For singer Roop Kumar Rathod, Lata Mangeshkar’s demise was a personal loss. But he wishes to look back at their time together and cherish the fond memories.

Recalling his last conversation with Mangeshkar on December 28 last year, he shares how she had taken to cooking and even offered to prepare mutton for him. He says, “Phone pe baat hui thi. I asked, ‘Tabiyat kaisi hai?’ She said, ‘Tabiyat ka kya hai, baithi rehti hoon, chal nahin sakti hoon’. She used to be apprehensive of walking and revealed, ‘Aapko khushi hogi jaanke maine cooking shuru ki hai. Main aapke liye mutton banaun?’ I told her, ‘Unfortunately, I have turned vegetarian. But the day I start having it, please send me the mutton you prepare’. She said, ‘I will send green mutton for sure, but it has a lot of ghee, hope you’re okay with that’!” says the 48-year-old, who is known for songs such as Tere Liye (Veer-Zaara; 2004) with the legend.

Taking a trip down memory lane, Rathod talks about the first-ever song he did playback for, which was with the late singer, for Aastha (1997), that never saw the light of the day. The two came together again for a song in Lal Salaam (2002).

Sharing one of the most valuable lessons he learned from Mangeshkar, who he fondly calls ‘didi’, he says, “I did my dubbing. Then, didi came and the moment she started singing, I realised how bad I had sung. I asked [the director] if I could sing my portions again... I started singing like a classical singer. Thodi der baad didi aayi aur kehne lagi, ‘Jis character ke liye tum gaa rahe ho, woh classical singer nahin hai, woh film mein doctor hai!’” and adds, “In one statement, she taught me what playback singing is about, you have to get into the character.”