Usha Uthup, There’s No One Like You!

The
glorious
singer
is
simply
sensational
at
77
and
we
just
love
her!

It
was
a
delightful
evening.

The
people
milling
around,
buying
samosas,
sandwiches
and
coffee
at
the
cafeteria
at
the
Nehru
Centre
in
central
Mumbai
knew
fully
well
that
what
lay
behind
the
auditorium
doors
would
leave
them
on
a
song
for
the
rest
of
the
weekend,
probably
for
the
rest
of
the
year.

The
crowd
was
dominated
by
well-dressed
elders
with
a
mix
of
middle-and-lower
aged,
united
in
love
for
the
Glorious
Usha
Uthup.

“I
have
been
singing
for
56
years,”
said
the
singer,
sitting
in
front
of
the
mike
wearing
her
signature
Kanjivaram
sari,
Kanjivaram
sneakers,

gajra,
bangles
and
a
big
round
bindi.

The
soon-to-be
78-year-old
rock
star
began
by
introducing
her
4-man
orchestra
to
loud
cheers.

The
fact
that
she
thanked
them

before
and
not

after
the
show
was
a
revelation
of
her
virtuosity
and
large-heartedness
as
a
performer.

Then
she
acknowledged
names
in
the
audience
—
a
lady
whose
nephew
was
married
to
her
daughter;
the
wife
of
a
Malayalam
movie
star
for
whose
blockbuster
film
she
had
sung
—
and
warmly
thanked
the
rest
of
us
for
making
it
despite
a
somewhat
rainy
Mumbai
evening.

“Mi
Mumbaikar,”
said
the
Tamilian
born
and
raised
in
Bombay,
the
daughter
of
one
of
the
city’s
senior
police
officers
in
the
1950s
and
1960s,
who
sang
at
Marine
Drive’s

Talk
Of
The
Town
restaurant
before
moving
to
Calcutta
and
making
it
her
own.

And
then
she
sang…

Oh
what
songs!
She
had
the
audience
singing
along
loud,
many
dancing
in
the
aisles,
drinking
in
every
musical
tone
that
flowed
out
of
her
lips.

In
between
they
would
hold
out
their
phones
to
record
bits
of

Dum
Maro
Dum,

Ramba
Ho,
Main
Nachi,
Senorita,
Darling…

The
lights
in
the
auditorium
were
bright;
she
wanted
to
see
the
audience
as
much
as
they
wanted
to
see
her.

And
woe
betide
anyone
who
stepped
out;
she
wanted
to
know
why
and
when
they
would
be
back.

She
spoke
to
the
audience
in
between
songs
like
a
friend,
weaving
them
into
stories,
anecdotes
and
life
experiences
with
warmth
and
humour.

Like,
how
she
sang
for
Mithun
Chakraborty
because
of
her
deep
voice
which
was
considered
manly.

How
she
would
have
given
all
her
gold
to
Bappi
Lahiri,
the
composer
who
gave
her
some
smashing
hits.

How
she
was
the
“original
item
girl”
because
she
got
to
sing
songs
for
the
“bad
girls”
on
screen.

How
she
is
the
“original
Didi”
for
having
lived
in
Kolkata
since
the
late
1960s.

How
we
must
cry
out
and
not
back
hold
the
tears
in
moments
of
grief.

How
we
must
be
kind
because
everyone
has
problems
that
may
be
much
bigger
than
ours.

A
singer
who
has
sung
in
16
Indian
and
eight
foreign
languages,
she
regaled
us
with
songs
in
Marathi,
Punjabi,
Gujarati,
Bangla,
also
Russian.

“This
Russian
song
got
huge
applause
both
in
Russia
and
Kyiv,
Ukraine.
A
reminder
of
how
music
binds
people,”
she
said
even
as
Russia
and
Ukraine
rain
drones
and
bombs
on
each
other
in
what
has
been
a
protracted,
senseless
war.

She
spoke
of
peace,
love,
paid
tribute
to
our
soldiers
interspersed
with
some
of
Hindi
cinema’s
rousing
songs.

She
moved
you
with
songs
that
have
helped
many
get
through
life’s
dark
moments
like

Jab
Koi
Baat
Bigad
Jaaye,
Jab
Koi
Mushkil
Pad
Jaaye
and
made
you
dance
with
unbridled
abandonment
to

Senorita.

The
final
song
of
the
evening
was
an
ode
to
India.
The
auditorium
lights
were
dimmed
and
cell
phone
torches
lit
as
we
sang

Sare
Jahan
Se
Accha
with
her.

In
those
two
hours,
Usha
Uthup
took
us
soaring.
She
made
us
feel
good.
Her
songs
and
voice
stayed
with
us
long
after
she
left
the
stage.

She
was
sensational.
Rocking
hard
as
she
has
been
through
the
decades
and
making
us
love
her
again
and
again
and
again.