written by Shridevi Keshavan

The melody queen talks about her rapport with younger stars and singer Sonu Niigam’s bid to take her out to dinner.

She lets out a hearty laugh when you mention the amazing rapport she strikes with youngsters. “I never think about my age. Youngsters like Sachin Tendulkar and Sonu Niigam consider me their friend and don’t treat me like an old lady. Sonu keeps telling me that he’ll take me out for dinner or asks me to come home and meet his mother. I completely enjoy their company,” says legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar.

The melody queen picked up the Diamond Trading Company’s ‘Forever Indian Award’ recently. “I’m really happy to win this award as I’m quite passionate about diamonds,” says Lata.

People like like Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Pandit Jasraj have shed tears listening to her songs. So, which artiste makes her cry? “Bade Ghulam Ali - I’ve cried many times while listening to him and MS Subbulakshmi. Good music makes you want to cry and touches your heart,” she smiles.

Lata is a huge fan of western symphonies, but besides the Beatles, she doesn’t really like other foreign contemporary artistes. No wonder then, she doesn’t collaborate with western musicians like her sister Asha Bhosle. “I won’t do it just because the musician is from the West. His/her music should suit my taste,” she explains.

Apart from a new ghazal album that she’s working on, the singer spends her time on prayers. “I want to concentrate on private albums because I get more freedom to do what I want. I don’t really enjoy the trend of doing one song in a film. But I really like working with music directors like AR Rahman and Jatin-Lalit,” she ends.

from --- dnaindia.com