One of the most facile and unnecessary binaries created by overzealous fans of Indian film music revolves around the celebrated sibling duo, Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle – who is the better singer? This age-old debate perhaps indicates a peculiar facet of Indian fandom that likes to pit one performer against the other. For someone to be great, another must fall. And if you come to think of it this yardstick is used in all forms of performance – Amitabh Bachchan vs Rajesh Khanna, Pt. Ravi Shankar vs Ustad Vilayat Khan, Sachin Tendulkar vs Sourav Ganguly, Rajinikanth vs Kamal Haasan. The list goes on.
