She never stopped springing surprises on us till the very last. Lataji had an uncanny knack of re-inventing herself whether in the sphere of music where her voice evolved constantly through the decades , from the 1950s to the 60s….right up the current millennium.Or in anything else that she tried.

Even in her final lap of life she was game for new experiences. And it’s with considerable pleasure that I came to know Lataji had developed a huge passion for cooking in her twilight year.

A source very close to her informs, “If you remember she had no interest in cooking for most of her life and hated to enter the kitchen until absolutely necessary. But in the last few years since she was quarantined for Covid, she developed a growing passion for cooking. She spent hours in the kitchen poring over dishes,looking into every ingredient personally.And you know what? She proved a fantastic cook. The family loved her cooking, She loved to try new dishes and feed her family.And they were absolutely hooked to her cooking. In just a couple of years she proved herself the best cook in the Mangeshkar family.”

Which is saying a lot, considering sister Asha Bhosle has the reputation of being a worldclass cuisine creator.