The lately-bereaved singing diva Asha Bhosle, whose daughter Varsha died tragically in October, had decided to stay away this year from her New Years eve ritual of personally cooking and looking after guests at her restaurant in Dubai, has decided to go ahead with the annual event for the sake of the restaurant’s clientele who religiously visit Dubai at year-end from all across Asia to be hosted personally by Asha Bhosle at her restaurant. Speaking from Dubai Ashaji said, “Yes, I’ve decided to be here in Dubai in my restaurant on 31 December. I’m here every year and although I had thought I’d skip the annual ritual this year, my son and daughter-in-law persuaded me to go ahead with it.” Ashaji said her son Anand and his wife have been pillars of strength in the process of her emotional healing. “They have been with me in these trying times. But whenever they aren’t around I get terrible thoughts. At times like these my riyaaz helps me to overcome my depression.” She is enthused by food as much as music and is proud of her growing chain of restaurants. “You can live for three days without music. But you can’t live without food for a day. I am a mother by nature. I love to feed people. I started cooking for my children. Then later when I became good at it my son suggested I write a cookery book. But I refused. Who cooks from books? But my son wanted to take his mother’s food to the people. That’s how the first restaurant came about.” Ashaji personally supervised the menu at these restaurants. “I had two kitchens for vegetarian and non-vegetarian food. The design and décor, menu card have all been done with great care. The menu card has rare pictures of me and other singers. I not only put my own recipes on the menu, I also included recipes I learnt from my colleagues. The restaurants are dotted with my pics with Lata didi and others who figure in my life.” It’s said that singing and cooking are the two most therapeutic pain-healers known to civilization. Songstress Asha Bhosle whose life has lately been shrouded in unbelievable tragedy, has resumed her passion for singing and cooking like never before. Family members say, nothing gives the singing diva more relief and comfort than singing and cooking. Shared a member of the Mangeshkar family, “She’s spending a lot of time doing her riyaaz. Ashatai always loved to cook and feed family and friends. But now after the tragedy cooking has become her way of dealing with pain.