The song every Marathi kid knows: 'Nach re mora' and Asha Bhosle's legacy

Mumbai: All Marathi speaking kids have grown up listening to ‘Nach re mora ambyachya vanat’ — a direct connect with none other than Asha Tai.

The classic Marathi balgeet was written by the iconic poet, lyricist, writer and actor Gajanan Digambar Madguḷkar popularly known as G D Madgulkar or Ga-Di-Ma.

The balgeet (nursery rhyme) ‘Nach re mora ambyachya vanat’ (which translates to dance, o peacock, in the mango grove) was released in the early fifties — is very popular and generations of kids have grown up with it. The music and its magic still endure.

Whether it is Marathi film songs, sugam-sangeet (light music), bhavgeet (emotional songs), bhaktigeet (devotional songs), or Lavani (a genre of folk songs), she has left her mark in the Marathi film industry.

Condoling her death, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said: “With Asha Tai’s demise, another star has fallen from the Mangeshkar lineage after Lata Didi. The beautiful garden of melodies has turned barren today. Ashatai’s voice was the soul of music. Ashatai was the eternal verdant season in singing and an oceanic expanse of melodious emotions. From soulful songs like ‘Tora Man Darpan Kahlaaye’ to tracks like ‘Khallas,’ she effortlessly sang songs across countless moods, imprinting her unique mark on genres ranging from devotional songs, emotional melodies, theatrical music, ghazals, classical music, Rabindra Sangeet, folk songs, to pop.”

In 2021, the Maharashtra government conferred on her the coveted Maharashtra Bhushan, the state's top award.

Veteran actor Ashok Saraf said: “A voice like that will never happen again.”

Rajshri Marathi, in a post on Instagram said: “An era has passed way…Asha Tai, you will always be remembered.”

State Cultural Affairs Minister Ashish Shelar, who enjoyed personal relations with the Mangeshkar family, said: “To the one who had the strength to sing a joyful song of endured sorrows... who sang the "Jai Sharade... Vageshwari" prayer... who sang cabaret, lavani, devotional songs, ovi, and abhangas along with emotional songs and film songs with extraordinary power... who broke the shackles of language and sang in more than 20 languages... who effortlessly conquered every crisis that came in her own life... and who sang the immortal ovi "Soniyachya tati ujlya jyoti..." on Bhau Beej... Ashatai has left us.”

During the 1950s and 60s, Bhosle and her sister Lata were the main playback singers for Marathi films.