“The privileged classes today are bothered about petrol and diesel prices while the poor can’t afford two meals a day. I am a very small person, but I want us to think beyond personal and regional interests.”

I have a fierce temper. I’ve mastered it over the years, but when I’m angry, no one can force me to do anything I don’t want to.

I wish I had given more time to learning classical singing.

I feel I am a little unfit for the kind of music that is being made today. There is a big difference between what I sang earlier and what is being made now. I am not saying this music is bad, but there are too many beats.

One has to be fully committed to one’s career. Otherwise, there’s no point.

I feel God has sent me to Earth to sing. I started singing when I was five, but I don’t think I’ve worked as hard as many other people.

I missed out on my childhood. I had to work hard, but I was immediately given a place in playback.

I wouldn’t let a biopic be made on me. That’s because I don’t believe in them. I don’t like them.

From my experience and understanding, I believe money follows name and fame, while recognition calls for a huge amount of sacrifice. To get something, you have to lose something. That’s the rule of life.

I have been singing for the last 50 years, you know, so I deserve a break. Besides, there are talented singers around who can do justice to their work.

My father passed away in 1942, and three-four months after his death, I had to start working. There was a responsibility on my shoulders to run the household. It was my duty as the eldest child in the house.

There are so many songs that I could not sing the way I wanted to. When such songs come on television or radio, I shut them off or leave the room.

For me, awards are a token of respect that people are giving me. So no matter how many awards I am receiving, I always feel emotional.

As a singer, you have to bring the soul to the song.

Today, the scope for variety has shrunk drastically. There are only a handful of topnotch composers like A. R. Rahman, Anu Malik, Jatin-Lalit that’s it.

I appreciate the change associated with people’s growth, but I don’t like the changes in our lives. I came to Mumbai in 1945, so imagine my acceptance of the massive changes around. I have witnessed every kind of revolution.

In my opinion, the biggest achievement was by Shankar-Jaikishan. With Raj Kapoor’s ‘Barsaat,’ they changed the way we looked at playback singing.

Hypocrisy can afford to be magnificent in its promises, for never intending to go beyond promise, it costs nothing.

Middle class America is acutely aware of how bad this economy is, and it is going to demand changes. I don’t think politicians can afford to be complacent.

When we make college more affordable, we make the American dream more achievable.

He who has nothing to lose can afford all risks.

In my early years, there were a number of experiences that made me decide I could not afford the luxury of just being an actress. There were a number of issues I wanted to address. And I wanted to use my career as a platform.

Life affords no higher pleasure than that of surmounting difficulties.

While there are many good courts in the country, we need to have good coaches for more players to come up. Not everyone can go to Gopichand Academy, and everyone cannot afford international tournaments.

How can anybody who is the head of a nation afford not to be a prag-matist?