/> "I just spoke to him a week back. We were supposed to do another album together. He had all the songs ready. Now he's gone! My family and I were very close to Khale Saab. He lived very far away, in Thana. He kept calling me to come home.

Lekin main jaa na saki. He did two very fine Marathi albums Tukaram and Ram Shyam Gungaan with me. During that time Khale Saab used to work at HMV. He used to be in-charge of the Marathi section.

The songs that he composed are hummed to this day. He didn't compose for Hindi films. He was very happy to bring me and Pandit Bhimsen Joshi together in Ram Shyam Gungaan.

All the songs in this album were written by Pandit Narendra Sharma whom I used to call ‘Papa'. When Khale Saab proposed an album with Pandit Joshi, I got a bit scared of singing with a classical vocalist.

Khale Saab promised I wouldn't be uncomfortable. When Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and I recorded the number Ram ka gun gaan kariye, Khale Saab put a wooden partition between us singers so that we don't feel uncomfortable looking at each other..

Meri to daal patli ho gayi tthi. Main bahut darr gayi tthi. Khale Saab was very close to my entire family. He persuaded my composer-brother Hridaynath to sing two Marathi songs which are popular to this day.

Khale Saab never copied any composer. To sing his songs was very difficult for us singers. But to have another singer sing them later was out of the question, He was very outspoken. Once a singer requested Khale Saab to do an album like my Tukaram. He retorted, ‘You're not fit to stand where Lata takes off her chappal before recording. '

In recent years Khale Saab was in a great deal of pain. Unko bahut taqleef tthi. He suffered from Parkinsons, also a heart problem. He has three daughters. The youngest daughter really looked after Khale Saab when he was ill. Khale Saab was unique in Marathi music. "