“When I started out, there was so much work that I couldn’t think of doing anything else. I would go for recordings by 8.30 A.M., that, too, in trains. I used to come home at night. I was travelling alone everywhere.”

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.

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.

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

Nowadays, there are seven music directors in one film. I had never heard of such a thing before. If one of our old music directors was told to share a score with others, he would have left the assignment.

I believe in one power, and that is the hand of God. I respect all religions.

I’ve always loved life, irrespective of all the ups and downs that have filled my journey.