Janaki the Nightingale of South India
Born April 23 1923, she started singing at the age of 19 for a Tamil film ‘Vidhiyin vilayattu’ in 1957. Referred respectfully as Janaki amma & nightingale of South India. Her 70 years of music career spans over 17 languages, including Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi, Sanskrit, Odia, Tulu, Urdu, Panjabi, Konkani & foreign languages such as English, Japanese, German & Sinhala.
Widely acclaimed as one of the most versatile singers. She recorded over 48000 songs in films, albums, TV, and radio, including solos, duets, and chorus. Her combo with singer SPB & composer Ilayaraja was trending in the 60s thru 70s & 80s. Duets with PB Srinivas, SPB, KJ Yesudas, P Jayachandran & Dr Rajkumar topped the charts across all South Indian Languages. She has won 4 National Awards, 33 State Awards, the Tamilnadu Kalaimamani Award, the Karnataka Rajyotsava Award, and an honorary doctorate.
She has sung in almost all genres and performed live in more than 5000 concerts. She retired from active singing in September 2016 and mentioned her age as a reason. S. Janaki remains in the mind and heart of every music lover.
