Bollywood superstar singer Shreya Ghoshal was left emotional when the Indian Idol stage brought her a special surprise during her birthday week. The special episode, celebrating the timeless music of Mohammed Rafi and Mukesh in the presence of legendary composer Pyarelal Sharma, turned even more heartfelt as the show united Shreya with her Guru, who laid the foundation of her impeccable singing.
As the episode began, host Aditya Narayan read out a letter that Shreya Ghoshal had written to her first Guru, Mahesh Chandra Sharma, when she was a kid. The letter read, “Namaste, aasha karti hoon ki aap sab wahan kushal hain. Abhi bhi yahan meri shastriya shiksha shuru nahi ho payi hai.
Papa abhi achhe guru se sampark karne ki koshish kar rahe hain. Yahan aane ke baad main kuch dino tak Kalyan ji Uncle ke paas sikhne jaa rahi thi, par iss beech mujhe jaundice ho gaya, jis wajah se main dedh mahine unke paas nahi jaa paayi. Aur main roz aapke sikhaye hue ragon ka riyaaz karti hoon.
Aap mera bhakti-purn pranam lijiyega. Aapki ashirwadakanshi, Shreya Ghoshal.” Listening to a heartfelt memory from her early musical journey, Shreya Ghoshal replied, "I wrote this letter years ago to my Guruji, Mahesh Chandra Sharma." Just then, a voice from behind surprised everyone on the set.
It was Shreya’s beloved Guruji himself. Responding to the letter, Mahesh Chandra Sharma said, “Us waqt toh main is khat ka jawab nahi de paaya, lekin aaj zaroor dena chahta hoon. Log toh Guruji ke naam se shishya ko pehchante hain, lekin mujhe iss baat ka garv hai ki mujhe log Shreya ke naam se pehchante hain.”
Overwhelmed with emotion, Shreya came on the stage and touched the feet of her Guruji. The episode also revisited Shreya’s early musical journey. Sharing memories of her childhood training days, she said, “Bohot garmi hoti thi Rajasthan mein. Ek bus hoti thi jismein do-teen ghante ka safar hota tha, aur jungle paar karke aana padta tha.”
She added, “Bus station se ek mod aata tha, phir right lena padta tha, phir aapka ghar aata tha. Aur jab woh ghar dikhta tha, tab mujhe lagta tha ki yeh mandir hai.” Adding to the emotional moment, her Guru ji gifted her a diary where he had documented every lesson and composition he had curated over the years by himself.
While presenting the diary, he said, "Meri jitni bandishein shuru se lekar aakhri class tak ki hain, main yeh book tumhare liye lekar aaya hoon. Mere toh saare jeevan ki kamai hai yeh.” Receiving the gift, a teary eyed Shreya bowed down to seek her Guruji’s blessings.
Moved by the heartfelt gesture, he then requested her to sing the song ‘Bairi Piya’ from the film Devdas. Honouring his request, Shreya delivered a melodious rendition in his presence.