Chennai : Celebrated yesteryear singer Vani Jayaram passes away aged 78. Vani was found dead in the bedroom of her Chennai home with bruises to her head. The death comes barely a fortnight from her receiving of Padma Bhushan on Republic Day.
Vani lend her widely-loved voice to scores of Malayalam songs and has been thrice recipient of National Film Award for Best Female Singer . She has also sung for films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi and Hindi languages.
Born in Tamil Nadu’s Vellore, she tutored music under her mother Kalevani and began singing for Akashvani Madras station at tender age of 8. Cuddalore Srinivasa Iyengar, T.R. Balasubramanian and RS Mani are her gurus in Carnatic music. She took Hindustani music lessons from Ustad Abdul Rahman Khan. Salil Chaudhary introduced Vani Jayaram to Malayalam film world through 'Swapnam'. Vani’s husband Jayaram predeceased her.
Meanwhile, the Chennai police have registered a case of suspicious death for Vani Jayaram. They were alerted by her maid when repeated bells failed to have the singer open the door like every other day. Vani’s husband Jayaram predeceased her. The couple have no children.
