My mother, India’s forgotten disco diva
Debayan Sen discovered that his mother Rupa’s long-lost record Disco Jazz, which flopped when it was first released in India, had become an underground global hit after 30 years.
In 2014, Debayan Sen was cleaning the family attic in Kolkata when he made an unexpected discovery: a dusty, old vinyl record called Disco Jazz. What astonished him was that his mother Rupa was on the cover. Debayan had no idea his very traditional Indian mother had even had a music career. Not only would that album reveal Rupa’s secret disco past but also an underground fanbase of millions worldwide.
Presenter: Emily Webb
Producer: Maryam Maruf
Sound design: Joel Cox
Voiceover: Manoshi Barua
Picture: Rupa Biswas Sen holding a copy of her record Disco Jazz
Credit: Courtesy Rupa Biswas Sen
Podcast
-
![]()
The Outlook Podcast Archive
True stories of ordinary people and the extraordinary events that have shaped their lives
