Usha Uthup, celebrated singer since the 60s, ‘Didi’ to all of West Bengal, Padma Shri to the rest of the country, is perhaps one of the most well known singers on the Indian music firmament.

She challenged the image of the Western music singer, enthralling crowds by appearing on stage in a sari and a tikka on her forehead - seemingly incongruous attire for a Western music singer. Also Usha has transgressed the definition of a western music singer since, by singing in 17 Indian languages, besides singing in Swahili, French, Russian, Ukranian, Sinhala, Zulu, French and German.

A chance phone call earlier this month with Prabhakar Mundkur ad veteran who earlier played with the Savages (India’s popular rock band of the 60s) stirred their memories of the music scene in the 60s. If the Savages swayed Kolkata at Trincas, Usha took the entire city by storm in the summer of 1968. Thus began a musical partnership that finally concluded by the Savages accompanying Usha on her LP album “Scotch and Soda” where they partnered on two songs  Midnight Hour made famous by Wilson Pickett and California Dreaming then a favourite of the Mamas and Papas. This was way back in 1969.

One thing led to another and the desire to collaborate once again after 51 years grew strong. So Usha along with Ralph Pais media man and Prabhakar, decided to put together a special song for Valentine’s Day. They chose the song Fever, first made famous by Peggy Lee in the 50s. Fever has also been popular with Usha who has done several versions of the song in the last few decades. The idea of love as a sickness that can make you feverish has been exploited in song writing, poetry and literature and Fever as a rhythm and blues song epitomised that notion in a classic song. Isn’t it Shakespeare who said in Sonnet 147 “My love is as a fever longing still/For that which longer nurseth the disease”. The song has a directness rarely expressed.

“You give me fever when you kiss me, fever when you hold me tight”. And that made it seem like an appropriate song to launch on Valentine’s Day which became associated with romantic love since the 14th-15th century when notions of courtly love flourished. They call their music collaboration '50 years after’. Quite appropriate. After all, re-uniting to do music after five decades needs to be celebrated with an appropriate name.