The 71-year-old Mangeshkar had last performed live at the same venue in March 1997. Prior to that, she had restricted her stage appearances to foreign countries. Her last seven-city tour of the United States and Canada in October 1998 was a resounding success, with Mangeshkar's singing prowess coming in for high praise from the American and Asian press in the US.

India's diva confesses that even at this age, she gets nervous before a show. "Would you believe it? I am as keyed up as I was before my first live performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London in 1974. Until the moment I recite my first shloka (hymn), I'm petrified by the huge crowds. Gradually, the fear evaporates. Every stage performance is like an examination. I'm sure all the other artistes go through the same initial pangs of stage fright," Mangeshkar, who has completed 54 years of uninterrupted playback singing, said.

Like all her concerts, the mega-show on Sunday will feature the entire Mangeshkar clan, barring younger sister Asha Bhosle, who is a renowned singer in her own right. Brother Hridayanath Mangeshkar (an extremely talented composer), sisters Meena and Usha Mangeshkar, niece Radha and nephews Baijnath and Adinath, will lend support to the evergreen singer. The details of the programme are being kept under wraps. But, according to sources, Mangeshkar's agenda for the concert is completely different from her last concert. Whereas the theme of her 1997 concert in Mumbai was melody as embodied by the singer, this time it will be a retrospective of film music in the millennium that has gone by.

Bollywood's `Star Of The Millennium', Amitabh Bachchan, will introduce the Nightingale to the audience and will also sing at the concert. In fact, Bachchan began his on-stage career with a concert by Lata Mangeshkar nearly 30 years ago.

Once again the television rights for this concert have been sold at a staggering cost to a leading channel.

At a time when film stars from Mumbai are hardselling themselves to audiences abroad and in India, a concert by Lata Mangeshkar remains a cultural phenomenon. She can hold audiences spellbound for hours just singing. "No one else has ever commanded such awesome power," says Censor Board chief and former actress Asha Parekh.

Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who made the award-winning Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, notes, "There's an aura about Lataji, which no other artiste has. The minute she comes on stage, there's a hushed whisper among the audience as though they are about to witness a momentous event."

Mangeshkar shyly laughs off all these compliments. She admits the feeling of performing live before thousands of fans is unequalled by any other experience, including studio recordings. "I am thoroughly professional about my commitments on stage. I go on stage fully rehearsed and try to do my best. Whether the audience appreciates my efforts is up to the Almighty. But I'm never over-confident on stage," she says.

Lata Mangeshkar, still recording film songs, has a jam-packed year ahead. After the concert, she will be involved with an album of Meera bhajans (devotional songs) composed by her brother, Hridayanath. She has just finished recording songs for Yash Chopra's forthcoming film, Mohabbatein, Aamir Khan's Lagaan, Shyam Benegal's Zubeida and Tahir Husain's untitled venture.

How does she remain so active at this age? "I guess my parents' hands and God's grace is over my head. I have never done anything to harm anyone in my life. So I guess someone somewhere likes me," she replies with a laugh before returning to her rehearsals for the Sunday concert.