When Asha Bhosle and RD Burman stayed at Bengal concert organiser's home
Telegraph | 13 April 2026
Nondu (Anand Bhosle, Asha Bhosle’s son) called yesterday (Saturday) to inform me that Ashadi was hospitalised. He was the one who used to look after his mother in her last years.
I knew her well as she was close to my elder sister Milli and my brother-in-law Badalda (Bhattacharya). Panchamda (R.D. Burman, Asha’s husband and collaborator) and Badalda were schoolmates. They used to exchange and share shirts.
My didi-jamaibabu’s house in Garcha always had a room ready to receive Panchamda. If they were invited to any show in Calcutta, Panchamda would seek my brother-in-law’s feedback on the organiser’s credentials.
There used to be parties at their house when they came. Didi and Ashadi would go shopping for saris at Gariahat market. Sometimes Ashadi would cook. She loved the Bengali style machher jhol. At night, Ashadi would leave for the hotel while Panchamda stayed back.
I have organised so many of her shows. One in the early ’70s was an “RD-Asha night” with Zeenat Aman as the guest performer. The song Dum Maro Dum from Hare Rama Hare Krishna was such a huge hit then.
Panchamda and Ashadi were great artists with simple lifestyles. When I took them to Rampurhat, there was no hotel in the town. They stayed at the home of the organiser without demur.
I would meet Ashadi at her recordings in Bombay to finalise shows. The last time was in Mehboob Studios when she was recording for Bappi Lahiri.
About eight years ago, I brought her to a show for Sourendro and Soumyajit. That was the last I saw her. When my sister died, she told me that she could not bring herself to visit Calcutta any more.