Mumbai: Former journalist Nidhi Vasandani, through her YouTube channel The Nidhi Vasandani Show recently dedicated a segment to one of India’s most celebrated voices in the Indian entertainment industry, Alka Yagnik. As the veteran singer was awarded with the Padma Bhushan recently, Nidhi shared that soon after receiving the honour, Alka took to social media and spoke about what has kept her away from the limelight.
Nidhi said, “Padma Bhushan was awarded, but Suro Ki Rani’s eyes were filled with tears of joy. The voice that has touched the hearts of millions, the voice which has been sung by generations, today, the same voice is fighting a disease that will make you emotional. After this honour, the post written by Alka made the eyes of the fans wet. She said that for the past two years, she has been suffering from a rare disease, and because of this, she was far from the limelight.”
The way it began was sudden and terrifying. Nidhi said, “Think of the voice that gave music to the whole world. What would have happened if the same person suddenly lost hearing? She said that after getting off a flight, she suddenly stopped hearing.”
“When the doctors examined her, they found that she had a disease called ‘sensory neural hearing loss’. This disease damages the hearing nerves and cells present in the ears. And if the cells are damaged once, they often do not recover again,” she added.
Seeing Alka receive the Padma Bhushan brought a mix of pride and pain. Nidhi said, “Recently, when she was seen taking the Padma Bhushan, the fans were also worried with joy. She looked very weak in the video; she seemed to need support while walking.”
The scale of Alka Yagnik’s legacy makes the moment harder to absorb. Nidhi said, “This is the name of Alka Yagnik, who has made history in the world of music. More than 21,000 songs in 25 languages, more than 1,000 films, and two National Awards. And the biggest thing, for three consecutive years, in Guinness World Records, the world’s most heard singer record, in 2020, 2021 and 2022, she crushed international stars like Taylor Swift, BTS and Blackpink on YouTube.”
“Today, the whole country is praying for her speedy recovery, because some voices do not just sing songs; they remain a part of our memories forever,” Nidhi ended.
