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“Atalji was quite taken aback when he was told that his poems had been set to music and I could sing them. He did not believe that his poems, written in free verse, could be easily translated into lyrics,” she says. The moment she most cherishes was when Vajpayee clapped after she sang one of his compositions. “He said that the applause was not for his poems but for my singing,” she says, with barely concealed pride.

How did Geet Naya Gata Hoon happen?
“What attracted me to these poems was its underlying sincere and philosophic strain. One can explore different levels of meaning in them,” she says. Along with Bhalchandra Datar, who conceived of the idea of making an album, and the support of husband Sunil, Padmaja launched herself into the task of singing the poems.

Eight poems were shortlisted and Padmaja herself composed the music for two of these poems.

“It was difficult, no doubt, as free verse does not easily lend itself to tunes but we managed to do so with adjustments and practice. We ensured that only the best musicians and music technicians carried out the project,” she says. Mahesh Chander has composed the music for the other six poems while the music has been arranged by Dheeraj Dhanak, with Zareen Daruwalla on the sarod and Maronida on the saxophone.

In December, Datar, after meeting Vajpayee, was readily granted the rights to turn eight of his poems into songs. “The general elections and ensuing developments delayed the release of the album. I consider myself fortunate that the album was released by the Prime Minister himself at a function on September 14 in Delhi,” she says.

What does she feel about the sudden media attention?
“The attention is definitely pleasing. I am happy to have made the thoughts of a great man known to others through the album. I was overwhelmed by the warm reactions of the audience whenever I presented Atalji’s verses,” she says. A music video of the title song, Geet Naya Gata Hoon, featuring actress-dancer Jaya Prada, has also been released.

What are her future plans?
Padmaja is already on to her next venture, and this time, yet another prime minister – V.P. Singh! “When I visited V.P. Singh after the release of my album, he presented me with his collection of poems called Ek Tukda Aakash, Ek Tukda Dharti. "His poems, though different, are of a similar philosophic bent of mind and hold the potential to be turned into songs,” she says. Three of them have already been finalised and plans are afoot for yet another album.