh. An Indo-Bangladesh ''Bangla Games'' has been organized among the athletes of the Bengali speaking areas of the two countries.

Intra-Bengal relations today

Geographic, cultural, historic, and commercial ties are growing, and both countries recognize the importance of good relations. During and immediately after Bangladesh's struggle for independence from Pakistan in 1971, India assisted refugees from East Pakistan, and intervened militarily to help bring about the independence of Bangladesh. The Indo-Bangladesh border length of , West Bengal has a border length of . Despite overlapping historic, geographic and cultural ties, the relation between West Bengal and Bangladesh is still well below the potential. The pan-Bengali sentiment among the people of the two parts of Bengal was at its height during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. While the government radio and national press in India might have backed the struggle out of strategic considerations, the Bengali broadcast and print media went out of its way to lend overwhelming support.

Frequent air services link Kolkata with Dhaka and Chittagong. A bus service between Kolkata and Dhaka is operational. The primary road link is the Jessore Road which crosses the border at Petrapole-Benapole about north-west of Kolkata. The Train service between Kolkata and Dhaka, which was stopped after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, was resumed in 2008.

Visa services are provided by Bangladesh's consulate at Kolkata's Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Road and India's high commissions in Dhaka, Chittagong and Rajshahi. India has a liberal visa policy and nearly 500,000 visas are issued every year to Bangladeshi students, tourists, health-tourists and others who visit West Bengal and often transit to other parts of India. People of West Bengal visit Bangladesh for limited numbers of tourism, pilgrimage, trade, expatriate assignments; there is significant potential for growth as Bangladesh's stability, economy, moderation in religion and tourist infrastructure improves. In addition West Bengal hosts the celebrated and controversial Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen.

Undocumented immigration of Bangladeshi workers is a controversial issue championed by right-wing nationalist parties in India but finds little sympathy in West Bengal. India has fenced the border to control this flow but immigration is still continuing. A rallying cry for the right-wing Hindu parties in India is that the demographics changed such as in West Bengal's border district of Malda from Hindu-majority to Muslim-majority.

The official land border crossing at Petrapole-Benapole is the primary conduit for the over $1 billion trade between the two halves of Bengal. The volume of unofficial exports to Bangladesh from India is reportedly in the range of $350–500 million each year. Bangladesh argues that India needs to open up its border more to Bangladeshi exports. Other landports between the two Bengals are Changrabandha-Burimari and Balurghat-Hili.

Cultural exchanges between the two parts of Bengal have been somewhat (but not fully) impacted by ups and downs in India-Bangladesh relations and in the influence of extremist Islamist groups in Bangladesh. West Bengal singers and actors complained about being rejected visas in previous years. West Bengal television channels are widely watched in Banglades, while no Bangladeshi channels are absent in West Bengal due to import policies. In foreign countries such as the U.S., Canada, Britain, and UAE, it is common for Bengalis from both sides to form joint cultural associations and friendships, although inter-marriage is not significant, especially across religious barriers.

Gallery

See also

History of Bengal

Governor of Bengal

History of India

Bangladesh

Bengali people

Bangals and Ghotis

List of Bengalis

Bengali language

Bengali cuisine

Music of Bangladesh

Music of Bengal

Bengali cinema

East Bengal

West Bengal

Bengal architecture

Notes

References

External links

Geo Links for Bengal

Banglapedia-specialised site

www.hostkingdom.net- List of rulers of Bengal

WorldStatesmen- here India

Information portal of West Bengal

;Maps Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection at University of Texas at Austin Libraries :*India from The Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd, 1923 :*India 1760 from The Public Schools Historical Atlas edited by C. Colbeck. Longmans, Green, and Co. 1905 :*India 1882 from A Dictionary Practical, Theoretical, and Historical of Commerce and Commercial Navigation by J.R. M'Culloch. Longmans, Green and Co. London, 1882

Art and artists of Bengal

Category:Geography of Bangladesh Category:Geography of India Category:History of Bangladesh Category:Regions of India Category:Divided regions Category:Historical Indian regions Category:Subdivisions of British India

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name	Lata Mangeshkar
background	solo_singer
birth date	September 28, 1929
Birth place	Indore, Central India Agency, British India
instrument	Vocals
genre	Film music (playback singing)
occupation	Singer
years active	1942–present }}

Lata Mangeshkar (born September 28, 1929) is a singer from India. She is one of the best-known and most respected playback singers in India. Mangeshkar's career started in 1942 and has spanned over six and a half decades. She has recorded songs for over a thousand Hindi films and has sung songs in over thirty-six regional Indian languages and foreign languages, though primarily in Hindi. She is the elder sister of singer Asha Bhosle, Hridayanath Mangeshkar, Usha Mangeshkar and Meena Mangeshkar. She is the second vocalist to have ever been awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour.

Mangeshkar was featured in the ''Guinness Book of World Records'' from 1974 to 1991 for having made the most recordings in the world. The claim was that she had recorded approximately 25,000 solo, duet, and chorus-backed songs in 20 Indian languages between 1948 to 1974. Over the years, while several sources have supported this claim, others have raised concerns over its veracity, claiming that this number was highly exaggerated and that Mangeshkar's younger sister, Asha Bhosle, had more song recordings than she had. In 2011 ''Guinness'' officially acknowledged Bhosle as the most recorded artist in music history.

Early life

Lata Mangeshkar was born in Sikh Mohalla, Indore, in the Central India Agency (now part of Madhya Pradesh). Her father, Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar who belonged to a Gomantak Maratha Samaj family from Goa, was a classical singer and theater actor. Her mother Shevanti (Shudhamati) who was from Thalner, Maharashtra, was Deenanath's second wife. The family's last name used to be Hardikar; Deenanath changed it to Mangeshkar in order to identify his family with his native town, Mangeshi in Goa. Lata was named "Hema" at her birth. Her parents later renamed her Lata after a female character, Latika, in one of her father's plays, ''BhaawBandhan''. Lata is the eldest child of her parents. Meena, Asha, Usha and Hridayanath are her siblings in sequence.

Mangeshkar took her first lessons from her father. At the age of five, she started to work as an actress in her father's musical plays (''Sangeet Natak'' in Marathi). On the first day in the school, she started teaching songs to other children. When the teacher stopped her, she was so angry that she stopped going to the school. Other sources cite that she left school because they would not allow her to bring Asha with her, as she would often bring her younger sister with her.

Singing career

Early career in the 1940s

In 1942, when Mangeshkar was 13, her father died of heart disease. Master Vinayak (Vinayak Damodar Karnataki), the owner of Navyug Chitrapat movie company and a close friend of the Mangeshkar family, took care of them

Mangeshkar sang the song "Naachu Yaa Gade, Khelu Saari Mani Haus Bhaari" which was composed by Sadashivrao Nevrekar for Vasant Joglekar's Marathi-language movie ''Kiti Hasaal'' (1942), but the song was dropped from the final cut. Vinayak gave her a small role in Navyug Chitrapat's Marathi movie ''Pahili Mangalaa-gaur'' (1942), in which she sang "Natali Chaitraachi Navalaai" which was composed by Dada Chandekar. Her first Hindi song was "Mata Ek Sapoot Ki Duniya Badal De Tu" for the Marathi film, ''Gajaabhaau'' (1943). Mangeshkar moved to Mumbai in 1945 when Master Vinayak's company moved its headquarters there. She started taking lessons in Hindustani classical music from Ustad Amanat Ali Khan . She sang “Paa Lagoon Kar Jori” for Vasant Joglekar's Hindi-language movie ''Aap Ki Seva Mein'' (1946), which was composed by Datta Davjekar. Mangeshkar and her sister Asha played minor roles in Vinayak's first Hindi-language movie, ''Badi Maa'' (1945). In that movie, Lata also sang a bhajan, “Maata Tere Charnon Mein.” She was introduced to music director Vasant Desai during the recording of Vinayak's second Hindi-language movie, ''Subhadra'' (1946).

Following the partition of India in 1947, Ustad Amanat Ali Khan migrated to newly formed Pakistan, so Mangeshkar started to learn classical music under Amanat Khan Devaswale. Pandit Tulsidas Sharma, a pupil of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, also trained her.

After Vinayak's death in 1948, music director Ghulam Haider mentored her as a singer. Haider introduced Mangeshkar to producer Sashadhar Mukherjee, who was working then on the movie ''Shaheed'' (1948), but Mukherjee dismissed Mangeshkar's voice as "too thin." An annoyed Haider responded that in the coming years the producers and the directors would "fall at Lata's feet" and "beg her" to sing in their movies. Haider gave Lata her first major break with the song “Dil Mera Toda,” from the movie ''Majboor'' (1948).

Initially, Mangeshkar is said to have imitated the acclaimed singer Noor Jehan, but later she developed her own style of singing. Lyrics of songs in Hindi movies are primarily composed by Urdu poets and contain a higher proportion of Urdu words, including the dialogue. Actor Dilip Kumar once made a mildly disapproving remark about Mangeshkar's Maharashtrian accent while singing Hindi/Urdu songs; so for a period of time, Lata took lessons in Urdu from an Urdu teacher named Shafi.

One of her first major hits was “Aayega Aanewaala,” a song in the movie ''Mahal'' (1949), which was composed by music director Khemchand Prakash and lip-synced on screen by actress Madhubala.

1950s

In the 1950s, Mangeshkar sang songs composed by various music directors of the period, including Anil Biswas (in films such as Tarana and Heer), Shankar-Jaikishan, Naushad, S. D. Burman, C. Ramchandra, Hemant Kumar, Salil Chowdhury, Khayyam, Ravi, Sajjad Hussain, Roshan, Kalyanji-Anandji, Vasant Desai, Sudhir Phadke, Hansraj Behl, Madan Mohan, and Usha Khanna.

Mangeshkar sang many raga-based songs for Naushad in movies such as ''Baiju Bawra'' (1952), ''Mughal-E-Azam'' (1960), and ''Kohinoor'' (1960). ''Ae Chorre Ki Jaat Badi Bewafa'', a duet with G. M. Durrani, was her first song for composer, Naushad. The duo, Shankar-Jaikishan, chose Mangeshkar for ''Aag'', ''Aah'' (1953), ''Shree 420'' (1955), and ''Chori Chori'' (1956). Before 1957, composer Sachin Dev (S. D.) Burman chose Mangeshkar as the leading female singer for his musical scores in ''Sazaa'' (1951), ''House No. 44'' (1955), and ''Devdas'' (1955). However a rift developed between Lata and Burman in 1957, and Lata did not sing Burman's compositions again until 1962.

Mangeshkar won a Filmfare Best Female Playback Award for Salil Chowdhury's composition “Aaja Re Pardesi,” from ''Madhumati'' (1958). In the early fifties, Lata Mangeshkar's association with C. Ramchandra produced songs in movies such as Anarkali, Albela, Asha, Pehli Jhhalak, Shin Shinkai Bublaa Boo, Azad and Amardeep. For Madan Mohan, she performed for films like Adalat, Railway Platform, Dekh Kabira Roya and Chacha Zindabad.

1960s

Mangeshkar's song "Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya" from ''Mughal-E-Azam'' (1960), composed by Naushad and picturized on Madhubala, still remains famous . The Hawaiian-themed number "Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Yeh" from ''Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai'' (1960) was composed by Shankar-Jaikishan and picturized on Meena Kumari.

In 1961, Mangeshkar recorded two popular bhajans, "Allah Tero Naam" and "Prabhu Tero Naam", for Burman's assistant, Jaidev. In 1962, she was awarded her second Filmfare Award for the song "Kahin Deep Jale Kahin Dil" from ''Bees Saal Baad'', composed by Hemant Kumar.

On June 27, 1963, against the backdrop of the Sino-Indian War, Mangeshkar sang the patriotic song "Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo" (literally, "Oh, People of My Country") in the presence of Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India. The song, composed by C. Ramchandra and written by Pradeep, is said to have brought the Prime Minister to tears.

In 1963, Mangeshkar returned to collaboration with S. D. Burman. She also sang for R. D. Burman's very first film ''Chhote Nawaab'' and later for his films such as ''Bhoot Bangla'' (1965), ''Pati Patni'' (1966), ''Baharon ke Sapne'' (1967) and ''Abhilasha'' (1969). She also recorded several popular songs for S. D. Burman, including "Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai", "Gata Rahe Mera Dil" (duet with Kishore Kumar) and "Piya Tose" from ''Guide'' (1965), and "Hothon Pe Aisi Baat" from ''Jewel Thief'' (1967).

During the 1960s, Lata Mangeshkar continued her association with Madan Mohan which included the songs "Aap Ki Nazron Ne Samjha" from ''Anpadh'' (1962), "Lag Ja Gale" and "Naina Barse Rim Jhim" from ''Woh Kaun Thi?'' (1964), "Woh Chup Rahen To" from ''Jahan Ara'' (1964), and "Tu Jahan Jahan Chalega" from ''Mera Saaya'' (1966).

The 1960s also witnessed the beginning of Mangeshkar's association with Laxmikant-Pyarelal, the music directors for whom she sang the most popular songs in her career. She sang for ''Parasmani'' (1963) which was their first film together.

She also sang several playback songs for Marathi films, composed by Marathi music directors including Hridaynath Mangeshkar, Vasant Prabhu, Srinivas Khale, Sudhir Phadke and herself (under the name ''Anandghan''). During the 1960s and 1970s, she also sang several Bengali songs, composed by music directors like Salil Chowdhury and Hemant Kumar.

In this period Lata Mangeshkar has recorded duets with Mukesh, Manna Dey, Mohammed Rafi, and Kishore Kumar.

1970s

In 1972, Meena Kumari's last film, ''Pakeezah'' released. It featured popular songs including "Chalte Chalte" and "Inhi Logon Ne" sung by Lata Mangeshkar, and composed by Ghulam Mohammed. She recorded many popular songs for S. D. Burman's last films, including "Rangeela Re" from ''Prem Pujari'' (1970), "Khilte Hain Gul Yahaan" from ''Sharmeelee'' (1971), and "Piya Bina" from ''Abhimaan'' (1973).

Lata Mangeshkar's most notable songs in 1970s were composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal (Laxmi-Pyare) and Rahul Dev Burman. She recorded several songs composed by Laxmi-Pyare in 1960s and 1970s, many of them written by the lyricist Anand Bakshi. She also recorded many hit songs with Rahul Dev Burman in the films ''Amar Prem'' (1972), ''Caravan'' (1971), ''Kati Patang''(1971), and ''Aandhi'' (1975). The two are noted for their songs with the lyricists Majrooh Sultanpuri, Anand Bakshi and Gulzar.

In 1973, she won the National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for the song "Beeti Na Bitai" from the film ''Parichay'', composed by R. D. Burman, and written by Gulzar. In 1974, she sang her only Malayalam song "Kadali Chenkadali" for the film ''Nellu'', composed by Salil Chowdhury, and written by Vayalar Ramavarma. In 1975, she again won the national award, this time for the song "Roothe Roothe Piya" from the film ''Kora Kagaz'', composed by Kalyanji-Anandji.

From 1970s onwards, Lata Mangeshkar has also staged many concerts in India and abroad, including several charity concerts. Her first concert overseas was at the Royal Albert Hall, London, in 1974. She also released an album of Mirabai's bhajans, ''Chala Vaahi Des'', composed by her brother Hridayanath Mangeshkar. Some of the bhajans in the album include "Saanware Rang Raachi" and "Ud Jaa Re Kaaga". In the early 70s, she released other non-film albums, such as her collection of Ghalib ghazals, an album of Marathi folk songs (koli-geete), an album of Ganesh aartis (all composed by her brother Hridaynath) and an album of ''abhangs'' of Sant Tukaram composed by Shrinivas Khale.

In late 1970s and early 1980s, she worked with the children of composers she had earlier worked with. Some of these composers included Rahul Dev Burman (son of Sachin Dev Burman), Rajesh Roshan (son of Roshan), Anu Malik (son of Sardar Malik), and Anand-Milind (sons of Chitragupt).

1980s onwards

From 1980s onwards, Lata Mangeshkar worked with music directors including Shiv-Hari, Ram Laxman, and A. R. Rahman. She recorded some non-film songs, including ghazals with Jagjit Singh.

In 1990, Mangeshkar launched her own production house for Hindi movies which produced the Gulzar-directed movie ''Lekin...''. She won her third National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for her rendition of the song "Yaara Sili Sili" from the film, which was composed by her brother Hridayanath. During the 1990s, she recorded with music directors including Jatin-Lalit and Nadeem-Shravan. She has sung for Rajshri Productions, including ''Maine Pyar Kiya'' (1989) and ''Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!'' (1994).

Mangeshkar has sung for almost all the Yash Chopra films and films from his production house Yash Raj Films at that time, including ''Chandni'' (1989), ''Lamhe'' (1991), ''Darr'' (1993), ''Yeh Dillagi'' (1994), ''Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge'' (1995), ''Dil To Pagal Hai'' (1997) and later on ''Mohabbatein'' (2000), ''Mujhse Dosti Karoge'' (2002) and ''Veer Zaara'' (2004).

A. R. Rahman recorded a few songs with Mangeshkar during this period, including "Jiya Jale" (''Dil Se..''), "Khamoshiyan Gungunane Lagin" (''One Two Ka Four''), "Ek Tu Hi Bharosa" (''Pukar''), "Pyaara Sa Gaon" (''Zubeidaa''), "Lukka chuppi" (''Rang de Basanti'') and "O Paalanhaare" (''Lagaan''). She made an appearance in the film ''Pukar'' singing this song.

In 1999, Lata Eau de Parfum, a perfume brand named after her, was launched.

In 1999, Mangeshkar was nominated as a member of Rajya Sabha. However, she did not attend the Rajya Sabha sessions regularly, inviting criticism from several members of the House, including the Deputy Chairperson Najma Heptullah, Pranab Mukherjee and Shabana Azmi. She stated the reason for her absence as ill-health; it was also reported that she had not taken a salary, allowance or a house in Delhi for being a Member of Parliament.

In 2001, Lata Mangeshkar was awarded Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor. In the same year, she established the Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Pune, managed by the Lata Mangeshkar Medical Foundation (founded by the Mangeshkar family in October 1989). In 2005, she designed a jewellery collection called Swaranjali, which was crafted by Adora, an Indian diamond export company. Five pieces from the collection raised £105,000 at a Christie's auction, and a part of the money was donated for the 2005 Pakistan earthquake relief. Also in 2001, she recorded her first Hindi song with the composer Ilaiyaraaja, for the film ''Lajja''; she had earlier recorded Tamil and Telugu songs composed by Ilaiyaraaja.

Lata Mangeshkar's song "Wada Na Tod" is in the film ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'' (2004) and on the film's soundtrack.

On June 21, 2007, she released an album ''Saadgi'', featuring eight ghazal-like songs written by Javed Akhtar and composed by Mayuresh Pai.

Lata Mangeshkar records songs for Madhur Bhandarkar ''Kitne Ajeeb Rishte Hain Yahan Par'' for ''Page 3'' (2005), ''Daata Sun Le'' for ''Jail'' (2009) and, ''Kyun Yahan Hota Hai'' was recorded years ago for ''Corporate'' (2006), but is only being used in ''Heroine'' (2012).

Non-singing career

Music direction

Lata Mangeshkar composed music for the first time in 1955 for Marathi movie ''Ram Ram Pavhane''. Later in 1960s, she composed music for following Marathi movies under the pseudonym of ''Anand Ghan''.

1960 - ''Ram Ram Pavhana''

1963 - ''Maratha Tituka Melvava''

1963 - ''Mohityanchi Manjula''

1965 - ''Sadhi Manase''

1969 - ''Tambadi Mati''

She won Maharashtra State Government's Best Music Director Award for the film ''Sadhi Manase''. The song "Airanichya Deva Tula" from the same film received best song award.

Production

Lata Mangeshkar has produced four films:

1953 - ''Vaadal'' (Marathi)

1953 - ''Jhaanjhar'' (Hindi), co-produced with C. Ramchandra

1955 - ''Kanchan'' (Hindi)

1990 - ''Lekin...'' (Hindi)

Awards and recognitions

Lata Mangeshkar has won several awards and honors, including Bharat Ratna (India's Highest Civilian Award), Padma Bhushan (1969), Padma Vibhushan (1999), Dada Saheb Phalke Award (1989), Maharashtra Bhushan Award (1997), NTR National Award (1999), Bharat Ratna (2001), ANR National Award (2009), three National Film Awards, and 12 Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards. She has also won four Filmfare Best Female Playback Awards. In 1969, she made the unusual gesture of giving up the Filmfare Best Female Playback Award, in order to promote fresh talent. She was later awarded Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993.

In 1984, the State Government of Madhya Pradesh instituted the ''Lata Mangeshkar Award'' in honour of Lata Mangeshkar. The State Government of Maharashtra also instituted a Lata Mangeshkar Award in 1992.

In 1974, The Guinness Book of Records listed Lata Mangeshkar as the most recorded artist in the history, stating that she had reportedly recorded "not less than 25,000 solo, duet and chorus backed songs in 20 Indian languages" between 1948 and 1974. Her record was contested by Mohammed Rafi, who was claimed to have sung around 28,000 songs. After Rafi's death, in its 1984 edition, the Guinness Book of World Records stated Lata Mangeshkar's name for the "Most Recordings", but also stated Rafi's claim. The later editions of Guinness Book stated that Lata Mangeshkar had sung no fewer than 30,000 songs between 1948 and 1987.

Although the entry has not been printed in Guinness editions since 1991, several sources claim that she has recorded thousands of songs, with estimates ranging up to figures as large as 50,000. However, even the earliest Guinness claim of 25,000 songs (between 1948–1974) was claimed to be exaggerated by several other sources, with one of them stating that the number of songs sung by Lata Mangeshkar in Hindi films till 1991 was found to be 5250. Mangeshkar herself stated that she does not keep a record of the number of songs recorded by her, and that she did not know from where Guinness Book editors got their information. In 2011 Asha Bhosle was officially acknowledged by ''Guinness'' as the most recorded artist in music history, surpassing Mangeshkar.

See also

Playback singer

Asha Bhosle

List of Indian playback singers

Bollywood songs

References

Further reading

. A collection of articles written by Lata Mangeshkar since 1952. . . A collection of articles written by Lata Mangeshkar since 1952.

External links

Category:1929 births Category:Indian female singers Category:Indian film singers Category:Recipients of the Bharat Ratna Category:Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan Category:Living people Category:Bollywood playback singers Category:Marathi people Category:Kollywood playback singers Category:People from Indore Category:Marathi playback singers Category:Telugu playback singers Category:Kannada playback singers Category:Hindi-language singers Category:Marathi-language singers Category:Bengali-language singers Category:Gujarati-language singers Category:Tamil-language singers Category:English-language singers Category:Dadasaheb Phalke Award recipients Category:Recipients of the Maharashtra Bhushan Award Category:Malayalam playback singers Category:Bhojpuri cinema

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name	Asha Bhosle
background	solo_singer
birth name	Asha Mangeshkar
birth date	September 08, 1933
Birth place	Sangli, Bombay Presidency, British India
genre	Pop, folk, Indian classical music
occupation	Singer, playback singer
years active	1943–present }}

Asha Bhosle (born September 8, 1933) is one of the most well-known Indian singers. She is best known as a Hindi playback singers, although she has a wider repertoire. Bhosle's career started in 1943 and has spanned over six decades. She has done playback singing for over a thousand Bollywood movies. In addition, she has recorded several private albums and participated in numerous solo concerts in India and abroad. Bhosle is the sister of playback singer Lata Mangeshkar.

Renowned for her voice range and often credited for her versatility, Bhosle's work includes film music, pop, ghazals, bhajans, traditional Indian classical music, folk songs, qawwalis, and Rabindra Sangeets. Apart from Hindi, she has sung in over 20 Indian and foreign languages. In 2006, Asha Bhosle stated that she had sung over 12,000 songs, a figure repeated by several other sources. The World Records Academy, an international organization which certifies world records, recognised her as the "Most Recorded Artist" in the world, in September 2009. In 2011 she was officially acknowledged by the ''Guinness Book of World Records'' as the most recorded artist in music history. The Government of India honoured her with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2000 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2008.

Biography

Asha Bhosle was born in the small hamlet of Goar in Sangli, Bombay Presidency (now in Maharashtra), into the musical family of Master Deenanath Mangeshkar, who belongs to Gomantak Maratha Samaj. Her father was a theater actor and classical singer. When she was nine years old, her father died. The family moved from Pune to Kolhapur and then to Mumbai. She and her elder sister Lata Mangeshkar began singing and acting in films to support their family. She sang her first film song '"Chala Chala Nav Bala" for the Marathi film ''Majha Bal'' (1943). The music for the film was composed by Datta Davjekar. She made her Hindi film debut when she sang the song "Saawan Aaya" for Hansraj Behl's ''Chunariya'' (1948). Her first solo Hindi film song was for the movie ''Raat Ki Raani'' (1949).

At the age of 16, she eloped with 31-year-old Ganpatrao Bhosle, marrying him against her family's wishes. Ganpatrao was Lata's personal secretary. The marriage failed miserably. Her husband and in-laws mistreated her. After a few years of marriage, Asha was turned out (around 1960) by a suspicious Ganpatrao and she went to her maternal home with two children and pregnant with her third child. She continued to sing in films to earn money.

At that time, prominent playback singers like Geeta Dutt, Shamshad Begum and Lata Mangeshkar monopolized the singing for the female lead and the big films, whilst Asha used to get the assignments they refused: singing for the bad girls and vamps, or songs in the second-grade movies. In the 1950s, she sang more songs than most playback singers in Bollywood (not counting Lata). Most of these were in low budget B or C-grade films. Her earliest songs were composed by A R Qureshi, Sajjad Hussain and Ghulam Mohammed, most of which failed to do well. Singing in ''Sangdil'' (1952), composed by Sajjad Hussain, she got reasonable recognition. Consequently, film director Bimal Roy gave her a chance to sing in ''Parineeta'' (1953). Raj Kapoor signed her to sing "Nanhe Munne Bachche" with Mohammed Rafi in ''Boot Polish'' (1954), which gained popularity.

O. P. Nayyar gave Asha a break in ''C.I.D.'' (1956). She first achieved success in B. R. Chopra's ''Naya Daur'' (1957), composed by him. Her duets with Rafi like "Maang Ke Saath Tumhara", "Saathi Haath Badhana" and "Uden Jab Jab Zulfein Teri", penned by Sahir Ludhianvi, earned her recognition. It was the first time she sang all the songs for a film's leading actress. Chopra approached her for several of his later prosuctions, including ''Gumrah'' (1963), ''Waqt'' (1965), ''Hamraaz'' (1965), ''Aadmi Aur Insaan'' (1966) and ''Dhund'' (1973). Nayyar's future collaboration with Bhosle also resulted in success. Gradually, she established her status and received the patronage of such composers as Sachin Dev Burman and Ravi. Bhosle and Nayyar had a professional and personal parting of ways in the 1970s.

In 1966, Bhosle's performances in the duets from one of music director R.D. Burman's first soundtracks, for the movie ''Teesri Manzil'', won popular acclaim. Reportdly, when she first heard the dance number "Aaja Aaja", she felt she would not be able to sing this westernised tune. While Burman offered to change the music, she refused, taking it as a challenge. She completed the song after ten days of rehearsals, and "Aaja Aaja", along with such other songs as "O Haseena Zulfonwali" and "O Mere Sona Re" (all three duets with Rafi), became successful. Shammi Kapoor, the film's leading actor, was once quoted as saying– "If I did not have Mohammad Rafi to sing for me, I would have got Asha Bhosle to do the job". Bhosle's collaboration with Burman resulted in numerous hits and a marriage. During the 1960-70s, she was the voice of Bollywood's actress and dancer, Helen, on whom "O Haseena Zulfon Wali" was picturised. It is said that Helen would attend her recording sessions so that she could understand the song better and plan dance steps accordingly. Some of their other popular numbers include "Piya Tu Ab To Aaja" (''Caravan'') and "Yeh Mera Dil" (''Don''), among others.

By the 1980s, Bhosle, although highly regarded for her abilities and versatility, had sometimes been stereotyped as a "cabaret singer" and a "pop crooner". In 1981 she attempted a different genre by singing several ghazals for the Rekha-starrer ''Umrao Jaan'', including "Dil Cheez Kya Hai", "In Aankhon Ki Masti Ke", "Yeh Kya Jagah Hai Doston" and "Justaju Jiski Thi". The film's music director Khayyam, had lowered her pitch by half a note. Bhosle herself expressed surprise that she could sing so differently. The ghazals won her the first National Film Award of her career. A few years later, she won another National Award for the song "Mera Kuchh Saamaan" from ''Ijaazat'' (1987).

In 1995, 62-year-old Bhosle sang for actress Urmila Matondkar in the movie ''Rangeela''. The soundtrack featured songs like "Tanha Tanha" and "Rangeela Re" sung by her, and composed by music director A. R. Rahman, who would go on to record several songs with her. During the 2000s, several of Bhosle's numbers became chartbusters, including "Radha Kaise Na Jale" from ''Lagaan'' (2001), "Kambakht Ishq" from ''Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya'' (2001), "Yeh Lamha" from ''Filhaal'' (2002), "Lucky Lips" from ''Lucky'' (2005). In October 2004, ''The Very Best of Asha Bhosle, The Queen of Bollywood'', a compilation album of songs recorded by Bhosle for albums and Bollywood films that were released between 1966 and 2003, was released.

Partnership with music directors

;O.P. Nayyar

Music director O. P. Nayyar's association with Asha is part of Bollywood lore. He was the composer who first gave Asha her own identity. Many people have speculated about a romantic relationship between the two.

Nayyar first met Asha in 1952, at the music recording of ''Chham Chhama Chham''. He first called her for a film called ''Mangu'' (1954), and gave her a big break in ''CID'' (1956). However, it was the success of ''Naya Daur'' (1957), that made the duo very popular. After 1959, she was emotionally and professionally involved with Nayyar.

The team of O.P. Nayyar and Asha Bhosle is best remembered for their breezy and sometimes sirenish songs. Some good examples of their sensuous numbers are "Aaiye Meherbaan" picturised on Madhubala (''Howrah Bridge'', 1958) and "Yeh Hai Reshmi Zulfon Ka Andhera" picturised on Mumtaz (''Mere Sanam'', 1965). "Aao Huzoor Tumko" (''Kismat'') and "Jaaiye Aap Kahan" (''Mere Sanam'') were also popular. They also recorded songs for many hit movies like ''Tumsa Nahin Dekha'' (1957), ''Ek Musafir Ek Hasina'' (1962), ''Kashmir Ki Kali'' (1964). O.P. Nayyar used the Asha Bhosle-Mohammad Rafi duo for his most popular duets such as "Ude Jab Jab Zulfein Teri" (''Naya Daur''), "Main Pyaar Ka Rahi Hoon" (''Ek Musafir Ek Haseena''), "Deewana Hua Baadal" and '"Ishaaron Ishaaron Mein" (''Kashmir Ki Kali'').

Asha recorded her last song for O.P. Nayyar in the movie ''Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye'' (1974). The solo number "Chain Se" got many awards, but it was not included in the movie.

They split on August 5, 1972. It is not clear what made them part their ways. On being asked the reason for their parting, O P Nayyar once said, "I know astrology very well. I knew that one day I had to part with her. Something also happened, that upset me, so I left her." Nevertheless, he also said "...now that I am seventy-six, I can say that the most important person in my life was Asha Bhosle. She was the best person I ever met."

The parting of Asha Bhosle and O.P. Nayyar was bitter, and probably therefore she has hesitated to give Nayyar his due. While talking about O.P. Nayyar in an interview with The Times of India, she once remarked - "Whichever composer gave me work, it was because my voice was suited to his music at that point. No ''one'' musician did me any favor by asking me to sing for him." She gives the credit for her first big break to B. R. Chopra, the producer of ''Naya Daur''.

;Khayyam Another music director who recognized Asha's talent early was Khayyam. Their partnership dates back to his first movie ''Biwi'' (1948). Khayyam gave her some good assignments in the 1950s, including ''Dard'' and ''Phir Subah Hogi''. But the team is chiefly remembered for the songs of ''Umrao Jaan''.

;Ravi Music composer Ravi considered Asha one of his favorite singers. She sang for his first movie ''Vachan'' (1955). The melodious lullaby from the movie, "Chandamama Door Ke! became an overnight hit among young mothers in India. Ravi got her to sing bhajans for the movies ''Gharana'', ''Grihasti'', ''Kajal'' and ''Phool Aur Patthar'', at a time when most of the composers remembered her only when they needed to record B-grade songs picturized on the vamps or the side-heroines. Ravi and Asha recorded a variety of songs, including the popular funny duet with Kishore Kumar - "C A T...Cat. Cat Maane Billi" (''Dilli Ka Thug''). The bhajan "Tora Maan Darpan" (''Kajal'') is considered one of Asha's best songs.

They also recorded songs for many popular movies like ''Waqt'', ''Chaudhvin Ka Chand'', ''Gumrah'', ''Bahu Beti'', ''China Town'', ''Aadmi Aur Insaan'', ''Dhund'' and ''Humraaz''. For ''Chaudhvin Ka Chand'', Ravi wanted Geeta Dutt (the wife of actor and producer Guru Dutt) to sing the songs. But when she backed out, Guru Dutt insisted that Asha sing the songs.

;Sachin Dev Burman One of Bollywood's most famous composers, Sachin Dev Burman and his favorite singer, Lata Mangeshkar, were not on good terms from 1957 to 1962. During this period, S D Burman used Asha as his lead female voice. She and Burman gave many hit songs in movies such as ''Kaala Pani'', ''Kaala Bazaar'', ''Insaan Jaag Utha'', ''Lajwanti'', ''Sujata'' and ''Teen Deviyaan'' (1965). They recorded many songs together after 1962 as well. Most famous of these songs were Asha's duets with Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar. The song "Ab Ke Baras" in Bimal Roy's ''Bandini'' (1963) consolidated her position as a lead singer. The seductive song "Raat Akeli Hai" from ''Jewel Thief'' (1967), picturised on Tanuja, became very popular.

;Rahul Dev Burman (Pancham) Asha first met Rahul Dev Burman (a.k.a. "Pancham") when she was the mother of two and he was in 10th grade having dropped out to pursue music. Their partnership was first noticed in ''Teesri Manzil'' (1966). She went on to record a variety of songs with him - cabarets, rock, disco, ghazals and classical.

In the 1970s, Asha and Pancham's youthful Western songs took Bollywood music by storm - the raunchy cabaret "Piya Tu Ab To Aaja" (''Caravan'', picturized on Helen), the rebellious "Dum Maro Dum" (''Hare Rama Hare Krishna'', 1971), the sexy "Duniya Mein" (''Apna Desh'', 1972) and the romantic "Chura Liyaa Hai Tumne" (''Yaadon Ki Baaraat'', 1973). Pancham also recorded many hit duets with Asha and Kishore Kumar such as "Jaane Jaan" (''Jawani Diwani'') and "Bhali Bhali Si Ek Soorat" (''Buddha Mil Gaya'').

In 1980s, Pancham and Asha recorded subtle numbers for films like ''Ijaazat'' (1987)- "Mera Kuch Saaman", "Khaali Haath Shaam Aayi Hai" and "Katra Katra". They also recorded the popular duet "O Maria!" (''Saagar'').

Asha used to call R D Burman "Bubs". She married him in 1980. Their partnership lasted until his death.

R D Burman made her sing some of the most legendary songs in Bengali language as well, namely "Mohuyae Jomechhe Aaj Mou Go", "Chokhe Chokhe Kotha Bolo", "Chokhhe Naame Brishti"(Bengali version of "Jaane Kya Baat Hai"), "Baanshi Sune Ki Ghore Thaka Jaye", "Sondhya Belae Tumi Aami" and "Aaj Gungun Gun Gunje Amar" (Bengali version of "Pyaar Deewana Hota Hai").

;Ilaiyaraaja Prolific south Indian film composer Ilaiyaraaja began employing Asha's vocals in the early 1980s, their earliest collaboration being for the film ''Moondram Pirai'' (1982) (remade in Hindi as ''Sadma'' in 1983). Their association continued, mostly through the latter half of the 1980s and early 1990s. Another notable song from this period is "Shenbagamae" (''Enga Ooru Paattukkaaran'', 1987, Tamil). In 2000, Asha sung the theme song for Kamal Haasan's political film ''Hey Ram''. The song, "Nee Partha Parvai" (''Janmon Ki Jwala'' in Hindi) (or Aparna's Theme), was a duet with singer Hariharan.

;A. R. Rahman A. R. Rahman is credited with Asha's 'comeback' with ''Rangeela'' (1994). Songs like "Tanha Tanha" and "Rangeela Re" were chartbusters. She and Rahman went on to record more hits like "Mujhe Rang De" (''Thakshak''), "Radha Kaise Na Jale" (''Lagaan'', duet with Udit Narayan), "Kahin Aag Lage" (''Taal''), "O Bhanware" (''Daud'', duet with K. J. Yesudas), "Venilla Venilla" (''Iruvar'',1999) and "Dhuan Dhuan" (''Meenaxi'',2004).

;Jaidev When S D Burman's assistant Jaidev started giving music independently, he got Asha to sing some of his songs as well. They worked in ''Hum Dono'' (1961), ''Mujhe Jeene Do'' (1963), ''Do Boond Pani'' (1971) and other movies. In 1971, the pair released an LP of eight non-film devotional songs and ghazals called ''An Unforgettable Treat''. Asha considered Jaidev a close friend who stood by her when she was struggling personally and professionally. Upon his death in 1987, she released a compilation album of lesser-known songs he had composed for her, called ''Suranjali''.

;Shankar-Jaikishan Shankar-Jaikishan worked relatively little with Asha. However, the trio produced quite a few hits including the seductive "Parde Mein Rehne Do" (''Shikar'', 1968). Asha got her second Filmfare Award for the song. She also sang "Zindagi Ek Safar Hai Suhaana" (''Andaz'') for Shankar-Jaikishan, in which she tried to yodel like Kishore Kumar, whose version of the song is more better known. When Raj Kapoor was not on speaking terms with Lata Mangeshkar, Asha got to sing the songs of ''Mera Naam Joker'' (1970), composed by Shankar-Jaikishan.

;Anu Malik Composer Anu Malik and Asha have recorded many hit songs together, including songs for his first movie ''Sohni Mahiwal'' (1984). Their most popular songs include "Ye Lamhaa Filhaal" (''Filhaal'') and "Kitabein Bahut Si" (''Baazigar'') among others. The four lines sung by Asha in Malik's "Jab Dil Mile" (''Yaadein'') stood out among voices of Sukhwinder Singh, Udit Narayan and Sunidhi Chauhan. Asha had also sung for Anu's father Sardar Malik in the 1950s and 1960s, most notably in ''Saranga'' (1960).

;Other Composers Madan Mohan recorded a number of songs with Asha, including the popular folk number "Jhumka Gira Re" from ''Mera Saaya'' (1966). In ''Chhoti Si Baat'' (1975), Asha sang the "Jaaneman Jaaneman" number with K. J. Yesudas for Salil Chowdhury. Salil's 1956 movie ''Jagte Raho'' also had a number recorded by Asha, "Thandi Thandi Saawan Ki Phuhaar". Another Asha patron is the young composer Sandeep Chowta, who got her to sing "Kambakht Ishq", a duet with Sonu Nigam for the movie ''Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya''(2001). The song gained major popularity among the Indian youth.

Asha has worked with Lata-patrons like Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Naushad, Ravindra Jain, N Dutta and Hemant Kumar. When Naushad was asked to sum up the essential difference between Lata and Asha, he said that Asha "lacks certain something which Lata, and Lata alone has". Later he accepted in an interview, "May be I said it because I then had a closed ear on Asha". Naushad, later in his life, also admitted that he has been unfair to Asha. Asha has also worked with other noted Bollywood composers like Jatin-Lalit, Bappi Lahiri, Kalyanji-Anandji, Usha Khanna, Chitragupt, and Roshan.

Non-Bollywood music

Private albums

In a rare feat, noted lyricist Gulzar, music director R.D. Burman and Asha Bhosle, came together in 1987, to create a double album, titled, ''Dil Padosi Hai'', which was released on September 8, 1987. In 1995, Asha underwent the ''gatha bandan'' (thread-tying) ceremony with Hindustani classical music maestro Ali Akbar Khan to learn a classical repertoire held within the Maihar ''gharana'' (stylistic school of Indian classical music), as handed down to Khan by his father Allauddin Khan (the guru of Ravi Shankar). Later, Asha and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan recorded eleven fixed compositions (or ''bandish''es) in California for ''Legacy'', a private album that earned them a Grammy Award nomination.

In 1990s, Asha experimented with remixed R.D. Burman songs. She was criticized by many, including Khayyam for tampering with old melodies. Nevertheless, albums like ''Rahul And I'' became quite popular. In 1997, Asha did a private Indipop album ''Janam Samjha Karo'' with Leslie Lewis. The album was hugely popular and won her many awards including the 1997 MTV Award.

Asha had been once asked by director B R Ishaara to compose music for one of his films, but she had politely declined. In 2002, she turned music composer with the album ''Aap Ki Asha'', an eight-song music and video album. The lyrics were written by Majrooh Sultanpuri (his last lyrics). The album was released by Sachin Tendulkar on May 21, 2001 at a lavish party in Mumbai. The album received mixed reviews.

Asha had spotted Pakistani singer Adnan Sami's talent when he was about 10 years old. At that time, she was performing in London, with R D Burman. It was she who had asked him to pursue his interests in music seriously. When Adnan grew up and became a professional musician, Asha sang the title duet with him for his best-selling album ''Kabhi to nazar milao''. The two came together again in the album ''Barse Badal''. The album comprises eight songs, based on Indian Classical music. She contributed the song ''Yun Na Thi'' to the recording ''Womad Talking Book Volume Four: An Introduction to Asia 1'' on Womad Records.

Asha has sung ghazals for many albums like ''Meraj-E-Ghazal'', ''Aabshar-E-Ghazal'' and ''Kashish''. In 2005, Asha released a self-titled album as a tribute to the four ghazal maestros - Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali, Farida Khanum and Jagjit Singh. The album features eight of her favorite ghazals like Farida Khanum’s ''Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo'', Ghulam Ali’s ''Chupke Chupke'', ''Aawargi'' and ''Dil Mein Ek Lahar'', Jagjit Singh’s ''Ahista Ahista'' and Mehdi Hassan’s ''Ranjish Hi Sahi'', ''Rafta Rafta'' and ''Mujhe Tum Nazar Se''. These classic ghazals were recreated with modern sounds by musician Pandit Somesh Mathur. The album was aimed at the younger generation, who, according to Asha, are "turned off" by the traditional sounds of tabla and sarangi.

Numerous compilations of Asha's songs have been released as well. To commemorate her 60th birthday, EMI India released three cassettes: ''Bala Main Bairagan Hoongi'' (devotional songs), ''The Golden Collection: Memorable Ghazals'' (non-film ghazals by composers such as Ghulam Ali, R.D. Burman and Nazar Hussain), and ''The Golden Collection: The Ever Versatile Asha Bhosle'' (44 popular film songs).

In 1996, Asha Bhosle sang Channeache Rati among several other songs in Rajendra Talak's Konkani album ''Daryachya Deger'' with Suresh Wadkar.

In 2006, she recorded an album ''Asha and Friends'', singing duets, with film actors Sanjay Dutt and Urmila Matondkar and famous cricket player Brett Lee, with whom she sang, You're the One for Me (''Haan Main Tumhara Hoon''). All these songs composed by Shamir Tandon were shot on video by journalist turned director S Ramachandran.

Concerts and collaborations with foreign artists

In 1980s and 1990s, Asha went globe-trotting, staging concerts in Canada, Dubai, UK, U.S. and many other countries. In 1989, during a world tour, she performed in 13 US cities in 20 days. Immediately after this, she had an already sold-out concert scheduled in Stockholm, Sweden. Due to the stressful schedule, Asha suffered a massive attack of colitis, together with fever, cough and weakness. In Stockholm, a pre-concert crisis meeting was called, attended by Asha's son (and manager) Anand and the sponsors. It was decided that the orchestra will play many instrumental tracks, the accompanying singers like Suresh Wadkar will shoulder the load, and Asha will make a small appearance. But Asha rejected all such proposals, and sang at the concert with great difficulty, in a not-so-good voice. Her first set of six Bollywood songs did not receive any response from the audience, which consisted mostly of Indian and Pakistani expats. Before the start of the second set of songs, a fan in the crowd requested her to sing a Marathi song. Asha obliged and sang ''Naach-naachuni ati mi damale'' ("I'm very tired of this endless dancing"). When the song ended, the auditorium erupted with claps and the encores started. After the concert, Asha was in bed for a month, recuperating from overexertion. In October 2002, she did a concert with Sudesh Bhosle and others, in London, for "Help the Aged" to help raise funds for the elderly in India. In 2007 she toured the US, Canada, and West Indies in a tour called "The Incredibles". In this tour, she was accompanied by singers Sonu Nigam, Kunal Ganjawala and Kailash Kher. This tour, originally scheduled for only 12 concerts, went on to hold more than 20.

In the mid-1980s, Asha sang with Boy George (''Bow down mister'') and Stephen Lauscombe. In 1997, she sang a love song with the boy band Code Red, at the age of 64. She also recorded the song ''The Way you Dream'' (One Giant Leap, ) with Michael Stipe that was used in the English movie, ''Bulletproof Monk''. The song was also released on the album 1 Giant Leap for 2002.

In 1997, the British band Cornershop paid tribute to Asha with their song ''Brimful of Asha'', an international hit which was later remixed by Fatboy Slim. In 2001, the CD single of Nelly Furtado's "I'm Like A Bird" included a "Nellie vs. Asha Remix" created by Digital Cutup Lounge.

In 2003, British opera pop singer Sarah Brightman sampled her song "Dil Cheez Kya Hai" on her album ''Harem''. It was used as the intro for her song "You Take My Breath Away".

In 2005, American string quartet Kronos Quartet re-recorded R D Burman compositions like ''Chura Liya'', ''Piya Tu'', ''Mera Kuchh Saaman'' among others and got Asha to sing them. Despite her age, she recorded three to four songs in a day, leaving the quartet members stupefied. On August 23, 2005, ''You've stolen my heart - Songs From R D Burman's Bollywood'' was released in US. The album was nominated for Grammy Awards 2006 in the category of "Best Contemporary World Music Album". In the 1990s, a friend had introduced David Harrington of Kronos Quartet to the song ''Aaj ki raat''. Harrington was mesmerised, and the song ended up on the album ''Kronos Caravan''.

Also in 2005, The Black Eyed Peas sampled her songs "Ae Naujawan Sab Kuchh Yahan" (''Apradh'', 1972) and "Yeh Mera Dil Pyaar Ka Diwana" (''Don'', 1978) in their hit single "Don't Phunk with My Heart". In late 2006, Asha collaborated with Australian test cricket star, Brett Lee. The single, You're the One for Me, debuted at number 4 on the charts and reached a peak position of number 2.

In 2006 Asha recorded one song for the soundtrack of Pakistani movie ''Mein Ek Din Laut Kay Aaaonga''. She sang the song, titled ''Dil Key Taar Bajey'', with famous Pakistani pop singer Jawad Ahmed. It was aired as part of the film's promotional campaign and became very popular, featuring on top music charts.

Personal life

Asha's house is situated in Prabhukunj Apt on Peddar Road area of South Mumbai. She has three children and five grandchildren. The eldest of her three children, Hemant Bhosle (named after Hemant Kumar), spent most of his early years as a pilot and quit to have a brief career as a music director. Asha's daughter Varsha worked as a columnist for ''The Sunday Observer'' and ''Rediff''. Asha's youngest child, Anand Bhosle, has studied business and film direction. He manages Asha's career. Her grandson, Chaitanya (Chintu) Bhosle (Hemant's son) is a part of the world of music. He is a member of India's first & only boy band, "A Band of Boys". Her sisters Lata and Usha Mangeshkar are playback singers. Her other, sister Meena Mangeshkar and brother Hridayanath Mangeshkar are music directors.

Asha is an excellent cook and cooking is her favorite hobby. She often gets flooded with requests by Bollywood celebrities for ''kadai ghosht'' and ''biryani'' dishes and has rarely turned down a request. In fact, her ''paya curry'', ''Goan fish curry'' and ''dal'' are very popular with the Kapoor family of Bollywood. Once, when asked in a ''Times of India'' interview, what if her singing career had not taken off, she said "I would have become a cook. I'd have cooked in four houses and made money."

Asha is a successful restaurateur and runs restaurants in Dubai and Kuwait, called Asha's. Asha's offers traditional north-western Indian cuisine. It has a presence in the Wafi City development in Dubai, as well as three restaurants in Kuwait, at The Avenues Mall, the Marina Mall and a brand new third outlet at the Spoons Complex. Other restaurants can be found in Abu Dhabi's Khaldiya Mall, Doha's Villagio and Bahrain's City Center Mall, with future outposts planned for Dubai's Mall of the Emirates and Cairo, Egypt. Asha Bhosle has a 20% stake in the business. Asha is not involved in day-to-day running of the restaurant which is looked after by the Wafi Group. She takes care of the kitchen and the décor. She personally trained the chefs for almost six months. According to a December 2004 report in the Menu Magazine, Russell Scott, a former head of Harry Ramsden's (the fish and chips chain), secured the UK rights to the Asha's brand and planned to open up to 40 restaurants over the next five years. As part of her chain of restaurants, Asha has recently opened a new restaurant in Birmingham, UK.

Asha's fashion statement is white saree with sparkling embroidery, pearls around her neck and a touch of diamonds. Harrington said "The first time I met Ashaji she was dressed in the most beautiful sari with diamonds and looked very regal. Then I looked down and saw that she was wearing tennis shoes! I thought I love this woman."

Asha is a good mimicry artist as well. At a concert at World Trade Center in Dubai on April 22, 2004, she mimicked the song ''Kabhi To Nazar Milaao'' in the voices of Noor Jehan, Lata Mangeshkar and Ghulam Ali.

Nowadays, apart from singing and her restaurant, Asha is also working on her autobiography.

Rivalry with Lata Mangeshkar

Asha's sibling rivalry with Lata Mangeshkar is often talked about, in spite of their insistence that these are just tales. As young children, they were very close. As a child, Lata used to carry Asha all the time. They were so inseparable that when Lata went to school she would take Asha with her. One day the teacher protested and said that they cannot have two students on one fee. Lata refused to return to school without Asha and quit her studies.

Lata considered Asha's act of eloping with her lover as irresponsible, leaving her alone to sing and earn for the family. This led to tensions between them. Asha herself accepted in an interview — "It was a love marriage and Lata ''didi'' did not speak to me for a long time. She disapproved of the alliance." At one time, their relationship was very adversarial and there have been periods of non-communication.

In her initial days in the industry, Asha always played second fiddle to her elder sister. Some say that Lata had once criticised Asha's relationship with O. P. Nayyar. This widened the rift between the two sisters and O P Nayyar also decided that he would never work with Lata. O.P. Nayyar had once revealed "Asha and Lata, staying in opposite flats at Bombay's Peddar Road, had a common maidservant. Now this maidservant had merely to come and tell the younger sister that Lata had just recorded something wonderful for Asha to lose her vocal poise. Such was her Lata phobia that it took me some months to convince Asha that she had a voice individualistic enough to evolve a singing style all of her own." Asha once said that she has worked for years to create a voice and a style that was different from Lata, so that she could carve her own niche and not be banished to live in her sister's shadow.

Asha and Lata have also sung together. Their first duet was for the film ''Daman'' (1951). Some of their songs include ''Man Bhawan Ke Ghar aye'' (''Chori Chori'', 1956), ''Sakhi ri sun bole papihaa us paar'' (''Miss Mary'', 1957), ''O chaand jahaan woh jaaye'' (''Sharada'', 1957), ''Mere Mehboob Mein Kya Nahi'' (''Mere Mehboob'', 1963), ''Ai kash kisi deewane ko'' (''Aaye Din Bahar Ke'', 1966), ''Main Chali Main Chali'' (''Padosan'', 1968), ''Chhap tilak sab'' (''Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki'', 1978), and ''Man kyun behka'' (''Utsav'', 1984). While singing, Lata used to hold her notebook in her right hand, while Asha held hers in the left hand. This meant Lata had her face away from Asha, making it difficult for them to "anticipate" each other.

The movie ''Saaz'', was supposedly based on Lata and Asha's rivalry. Asha said about the movie — "To have two women in long plaits, take a couple of incidents and exaggerate them into a 3-hour film is such a waste of time." In the last few years, Asha and Lata have often been seen in public, enjoying each other's company. In an interview with ''The Times of India'', Asha once said - "I remember, sometimes both of us would be at a function and some industry types would ignore me and interact only with her, as if to prove their loyalty. Later, didi and I would have a good laugh!"

Awards

;Filmfare awards Asha Bhosle has won seven Filmfare Best Female Playback Awards of 18 nominations. She won her first two awards in 1967 and 1968. (Mangeshkar asked not to be considered for the award nominations after 1969 to promote new talent). After receiving the award in 1979, Bhosle emulated her elder sister and requested that her name not be considered for the nominations hereafter. Despite this, Bhosle is the most frequent winner of this award to date, tying with Alka Yagnik. She was later given a ''Special Award'' for ''Rangeela'' in 1996, and the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001. Following is the list of her Filmfare Awards:

Filmfare Best Female Playback Award:

1968: "Garibon ki Suno" (''Dus Lakh'', 1966)

1969: "Parde Mein Rehne Do" (''Shikar'', 1968)

1972: "Piya Tu Ab To Aaja" (''Caravan'', 1971)

1973: "Dum Maro Dum" (''Hare Rama Hare Krishna'', 1972)

1974: "Hone Lagi Hain Raat" (''Naina'', 1973)

1975: "Chain Se Humko Kabhi" (''Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye'', 1974)

1979: "Yeh Mera Dil" (''Don'', 1978)

Other Awards:

1996 - Special Award (''Rangeela'', 1995)

2001 - Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award

;National Film Awards Asha has won the National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer twice:

1981: ''Dil Cheez Kya Hai'' (''Umrao Jaan'')

1986: ''Mera Kuch Samaan'' (''Ijaazat'')

;Other awards Asha has won numerous other awards, including: 1987: Nightingale Of Asia Award (from the Indo–Pak Association, UK). 1989: Lata Mangeshkar Award (Government of Madhya Pradesh). 1997: Screen Videocon Award (for the album ''Jaanam Samajha Karo''). 1997: MTV Award (for the album ''Jaanam Samajha Karo''). 1997: Channel V Award (for the album ''Jaanam Samjha Karo''). 1998: Dayawati Modi Award.

1999: Lata Mangeshkar Award (Government of Maharashtra)

2000: Singer of the Millennium (Dubai).

2000: Zee Gold Bollywood Award (for ''Mujhe Rang De'' from ''Thakshak'').

2001: MTV Award (for ''Kambakht Ishq'').

2002: BBC Lifetime Achievement Award (presented by the UK Prime Minister Tony Blair).

2002: Zee Cine Award for Best Playback Singer - Female (for ''Radha Kaise Na Jale'' from ''Lagaan'').

2002: Zee Cine Special Award for Hall of Fame.

2002: Sansui Movie Award (for ''Radha Kaise Na Jale'' from ''Lagaan'').

2003: Swaralaya Yesudas Award for outstanding contributions to Indian music. 2004: ''Living Legend Award'' by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. 2005: MTV Immies, Best Female Pop Act for ''Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo''. 2005: Most Stylish People in Music.

;Honours and recognitions

In 1997, Asha became the first Indian singer to be nominated for the Grammy Award, for ''Legacy'', an album with Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.

She has received seventeen Maharashtra State Awards.

She received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2000 for her outstanding contribution to Indian cinema.

She holds honorary doctorates from the University of Amravati and University of Jalgaon in Literature.

She has received ''The Freddie Mercury Award'' for Outstanding Achievement in Arts.

The Birmingham Film Festival paid her a special tribute in November 2002.

She was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India. She was among top 20 music icons of the past 50 years. In 2011 the ''Guinness Book of World Records'' officially acknowledged Bhosle as the most recorded artist in the history of music. She was awarded a certificate for "the most studio recordings (singles) for recording up to 11,000 solo, duet and chorus-backed songs and in over 20 Indian languages since 1947".

Footnotes and references

Further reading

External links

Asha Bhosle: The Voice Of Bollywood And More - audio report by ''NPR''

Category:1933 births Category:Living people Category:Bengali-language singers Category:Bollywood playback singers Category:Dadasaheb Phalke Award recipients Category:English-language singers of India Category:Female guitarists Category:Gujarati-language singers Category:Hindi-language singers Category:Indian female singers Category:Indian film singers Category:Indian guitarists Category:Kollywood playback singers Category:Marathi-language singers Category:Marathi playback singers Category:Nepali-language singers Category:People from Maharashtra Category:Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan Category:Russian-language singers Category:Tamil-language singers Category:Konkani-language singers

as:আশা ভোঁচলে bn:আশা ভোঁসলে de:Asha Bhosle es:Asha Bhosle fr:Asha Bhosle gu:આશા ભોંસલે hi:आशा भोंसले id:Asha Bhosle it:Asha Bhosle kn:ಆಶಾ ಭೋಂಸ್ಲೆ ml:ആശാ ഭോസ്‌ലേ mr:आशा भोसले ne:आशा भोसले pnb:آشا بھوسلے ru:Бхосле, Аша sa:आशा भोंसले fi:Asha Bhosle sv:Asha Bhosle ta:ஆஷா போஸ்லே te:ఆశా భోస్లే

Abbas Uddin Ahmed () (27 October 1901-30 December 1959), popularly known by his first name, was a Bengali folk singer. He was born at Balarampur in Tufanganj subdivision in the district of Cooch Bihar. His father, Zafar Ali Ahmed, was a lawyer at the Tufanganj Sub-divisional Court.

Career in music

Abbasuddin's interest in music grew through attendance at cultural functions at school and college. He was self-taught, except for a brief period when he learnt music from Ustad Jamiruddin Khan in Kolkata and Ustad Kader Buksh in Murshidabad. He sang different types of songs such as folk songs, modern songs, patriotic songs, Islamic songs, and Urdu songs. But Abbasuddin became renowned mainly as a singer of folk songs.

Initially, he became famous for bhawaiya, Ksirol, Chatka in Rangpur, and Cooch Bihar. He became increasingly popular with his rendition of jaari, sari, bhatiyali, murshidi, Bichchhedi (songs of estrangement), Marsiya, Dehatattwa, and pala gan, especially when these were made into gramophone records. No other singer could surpass his emotional, full-throated rendition of folk songs. He also sang songs on Islamic themes composed by Kazi Nazrul Islam, Jasimuddin and Golam Mostafa.

In Kolkata, Abbasuddin made a number of gramophone records with His Master's Voice (HMV) as well as with Megaphone, Twin and Regal. By singing at various functions in villages, towns and cities as well as by recording his songs, Abbasuddin made music acceptable and popular in conservative Bengali Muslim society.

Some of Abbasuddin's famous song are " Kon birohir ayan jole badol jhare go" and his famous Eid Song " Romjaner oi rojar shesey elo khiushir eid"

Abbasuddin stayed in Kolkata from 1931 to 1947. Initially, he worked temporarily as a clerk in the DPI office and then in the Department of Irrigation in a permanent post. When A. K. Fazlul Huq was Chief Minister, Abbasuddin was given a Government job as a recording expert. In the 1940s, Abbasuddin's songs played a significant role in raising the Muslim public opinion in favour of the Pakistan movement. In 1947, after partition, he joined the Department of Information and Broadcasting as an additional song organiser. As a representative of Pakistan, he participated at the South East Asia Conference in Manila in 1955, at the International Folk Music Conference in Germany in 1956 and at the Bengali Cultural Conference in Rangoon in 1957.

Books and awards

Abbasuddin wrote an account of his life as a singer in ''Amar Shilpi Jibaner Katha'' (1960). For his invaluable contribution to music he was posthumously honoured with the ''Pride of Performance Award'' in 1960, Shilpakala Academy Award in 1979 (posthumously) and Swadhinata Dibas Puraskar in 1981 (posthumously). His eldest son, Justice Mustafa Kamal is a former Chief Justice of Bangladesh and former Chairman of the Law Commission. His daughter, Ferdausi Rahman, his youngest son, Mustafa Zaman Abbasi, and his granddaughters, Nashid Kamal and Samira Abbasi, are also renowned singers. His great grand daughter Armeen Musa is also an upcoming artist in Bengali music.

Reference: Brief know-how about Abbasuddin Ahmed

http://coochbehar.nic.in/Htmfiles/CoB_culture.html

Category:Bengali musicians Category:Bangladeshi musicians Category:Recipients of the Pride of Performance award Category:1901 births Category:1959 deaths

bn:আব্বাসউদ্দীন আহমদ es:Abbasuddin Ahmed pnb:عباس الدین احمد pt:Abbas Uddin sl:Abbas Uddin

name	Rachana Banerjee
birth date	October 02, 1978
birth place	Kolkata, West Bengal, India
occupation	Actress
Years active	1994-present }}

Rachana Banerjee () () is a Bengali actress in Calcutta-based Bengali Cinema at Tollywood.

She was born on October 2, 1978 in Calcutta, West Bengal, India. Apart from Bengali movies she has also done several Oriya movies, many along with Siddhanta Mahapatra. She has been getting accolades for her Oriya, Telugu and Hindi films in China.

Career

Rachana Banerjee has done about 35 film with Bengali actor Prosenjit. She also shared the screen opposite to Jishu Sengupta, Jeet, Ferdous, and Siddharta. She is also a popular choice for advertisers in Calcutta. Rachana acted in a couple of Hindi movies such as ''Amodini'' (1994) and ''Sooryavansham'' (1999) in which the main lead was played by Amitabh Bachchan in a dual role.

Rachana participated in the popular Bengali TV reality quiz show ''Dadagiri Unlimited'' hosted by Sourav Ganguly in 2010.

Personal life

Rachana married her co-actor, Siddhanta Mahapatra at Cuttack in 2004, but later they divorced and she left the Oriya Film Industry. She has since remarried Mr.Probal Basu Deputy Manager of Tata AIG and give a birth of a boy child in 2007 name Pronil Basu.

Filmography

''Jashoda'' ''Sindura Nuhe Khela Ghara'' ''Laxman Rekha'' ''Mo Kola To Jhulana'' ''Poovarasan'' ''Suhaga Sindura'' ''Ganga Jamuna'' ''Lakhe Siba Puji Paichi Pua'' ''Nari Bi Pindhipare Rakta Sindura'' ''Vaaimaiye Vellum'' ''Suna Palinki'' ''Sahara Jaluchi'' ''Baavagaru Bagunnaraa'' ''Santana'' ''Sulthan'' ''Nenu Premisthunnanu'' ''Maavidakulu'' ''Sooryavansham'' ''Pilla Nachindi'' ''Sagar Ganga ''Dharam Sahile Hela'' ''Laxmi Pratima'' ''Preethsu Thappenilla ''Raja'' ''Suna Harini'' ''Kandhei Akhire Luha'' ''Nari Nuhen Tu Narayani'' ''Singha Bahini'' ''Kalki Abatar'' ''Katha Deithili Maa Ku'' ''Sei Jhiati'' ''Sarapanch Babu'' ''Nayaka Nuhain Khala Nayaka'' ''Guru (2003 film) ''Agnee''Rajmohol'' ''Swamir Deoya Sindur'' ''Sathi Aamar'' '' Ganrakal'' ''Rakhi Bhijigala Aakhi Luha Re'' ''Agnishapoth'' ''Tulkalam'' ''Janmadata (2008 film) ''Takkar (2008 film) ''Biyer Lagna'' ''Mr Funtoosh'' ''Aami Tomader Meye'' ''Kurukshetra'' ''Lakshyabhed'' ''Chaowa Pawa (2009 film) ''Maha Sati Sabitri''

Year !! Title !! Language !! Notes
1994	''Bhai Hela Bhagari''	Oriya
1996	|	Oriya
	|	Oriya
	|	Oriya
	|	Oriya
	|	Tamil
	|	Oriya
1997	|	Oriya
	|	Oriya
	|	Oriya
	|	Tamil
1998	|	Oriya
	|	Oriya
	|	Telugu
	|	Oriya
	|	Telugu
	|	Telugu
	|	Telugu
1999	|	Hindi	(with Amitabh Bachchan)
	|	Telugu
2000	|	Oriya
	|	Oriya
	|	Oriya
	|	Kannada
	|	Oriya	(with Mithun Chakraborty)
	|	Oriya
	|	Oriya
2001	|	Oriya
	|	Oriya
2002	|	Oriya
	|	Oriya
	|	Oriya
2003	|	Oriya
	|	Oriya
	Guru''||	Bengali	(with Mithun Chakraborty)
2005	|	Oriya
	|	Bengali
	|	Bengali
	|	Bengali
	|	Bengali	Bengal Film Journalists' Association – Best Clean & Entertainment Film Award>BFJ – Best Clean & Entertainment Film Award
	|	Oriya
2006	|	Bengali
2007	|	Bengali	(with Mithun Chakraborty)
2008	Janmadata''||	Bengali
	Takkar''||	Bengali
	|	Bengali	( In Bangladesh named ''Mayer Moto Bhabi'')
	|	Bengali
2009	|	Bengali
	|	Oriya	(with Mithun Chakraborty)
	|	Bengali
	Chaowa Pawa''||	Bengali
2010	|	Bengali

References

External links

www.gomolo.in profile

Rachana Barajee, Oriya film actress

Category:Indian film actors Category:Living people Category:Bengali film actors Category:1978 births Category:Oriya film actors Category:People from Kolkata

or:ରଚନା ବାନାର୍ଜୀ