Playback singer Alka Yagnik and her husband Neeraj Kapoor, who have been living separately since a long time, have decided to remain just 'on friendly terms', family sources said.

According to the sources, the reason to remain ''just friends'' was because both Alka and Neeraj had been living away from each other since their marriage due to their respective professional commitments.

Logistical reasons - while Alka Yagnik was living in the West of India in Mumbai due to her busy career as a playback singer in Bollywood, her husband Neeraj has a flourishing family business in Shillong as a renowned liquor distributor in North-Eastern region - have prevented them from spending any time together.

The couple, who married in February 1989, has a college-going daughter who stays with her mother in Mumbai.

The sources said ever since they married, they have been living away from each other, the reason perhaps being that they married months after Alka hit big-time with Tezaab.

Though initial years saw the couple meet frequently, even after daughter Sayesha was born in December 1989, slowly they began to meet less due to Alka's busy professional career and Neeraj's business commitments.

In fact, the sources said till Sayesha reached school-going age, the singer visited Shillong frequently, while Neeraj, who usually travelled on business trips, would visit Mumbai.

But after a period of time as their daughter began going to school, Alka's trips to Assam were restricted to bi-annual vacations.

The romance between the two bloomed when Alka was en route to the Vaishno Devi shrine in 1986. Neeraj, a nephew of Alka's mom's childhood friend came to pick them up at Delhi railway station as they were making a stopover. Gradually, they became friends. However, it took six months for cupid to strike.

When they announced their decision to marry, it was greeted with a barrage of opposition since she resided in the extreme West of India and he in the extreme East.

Finally, Alka and Neeraj married in February 1989.

The sources, however, said the two had decided to remain on friendly terms.

Alka Yagnik began her Bollywood music career in 1979, with a few lines in Rajashri's 'Payal Ki Jhankar'. Even though her first full-fledged song was 'Hum Tum Rahenge' for Rajesh Roshan in 'Hamari Bahu' Alka, her first release proved to be the superhit 'Mere Angne Mein'.

In an industry where big and already established names were ruling, it was not easy for anyone to even get noticed. But real talent never goes waste and she finally got her big break after nine years of her entry through 'Ek Do Theen, Char...', in Tezaab (1988).

Alka won the recognition and first Filmfare award for this song. She went on to win six more Filmfare awards for the movies 'Khalnayak' (1993), 'Pardes' (1997), 'Taal' (1999), 'Dhadkan' (2000), 'Lagaan' (2001) and 'Hum Tum' (2004). She also won the National Award for the movie 'Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke' (1994) and 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' (1999).

Alka's voice is the sound of many young generation heroines on the present day. She has done playback singing for many famous actors like Rakhee, Hema Malini, Farida Jalal, Rekha, Kajol and Preity Zinta. Besides Hindi songs, she has also sung in other languages such as Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Punjabi.