To sit across and have a conversation with 88-year-old Padma Shri Juthika Roy, a Meera bhajan singer whose most famous fan was Mahatma Gandhi, was a humbling, and dare we say once-in-a-lifetime, experience. In the city to accept an award instituted by singer Anup Jalota, Roy talks about an era gone by

Beginnings
Roy's father used to listen to records of artistes like Master Madan who recorded with The Gramophone Company. Her father's work as a school inspector kept them traveling and hence her music teachers constantly changed. Finally her mother decided to permanently move to Calcutta so that Roy could get a firm grounding in music. So she began her Sunday classes with Gyanendra Sengupto. On one of these Sundays she met her soon-to-be mentor, Kazi Nazrul Islam. A lyricist and music director, Islam was at a high post at The Gramophone Company. Roy says of their first meeting, "He had long hair and wore only silk. He was very good looking with big eyes. He used to eat a lot of paan. His laughter was loud and we also laughed along, even though we did not understand what was so funny." She says, since it was her father's wish that she record with The Gramophone Company, he requested that Islam listen to his Renu (her nickname) sing. Her first recording did not go off very well, she says. Later she recorded the song Ami Bhorer Juthika that became a nationwide hit.