Beyond the fame: Asha Bhosle quietly grieved the loss of her two children, Hemant and Varsha

Asha Bhosle spread joy and love with her music and charm. Her life in music brought her fame that transcended borders. However, the singer battled deep personal losses in her life, away from the limelight.

Bhosle, who had eloped at the age of 16 with a much older Ganpatrao Bhosle, had three children. She walked out of her marriage when she was 27, with two young children and one on the way. For the greater part of her life, Asha Bhosle was a single mother, who worked hard to provide for her family.

More about Asha Bhosle's children

Asha Bhosle had three children-Hemant, Varsha, and Anand. Her eldest son Hemant Bhosle was a music composer and composed songs for films such as Dharam Shatru, Sansani: The Sensation, and Rchildren: Hemantaja Jogi. He is also known for the famous Kishore Kumar-Asha Bhosle duet ‘Aji Kaho Kya Haal Hai’ from Anpadh. Hemant’s son Chintu Bhosle is now a singer and composer and also part of India’s first boy band Band Of Boys.

Asha Bhosle’s daughter Varsha Bhosle was a firebrand columnist known for her work in Reddit and other publications. Her youngest son, Anand Bhosle took charge of managing his mother's professional commitments.

Asha Bhosle’s personal losses

While fame and recognition came with success, Asha Bhosle endured the pain of losing two of her children. Varsha died by suicide in 2012 at the age of 56.

A few years later, in 2015, Hemant died after battling cancer.

The two tragedies completely shook Bhosle. She had already dealt with domestic abuse early in her life after she had married Ganpatrao Bhosle.

Varsha’s death had left Asha Bhosle devastated

Vasha Bhosle was a well-known columnist. In 2012, when she died by suicide, her mother, Asha Bhosle, was in Singapore.

Recalling the moment she learnt about the tragedy, Asha had told Mumbai Mirror, “I was in Singapore when it happened. They wanted to keep me in the dark about it. But my son Anand thought it was better if I knew. When I was told, I just fell to the ground. I wanted to return by the first available flight. Didi (Lata Mangeshkar) has taken this very badly. She just can’t stop crying. I wish she hadn’t been told about it. Didi is mostly in her room, so she needn’t have known. But when it happened, the place was swarming with activity. So it couldn’t have been avoided.”

How her brother Hridyanath Mangeshkar helped her cope with the loss

In 2013, while promoting Mai, a film in which she made her acting debut, Asha Bhosle opened up about how she coped with the loss.

She said, “My daughter, whatever she had to do, she did. She chose her own path. She chose it, but she didn’t realise what would happen to those she left behind—especially her mother. But there are some things we can never undo.”

She described how that loss completely shattered her and it was her brother, music composer Hridaynath Mangeshkar, who gently guided her back towards music.

“It was my brother who brought me back. I was completely shattered. From that night on, I stopped meeting people, stopped talking, didn’t even pick up calls—nothing mattered anymore.”

“My brother came and placed the tanpura in my hands. He told me to start singing. He is younger than me, but he is like a guru to me. He said, ‘Remember Pandit Dinanath Mangeshkar. Begin with ‘Sa’, begin with ‘Om’. I started singing. After about five minutes, slowly, something began to open within me—as if a path was clearing. After that, I could hear nothing except ‘Sa’. My voice, my note—was it in tune or not, how long it was sustaining, which raga I was moving into, what I should sing next. Once I entered that space, nothing else in the world existed before me. Nothing. There was only music.”

Her brother then gave her a perspective that stayed with her for life. He said that they were a ‘curse’ of the God.

“He told me, ‘We are like Gandharvas in the court of God. Sometimes, God curses them and sends them to earth. They become great artists, they sing beautifully—but they are never truly happy. They are cursed. Your duty is to carry what has been given to you. From the age of six or eight, you have been learning music, and even today you are singing. You are one of those cursed Gandharvas. So you will have to endure sorrow. That sorrow will never fully go away.’”

“‘But there is one way to move through it—sing. Keep singing. The pain will remain, you will not forget it, but you will find a way to hold yourself together.’”

“Then he said something that stayed with me: ‘Happiness is meant to be shared with the world, but sorrow is meant to be kept within. Hold it inside your heart. Never speak of it openly. Because no one cries with someone who is always crying—people laugh with those who laugh. Who will mourn every day for someone who dies every day inside? So never display your sorrow.’”

Bhosle said, the words stuck with her and became a guiding force for her. “His words stayed with me deeply, as if he had given me a mantra. Since then, whenever I get time, I practice singing.”

In later years, she faced another loss as her firstborn, Hemant Bhosle, died of cancer in 2015. But the veteran singer continued with her music and travelled to perform at concerts.

On Monday, Asha Bhosle’s youngest son, Anand Bhosle, performed her last rites and members of her family and peers from the industry bid an emotional farewell to the legend.