we make a stopover at the florist. Presenting her with a bouquet would be the
right way of expressing our congrats. But we discovered that the florist had
hiked up his rates. When we protested, he said, “Come on yaar, almost everyone
comes here to buy a bouquet for Ashaji. I’m sure you too are on the same
mission. It’s windfall time for me, so let me make the most of the moment.”
Fair enough, we thought. And proceeded, laded with nature’s beauty to meet a
singer the nation just presented with the highest art award.
Accepting
the bouquet gracefully, Ashaji settled down discussing with us the whys, hows,
and whens of receiving the highest award of the land.
So,
over to Asha Bhonsle...
“I
have been awarded the Dadasaheb Award but the whole nation seems to be
celebrating my joy. It is as if, instead of me, they have received the award. I
guess they are doing so because deep within, they all know that this has been
long overdue. After all, everyone is well aware that I have received almost all
the awards organised by magazines or TV channels, and also the ones that are
conferred by the Maharashtra government too. They must be rejoicing that at last
the Central government too has recognised my potential and has ultimately found
me worthy of this award.
“It
is quite a natural thought because I’ve been serving the industry consistently
for the last 54 years. On special requests from the likes of Pandit Nehru and
Indira Gandhi I must have done lots of national programmes. Still why was I not
awarded this prestigious award for so long. These kind of thoughts clouded my
brain too. I wondered if there was any lobby in the past, which tried to put a
spoke into the award’s ..... | 
