Usha Uthup says India has lost secularism to endless arguments

The Story in Brief

Singer Usha Uthup, 79, says she is strongly attached to the idea of India even though much has changed. Born in the year of Independence, she said the feeling of secularism has been lost to arguments and fights. Uthup recalled her upbringing in Byculla, Mumbai, where she learned namaaz and stitching salwar kameezes from Muslim neighbours.

The singer, whose 1981 hit "Ramba Ho" has found new life with Gen-Z, said she grew up watching Nehru and Gandhi and urged critics of the Mahatma to consider his achievements. Uthup learned to keep roza and drape a dupatta. She described her post-Partition family life as eclectic, with music ranging from Beethoven to M S Subbulakshmi. She was thrown out of her class choir but became a tambourine player.