When Lata Mangeshkar passed away, A R Rahman was devastated. Her death also brought another thought into focus: one of India’s last living legends, Asha Bhosle, was ageing and, too often, the country waits until its icons are gone before celebrating them. Here was an artiste whose career stretched across eight decades, who had sung Indian classical, semi-classical and pop, who had helped define every era of modern Indian film music, and who, even in her ’90s, was singing.

That realisation led to Asha Forever, a collaboration between Rahman and Bhosle – a tribute to her life, work and legacy. The project brought together Rahman, students from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London, and Asha Bhosle, who listened to the young musicians over video calls.

“Everything happened beautifully,” Rahman recalls. But the song’s journey took an unexpected turn. It was delayed by logistical hurdles and pending approvals. Rahman assumed there would be time.

Rahman says, “We were hoping she would live another eight years and reach a hundred.” Asha Bhosle passed away before the song could be completed. “I was pretty shaken. I was constantly following her health. Last year she had a serious issue, but she survived. She became okay. She was walking. She was joking. I thought she had a few more years,” recalls Rahman.

Unable to immediately return to the project, he put it aside. Months later, on World Music Day on June 21, Rahman chose to release the first glimpse of Asha Forever.

For Rahman, the song is also an attempt to change the way India remembers its artists. Rahman shares, “Asha ji – we all know what a legend she is. But in India, we celebrate people only after they’re gone, not when they’re alive. In the West, you see great artistes being celebrated. Everybody comes together and shows appreciation. Here, we give someone a lifetime achievement award and move on. So I thought, why don’t we do something more? She was alive last year and still singing beautifully. I decided to make a song with her to celebrate her legacy and everything she had achieved in life.”

He adds, “We recorded the song last year. Even though she wasn’t keeping well, she came to the studio. We shot the video too. Everything was in place, but unfortunately it got delayed. We were hoping she would live another eight years and reach a hundred. Sadly, that didn’t happen.”

When asked what he thinks the legacy of someone as legendary as Asha Bhosle, Rahman says, “The proof of the pudding is when people come on stage and sing, or when they give interviews and talk. All of that is artistry, not just hearing somebody on a music streaming app. Then people know who’s the real deal, and who’s been produced, or made into an artiste. In this case, I’m a huge fan of both the sisters – Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle – and, in fact, all three, Hridaynath Mangeshkar, too. Through this song, we are not only celebrating Asha ji, but the entire family. We adore people like them – who are relentless, who form a very strong foundation. They’re embedded in the veins of India, in the motion. Both sisters have such strong personalities that they don’t overlap. They were not in competition with each other, and that’s fantastic.”

Can music help cope with grief? For Rahman, “Grief is part of the true self.” He explains, “If somebody has empathy, they have love. And if they have love, they have empathy. Music is all about that. Every chord, every melodic counterpoint – if it doesn’t affect you, if it doesn’t stir a feeling within you, it’s not music at all. I come from both the old school and the new school, so for me, all of that becomes notes — notes through which to express something.”

“And grief is not...” he pauses. “Grief has to be beautified in music. It has to be coloured in a way that people can experience that grief and still find beauty in it. You know, like ghazals are. It’s beautiful.”

----------------------------------------

There is often much discussion about an artiste’s legacy after they pass away. For Rahman, that legacy is far beyond the songs. “For me, it’s not just the songs. It’s the way they’ve handled life, the way they’ve navigated musical complexities, the way they’ve remained relentless in pursuing excellence.”

Discussing Asha Bhosle’s attention to detail and her commitment to excellence, Rahman says that even when she was unwell last year, she never compromised.

“Even then, she would say, ‘Use the right voice, okay? Use the right takes.’ She was very, very particular about it. She’d say, ‘I know you’ll do it, but I still have to tell you.’ She cared deeply about how she sounded. All of that is part of the legacy. The whole 360 degrees of who they are.”