Janaki’s Strong Mysuru Connect Recalled
She wished to spend her last days in Mysuru city and was searching for a house to permanently settle down
BENGALURU: Versatile singer S. Janaki had a strong bond with Mysuru, from spending her last days in the city to staging her final performance there. Her last stage show was in October 2017 at the Manasa Gangothri Open Air Theatre, organised by her admirer and caretaker Naveen. Audiences were left spellbound as she sang Kannada numbers along with a few Malayalam songs.
She wished to spend her last days in Mysuru and searched for a house to settle down. After a brief stay in Hyderabad, she returned in 2023 and lived in a rented house in Mysuru for two years. Earlier, she stayed at a cottage in Chikka Ankanahalli, Srirangapatna taluk, from 2019 to 2022. The cottage, owned by developer D. Krishna, first hosted her during an eye surgery visit. Impressed by its ambience, she chose to stay there before moving to Hyderabad and then back to Mysuru.
Her maid Bhagya, who served her for eight years, was inconsolable. “I was introduced to visitors as her daughter. I lost a mother,” she said, adding that Janaki had suffered viral fever and recurrent infections in recent days. “She liked Mysuru a lot and wished to visit old temples.”
Bhagya recalled Janaki’s simple diet of idlis, dosas and pongal, with chutneys but no sweets. She said Janaki enjoyed reading about Lord Krishna late into the night.
Caretaker Naveen named his furniture showroom in Bogadi “S. Janaki Furniture and Timbers” in her honour. Cottage owner Krishna described her as a “humble” person.