MUMBAI: 74-year-old legendary singer Usha Uthup recently released her authorised biography, ‘The Queen of Indian Pop’, that gives an insight into her life.

While talking about her bonding with her singing teacher, Usha Uthup asserted, “I wish at least I had learned sight-reading or notation because that would have helped me in my career. If you can read the music sheet, you can pick up the music so fast. But I didn’t really have the opportunity to learn... My music teacher didn’t think I was very good at music, and so she put me out of the choir class, which is quite unbelievable.”

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“Years later, once when I was performing at The Ashok, in Delhi, my music teacher was in the audience. I dedicated a song To Sir, With Love to her; we had both cried.... But this isn’t a regret that pulls me down. It pushes me to do better,” says the “compulsive optimist” who today performs in 17 Indian and eight foreign languages, the world over.

“It’s not that I’m a good singer or a bad singer; I’m a 100% original singer,” she concludes.

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Usha Uthup became popular with songs like Hari Om Hari (Pyaara Dushman; 1980), Rambha Ho Ho Ho (Armaan; 1981) and Koi Yahan Aha Nache Nache (Disco Dancer; 1982).

Credit: Hindustan Times