It's Great To Be Me: Usha Uthup

Brand Usha Uthup - Reminisces Usha: I started singing at a time when no performer in India, barring the film industry, hired image managers or costume designers. I started performing in clothes I had always worn, which is basically the humble saree. The flowers or the gajra in my hair is also another family tradition, given that I am an Iyer by birth. And bangles have always been a weakness. The bindi came much later... A lot of people may now ... more 

Brand Usha Uthup - Reminisces Usha: I started singing at a time when no performer in India, barring the film industry, hired image managers or costume designers. I started performing in clothes I had always worn, which is basically the humble saree. The flowers or the gajra in my hair is also another family tradition, given that I am an Iyer by birth. And bangles have always been a weakness. The bindi came much later... A lot of people may now consider my look to be a clever marketing strategy but it never was meant to be. You can attribute it to my upbringing. Her wardrobe is a kaleidoscope of colours and textures from all parts of the country. Kanishka, a well-known South Kolkata boutique, and Chamba Lama, Tibetan jewellery shop in the citys New Market, are her two favourite shopping venues. Honoured with the Padma Shri last year, Usha calls herself a peoples singer because shes doing a little of everything jazz, pop, folk, Bollywood. She says fans today dont want her to change her image. She recounts how once an airport security staff member expressed his disappointment on seeing her without the gajra. If I even go to the market in other clothes, people turn and ask Didi, apni aaj saree keno poren-ni (why are you not in a saree today) she laughs. (Though Tamilian, Usha speaks the language of her adopted home, Bengal, fluently.) less