Indian singer Usha Uthup is heading to the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF).
The 75-year old musician is heading to the fair for the launch of her biography “The Queen of Indian Pop” written by Vikas Kumar Jha and translated in English by Srishti Jha.
The biography journals Uthup’s stellar career in music spanning over five decades of work. Uthup sang songs in the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s up until recently singing for Indian television serials, apart from her concerts around the world.
“I am grateful to be invited to the Sharjah International Book Fair. It is a very prestigious place to be in and I am so thrilled that my biography is being launched at the 41st edition of the Fair. SIBF is one of the largest Book Fairs held in the world. I am excited to be part of it,” she said.
Uthup, who was born into a Tamil Iyer family in Mumbai, will also be performing her popular numbers at the fair. “It has been quite a long time since I have made a visit to Sharjah. The pandemic put a halt on many of my travel plans so I am looking forward to coming to Sharjah.”
The Queen of Indian pop will be landing on November 12 for her biography launch. “I have a performance lined up for 45 minutes at 6.30pm on November 12. I will be happy to sing a mixed number of songs including in Hindi, English, Tamil, Spanish, and more.”
A super talented star, Uthup has been singing for 53 years and can dole out a jazz, folk, pop, rock number all equally well. She can also sing in Bangla, Assamese, Gujarati, Tamil, Malayalam — in a number totalling 17 Indian languages and eight foreign languages.
Uthup’s love of writing
“I love to write for someone. So when I was a child I used to write letters to my father in English. It would be about my day at school. I remember one such letter to my father was about my school report card. I was worried about how I would fare and I had written a letter to him about it. “
Uthup writes her own songs. “I am a writer — if not a book — but of songs and letters,” she said.
Message for all
Uthup took the occasion of her visit to Sharjah to send out a heartening message to her fans. “The pandemic has taken a toll on our lives. All of us were struggling with the same difficulties. Many of us lost our near and dear ones. But it also taught us to share and care for one another. COVID has really shrunk the world.”
“So I am hoping and praying that the Sharjah Book Festival will really start everybody doing out, getting back to books. Reading one more time should be really published because so many people have really lost the habit of reading because computers and technology and where it’s at. It would be great for children to drop their mobile phones and start reading and I believe the Sharjah book fair will inspire many young minds to read.”
