I was surprised when "Lata agreed to do stage shows with me in London. Though I was thrilled, I was worried about one thing - her discipline. She would never go on stage without proper rehearsal. But I like to take things easy. We had to sing five duets: Chai pe bulaya hain (Souten), Gata rahe mera dil (Guide), Jai jai shiv shankar (Aap ki Kasam), Accha to hum chalte hain (Aan Milo Sajana) and Kora kagaz tha yeh man mera (Aradhana). The problem arose when it was time for us to go on stage. We couldn't decide who should go first. I suggested that Lata sing first because she was my senior. But she didn't. Instead she went on stage to introduce me. She praised me a lot, but made it a point to add, "I call him Da because he is older to me". Yes, I'm one month and 24 days older than her! We did three shows in Wembley. During the first one there was a problem because organizer had publicized that we'd be singing "Angrezi mein kehte hain I love you"(Khuddar). But Lata refused to sing the song because it contained the word 'idiot' in it. Again she put her foot down against "Pag ghungroo" (Namak Halal) because she said it belittled Meerabai. Instead, she said, I should sing a bhajan. I was nonplussed because I couldn't remember any. Finally, I managed to sing one - Hari naam ka pyaala -rendered originally by S.D. Burman. It was received with great applause.
