Standing in the sun,
Gonna have a lot of fun,
Bring out the best,
Keep the devil at rest,
Show it, show it, and do it, do it,
Come on… look inside, don’t try to hide.
Rise and shine,
You got the talents,
Move on, move on…
The beautiful people, young people,
Choose the teen… the teen of the year!

… sang Usha Uthup in her jingle specially composed for the Teen of the Year 2002 pageant. The catchy 10-second jingle was played at all the Teen of the Year pageants thereafter, until the curtains came down on it in 2012. With words and music by Fr Robin Gomes, SDB, Usha didi as she is fondly called, motivated the youth to reach for the stars in her short motivational jingle.

With a voice that can set your hair on end and live performances that rock, Usha Uthup packs a punch wherever she goes. The dazzling and charismatic singer with her trademark jazzy vermillion, traditional colourful necklaces and her kanjeevaram saris, adorned with fresh flowers in her hair, is a regular at most events.

Regarded as one of India’s earliest female pop and jazz singers, who has performed at nightclubs to packed concerts across India and the world, done Bollywood music, has over a 100 music albums and counting, Usha’s music appeals to everyone. When Usha sings, you just can’t help dancing.

The legend recently performed at a fundraiser in Mumbai for Alert India wherein in an exclusive interview with VERUS FERREIRA, the prolific singer recounts her over 53-year-old musical journey.

From Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Rambha Ho and Koi Yahaan Nache Nache, you have come a long way. How do you look back on your long and eventful career?
It’s been 53 years since I’ve been singing, singing English songs long before I got a chance to sing in a Hindi film. I’ve been singing in nightclubs since 1969. It’s been absolutely wonderful, and my journey so far has been really, really amazing because people have always supported me. People like you, who you know, who want to still write, write about me and get youngsters to read about me, it’s just fantastic! So when I look back on this long career of mine, I can only say with all humility, thank you God, thank you to my musicians, thank you to all the audiences that I’ve had for so long.

You’ve made a career singing jazz at nightclubs wearing kanjeevaram saris, gajras and bindis. How did this fashion statement come about which even today flows well wherever you go?
I sang jazz at nightclubs wearing kanjeevaram saris, gajras and bindis and this I did only because I come from a very normal, traditional South Indian middle-class family. I just wore whatever my sisters wore, whatever my mother wore and whatever saris were in the house, I just wore them. As for the bindis, it started off with small bindis, then slowly the sizes became big and then creative, in between became even bigger. Soon it became a fashion statement. People love all this and love the kanjeevaram shoes I wear. The kids say she’s so cool, some say I’m so swag! That’s all because of all of you.

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I have several of my schoolmates with whom my friendship bonds have existed for over fifty years, and it may not be very unique as many elder to me may have even longer such associations, but none can, perhaps, match a relationship between an individual and a magazine that has existed for over 56 years; that has been the length of my relation with The Teenager magazine. Several youth magazines have come and vanished from the market but The Teenager has struggled over all the hard times to remain afloat even after 59 years.

It was the vision of two priests, Fr J. Maurus and Fr Aloysius G. Rego, to bring out a magazine that would help teenagers develop a positive personality.So November 1963 saw the first issue of The Teenager that was half the size of what one sees now of The Teenager Today. The magazine was published by St Paul Publications from Allahabad and was priced at what today may seem to be a ridiculous price of just 35 paise!

Fr Rego was an English teacher at St Joseph’s Collegiate, Allahabad, when I met him for the first time in 1966 on moving from the junior section of the school to sixth standard. He insisted that I read The Teenager, so my association with the magazine began when my age had yet to turn into a double figure. While the magazine carried some articles on various topics, my main interest remained with the page on jokes titled Miles of Smiles; then there were Quotable Quotes and Anecdotes of the Great. The magazine had an international circulation, as well, and a Pen Pals section that extended sometimes from two to three pages wherein there were requests for pen friends from a few Asian countries.

As a student, I had been writing some articles for a column titled Future Calling in the local newspaper, the Northern India Patrika. There were also occasions when I wrote some letters to the editor of the newspaper. These letters also carried the address of the letter writer. I had already joined the Indian Air Force and was at home on leave when I had written a letter on Sir Garfield St Auburn Sobers. Within a few days of the letter appearing in the newspaper, I received a letter from the editor of the magazine asking me to write an article on Sunil Manohar Gavaskar which was supposed to be the cover story in the July 1983 issue of The Teenager.

Fr Alfonso Elengikal, the former Editor of The Teenager, arrived at my residence after a few days and after reading through what I had already written asked me to write a sports article for the magazine every month. Thus began my relationship with the magazine in a totally new capacity. There were times when I joined the magazine staff in their work in ensuring that the magazine was posted out before the fifth of a month, otherwise the postal concession would be lost.

Frequent power cuts in Uttar Pradesh forced the move of the publication from Allahabad to Mumbai. Over the years, the magazine had moved to its present size, and while operating from Mumbai, in the year 1996, Fr Alfonso, the then editor, had the brilliant idea of organising the Teen of the Year contest to provide a platform for the young to showcase their talents and develop their personality. After the first event in 1996 which was held only in Mumbai, the event spread its wings to the four regions of the country, with the final being conducted, comprising of the top three contestants from each region at Mumbai. I had the privilege of conducting the first-ever regional contest in the auditorium of my old school and also the quiz competition of the final contest at Mumbai. The mode of testing was at variance in the regional and the final competitions. This event undoubtedly touched the hearts of numerous teenagers and helped them to grow up as confident and self-reliant adults in life. Unfortunately, the event was suspended in the year 2014 due to unforeseeable difficulties, both financial and personnel, at the publishing house.

Initially, The Teenager had only a coloured cover, and at the very start there were only animals or flowers on the cover, but then it gradually started carrying personalities whose stories were carried inside. Sometime around 2010, the magazine had some registration issues as it had been registered initially at Allahabad but was being printed at Mumbai. So a new registration came about when the name of the magazine had to be changed from The Teenager to The Teenager Today.

The magazine now has all pages in colour, but in an age where reading of printed material is facing a huge financial challenge, our The Teenager Today is no exception. However, its publishers, Better Yourself Books, despite all the hardships, continues to propagate the dream of the founding editors. For me as an individual, the relation with the magazine continues, as in it lives the spirit of my most revered Headmaster, Fr Aloysius G. Rego.

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PEARL D’SOUZA, Teen of the Year 2002, shares with us the most enriching experience she had at the Pageant that shaped her life and that of all who were part of it once.

The year 2002 was a special year for me. It was the year I turned 18 and just a few days before my birthday I got one of the best gifts I could have ever asked for. I had been a reader of THE TEENAGER even before I turned a teenager! I remember the Dear Youth Counsellor column was a favourite. However, one aspect that completely caught my attention was the National Youth Pageant — TEEN OF THE YEAR. Here was something so different, very unlike competitions I had been part of and went beyond beauty pageants that were so popular. I remember deciding to send in my entry and after doing so, telling my mum that maybe I should have sent in my entry the following year — maybe I wasn’t yet ready for this special pageant. I still remember my mum encouraging me and putting my anxiety to rest saying: go and experience it and there is no better time than now! The memories bring a smile to my face!

The pageant spoke of youth from all over the country coming together, exchanging ideas and thoughts. And these were teenagers who were already making a difference in their school/ college and society that they were part of. This wasn’t a Pageant that was looking at external beauty but one that I truly felt was encouraging us to look within and putting the spotlight on our values, our talents, strengths and our desire to use our talents to make a difference. The design of the TEEN OF THE YEAR fascinated me. There were zonals held in different cities across the length and breadth of the country from where three participants were chosen as finalists. The finalists would come to Mumbai for 3-4 days during which there were personality development inputs, group discussions, personal interviews, even a Mumbai darshan

I can still remember walking in to St Pauls, Bandra, and meeting teenagers like me from across the country at the finals that I was part of. What a rich experience — to know how diverse our cultures were and yet how united we were all in the sense of awe, wonder, appreciation and belonging that we felt to one another and as youth of the country. I made friends I would never have otherwise got a chance to meet

When I think of this cherished experience what touched me the most was the friendships that we were blessed with. What I took away as a truly special moment was when I was announced as titleholder — I had all the participants gathering around me to congratulate me, I truly felt the warmth and the genuineness of their friendship and love.

This friendship continued long after those four days that we spent together in Mumbai — discovering the city, discovering ourselves and really soaking in an experience that built our personality and our ability to make a difference. The motto of TEEN OF THE YEAR — ‘Let your light shine’ — has become for me one of the guiding principles of my life. I very strongly have the Teen of the Year to thank for this. For giving me the confidence, the nurturing, the support and the opportunity to soak in values that are life-giving and life-affirming.

Being the titleholder enabled me to get to know THE TEENAGER family more closely. The next year I was back at the pageant and this time as an organizer. What was brilliant about the event is that past participants whether titleholders or not would come back to organise the Pageant. I had never been part of something like this! Till date I have some very close friends where our friendship has blossomed only because of TEEN OF THE YEAR.

At the core of TEEN OF THE YEAR is that it truly is a platform where discovery, friendship and support take precedence. Fr Alfonso Elengikal, the founder of TEEN OF THE YEAR, would explain this brilliantly to us participants. I remember the orientation wherein he was welcoming us to the event saying that we were not ‘contestants’ but ‘participants’ in this rich experience. It was a heart-to-heart conversation he had with us, and we embraced this wonderful experience of a lifetime waiting for us. The word ‘contestant’ thereafter was never used by us at all! This is one of my cherished and fondest memories — it defined for me what made TEEN OF THE YEAR special and unique

Whoever has met Fr Alfonso will not deny the huge impact he has had in truly helping us see the vision and the purpose of the Pageant. THE TEENAGER and the Pauline family, not only in Mumbai but wherever I have travelled, has become a second home for me. Fr Alfonso has played a big role in this — nurturing TEEN OF THE YEAR into a friend that lets us feel at home and comfortable; helped us believe in ourselves and helped us realize that we do make a difference. I feel truly blessed to have been a part and to continue to be a part of TEEN OF THE YEAR. Today, I can speak on behalf of all participants across the years: “TEEN OF THE YEAR has given us cherished memories, beautiful friendships, nurtured our growth and has throughout encouraged us to ‘Let our light shine’.

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