Cheeky girls

It8217;s 2 in the afternoon and the girls are lounging in Liz Cotton8217;s living room. An old piano rests in a corner and Cotton8217;s cat scampers...

A band of three expat women cranks out saucy songs about crusty old friend and demanding wives

It8217;s 2 in the afternoon and the girls are lounging in Liz Cotton8217;s living room. An old piano rests in a corner and Cotton8217;s cat scampers around as she casually strums the guitar, while two other women8212;Irit Namatinia and Sumana Bhasin8212;in their mid-thirties, like Cotton, sing a naughty song. No bittersweet pop or soul rock for this all-female band. Wotshelike, formed in 2006, cranks out saucy songs about delicious affairs, demanding expatriate wives and crusty old friends. Call them crass, but the songs will make you laugh your guts out.

Singer-songwriter-guitarist Cotton, a Britisher who formed the band and has been living in Delhi since 1998, has been composing comedy songs since she was six. 8220;I was very active in the London comedy circuit where I sang songs and also wrote for a comedy sketch club. Then my husband got transferred to Pakistan, where the comedy scene is not as lively.8221;

Cotton, who moved to India a decade ago, has a few gigs in Delhi to her credit. 8220;I did gigs on my own in Delhi but thought it would be more fum performing comedy with an all-girl band,8221; she says. After a concert in Shillong, she put up posters for audition. Soon, four women joined her and Wotshelike was formed. Namatinia, an expatriate who was brought up in Kenya has been in India since 2005. A jazz school graduate, Namatinia says, 8220;We throw in a bit of action with our trademark props such as pink handcuffs and a swish fan.8221; But the naughtiness and fun had a downside. The band has pared down to three. 8220;We had an Australian who left as she found the songs too saucy for her taste8221; says Cotton.

The feisty Cotton has composed 15 songs so far for Wotshelike. 8220;She writes the lyrics and sets them to music then we make a few changes later,8221; says Bhasin, mother of two and a former member of Mrigya, an Indian fusion band she quit after the extensive tours took a toll on her. The songs are written largely from Cotton8217;s experience. An old friend living in Pune is the subject of the song Granny Grab, about a respectable woman on a lookout for a dandy. The song goes like this: She8217;ll never smile, she8217;ll never frown. And it8217;s not because she8217;s not enjoying. But her face is full of botox, frozen in time. 8220;well, she never missed my birthday,8221; says Cotton with an impish smile. 8220;And yes, she knows I made a song based on her,8221; adds Cotton.

Some of the songs8212;like Hardship Posting and Ashram Chowk are peppered with Hindi words. Namatinia and Cotton took Hindi classes when they arrived in India, and they can now speak the language fluently. Wotshelike has performed at events, restro-bars like Live and Raga and plans are underway to cut an album. 8220;Next, I would like to go to Mumbai,8221; says Cotton.