ANJALI KURIAN: daughter. She stays in Kochi and works as a radio jockey
USHA UTHUP: the one and only, performs at the CC&FC on Sunday evening
AYESHA JOHN: granddaughter. Called “the boss” of 3G, the Uthup band, the teen is training in vocals in Kochi.
Picture by Arnab Mandal
Uthup 3G jammed for the first time together in Calcutta as Usha Uthup took the stage at the CC&FC on Sunday evening with daughter Anjali Kurian and granddaughter Ayesha John.
If love, laughter and a lot of music keep the three generations — 3G — of Uthup women in concert with each other, they bonded as a band at the INK conference in Kochi a year ago. “When Amma was invited to INK to talk about how her music cuts across boundaries, Ayesha suggested she sings Shine Like A Diamond and Tumhi ho and Amma suggested we join her,” beamed Anjali.
“After a standing ovation at INK, we were invited to perform at GIMA. From there we went to Jaipur and London,” she said.
The Shine Like A Diamond and Tumhi ho mash-up is now a staple at every 3G show, including the one at the CC&FC.
“I don’t know how to explain what I’m feeling. It’s so sentimental today. I feel nostalgic. Everything good and beautiful happened from here in Calcutta. And its extraordinary and historical for us three generations singing here today,” said Usha before belting out old favourites from her Trinca’s days.
Her voice still holding strong as she sang I Believe In Music, Fever and the Bond number Skyfall, she called her “beautiful girls” Anjali and Ayesha to join in.
The crowd clapped, tapped and cheered as the Uthup trio sang Malaika, Oh Carol, La Bamba, I Will Survive, one after the other in perfect harmony.
Usha had a message for her 14-year-old granddaughter: “Remember, this is the most difficult audience to please and if they say yes, 45 years guaranteed.” The crowd applauded even more.
When Metro caught up with 3G on the sidelines, they spoke about how the three inspire one another. “I told my mother everything that girls couldn’t think of telling their mothers and Ayesha too does the same. We always know everything about each other,” said Anjali who lives in Kochi.
Usha described Anjali as somebody similar to herself in terms of “vocal quality and joie de vivre on stage”.
Ayesha, she felt, is different. “She has a huge range, a different timbre and sings old songs with as much ease as the new ones,” said the proud granny.
Anjali couldn’t help gloat over her mom and being the 3G go-between. “Some people excel in cooking or stitching, she excelled as a singer and inspired me to be a good human being. I’m happy being an RJ and dancing but since I seemed to be the missing link between my daughter and my mother I decided to join in and have fun singing.”
Ayesha, the older two agreed, is the “more serious singer” and also “the boss”. “We don’t do it because we are good at it but because we like it,” the junior-most Uthup said with authority.
“To me, she’s a grandmother who cooks, cleans and feeds me and, by the way, sings as well,” laughed Ayesha.
But then, she isn’t the typical grandmother either as she rocks her way through life post-60. “Sometimes we forget our age. She didn’t want me to call her ammachi, naani or daadi. She said, ‘Call me anything, even coconut tree if you want’.” Ayesha calls her umbukka, just a word she coined.
Park Street holds a special place in all the three hearts that beat inside 3G. Anjali exclaimed: “Thank god for Park Street, otherwise my parents wouldn’t have met and I wouldn’t have been born.”
Ayesha, training in vocals in Kochi, is yet to pay a visit to Trinca’s where her grandmother started her music. “She is the one who made me fall in love with singing… so Trinca’s is a must-visit.”
Retiring club CEO Deepankar Nandi said: “What a wonderful evening and such a great parting gift for me. Apart from being a very old club member and a brilliant performer, Usha is my favourite. The added bonus was the performance by Anjali and Ayesha.”
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta / Front Page> Calcutta> Story / Tuesday – September 09th, 2014