One of the favourite pastimes of idlers has been the drawing up of comparisons between various people, societies, religions, poets, artistes etc. etc. Was Picasso greater or was it Modigliani; did Ghalib have more poetic insight than Iqbal or Mir; was it Laurence Olivier or Marlon Brando as a thespian epitome.

This debate has been stoked again by Eastern Eye, a magazine published in the United Kingdom, as to who is the greatest playback vocalist, and so of films. Had the list been topped by Lata Mangeshkar and not Asha Bhosle, it would have raised less heckles but placing the younger sister in front has been like committing sacrilege in questioning the haloed canonisation of greatness.

But comparisons are always odious and apples cannot be compared to oranges. All singers have individual traits, characteristics and are judged on the basis of their strengths and not weaknesses. Then there are the particularities of genres too. When a layman compares, he overrides the differences. Lata Mangeshkar was the undisputed queen of film music for as long as she was also active. It was only in the past couple of decades, as she lost her voice and her appetite to sing, that the star of her younger sister started to rise in proportion.

For years while Noor Jehan was alive and singing, it was a favourite pastime of such idlers as to who was greater of the two, constantly comparing her with Lata Mangeshkar. Mercifully then, Asha Bhosle was nowhere on the radar screen. The comparison with Noor Jehan was a little befuddling because she was already an established vocalist starting in the 1930s and then becoming a full fledged vocalist in Khandaan that was probably released in the early 1940s.

When Noor Jehan migrated to Pakistan, shocking almost all in the subcontinent and especially the film world, she was at the very top, the reigning queen of film music. It was only her departure from India that created the opportunity for Lata Mangeshkar to move into the slot and quickly establish herself and become indispensable for the films. Thus she totally monopolised film songs from then to the 1980s when she started to lose her voice and interest in singing, giving way to others, most of all her sister, younger by a few years. Asha Bhosle capitalised on the changing trends of film music which had started to significantly alter the way the note was intoned.

The solo number to have been sung by Lata Mangeshkar in Majboor just after the partition was ten years after Noor Jehan’s initially successful numbers. Asha Bhosle’s first solo was in Raat Ki Rani made a year later in 1949. Lata Mangeshkar has herself acknowledged the debt that she owed to Noor Jehan and went to the extent of saying that she modelled herself on the vocalisation of Noor Jehan.

Much has been made of the sibling rivalry of Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle. People have gone to the extent of saying that the elder sister deliberately manipulated that the younger sister was denied fair opportunity by influencing and pressurising music directors and producers.

Lata Mangeshkar had a head start and, in view of the untimely death of her father, was forced into the role of a breadwinner very early on. She struggled initially, also acting in small roles and taking part in choruses, especially one led by Noor Jehan in probably Bari Maa. It is said that Asha Bhosle also did a bit role in that film. But Ghulam Haider spotted her talent and it was honed by Khem Chand Prakash, Husan Lal Bhagatram, Naushad, Anil Biswas and Shanker Jaikishin in very quick succession. She must have been an incredibly fast learner for within months she went on to dominate the scene.

Asha was younger and had to struggle against the total domination of her elder sister. She became the other singer, the vocalist when Lata refused or discarded some western style dance number or tunes inspired by samba or jazz. Whatever was unconventional fell in the lap of Asha Bhosle. There may have been some family discord because the younger sister married Lata’s secretary and bore him children before divorcing him and coming back. It was very difficult for the elder sister who was busy working almost round the clock providing for the family; the younger sister’s act must have been seen as an act of supreme irresponsibility.

Despite Lata’s dominance, Asha persisted, getting initially what was discarded by the elder one but gradually developing her own style with the help of composers like O.P. Nayyar and, much later, R.D. Burman. It was the greater influx of other musical sources that established her credentials and hence gave the impression of her being more versatile than the elder diva.

She was just as adroit at singing the conventional traditional compositions as her sister but probably was not preferred by the earlier composers and had to wait for her turn. With greater diversity and more opportunities at experimentation, she got her chance and availed it with success and gratitude.

Though it would be rare in the history of music that one family has contributed so much, it is known to have happened especially since musical knowledge has been nourished in families. Even in the west Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Bach, Strauss came from families of musicians. But we all know that recommendation and goodwill only gets you so far and in the end it is the sheer talent that sees you through. Both the sisters have contributed so much that to place one above the other would be an unfair and a reductionist exercise.

There must have been artistic professional/rivalry between the two, the desire to outdo the other may have guaranteed excellence. In case of Asha, she had to make the greater effort at doing something different from what the elder sister had already excelled at.