Melody queen Asha Bhosle conferred with Maharashtra Bhushan award

Veteran singer Asha Bhosle has been selected for the prestigious 'Maharashtra Bhushan-2020' honour, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said here on Thursday.

The announcement was made following a meeting of the Maharashtra Bhushan award's selection committee presided over by Thackeray, which was also attended by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Cultural Affairs Minister Amit Vilasrao Deshmukh, Minister of State Rajendra Patil-Yadravkar, and other top officials.

Soon after the declaration, Thackeray, Pawar and others congratulated Bhosle, 87, for the huge honour which will be conferred on her at a function to be held later.

Asha Bhosle's journey

The younger sister of Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar and belonging to the numero uno Mangeshkar musical family, Asha Bhosle was born on September 8 1933 in the Goan hamlet of the Sangli princely state, which is now a district in Maharashtra.

She launched her singing career at the tender age of 10, and over the past seven decades, has sung more than 12,000 songs for over 1,000 films, including Hindi and Marathi, besides singing in 20 Indian and foreign languages, and performing at scores of solo and group concerts in India and abroad.

With a unique voice, Asha Bhosle is at ease while singing several genres -- be it classical, commercial, romantic, sad, cabaret, ghazal, bhajan, qawwali or western-style pop songs -- earning a place in the Guinness World Records.

She has been conferred with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award (2000), the Padma Vibhushan (2008), two National Awards for 'Umrao Jaan' (1981) and 'Ijaazat' (1986), 7 Filmfare Awards, 17 other awards of Maharashtra government, 3 MTV and one Channel V awards, BBC Lifetime Achievement Award (2002), and the Lata Mangeshkar Award of Madhya Pradesh Government, among many others.

The legendary Mangeshkar family consists of the late Master Deenanath Mangeshkar, his daughters Lata, Asha Bhosle, Usha Khadilkar, Meena Mangeshkar and son Hridaynath Mangeshkar.

(With inputs from IANS)