Recently the Nightingale has started doing what she has not done in all these years as the singing supremo.

"I've started listening to my own songs," she confesses shyly. "Earlier I was extremely cautious , almost embarrassed about listening to my own voice, so much so that I'd leave the room if I heard my song playing on the television. This created practical problems. When people would congratulate me for this or that song I'd give them a blank look. Finally after all these years I've begun to get comfortable with my voice."

And which of her own songs does she listen to? "I enjoy my non-film songs particularly the Meera Bhajans that my brother(Hridayanath Mangeshkar) composed for me. I don't listen much to my film songs even now...Actually it all started when I got a music system installed in my car. Now when I commute I've time to sit back and relax. Might as we well do so listening to my own voice, don't you think?"

And what does she think of the finest , most honeyed voice that God ever created? Lataji ponders. "Hmmm, average very average. You may not agree with me. But that's how I feel about my singing. I don't think I've achieved even an iota of what the classical greats do in their music."

But the legendary classical vocalist Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan once scolded Lataji sportingly for never singing a false or wrong note. "Yeh to unki badappan thi. Bhala woh kahan aur main kahan?" Lataji sighs with genuine candour.

If after nearly 60 years of undisputed superstardom she thinks her ravishing repertoire of songs are "just average" then who according to her is a success story in showbiz?

"Amitabh Bachchan," comes the prompt reply. "I think what he has achieved as a humanbeing and an actor surpasses anything else. I really like the way he conducts himself in public. I'm very fond of both Bachchan Saab and Jayaji. As a performer he has no equal. He proved it in Black. I wrote him a letter after seeing Black. I couldn't hold myself back. I've not seen a performance like that."

When I tell her that Mr Bachchan has similar compliments for her Lataji smiles. "He's just being generous. I'm yet to achieve anything worth talking about. There's so much I want to do."

She's currently in the process of recording a new non-film album for her protégée Mayuresh Pai. "And yes, I've recorded two songs for a Bhojpuri film. I love singing in other languages. It makes me feel close to people in other parts of the country where my Hindi songs may not be that popular," smiles the Bharat Ratna.

Then her face clouds. "Life is so short and unpredictable. Look at Sunil Dutt Saab. He was God's own child. His death was so sudden. He was my brother."

Is it true she never charged any money for any of the songs that she sang for Sunil Dutt's films? "It wouldn't be fair to talk about this," smiles the singing diva. "There are so many relationships that go beyond monetary considerations. I sang Kitne ajeen rishte hain yahan par in Page 3. But I'd like to believe there are many relationships that aren't subject to the vagaries of showbiz."