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'Every year I used to tie a raakhi on Sivajisaab'

Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar, Sivaji Ganesan's raakhi sister, pays tribute to the great actor with whom she has had a warm relationship since the 1950s.

I do not recollect my first meeting with Sivaji Ganesan, except that it was thanks to Mr V Ranganathan of the Indian Express, who took us to watch a Tamil play in Bombay in the 1950s.

Sivajisaab would stage plays in Bombay quite often those days. As our relationship developed into a warm family-to-family bond, it became a norm for him to insist on eating non-vegetarian soup cooked at my home before he went on stage.

Every year I would tie a raakhi on him. He was very orthodox, cherished old values and expected them among his family. At his home, food would always be served on traditional banana leaves.

He was a very warm, affectionate and a thoughtful person for whom a visit to our home became a compulsion on every visit to Bombay.

In turn, whenever any of us went to Madras, we always stayed at his house.

Once I remember expressing a wish that we visit the famous Rameshwaram township. He immediately made every arrangement and we -- Asha, Usha, Hridaynath, Meena and myself -- were taken there in his car, with his chauffeur and manager to look after us.

Every Diwali, we would get sarees and other gifts from him.

Professionally, I sang in his Hindi production Raakhi. Recently I recorded a song for Ilayaraja for his son Ramkumar's Tamil film, Anand.

Both Ramkumar and Prabhu, his star son, are close to us and make it a point to meet us whenever they come down to Bombay.

My last meeting with him was a few months back at a Hyderabad awards function where we both received awards.

Legends like him are born once in a blue moon.

Lata Mangeshkar spoke to Dr Rajiv Vijayakar

ALSO SEE:
Sivaji Ganesan dead
Pay your respects to the legend
Born to be an actor
An actor who revolutionised cinema
Sivaji rules!

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