Yesteryear composer duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal and late music legend Lata Mangeshkar are forever bound by the 700-odd songs they’ve worked on together. Today, on the singer’s first death anniversary, Pyarelal Sharma, one half of the duo, misses her “immensely”.

“Lata ji was a part of every important moment of my life. She was like a mother to me. I feel she is still around,” he says, adding, “Woh humare liye Saraswati maa hain. Hum Laxmikant-Pyarelal jo bhi bane, Lata ji ki wajah se bane. We were quite young when we were introduced to her. Laxmikant (Shantaram Kudalkar) ji ko unhone Shankar-Jaikishan (late composer duo) se milwaya aur kaam dilwaya. When she saw I was good at playing the violin, unhone humara ek music group bana diya. She always supported us. She was jovial and fun-loving. We went on to create history by recording 712 songs together.”

Recalling Mangeshkar’s reaction when they reached out to her for their debut project, Parasmani (1963), Sharma says, “When we requested her to sing our first song, she said, ‘Tum itne chhote ho, music director ban gaye?’ She happily recorded the songs and we gave her a cheque of Rs. 101. She’d sing our compositions in her own style, be it Bindiya Chamkegi (Do Raaste; 1969) or Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978) title track. Woh jo bhi gaati thi, uss gaane ko amar kar deti thi.”

Sharma, 82, goes on to recall another fond memory of the Bharat Ratna awardee: “Jab hum Ek Duuje Ke Liye (1981) ki recording kar rahe the, Lata ji ne mujhse kaha, ‘Pyare, tu itna achha music arrange aur compose karta hai, tu western symphony kyun nahin likhta?’ I was touched by her thoughtfulness. When I finally released a symphony, Om Shivam, she was so happy. Unhone ek Shiv ji ki murti di, jo mere ghar mein sthapit hai.”