Trincas, Park Street and Rambha Ho: Usha Uthup gives Kolkata a nostalgia rush
Usha Uthup performed Rambha Ho at Trincas during a Calcutta Heritage Collective event in Kolkata. The performance stirred nostalgia online.
The lights of Park Street, the voice of Usha Uthup and Rambha Ho echoing through Trincas, Kolkata recently witnessed a moment soaked in nostalgia.
The performance, held during an event organised by the Calcutta Heritage Collective, quickly went viral online after videos from the evening surfaced on Instagram. Shared by Instagram user Oishani Mukherjee, the clip showed people enthusiastically singing and grooving along as the veteran singer brought her trademark energy and unmistakable voice back to the stage.
For many in Kolkata, the moment felt deeply nostalgic.
Rambha Ho, originally sung by Usha Uthup in the late 1970s for the film Armaan, has witnessed a fresh wave of popularity recently thanks to the internet’s renewed obsession with retro Bollywood tracks and the ongoing Dhurandhar trend online.
The peppy disco-inspired number, known for its infectious rhythm and instantly recognisable chorus, remains one of the singer’s most iconic performances.
Watch the video here:
But what made this performance especially emotional was the venue itself.
Long before becoming one of India’s most recognisable playback and pop voices, Usha Uthup began performing at nightclubs and restaurants in Kolkata during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Trincas, one of Park Street’s most historic music venues, played a major role in shaping her early career. It was there that her powerful contralto voice, unconventional style and ability to effortlessly switch between genres began attracting attention.
Over the decades, Uthup went on to become a musical icon known for blending Indian melodies with jazz, pop, disco and Western influences while performing in multiple Indian and international languages.
The recent Trincas performance therefore felt less like a routine stage show and more like a full-circle moment, the legendary singer returning to the same city stage where her extraordinary journey first began, while generations of listeners sang along to a song that still refuses to grow old.