Indian singer Usha Uthap with the Director of IIFA Awards Sabbas Joseph in Singapore.
LISTEN: AUDIO Usha Uthap sings “Yamman Bando” at IIFA Green Carpet Singapore Indoor Stadium (Interview aired on Sawana Radio Show CHRY Toronto hosted by Vasanta Lankatilake)
[audio:http://lankareporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Vasanta-Lankatilake-Sawana-Radio-Show-CHRY-Toronto.MP3|titles=Interview Presented by Vasanta Lankatilake, Sawana Radio Show CHRY Toronto]Indian singer Usha Uthap praised Radio Ceylon as her “biggest inspiration in life” and decided to sing “Yaman Bando Wesak Balana” with The Sri Lanka Reporter as she arrived for IIFA Awards ceremony in Singapore recently.
The effervescent lady who hails from Madras (now Chennai) had entertained millions with her voice in a career spanning many decades. On the evening of the IIFA awards at Singapore Indoor Stadium, she spared a few moments to speak and sing with The Sri Lanka Reporter on the busy celebrity green carpet.
Ms. Uthap was in Singapore joined by veteran singer Hariharan and composer Lesle Lewis to pay a musical tribute to 100 years of Indian cinema.
Dressed in a special black sari, outfitted with mini golden IIFA awards as the border, Ms. Uthap said, “My biggest inspiration in life was Radio Ceylon. I listened all the time. I used to have a small transistor and that is how I used to listen to the radio.”
When asked if she if she knew any Sri Lankan songs, she naturally began to sing Wally Bastian’s Yamman Bando Wesak Balana. Her voice filled the busy green carpet as she sang a song which is popular across many generations in Sri Lanka.
The Sawana Sri Lankan Radio Show hosted by veteran broadcaster Vasanta Lankatilake in Toronto, airs every Wednesday evening at 9 PM EST on http://www.chry.fm/ 105.5 FM, Toronto Rogers Digital Network Channel 945, Bell FIBE 973.
