[0:00]It's a big day in the state of West Bengal and as is even celebrities have moved to the polling stations. I'm joined by Usha didi busy having a cup of tea after she's exercised her right to vote. Usha Uthup ji, welcome to NDTV didi. How special is this day and how different is it for you? It's a very, very special day indeed and I think this is the day when all of us must be thinking Calcuts really or thinking human beings more than anything else and thinking Indians. How can India be wonderful without Kolkata being wonderful? This is a different day also. I see you've voted already you would you show your inked finger. That's Usha didi with her inked finger but I'm so thrilled yeah. Also to give you give us an understanding on how is this polling different from any other? I think people have become more conscious of their rights and of their you know being part or wanting to belong to a movement that will bring us peace. I think we're all wanting peace without peace there's no development. You have to have a lot of peace and don't ever forget that we need security. We are we are you know waiting for security. No, we're voting for peace. We're voting for progress. We're voting for security, for justice. Without that nothing happens. So I think it's very important and that's why I follow Bob Dylan songs so much. How many roads must a man walk down before you can call him a man. Yes and how many times must the canon bolts fly before they forever band the answer my friend is blowing in the wind. The answer is blowing in the wind. We all know what we have to do to get peace. We all know what we have to work towards but somewhere down the line something is going wrong. So we've got to put it right and I'm a complete optimist and I know it's going to be right. I think you're the only one in the world who's been carrying that core bindhi that core bindhi on your forehead. Yes. What does it signify and why is it so close to your heart? Oh, core is for core for Kolkata and the person who did it for me and printed all my clothes and everything is Nandita D from Kanishko. And I'm sure you've seen my dupattas and my I've even given it to the presidents to to prime ministers to everybody in the country. President also give the saree to the Sonia Gandhi also. Yes to Sonia Gandhi, everybody. Give me an idea. I I request you to sing and express your feelings today and of course the numbers that we've been the Dhurandar of television, Bollywood and almost every sphere of life. Yes, absolutely and you know I've been singing for 57 years out of which 40 years I've been singing this song and never thought it would get a second life like Dhurandar has given it. So when I said people think that this is just a fun song but if you really look into the words of it, it's so beautiful it says it actually means how you live your life. Life is so short actually. It's too short and if we don't live it to you know with full conscience and peace of mind. one of the rarest Indian celebrity singers who can sing in more than 17 languages. Would you mind sharing a few languages in your love for them today?
[4:08]Oh, there are so many languages if I were to sing in Marathi I would sing. Yeah, this is in Marathi and if we go down south I would probably say.
[4:36]That would be for Kerala and if I were to sing in Tamil then I would say. It's really fantastic and of course how can we leave out Bengali? You can't leave out Bengali. So I would say a song that is really really made so many hundreds of years ago and now people are saying talking about it. You know if we just thought it's such a beautiful song. I get tears in my eyes every time I say that word, you know that line which says.
[5:59]What a beautiful line and written so many hundreds of years ago, then why are we fighting? Why so much time to fight when there's so little time to live and love. So shall we say?
[6:19]I want to love. Don't you want to love? Are you ready for this? Yes.
[6:29]You say the second line
[6:46]Yeah it is and that's Usha she's so unique there's no one in the world who can sing like her in almost 17 languages for six decades and still woo the audience like never before. With camera person Suraj Pandey, this is Manoya Lowal in Kolkata for NDTV.
