Bhubaneswar: Veteran playback singer Vani Jairam, who has sung over 10,000 songs across several Indian languages including Odia passed away today at her house on Haddows Road, Nungambakkam in Chennai. She was 78.
The Government of India, last month, announced that Jairam would receive the Padma Bhushan award-the third highest civilian award, for her contribution to music.
Jairam in a career spanning over 50 years had lent her voice in several songs across Hindi, Tamil, Odia, Telugu, Malayalam, Assamese and Bengali.
The versatile singer was conferred with State awards from Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat, and Odisha.
Her popular hit songs from Odia films include ‘Megha Barasila'(Sesa Srabana 1976), Na Ja Sajani (Bandhu Mohanty 1977), Chhota Mora E Ghar (Krushna Sudama 1976), Om Namah Bhagabate (Bilwamangala 1979), Keun Nama Dhari (Sindura Bindu 1976), and Kuhu Kuhu (Sati Anusuya 1978) to name a few.
Jairam’s big break came with the Hindi film ‘Guddi’ in 1971. In ‘Guddi’ she sang for composer Vasant Desai, and is remembered for her mellifluous voice in the song ‘Hum ko mann ki shakthi dena.’
She had worked with many legendary composers, including M S Vishwanathan, K V Mahadevan, Chakravarthy, Ilaiyaraaja, and Sathyam, among others.
