You should be an example for your children. I show my three children what I am and expect them to live by certain controls. But, by the grace of god, they are good kids.

When women wear jeans people are tempted to pay attention to what is beyond it thus forcing them to do undesirable things.

hen I was young, I would gorge on chicken. But for the last several years, I’ve been a pure vegetarian; I don’t even take egg.

When I recieved the Padmabhushan it was a happy moment no doubt, but it was not something I sought desperately to win. I never worked towards the award.

What should be covered must be covered. Women should not trouble others by wearing jeans.

There is no death. The body withers but the spirit still lives.

One piece of advice I often give young singers, including my son Vijay, is to not get sidetracked from their primary duty of learning music. This is the age of marketing and hard sell. Everybody wants instant results. But no amount of hard sell will prop you up if you don’t hone your craft.

My parents – Augustine Joseph and Elizabeth – discovered my talent for singing when I was a kid. I remember them telling me that I sang a classical piece after listening to it a couple of times when I was two-and-a-half years old.

My father was a very popular singer and stage actor during his time, in the 1950s. But he didn’t take any formal lessons in music, which was probably why he insisted I study music so I could get a proper base and build a strong career in it.

Music is the medium. Words merely enhance the composition.

I love singing devotional songs, in whatever language.

It’s my duty to upkeep and safeguard my voice, my ability to sing.

It’s not that I always had this impeccable voice. Some 15-18 years ago, I started noticing that I could not reach higher octaves.

I just continue to do my work with dedication. Really, it’s my listeners who have given me 40 years of bhushana. However, my ultimate probably would be to sing in front of god. That will be something.

I have no problem with someone wanting to take a photograph with me. It is a no for selfies with touching of bodies.

I don’t like doing things without understanding the meaning. Once I walked out of a film event as I could not stand the insult they meted out to a Sanskrit verse.

I didn’t learn music because I wanted to become famous or earn a lot of money. It was to follow my father’s advice and learn as much as I could about music.

God is love, love is bhakti and bhakti our connection to God.

Even when someone introduced the women as someone’s daughter or wife, they maintained a distance. With the advent of selfies, people now want to click with all the touching, coming so close.

Before the ’80s, no girl would ask to click a photograph. That was modest and demure.