VANI JAIRAM (1945-2023)

Vani Jairam nee Kalaivani, was an Indian playback singer. Born into a musician family in Vellore in present day Tamil Nadu, she initially trained under Ranga Ramunaja Iyengar and later received formal Carnatic training under Kadalur Srinivas Iyengar, T. R. Balasubramanian and R. S. Mani. 

Graduating from Queen Mary’s College, Chennai, Vani joined the State Bank of India, Madras. After marriage in 1969, her husband T.S Jayaraman goaded her to train in Hindustani classical music under the tutelage of Ustad Abdul Rehman Khan of the Patiala gharana. Learning the nuances of thumri, ghazal and bhajan, she took up music professionally.

The versatile singer sang in 19 Indian languages. Her vocal range easily adapted to any difficult composition and raga while retaining the sweetness and freshness of her voice. It had a classical touch, had clarity and sounded like a perfectly tuned tambura. She embellished her songs with sangathis in classical music. Her flourishing five-decade musical career from 1971 resulted in over 10,000 songs recorded in 1,000 films. 

Composer Vasant Desai chose her to sing the song Runanubandhacha for an album along with Kumar Gandharva, which became a rage among the Marathi audience. It was thanks to his recommendation, she got to sing in Hrishikesh Mukherjee`s film Guddi (1971) directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Of the three songs Vani recorded for it, Bole re papihara became a hit and catapulted her to fame. Her other song in the film Humko mann ki shakti dena a school prayer too became popular and many school have included it in their morning prayers.

Her only song for Pakeezah, the Kamal Amrohi directed 1972 classic – Mora sajan sautan ghar jaye, was used in the background. Hers was the only female voice Pandit Ravi Shankar used for the 1979 film Meera, which had a dozen songs, including Mere to Giridhar Gopal and Main sanware ke.

Vani could not survive the brutal politics of the Hindi film industry and decided to relocate down South, where the music industry earnestly beckoned. Bollywood’s loss was South Indian cinema’s gain, as Vani established herself as one of the leading female singers of her generation, along with P. Susheela and S. Janaki. 

Hers was the golden voice that soothed Tamil audiences. Her first released song Orr Imam Unnidam was a romantic duet with T. M. Soundararajan for the film Veettukku Vandha Marumagal  (1973), composed by the Shankar–Ganesh. Her biggest breakthrough was with Mallaigai En Mannan Mayangum from the film Dheerga Sumangali (1974) that echoed in every nook and corner of Tamil Nadu. Her songs in the film Apoorva Raagangal, Ezhu Swarangalukkul and Kelviyin Nayagane showed she could sing difficult compositions. 

Vani’s sang for several Telugu films. Her debut song for the film Abhimanavanthulu (1973) Eppativalekaadura Naa Swami, composed by S. P. Kodandapani, was a classical. In 1979 came the renowned Telugu film Sankarabharanam where Vani sang four songs that gained her further recognition. 

Vani made her debut in Malayalam film industry in 1973 with the solo song Sourayudhathil Vidarnnoru composed by Salil Chowdhary for the film Swapnam. Music director Vijaya Bhaskar  introduced her to Kannada cinema in 1973 with the film Kesarina Kamala. The song Bhaavavemba Hoovu Arali from the film Upasane (1974) cemented her position in Kannada films, lasting for three decades. 

She also recorded Gita Govindam composed by Prafullakar with Odissi Guru Kelucharan Mohopatra playing the Pakhawaj. and released Murugan Songs, written and composed by her.

. A three-time recipient of National Film Awards for best female playback singer, she was conferred the coveted Padma Bhushan in 2023. She has also been feted with Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award, not to speak of innumerous other awards. 

Vani died at 78, following a fall at her house in Chennai. Childless, after her husband’s death she lived alone. Amul Dairy dedicated a sepia-toned, nostalgia-laced creative ad in her memory. Her evergreen voice will defy the passage of time.