ನಿರ್ಜೀವ ಸಂಸತ್ತಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆಲಸಕ್ಕೆ ಬಾರದ ಸಂಸದರು.......

( ಕರಾವಳಿ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಸಂಸದರಿಗೆ ಈ ಮಾತನ್ನು ಬರೆದದ್ದು, ಈ ಸಂದೇಶವನ್ನ ಅವರಲ್ಲಿ ಇಬ್ಬರ ಗಮನಕ್ಕೆ ತರಲಾಗಿದೆ, ಮೂರು ಕಾಸಿನ ಪ್ರಯೋಜನ ಇದರಿಂದ ಇಲ್ಲ ಎನ್ನುವ ಅರಿವಿದ್ದೂ ಸಹ.)


ಇದೇನಿದು ಸಂಸದರೆ ಮಂಗಳೂರಿಗೆ, ಅದು ಸಹ ವಾರಕ್ಕೊಮ್ಮೆ ಕಳೆದ ರೈಲ್ವೆ ಬಜೆಟ್‍ನಲ್ಲಿ ಘೋಷಿಸಿದ್ದ ಹೊಸ ರೈಲು ಕೇವಲ "ರೈಲು" ಬಿಟ್ಟಂತಾಗಿದೆಯಲ್ಲ!

ಸೇಲಂ, ಕೊಯಮತ್ತೂರು, ಪಾಲ್ಘಾಟ್, ಕಣ್ಣೂರು ದಾರಿಯಾಗಿ ಈ ಕಣ್ಣೊರೆಸುವ ರೈಲು ಬಿಟ್ಟಿರೋದು ಯಾವ ಕರ್ಮಕ್ಕಾಗಿ? ಮಲಯಾಳಿ ಸಂಸದರು ಲಾಬಿ ಮಾಡುವಾಗ ನೀವೆಲ್ಲ ನಿದ್ದೆಯಲ್ಲಿದ್ದಿರಾ ಸ್ವಾಮಿ? ನಿಮ್ಮನ್ನೆ ನಂಬಿದ್ದೆವಲ್ಲ ನಾವೆಲ್ಲ.

ಈಗಾಗಲೆ ಕೊಂಕಣ ರೈಲ್ವೆ ಮಾರ್ಗಕ್ಕೆ ಸಂಪರ್ಕವಾಗುವ ಪಾಲ್ಘಾಟ್ ಸೀಳುದಾರಿಯಿಂದ ಈ ಮಾರ್ಗವಾಗಿ ಕೇರಳ ಹಾಗೂ ತಮಿಳುನಾಡಿನ ಉದ್ದಗಲದಿಂದ ಬರೋಬ್ಬರಿ ೩೮ ರೈಲುಗಳು ನಿತ್ಯ ಸಿಟಿ ಬಸ್ಸಿನಂತೆ ಮಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಕಡೆಗೆ ಓಡಾಡುತ್ತಿವೆ. ಅದರಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದು ರೈಲಂತೂ ನೇರ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನಿಂದ ಇದೇ ಮಾರ್ಗವಾಗಿ ಕಣ್ಣೂರಿನವರೆಗೆ ನಿತ್ಯ ಸಂಪರ್ಕ ಕಲ್ಪಿಸುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಇದು ಸಾಲದು ಅಂತ ಮಂಗಳೂರಿನ ನಿತ್ಯ ಇರುಳಿನ ರೈಲಿಗೂ ಕಣ್ಣೂರಿನವರೆಗೆ ಅನಗತ್ಯ ವಿಸ್ತರಣೆ! ಈಗ ಅದೆ ಸಾಲಿಗೆ ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ಹೊಸ ರೈಲು ಸಿಕ್ಕ ಮಲಯಾಳಿಯ ಮನ ಪ್ರಸನ್ನವಾಗಿರಲಿಕ್ಕೆ ಸಾಕು. ನಮ್ಮವರ ನಿಷ್ಕ್ರಿಯತೆಯ ಫಲಾಭವಿ ಮಲಯಾಳಿಯಾಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದರೆ ಕರಾವಳಿ ಕನ್ನಡಿಗ ಮಾತ್ರ ಎಂದಿನ ಹಾಗೆ ಪೆಕರನಂತೆ ಬಾಯಿಬಾಯಿ ಬಿಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾನೆ.


ಇಷ್ಟೆಲ್ಲಾ ನಾಟಕ ಮಾಡೊದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಒಂದೊಳ್ಳೆ ರೇಟು ಬಂದರೆ ಸಮಯ ನೋಡಿಕೊಂಡು ನಮ್ಮ ಕರಾವಳಿ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಗಳನ್ನ ಮಲಯಾಳಿಗಳಿಗೂ, ಮೈಸೂರು ಭಾಗದ ನಾಲ್ಕಾರು ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಗಳನ್ನ ತಮಿಳುನಾಡಿಗೂ, ಅಳಿದುಳಿವ ಉತ್ತರ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಏಳೆಂಟು ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಗಳನ್ನ ಮರಾಠಿಗರಿಗೂ ಹರಾಜು ಹಾಕೋದು ವಾಸಿ. ಸದ್ಯದ ಪರಿಸ್ಥಿತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹಂಗಾದರೂ ನಾವು ಬಡ ಎಬಡ ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರು ಸುಖವಾಗಿದ್ದೇವು ಅನ್ನಿಸುತ್ತೆ!

ಅಲ್ಲಾ ಮಂಗಳೂರು, ಉಡುಪಿ, ಕಾರವಾರ ಇವೆಲ್ಲಾ ಬಡಪಾಯಿ ಪಟ್ಟಣಗಳು ನಮ್ಮ ರಾಜ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿಯೆ ಇವೆಯೋ ಇಲ್ಲಾ ಕೇರಳದಲ್ಲಿದೆಯೋ? ಒಂದು ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾ,ಡಿ ಈ ಪರಿ ನಮ್ಮನ್ನ ಮಂಗ ಮಾಡಿ ಮಾನಸಿಕವಾಗಿ ಹಿಂಸಿಸೋದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಇಡಿ ಈ ಮೂರು ಕರಾವಳಿ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಗಳ ಹಣೆಬರಹ ನಿರ್ಧರಿಸುವ ಹಕ್ಕನ್ನ ಪೂರ್ತಿ ಮಲೆಯಾಳಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಧಾರೆ ಎರೆದು ಕೊಟ್ಟು ನೀವೆಲ್ಲ ನಿರಮ್ಮಳವಾಗಿದ್ದು ಬಿಡಿ. ನಮ್ಮಂತಹ ನೊಂದ ತಲೆತಿರುಕರ ಕಾಟವಾದರೂ ನಿಮಗಾಗ ತಪ್ಪುತ್ತದಲ್ಲ.

ನಿಮಗೆ ಮತ್ತು ಇನ್ನುಳಿದ ಕರಾವಳಿ ಕರುನಾಡಿನ ಇನ್ನಿಬ್ಬರು ಸಂಸದರಿಗೆ ಒಳ್ಳೆಯದಾಗಲಿ.

His Master's Voice-56

Jency Anthony is a popular South Indian film playback singer who has worked with the film composers like Ilayaraaja in Tamil films.


She is married to Mr.Gregory Thomas, a reputed businessman. They have two children, namely Nithin (son/elder) and Nubiya (daughter/younger). She hails from a well reputed family of musicians and hence music came into her life at a very young age. She was introduced to the Tamil movie industry in the song Vaanathu Poonkili in the movie Thiripurasundari scored by Ilayaraja. Her songs that followed were in many blockbuster movies like Mullum Malarum, Priya.

2010 September Srikanth Deva read one of the Jency interview and decided to give the talented singer a break in one of the movies that he was composing for. This gesture has come as a benediction for Jency. John Mahendran, son of legendary director Mahendran is directing this film.


After the song recording was over, both director and music director were heard saying that even after all these years Jency's voice had not aged. The movie name is Saravedi in which Jeevan acting along with Poonam bajwa

His Master's Voice-55

Jagjit Singh, born Jagmohan Singh (8 February 1941 – 10 October 2011), was a prominent Indian Ghazal singer, songwriter and musician. Known as the "Ghazal King", he gained acclaim together with his wife, another renowned Indian ghazal singer Chitra Singh in the 1970s and 1980s. Their combination album comprising music from the films, Arth and Saath Saath is the HMV's largest selling combination album of all time. Sajda (An Offering, 1991), Jagjit Singh's magnum opus double album with Lata Mangeshkar holds the same record in non-film category.[citation needed] He sang in numerous languages. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the government of India in 2003.


Singh is credited for the revival and popularity of ghazal, an Indian classical art form, by choosing poetry that was relevant to the masses and composing them in a way that laid more emphasis on the meaning of words and melody evoked by them. In terms of Indian Classical music, his style of composing and Gayaki (singing) is considered as Bol-pradhan, one that lays emphasis on words. He highlighted this in his music for films such as Prem Geet (1981), Arth and Saath Saath (1982), and TV serials Mirza Ghalib (1988) and Kahkashan (1991). Jagjit Singh is considered to be the most successful ghazal singer and composer of all time in terms of critical acclaim and commercial success. With a career spanning five decades and a repertoire comprising over 80 albums, the range and breadth of his work has been regarded as genre-defining. He is the only composer and singer to have composed and recorded songs written by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee — also a critically acclaimed poet — in two albums, Nayi Disha (1999) and Samvedna (2002).


Singh's 1987 album, Beyond Time, was the first digitally recorded release in India. He was regarded as one of India's most influential artists. With sitar legend Ravi Shankar and other leading figures of Indian classical music and literature, Singh voiced his concerns over politicisation of arts and culture in India and lack of support experienced by the practitioners of India's traditional art forms, particularly folk artists and musicians. He lent active support to several philanthropic endeavors such as the library at St. Mary's School, Mumbai, Bombay Hospital, CRY, Save the Children and ALMA.


Jagjit Singh was born on 8 February 1941 in Sri Ganganagar, Bikaner princely state (now in Rajasthan), India. His birth name was Jagmohan but this was changed to Jagjit after his parents sought the advice of a member of the Sikh Namdhari sect. His parents were Sikh — Amar Singh and Bachan Kaur — and had several other children, with sources variously reporting the number between six and eleven. Educated initially at Khalsa High School and Sri Ganganagar Government College, Singh obtained an arts degree from DAV College at Jalandhar and then a post-graduate degree in history from Kurukshetra University in Haryana. Throughout this time, and as a consequence of a natural talent that was spotted by his father, Singh learned music in Sikh temples and from musicians such as Pandit Chaganlal Sharma and Ustad Jamaal Khan, both of whom were trained in classical Indian music. He performed on radio and on stage, as well as composing some material, although he subsequently claimed that his father, who was a government employee, had hoped that he would become an engineer. On another occasion his memory was that his father aspired for him to become a bureaucrat and that his siblings were encouraged musically.

In March 1965, and without the knowledge of his family, Singh moved to Mumbai, where there were many opportunities for music artists because of the Bollywood film industry. He obtained work initially as a singer of advertising jingles and later progressed to playback singing. In the same year he persuaded the record company HMV to produce an EP; he also altered his Sikh image by abandoning his turban, shaving and cutting his hair. His first film role was in Dharati Na Chhoru, a Gujarati production by Suresh Amin.


Singh was still struggling to make a living in 1967 when he met the Bengali-born Chitra Dutta. She divorced her husband and married Singh in December 1969. Following the birth of their son, Vivek, the couple performed as a singing duo but it was not until the 1976 release of the album The Unforgettable that they found significant, and surprising, success. In the interval, the primary difficulty for them had been that the ghazal music genre was dominated by Muslim artists and especially those from Pakistan. The Unforgettable, which was the couple's first LP, was an unconventional recording and it turned them into stars. The song "Baat Niklegi" from the album achieved great popularity for the Singhs. The Independent described it in 2011 as "ground-breaking ... it became a transformative, before-and-after milestone in the history of Indian popular and ghazal music. It remains that." Using modern arrangements, it consists of ten tracks that include two on which they sang as a duo and the remainder equally split between Jagjit and Chitra singing the lead. The Independent further noted that "This format of solo and duet performances from the first commercially successful husband-and-wife team in Indian popular music proved astonishingly successful. Jagjit explained that "I was determined to polish up the genre and make it more acceptable to modern tastes, so chose simple poems and set them to simple tunes. I also introduced western instrumentation to make them livelier." Thereafter, the couple worked both on solo and joint musical projects and performed concerts worldwide. There was success from involvement with the film industry and they amassed considerable wealth, while Jagjit became known as "the Ghazal king".


Jagjit Singh's work in film encompassed playback singing for productions such as Arth, Saath Saath and Premgeet. He composed all of the songs for the latter, as well as for the TV serial Mirza Ghalib that was based on the life of the eponymous poet, Mirza Ghalib.  Among their subsequent duo recordings of the 1970s were Shiv Kumar Batalvi – Birha da Sultan (1978), Live in Concert at Wembley (1979) and Come Alive (1979). Of those released in the 1980s, Ecstasies (1984) has been described as "one of their finest". The joint projects ceased in 1990 when their 18-year-old son, Vivek, was killed in a road accident. Chitra felt unable to sing following these events. Monica, Chitra's daughter from her first marriage, committed suicide in 2009.


Although Jagjit continued to work and to have success after Chitra withdrew from public life he, too, was affected by the death of Vivek. The Guardian notes that he "suffered from deep depression and his anguish was often evident in his live performances." Aside from occupying himself with solo projects, which he performed in several languages, he collaborated with Lata Mangeshkar on an album titled Sajda, an Urdu word meaning "prostration". On 10 May 2007, in the presence of numerous political and diplomatic luminaries at an event held in the Central Hall of the Parliament of India, Jagjit Singh rendered Bahadur Shah Zafar's famous ghazal Lagta nahin hai dil mera to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Google India honoured Jagjit Singh with a doodle on his 72nd birthday on 8 February 2013.


A biography of Singh, entitled Beyond Time based on about 40 hours of interviews with him, was released in 2012. It was transcribed and edited by Ashrani Mathur . Singh toured the UK in 2011 and was due to perform with Ghulam Ali in Mumbai but suffered a cerebral hemorrhage on 23 September 2011. He was in a coma for over two weeks and died on 10 October 2011 at Lilavati Hospital, in Mumbai. He was cremated the following day at Chandanwadi Crematorium in Mumbai. A number of tributes have been paid to Singh after his death, and some tried to cash in on his popularity, which was criticised by his wife.

His Master's Voice-54

Reshma, SI, is a renowned folk singer of Pakistan, who is also very popular in India.
Reshma was born in Bikaner, Rajasthan to a Banjara (Gypsy) family around 1947. Her father Haji Mamad Mushtaq was a camel and horse trader from Malashi. She belonged to a tribe which had converted to Islam. Her tribe migrated to Karachi shortly after the Partition of India. She did not receive any formal education and spent much of her childhood singing at the mazars (shrines) of the mystic saints of Sindh.


When she was twelve years old, she was spotted singing at Shahbaaz Qalandar's shrine by a television and radio producer, who arranged for her to make a recording of "Laal Meri" on Pakistan radio. She became an instant hit and since that day, Reshma has been one of the most popular folk singers of Pakistan, appearing on television in the 1960s, recording songs for both the Pakistani and Indian film industry, and performing at home and abroad. Some of her famous numbers are "Dama Dam Mast Kalandar", "Hai O Rabba nahion lagda dil mera", "Sun charkhe di mithi mithi cook mahiya meinu yaad aunda", "Wey main chori chori", "Ankhiyan no rehen de ankhyan de kol kol".


The last was used by Raj Kapoor in Bobby, "Ankhyon ko rehne de ankhyon ke aas pass", sung by Lata. Her fame had crossed the border, thanks to pirated tapes. She was able to perform live in India much later, during the 1980s when India and Pakistan allowed exchange of artists. Subhash Ghai used her voice to great effect in the film Hero, which featured one of her most famous songs, "Lambi Judai". During her career she was invited to meet Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.



She still loves going to the mazars, where several of her pirs (holy men) reside. She has been visiting Pir Mushtaq Hussain, Pir Shafqat Hussain in Okara for the last twenty-five years. She also visits the mazar of Shahbaz Qallander. She once said in an interview, "I was born in a family of saudagars in Rajasthan in a small settlement called Bikaner. I don't know the year I was born but I was told that I was brought to Pakistan when I was a few months old in 1947. My family would take camels from Bikaner and sell them in other areas, and bring back goats and cows from elsewhere to sell at home. I belong to a huge clan of gypsies. We were forever travelling around. Though a lot of us have now settled and taken up permanent residences in Lahore and Karachi, whenever we feel restless we pack our bags and move on.

In October 2002 Reshma performed at the Brunei Gallery in London to a packed fall of Pakistani expatriates her daughter Khadija and Umayr also performed. In 2004 she recorded "Ashkan Di Gali Vich Mukaam De Gaya", which was used in the Bollywood film Woh Tera Naam Tha, and was also a hit record in India. In January 2006 she was one of the passengers on the inaugural Lahore-Amritsar bus, the first such service linking both parts of the Punjab since 1947. The bus had 26 passengers in total of whom 15 were Pakistani officials, and Reshma had booked seven seats for herself and her family.


Reshma was diagnosed with cancer in the 1980s and more recently her health deteriorated, leading President Pervez Musharraf to come to her aid, giving her one million Rupees to help pay off a bank loan, as well as putting her on a secured assistance of 10,000 rupees per month. He also helped her secure a plot of land for herself, but that did not go through due to the change in government. On Hum TV, in Karachi, Pakistan, Reshma made it a point to let the audience know how unhappy she was with them, because she was forgotten. She also pointed out at the Zardari government for stopping her social assistance paycheck. She also mentioned that when she was in India, the officials asked her to stay there for good, as she was born in Rajasthan, but she returned to Pakistan. Her daughter Shazia Reshma sings with her mother sometimes on talk shows or events. Reshma can't sing much as her voice has been lost due to her illnesses. She can't pronounce words that well, and thus requires the help of her daughter to clear her singing.


Her current residence is in the area of Icchra in Lahore Pakistan. She is a vegetarian. Her younger sister Kaneez Reshma is also a professional singer. Her Health has deteriorated to such an extent that she was hospitalised in Lahore Pakistan in Doctors Hospital on 6th April 2013, the caretaker government has elected to pay all her medical expenses. The previous government under the presidency of Asif Zardari had never paid heed for her medical care. Superstars like Punjabi Rapper Bohemia also expressed his sorrow for Reshma via facebook post.

His Master's Voice-53

Jolly Mukherjee is an Indian singer/songwriter. Known as India's "King of Strings", Mukherjee specializes in the music of Bollywood, or the Indian film industry. He started his career as a backup singer for commercials, then moving on to writing music for airline on-flight introductions, where he sometimes wrote for British Airways. His roots include a mixture of Hindustani classical music and Western music.


He is known for working with the Madras Cinematic Orchestra, where he combines percussion sampled from Bombay (such as the pakhavaj) with strings from Madras. His latest album, Fusebox, included remixes from State of Bengal and Badmarsh & Shri, from which the remixed version of "Bhatiyali" achieved success. He is famous in Bangladesh for providing playback for veteran actor Dipjol. One of his famous song in Dhallywood is Ki batti lagaili (ore o mainka). He provided the string arrangements for the Icelandic performer Björk's song "Verandi".

He is presently participating in Jjhoom India, a reality show on Sahara One, teamed up with Shama Sikander. Recent projects include Detective Naani (film directed and co-produced by Romilla Mukherjee). He is the Music Di

rector and Producer for the same.

His Master's Voice-52

Usha Uthup (born November 8, 1947) is a popular Indian pop, jazz and playback singer. She is well known for popular hits in the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Usha was born in Mumbai, in a Tamil Brahmin family of Vaidyanath Someshwar Sami that hailed from Madras (now Chennai), in Tamil Nadu in 1947. When she was in school she was thrown out of music class because she didn't fit in with a voice like hers. But her music teacher recognized that she had some music in her and would give her clappers or triangles to play. Even though she was not formally trained in music, she grew up in an atmosphere of music. Her parents used to listen to a wide range from Western classical to Hindustani and Carnatic including Kishori Amonkar and Bade Ghulam Ali Khan on radio and she used to join them. She used to enjoy listening to Radio Ceylon.


Her next door neighbour was S.M.A. Pathan, who was then the deputy commissioner of police. His daughter, Jamila, inspired Usha to learn Hindi, wear salwar kameez and take up Indian classical music. This fusion approach helped her to pioneer her unique brand of Indian pop in the 1970s. She is married to Mr Jani Uthup from Kottayam, Kerala. She is presently a resident of Kolkata, West Bengal. Her first public singing occurred when she was nine. Her sisters who were already exploring a music career, took her to the most popular radio announcer in India that time called Ameen Sayani who gave her an opportunity to sing on the Ovaltine Music Hour in Radio Ceylon. She sang a number called "Mockingbird Hill". After that, several appearances followed through her teenage years.



Uthup started singing in a small nightclub in Chennai called as Nine Gems in the basement of the erstwhile Safire theater complex on Mount Road, when she was 20, wearing a saree and leg callipers. Her performance was so well received that the owner of the nightclub asked her to stay on for a week. After her first night club gig, she began singing in Calcutta at night clubs such as "Trincas". She met her future husband Uthup in Trincas. At about the same time, she also sang at "Talk of the Town", now known as "Not Just Jazz By The Bay" in Bombay (now Mumbai). After Trincas, her next engagement took her to Delhi where she sang at the Oberoi hotels. By happenstance, a film crew belonging to Navketan unit including Shashi Kapoor visited the nightclub and they offered her a chance to sing movie playback. As a result, she started her Bollywood career with Hare Rama Hare Krishna. Originally, she was supposed to sing Dum Maro Dum along with Asha Bhosle. However, as a result of internal politicking on the part of other singers, she lost that chance but ended up singing an English verse.


In 1968, she recorded covers of two pop songs in English, "Jambalaya" and The Kingston Trio's "Greenback Dollar", on an EP, Love Story, and "Scotch and Soda", another Kingston Trio song, which sold very well in the Indian market. She also spent some time in London during this early period. She was a frequent visitor to Vernon Corea's BBC office at the Langham in London and was interviewed on London Sounds Eastern on BBC Radio London. Usha visited Nairobi as part of an Indian festival. She was so popular that she was invited to stay on. Singing and quite often nationalistic songs in Swahili made her extremely popular and the then President Jomo Kenyatta made her an Honorary Citizen of Kenya. She sang the famous song "Malaika" (angel) with Fadhili Williams who was the original singer. She produced a record "live in Nairobi" with a local band Fellini Five.



Uthup sang several songs in the 1970s and 1980s for music directors R D Burman and Bappi Lahiri. She also reprised some of R.D. Burman songs that were sung by others such as Mehbooba Mehbooba and Dum Maro Dum and popularised them to a distinct end. Uthup sang in Chris Perry's Konkani album Chris Perry Presents Usha – 'Meu Amor' . She appeared as a judge on a singing reality show Bharat Ki Shaan: Singing Star – Season 2 (2012), aired on DD National channel, along with Ismail Darbar. She is the judge in the Season 3 of the show as well. She also appeared as a chief guest for Marathi singing reality show 'Gaurav Maharashtracha' on ETV Marathi. She entertained the audience with Marathi songs.



In addition, she has also sung as a playback singer for the following Bollywood movies: Dhol (2007), June R (2005), Joggers' Park (2003), Jajantaram Mamantaram (2003), Ek Tha Raja (1996), Dushman Devta (1991), Bhavani Junction (1985), Hum Paanch (1980), and Purab Aur Pachhim (1970) among others. She is a stage performer and gave performances all over the world and is known for her lively stage presence. She has been felicitated with several awards over the years, some of which include Rajiv Gandhi Purashkar for National Integration for quality music, Mahila Shiromani Purashkar for international peace, and Channel [V] award for outstanding achievement.


She recorded her first album with Luis Banks for which she was paid Rs. 3500. Since then, she has recorded numerous albums. Usha's Hindi version of Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough", titled "Chhupke Kaon Aya", can be found on the album Tom Middleton – The Trip (2004). A cover of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" is on another Tom Middleton album, Cosmosonica – Tom Middleton Presents Crazy Covers Vol. 1 (2005). She recorded a song called "Rhythm and Blues" with the Indian rock band Parikrama which appeared on Channel V on April 23, 2007.


Uthup is also an actress, often singing and acting in India's signature musical films. In 2006, she acted in the Malayalam movie Pothan Vava as Kurisuveettil Mariamma. She made a cameo appearance in the movie Bombay To Goa with Amitabh Bachchan and Shatrughan Sinha in 1972. In 2007, she appeared in Bow Barracks Forever directed by Anjun Dutt as herself. Again in 2007, she appeared in Hattrick music video as herself. She appeared in disguise on Indian Idol 1 and 2. She was one of the co-judges of the 2007 and 2008 & Idea Star Singer Season V (2010) the most rated south Indian reality show as well music oriented reality shows in Malayalam.


She has a minor role in the 2010 Tamil movie Manmadan Ambu, as the mother of Madhavan. She also acted in Vishal Bhardwaj's 7 Khoon Maaf as a maid. She has also sang a song in the film which released on February 18, 2011. In 2012, she has starred in a Kannada film Parie which is slated for the late April release. Usha's trademark is her massive bindi and flowers that she wears in her hair, as well as her Kancheepuram saris that she adhere. She is married to Jani Chacko Uthup who is originally from Manganam, Kottayam, and was formerly married to the late Ramu Iyer. They have a daughter Anjali and a son Sunny, named after the song, "Sunny". She currently lives in Kolkata with her husband. She is considered an icon of modern Kolkata and is an active social presence in the city life in this city of joy.

His Master's Voice-51

Talat Aziz (born 11th Nov, 1956) is a popular ghazal singer from Hyderabad, India. Born in Hyderabad, India to Abdul Azeem Khan and Sajida Abid, a famous Urdu writer and poet. He went to Hyderabad Public School till the 12th standard when he finished his ISC and then joined The Indian Institute of Management and Commerce for his B'Com(Hons) Course.

His family loved fine arts and used to organize Mehfils in their house, inviting artists and poets like Jagjit Singh, Jan Nisaar Akhtar the father of the famous writer Javed Akhtar to name a few. This greatly influenced him and started learning music from an early age. He is Sania Mirza's uncle.


Talat Aziz took his initial training in music from Kirana Gharana. He was trained primarily by Ustad Samad Khan and later by Ustad Fayaz Ahmed who were famous classical music singers. After the initial training, Talat decided to learn music from music maestro Mehdi Hassan. On many occasions, like on a concert tour of the US and Canada in 1986 he shared the same stage with him on concerts in India and abroad. His first major performance was in Hyderabad at a place called King Kothi. He sang before a crowd of over 5,000. He sung Kaise Sukoon Paoon and some ghazals by noted shaayars of Hyderabad. Though he was nervous at his first performance in front of audience yet he performed well.


After his graduation he moved to Bombay in 1976 on a suggestion from Jagjit Singh. He also trained under classical music Ustad Samaad Khan and Faiyaz Ahmed Khan, and for his ghazal training he became a disciple of Mehdi Hassan in 1978. With the help of Jagjit he released his first album in 1979, Jagjit Singh Presents Talat Aziz. But for several years he was to struggle for a living. Talat also sang some ghazals in films like Umrao Jaan and Bazaar, which were super-hit. Talat has also composed music for TV serials and has also acted in several of them. He composed music for teleserials to name a few like Deewar, Baaz, Adhikaar, Ghutan, Sailaab, Aashirwaad and the magnum opus, Noorjehan. His acting was appreciated in serials like Sahil, Manzil, Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayee and Noorjehan a TV serial written by Nida Fazli. Talat released many albums like Jagjit Singh presents Talat Aziz, Talat Aziz live,Images A team Come True Lehren, Ehsaas, Suroor, Saughaat,Tasavvur, Manzil, Storms, Dhadkan, Shahkaar, Mehboob,Khubsoorat,Irshaad, Khushnuma, to name a few with his latest offering in 2009 Caravan e Ghazal in which Sonu Niigaam also participated in a duet 'Qurbaton mein bhi' a ghazal written by Ahmed Faraaz.


The singer was the ghazal artiste to release a ghazal music video of Tasavvur, in 1987 when a video album was not even thought of .He is often seen on the small screen in various roles as a music judge. However, his fans would love to see him on the silver screen too. He worked in a film in 1990. It was Mahesh Bhatt's `Dhun' opposite Sangeeta Bijlani. The film never got released for various reasons but the music was released by HMV in 1991 and was a great hit of that time featuring tracks like ' Main Aatma tu Parmaatma' a bhajan sung as a duet with none another than Mehdi Hassan and Talat and other tracks like 'Yaad aane waale' Laagi prem dhun laagi' which became a rage with the young crowd


The advent of the ghazal as a popular genre began in the late seventies and became a rage in the 80" when artists like Talat Aziz used to sell out albums in the hundreds of thousands of units. Begum Akhtar had her following of ghazal lovers. Then came Mehdi Hassan's, Ghulam Ali who was equally well known.On this side of the border, the Indian couple Jagjit and Chitra Singh, the ghazal exponents did live shows and sang at private mehfils. During that period Sanjeev Kohli,son of Madan Mohan, discovered a singer called Talat Aziz, who was young, good-looking, malleable and above all, he had a good voice. Jagjit Singh had already heard Talat sing at a Mehfil in Hyderabad, so he agreed to compose his first album.In 1979 his first album titled "Jagjit Singh presents Talat Aziz" came out which was phenomenal success thus gave him a launch pad for his meteoric rise. Then came the classic ghazal ' zindagi jab bhi teri bazm mein " from Umrao Jaan composed by Khayyam the ghazal from Bazaar ' Phir chidi raat baat phoolon ki' a duet with none other than the legend Lata Mangeshkar and the iconic nazm 'Aaina mujh se meri' from Mahesh Bhatt's film Daddy.


Talat Aziz has been singing in concerts for over three decades and has traveled the globe with his sell out performances . He completed his 25 Years Silver Anniversary with the launch of a special audio and video album in 2004 at the NCPA Mumbai where the veritable who's who of the music industry were present and the ones like Mehdi Hasan and Lata Mangeshkar who could not make it sent in their messages on video and a special documentary on his life was screened. This was released by Universal Music India as a special commemorative DVD with the audio cd pack of two released by Times Music.


Since then he has many albums . He is equally versatile while singing a popular sufi number like "Damadam mast Kalandar" or the soul stirring rendition of "Aaina Mujhse Meri" from the film Daddy. Between 1979 and 1984 he was the top artist recording for Music India Company. In 1984, he joined HMV, the giant recording company.He also worked with Venus Records for a brief period and then released albums with Universal Music India and the latest with Saregama Music.