Vikas Kumar Jha - The Queen of Indian Pop: The Authorised Biography of Usha Uthup

T o narrate the story of the queen of Indian pop music, it is essential for me to remember the late Anjan Das. In the Ramcharitmanas, Tulsidas wrote, Again, with a sincere heart, I greet the unkind, who are hostile without purpose even to those who are friendly, to whom others loss is like a personal gain, who seek joy in others desolation and wail over their prosperity.

Anjan Das, a resident of Bhowanipore in Kolkata, was Usha Uthups Studio Vibrations man Friday. Whenever someone was unavailable for any studio work, Anjas Das filled in for them. The jack of all trades. Since my teenage years, I have been an ardent fan of Usha Uthups fascinating and free-spirited songs, and when I decided to become a journalist, it was the obvious urge to do a detailed interview with her. But unfortunately, I was confronted by her man Friday each time I called requesting a meeting. He reminded me of Balis son Angada, who challenged everyone in Ravanas court to move his leg, and no one actually could.

In his unrelenting tone, which was backed by a broken mixture of Hindi and Bangla, he used to say, Not possible! Didi is very busy. This went on for about two and a half decades or so. Almost every trip to Kolkata was a failed attempt, as Anjas Das would have the same response, and just to make my trip worthwhile, I would interview some other eminent personality and return.

During that phase, I had the privilege of interviewing many larger-than-life personalities, like the legendary actor Utpal Dutts wife, Shobha Sen, who, in her heyday, was one of the most reputed actresses in Bangla cinema; the Bengali actress Debashree Roy; famous Bengali writers Shyamal Gangopadhyay, Sunil Gangopadhyay and Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, among others. But each time, I would return with this unfulfilled feeling, of not being able to meet one of my most favourite singers. I started to believe that Anjan Das was the Angada in my life who would never let me meet her. Ever.

But I was also stubborn. A few years ago, I again visited Kolkata, tried the landline number yet again and asked, Is that Anjan Das speaking?

A voice on the other side said, No, he went up.

Intrigued, I asked, Upstairs? Top floor?

No, Dada not upstairs! He went to the final floor.

So, finally, my Angada had left the world. I didnt know what to say. After a brief pause, I said that I had been trying to get in touch with Usha Uthup for many years now, but Anjan Dada always refused saying Didi was busy. The man on the other side said that he was passing my call to Studio Vibrations manager, Nabeen Ghosh, and that I should talk to him about this. Nabeen Ghosh warmly told me, I am giving you her number. Talk to her directly.

I finally got her number. But despite that, it took me almost two years to meet her. Though she wanted to, we were unable to do so, due to some serious family emergency she was facing. Finally, in the year 2018, we met. No book had been written on Usha Uthup. So I thought why write her biography. She liked my proposal. Having bid adieu to a three-decade-long career in journalism, I was entirely dedicated to novel-writing. But after meeting her, I decided to write her biography. Now, when I look back, I realize that the late Anjan Das did me a huge favour by holding back that meeting for years. Had I succeeded in meeting her all those years ago, I would have been satisfied with a profile interview of hers. But God had planned it dierently. He wanted me to do a book on her. The almighty had deployed Anjan Das, aka Angada, to postpone the meeting to that day. Hence this biography!

However, let me clarify that I havent written this biography on the lines of Devi Shahastranaam, the Goddesss narrative. There is always this danger in biography-writing as one tends to fall prey to a certain fascination and indulges in over-celebrating the subject. I restricted myself and cautiously shied away from portraying her as this elevated figure adorned with exquisite flowers and scented pollens. Through Usha Uthups story, I tried to narrate a simple Indian womans storya woman who has done, and continues to do, many extraordinary things. Actually, Usha Uthups story is the story of a woman who is far ahead of her time. And this is not only the story of her life. This is the story of a progressive Tamil family that operates on the principle of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one big family). Usha Uthups maternal and paternal sides of the family have lived this idea. Her multicultural family has members from dierent communities and cultures from across the world.