QUEEN’S ROAD: A rockstar in a Kanjeevaram? That is Usha Uthup for you. In her almost 40 year long music career, she has reconciled ironies, wooed mainstream Hindi film music fans, remained the sweetheart of Bengali pop music, belted out rock songs in concerts, travelled the world, raised a family and all of this with a big smile on her face.
Born the same year that India got her independence, Uthup grew up listening to many streams of music and she and her sisters (The Sami Sisters) took their drawing room sessions to stage and night-clubs and Usha’s voice found its way into R D Burman’s music, both in Hindi and Bengali and later even Bappi Lahiri gave her many opportunities. Years ago, she came to Bengaluru to host a food festival and one learnt that she was a passionate cook as well.
Here was the rebel husk of the 70’s flower children with the trance-inducing chant of Hare Rama Hare Krishna, cracking jokes about not just singing for a supper but cooking it as well.
She had said, “You won’t get it right without interest. Slice some ginger finely, pick some coriander to garnish a dish. Cook something delicious for a child, your family and they will never forget it.’’ She had added that she never tasted her own non-vegetarian dishes because she is a staunch vegetarian herself!
Like her cooking, she never learnt singing either but the opportunities to do both came her way and she shared how she can cook the same dish or sing the same song a 1000 times but each time, both end up with a different zing because she puts “the magic of love in everything.” For Uthup, cooking a great family meal is like singing a song for a big audience because in both cases, the appreciation is instant.
She is today the only artist to have recorded six albums in English with HMV/EMI. She sings in more than 13 Indian and eight foreign languages and has just completed a brand new studio album and is all set to release it during the course of the year.
Hear her live at Phoenix Marketcity on January 24 at 6:00pm. Tickets at indianstage.in