‘Mai Jald Hi Aaungi’: How Noted Folk Singer Sharda Sinha Kept Promise To Late Husband

By OB Bureau On Nov 6, 2024

New Delhi: Folk singer Sharda Sinha, who was admitted to AIIMS due to complications related to cancer, passed away at the age of 72, just a month after celebrating her birthday. Now, her Facebook post from her birthday, remembering her late husband has caught her fans’ attention. In the post, the veteran folk singer and Padma Bhushan awardee recalled how her husband would celebrate her birthday every year. She lost him on September 22 with her last meeting with him on September 17. Her last words to him were: “Mai jald hi aaungi (I will join you soon).” A month later, Sharda Sinha breathed her last on November 5. The couple had recently celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary together.

In a long post on September 30, a week after her husband’s death, Sharda Sinha shared, “When everyone at home used to be fast asleep on my birthday, Sinha Sahab would quietly wake up and buy me roses and breakfast and would wait until I woke up. As soon as I would wake up, he would offer me those roses and wish me birthday.”

“He would then find an excuse to eat junk, which was not appropriate for his health. I would often ask my children to not serve him the breakfast he has got, knowing he must have already eaten it outside. At first, he would deny, but when I would look at him with seriousness, he would admit that he has eaten the junk food already. This was every year’s ritual”, recalled Sharda Sinha.

Sharing her last meeting with her husband on September 17, a few days before his passing, Sharda recalled, “I met him for the last time on the evening of September 17. Before leaving, I told him, ‘I will return in three days, please take care of yourself’. He said, ‘I will be absolutely fine. You stay healthy, and do return soon. He was looking at me the whole time. Who knew this was our last meeting.”

She added, “I still feel his presence. My kids, Vandana and Anshuman, still feel that their father is just out for some work and would return soon. This is a picture from our last meeting. The silence and his absence is killing me. In the picture, you can see him teary eyes with his granddaughter and I am assuring him, ‘I will come to you soon.’ ‘Mai jald hi aaungi, maine bas yehi kaha tha unse.’”