Asha Bhosle’s passing away at 92 takes me back to the early 1980s when we children had fewer means of entertainment. With the small transistor radio at home, I developed an ear for film music. Elder sister Lata Mangeshkar was the first choice among female singers but Asha’s versatility made her a close second.Among my favourite songs of Asha, I will begin with ‘Ab ke baras bhej bhaiya ko babul’ from Bimal Roy’s ‘Bandini’. She beautifully brings out the pathos in the lyrics by Shailendra put to tune by SD Burman. Then there was this gem in Shashi Kapoor-starrer ‘Dharamputra’: ‘Main jab bhi akeli hoti hoon’. N Dutta composed Sahir Ludhianvi’s words in this Yash Chopra-directed movie.BR Chopra’s ‘Waqt’ gave Asha ‘Aage bhi jaane na tu’ that sums up the philosophy of life and the importance of seizing the current moment. Ravindra Jain composed hummable songs in Amitabh-Nutan-starrer ‘Saudagar’. Lata impressed with her ‘Tera mera saath rahe’ but Asha held her own with ‘Sajna hai mujhe sajna ke liye’.Among the popular bhajans in Hindi films, the one that stands out for me is the one Asha sang with sister Usha Mangeshkar. The Rajesh Roshan-composed ‘Sancha naam tera, tu Shyam mera’ from ‘Julie’ brings me joy to this day.Asha did not confine herself to singing in Hindi alone. One Punjabi song which I cannot have enough of is ‘Aa gayi rut saun di, baghin pinghan paun di’ from ‘Udeekan’ that featured Simi Grewal and Parikshit Sahni. The way she expresses the pangs of separation in the song is remarkable.Music director Khayyam made her sing all the ghazals in ‘Umrao Jaan’ and the way she rendered the antara ‘Bula raha hai kaun mujhko chilmano ke us taraf, mere liye bhi kya koi udaas beqarar hai’ in the song ‘Yeh kya jagah hai dosto’ takes my breath away every time I listen to it. No wonder at a film function actor Rekha attested to the role this ghazal and the composer had played in her career.Asha also gave voice to Amrita Pritam’s poetry. ‘Amber ki ek pak surahi, badal ka ek jam uthakar’ was put to tune by Vilayat Ali Khan. I always look forward to listening to this soothing off-beat number.In 1982 came Gulzar’s ‘Namkeen’. Shabana Azmi’s character in the film writes verses. It is one of these that Asha has sung soulfully. ‘Phir se aaiyo badra bidesi, tere pankhon pe moti jadungi’ was penned by Gulzaar and composed by RD Burman.Composer OP Nayyar played a key role in Asha’s career. Nayyar had a predilection for Asha and never summoned Lata to his recording studio. The singer-composer duo enjoyed a close rapport. But with the rise of RD Burman on the music scene, their relationship dwindled. This ‘Pran Jaye Per Vachan Na Jaye’ song beautifully depicts their close bond and its ending: ‘Chain se humko kabhi aape ne jeene na diya, zaher bhi chaha agar peena to peene na diya’.