Mysuru: The nightingale of South India, S. Janaki, ended her singing career with her last public concert at the amphitheatre at Manasaganothri in Mysuru on Saturday night.
The popular playback singer and music composer, 79-year-old Janaki's decision made not only her innumerable fans emotional, but also several senior artists including Jayanthi, Bharathi Vishnuvardhan, Harini, Rajesh, Shivram, Hema Chaudari and others who were present at the venue.
“I am happy with my career. I want to stop singing when I am doing well. This is also to make way for several young and new artistes,” she said.
Dressed in a simple blue and white saree, she mesmerised over 20,000 fans with several evergreen songs from Kannada, including Bharatha bhoo shiramandira sundari, Maguve ninna hoo nage, Nagu nagutha nee baruve and Halli Meshtru.
She also sang many hits from Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam with the voice modulations she is known for. The concert was hosted by S. Janaki Charitable Trust as a fund-raising event. The trust adopted mentally-challenged children, Chinmayi and Darshan, on the occasion.
Born on April 23, 1938 in Andhra Pradesh, Janaki learnt music from Sri Paidiswamy and started performing at the age of 3. She began her career as a playback singer in Tamil movie Vidhiyin Vilayattu and has recorded 48,000 songs in 17 Indian and foreign languages.
