CHENNAI: Vani Jairam will sing no more. However, the hundreds of songs she rendered in various languages will linger in the hearts of her fans forever.
Vani Jairam lured cine-goers and music buffs with her distinct, sharp voice, particularly in the late 70s and 80s.
Who can forget songs such as Megame, Megame scripted by Vairamuthu for the Tamil movie Palaivana Solai? Vani Jairam sings, Enakkoru malarmaalai nee vaanga vendum...Adhu yetharko…(You should buy me a garland. But for what purpose...) for Suhasini (Geetha), a terminally ill patient addressing Shankar (played by Vagai Chandrasekhar). The singer remarkably succeeded in conveying the emotions of Geetha to the viewers and listeners.
Vani Jairam rendered several hits in Tamil such as Ezhu Swarangalukkul (Apoorva Raagangal), Naane Naana (Azhage Unnai Aarathilkiren), Malligai Enn Mannan (Dheerka Sumangali).
The national award-winning playback singer's death comes a little over a week after she was honoured with the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award, by the Government of India.
Found Dead
Vani Jairam was found dead at her residence on Saturday noon. (January 4)
The singer's domestic help Malarkodi saw her for the last time on Friday night. She came back for work on Saturday around 10.30 am according to the police. Since she didn't respond, Malarkodi informed the relatives.
When the door was opened with help of a duplicate key, that was with her sister living in Alwarpet, she was found dead with head injuries and heavy loss of blood. Subsequently, the police were informed and her body was taken to the Omandurar government hospital.
The renowned singer was residing in Chennai. She was 78 years old.
Her career spanned five decades and she recorded around 10,000 songs in different Indian languages.
Hailing from Vellore, she sang in several languages including Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Gujarati, Haryanvi, Assameese, Tulu, and Bengali.
ALSO READ | Vani Jairam -- 10,000 songs in five decades
The legendary singer had also recorded thousands of devotional songs and performed several solo concerts across the world as well.
Vani Jairam made her debut as a playback singer in Hindi with the 1971 film Guddi, directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee.
Her debut in the Malayalam film industry was by singing the famous Salil Chowdhury composition Sourayudhathil Vidarnnoru for the movie Swapnam in 1973.
Vani Jayaram was born as Kalaivani in Vellore on November 30, 1945. She studied at Chennai's Queen Mary's College and was employed at the State Bank of India before turning a full-time singer.
She married her husband Jayaram and her family supported her interest in music. Her mother-in-law Padma Swaminathan was a famous Carnatic singer and a social activist.
She had learned vocal forms including the ghazal and bhajan.
Case Filed
"We have filed a case under section 174 of the CrPC after a preliminary investigation. We are waiting for the post-mortem report," said Shekhar Deshmukh, deputy commissioner of police, Triplicane.
Singer K S Chithra, Kerala Governor, CM, Ministers condole Vani Jairam's demise
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Ministers, political leaders and eminent singer K S Chithra were among those who condoled the demise of iconic playback singer Vani Jairam.
"Heartfelt condolences on the sad demise of Padma Bhushan Smt #VaniJayaram, noted playback singer whose melodies have enthralled audiences in Malayalam and other languages. May her soul attain Mukti #Vanijayaram, " Khan tweeted.
Expressing grief over her demise, Vijayan said Vani Jairam was an extraordinarily talented singer who won an incredible place in the minds of music buffs with her expressive voice.
From Mohammed Rafi to the new generation singers, Jairam sang with a large number of musicians in her career spanning over seven decades and even after her demise, she would continue to live in the hearts of her fans through her melodious songs, the CM said in a message.
With her clear Malayalam accent, she did not give even a chance for anyone to think that she was not a Keralite, Vijayan said, adding that "her demise is a loss to the Indian music world."
Chithra said she heard the news of Jayaram's demise with shock and disbelief. She also remembered Jairam as a "true legend" who has a strong classical foundation.
"It is with utmost shock & disbelief that I heard about the sudden passing away of Vani amma. Spoke to her just two days back. A true legend. A very versatile & multi-lingual singer with a strong classical foundation. May her soul rest in peace," she tweeted.
(With inputs from Express News Service, PTI)