Seventy-two (on September 28) and still going strong. Lata Mangeshkar's talent and her continued will to excel is phenomenal. Yet in person, the simplicity of the gentle, fun-loving childlike diva takes you by surprise.

Today after receiving the Bharat Ratna (for the year 2000) , Lata devotees struggle for superlatives to define her achievements. An exclusive interview with the singer.

Last year at 71 you had a hit Hum ko hum hi se chura lo in the charts. This year you seem set to score again with Kabhi khushi kabhi gham. Kaisa lag raha hai?

Kuch khaas nahin lag raha hai. It's all due to God's and my parents' blessings. Until my health permits, I'll continue to sing. I'm bonded with music for life. Also, I'd love to do more social service. Our hospital is a step in that direction.

Tell me about the hospital that you've built in Pune.

Well, it was supposed to open in October. But there's so much nitty gritty to be taken care of like towels, sheets, soaps, etc. So the inauguration has been pushed to November. It's ten storeys high. There are beds for 450 patients and provisions for every kind of treatment. It's perhaps one of the largest private hospitals in the country. We've named it Dinanath Mangeshkar Hospital.

Is the hospital your brain child?

The person who should get all the credit for this dream project's realization is my brother Hridayanath. It isn't his nature to blow his own trumpet. He always retreats and lets me and others bask in the limelight. Even in his career he never went out to seek assignments. He took what came to him.

In your long career you've helped innumerable singers and composers to find a foothold. Do you feel let down by them?

Not at all. Why should I expect anything in return? God has given me so much. It's my duty to help others if I can. However, one incident did pain me. Some years ago, a music director contacted my secretary for my dates. When my secretary told him that he would have to wait for a while, the music director turned around and said, "Gone are the days when composers and producers would wait for her. No one waits any longer." My secretary fell quiet. When he told me about this, I told him to just forget it. Anyway, that composer (who, incidentally, I had in a way brought into the industry) soon faded away. I agree, woh din gaye. Lekin woh log bhi toh gaye, na?

But is it true that composers used to wait for weeks and months for your dates?

Yes, it was well-known in the film industry that if I went out of Mumbai or was unwell, composers waited for weeks sometimes months to record their songs. And amongst them, Shankar-Jaikishan was No.1. Also, Madan Mohan. Sometimes, he was under a lot of pressure to record my song in another voice when I wasn't available. I would encourage him to do so rather than let his work suffer. But once when I told him to use another voice for a film whose producer couldn't afford to wait, Madan Mohan said, "I compose songs with you in mind. Never say no to me."

Those days composers and singers worked as a team. Today I'm not too keen to sing for films.

What do you have to say about today's film songs?

I suppose they serve their function. If we look back, we may feel nostalgic. In those days there used to be 30-40 very gifted and popular composers. And I had the opportunity to sing for all. Since every composer had his own unique style, there was a great deal of variety . It used to be great fun to sing. Today the scope for variety has shrunk drastically. There are only a handful of topnotch composers A.R.Rahman, Anu Malik, Jatin Lalit ... that's it. Of course, there are other composers doing their jobs competently. Lekin naam to inhi logon ka hai.

But in spite of the falling standards you continue to get lovely songs to sing.

I'm fortunate. It isn't as if every song nowadays is bad. Sometimes I do catch snatches of tunes I like. But don't ask me to name them. I don't ever listen to my own songs, let alone those sung by others (laughs). But I loved Rahman's music in Lagaan. The duet that my sister Asha has sung Madhuban mein jo kanhaiya is lovely. Ghanan ghanan and my bhajan, O paalan haare were also very nice. Since the film is set during the British period, the music has a flavour of the past. There were no gimmicks. Lagaan is an indication that film music is bound to improve.

You recently recorded a Hindi song for the legendary Ilaiyaraja for Lajja.

Yes, it was my first song in Hindi for Ilaiyaraja. Earlier, I had recorded Tamil and Telugu songs for him. The film's director Raj Kumar Santoshi rang up to say it was a crucial theme song, and I had to sing it. But I had work to attend to in Mumbai before flying to London. Also, I wasn't feeling well. I told Raj Santoshi I couldn't come to Chennai. So he flew to Mumbai with Ilaiyaraja on the same day that I had to leave for London. I recorded the song Kaun dagar kaun nagar until 7 in the evening before I took the flight.

Are you 72 or 27?!

(Laughs) I'm just lucky. The last one year has been very eventful. I got the Bharat Ratna. Then we constructed the hospital in Pune for which we held a charity show in Pune. It was quite an event. After the catastrophe in Gujarat I returned from London for a charity show. I was glad I was of some use. We did manage to collect a little money. What really made me happy was that singers like Suresh Wadkar, Alka Yagnik, Sadhana Sargam, Sudesh Bhosle, Udit Narayan and Kumar Sanu made an effort to be part of the charity concert. I consider it a personal favour. I wasn't here to invite them personally. My sister Usha invited them. But they all turned up, so did Hrithik Roshan and Amitabh Bachchan. The fact that I still command so much respect really means a lot to me. Aaj-kal ki duniya mein kissko parwaah hai?