Legendary singer, Asha Bhosle shared her worries regarding the increasing divorces while speaking with spirtutal leader, Ravi Shankar. She also talked about women's right to choose motherhood or not.
Celebrated playback singer, Asha Bhosle’s melodies are a defining part of the entertainment industry to this day. The soulful crooner, who is remembered for her iconic romantic numbers like Chura Liya Hai Tumne Jo Dil Ko, recently spoke about her views on love in the new generation. Asha voiced her concerns regarding the increasing divorce rates amongst youngsters while seeking answers from the spiritual leader, Ravi Shankar.
Asha openly expressed her worries to Ravi Shankar, hoping he could help her understand why the love among young couples disappear so soon. While doing so, she also reminisced over her own struggles in her marriage and how she dealt with them. Claiming that she never thought of taking a step as drastic as divorce, she stated:
“But I never divorced my husband. However, nowadays, I hear about couples sending divorce papers every month. Why is this happening, Gurudev?”
Ravi Shankar agreed with Asha’s sentiments and hailed her for her strength and perseverance. According to the spiritual leader, these qualities are much lacking in people these days. He also pointed to a lack of tolerance as the cause, and told Asha:
“You kept singing and made everyone happy. You also had faith in God and also the strength to tolerate and deal with troubles.”
In the same conversation, Asha also revealed the changes she had observed in marriages over her years in the film industry. Again, Ravi Shankar expressed his agreement, stating that attraction tended to outweigh love in the current generation. In Asha's words:
“I have spent most of my years in the film industry and seen many people but, earlier, they never used to take such drastic steps like the current generation does. I feel that the love between them ends very soon and they get bored with each other fast too. Maybe that’s one of the main reasons (for the apparent increase in divorces).”
Ravi Shankar was all praises for the talented singer. Lauding her as an exemplary figure, he said that she had set a remarkably high standard. He told Asha:
“That’s because they are not familiar with your life. You have established a high standard. You are an ideal.”
Asha also shared her unfiltered opinions on women’s right to choose whether they wanted to get pregnant or not. Recalling her own experience juggling her singing career, busy schedule, and three children, she said:
“Nowadays, women think childbearing is a burden. It’s perhaps a reality in the lower strata of society. But even the middle and higher class. I started working as a playback singer at the age of 10. During this time, I had three children, raised them, married them off and now have grandchildren. I executed all the responsibilities successfully and single-handedly, without my husband. I did all this when I was a busy professional, working day and night. Yet, I looked after my children, their studies.”
It is worth mentioning that Asha Bhosle herself has a rather convoluted love life. She was only 16 when she met the then 31-year-old Ganpatrao Bhosle, who was her elder sister, Lata Mangeshkar’s secretary. Despite immense family opposition, the two tied the knot in 1949 and went on to share three children. However, they eventually decided to part ways and got divorced in 1960.
Some 20 years later, in 1980, Asha celebrated a second marriage with the late RD Burman, a renowned music director-actor. The two were together until he passed away at the age of 54 in 1994.
What do you think of Asha Bhosle’s take on love, divorce, and motherhood? Let us know.
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