Her mellifluous vocal renditions at Carnatic kutcheris and Kollywood hit numbers might have enthralled many an audience, but on Thursday, the scene in front of Nithyasree’s residence, following the demise of her husband Mahadevan, could have been apt for an elegy.
A pall of gloom descended on 3, Vellaiyan Street, Kotturpuram, ever since news about the death came in.
The singer’s daughters - Tejashree and Tanujashree - both students of Bala Vidya Bhavan, Mylapore, came in around 3 pm, followed by family friends and relatives.
Those from the Carnatic fraternity, including singers T M Krishna and R K Shriramkumar, a disciple of Nithyasree’s granduncle, the late D K Jayaraman, too came in one after another. Playback singer Manicka Vinayagam and art patron and industrialist Nalli Kuppusami Chetty also turned up.
Police, after inquiring with the singer, informed the media that the suicide was due to depression. The body of Mahadevan was brought to the residence around 6 pm in an ambulance from the Royapettah GH. Those present paid their last respects, before the body was taken to a crematorium in Mylapore.
The demise also means that schedules in some of the city’s Carnatic Sabhas this Margazhi season would take a hit given that Nithyasree, an eminent vocalist, is a big draw at concerts.
Earlier, a rumour that Nithyasree had committed suicide due to an overdose of sleeping pills was dismissed by the police.