Smt. S. Janaki, the gifted singer is no doubt, the undisputed melody queen of the South. For years, we have been listening to her sweet voice convey the beauty of the birds and the flowers. Her magical and stimulating voice airs our joys and sorrows, dreams and aspirations. She sways the hearts of music lovers - soothing and stirring them or bringing tears to their eyes, with her mellifluous voice.

Janaki is not only a musician but also a magician. She does wonders with her voice and changes her tone to match each and every stage of human life. Her range of singing is very wide while it encompasses the songs that are worshipful, mellisonant, off-colored, rebellious and imitative. She walks mutely and pleasingly into the hearts of audience with her soulful and stirring voice. Janaki has a sweet voice that can reach high pitches with consummate ease.

.Janaki, the Melody Queen of South India with her magnificent voice, captured the hearts of millions of people in her reigning days. She was born on 23rd April, 1938, in Pallapatla, Repalle village, Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh.

Janaki showed interest in music at a tender age and started singing at the age of three. She started learning music from Sree Paidiswamy and continued her lessons until she was ten years old. Her father-in-law, a music artiste, who was nicknamed “fun doctor” Chandrasekharam, recognized her penchant for music and nurtured it. She learned to modulate her voice on a wide range from a three year-old to an eighty year old! She acquired a second prize from the former President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad in 1956, at a competition held by All India Radio. Mr. Chandrasekhar, her uncle  recommended her for a job as a singer in AVM Studio. She joined and started her career with Tamil films in 1957 in the film 'Vidhiyin Vilayattu' under the famous music director T. Chalapati Rao. Later, she got a chance in a Telugu film MLA. From then on, there was no looking back for her. She has several unforgettable hit songs with the association of the maestros of music.

Janaki has a unique capability to change her voice and sing in a range of tones. She could sing in a child's voice or an old woman's voice or along with a Shenai quite naturally. She is not only a singer but also a good lyricist and a good music composer. She wrote many songs for Tamil and Telugu films. She has sung about 20,000 songs in her career, in almost all languages in South India as well as in Hindi, Simhalese, Bengali, Oriya, English, Sanskrit, Konkini, Tulu, Saurashtra, Baduga, and German. She has given several unforgettable hit songs on her own and with the association of the maestros of music.

She has received many awards for her talent. She won  national awards for best singer four times -in 1976 for the song 'Senthoora Poove'  in the Tamil Film '16 vayadhinile', in 1980 for the song 'Ettumanoorambalathil' in the Malayalam Film 'Oppol', in 1984 for the song' Vennello godari andham' in the Telugu film 'Sithara', 1992 for the song 'Inji Idippazagha' in the Tamil Film 'Devar magan'. She has won Tamil Nadu state government award 7 times, Kerala state Government awards 14 times, Andhra state government awards 10 times. She was honoured with 'Kalai Mamani' in 1986, 'Sur singar' award in 1987, Cinema 'Achiever Award' by the government of Kerala in the year 2002  and many more.

She has almost retired from the industry after husband Sri.V.Rama Prasad's death. A devotee of Lord Krishna and Shirdi Sai Baba, she spends a lot of time praying and has also released devotional music cassettes on Meera. She lives with her son Murali Krishna, an actor and daughter-in-law Uma Murali Krishna, a classical dancer (Bharatnatyam and Kuchipudi) and  two grand daughters Amruthavarshini and Apsara. Janaki with her magnificent and versatile voice will remain in the hearts of music lovers for ages to come.







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"Without music, life is a journey through a desert. - Pat Conroy"

"There is no delight in owning anything unshared." Seneca [Roman philosopher]

Janaki, apart from being a prolific singer, is also a good lyricist and a very good music composer. Seeing her caliber, producer Ramoji Rao chose her as music director for his Telugu film Mouna Poraatam, in the year 1988. She is the third lady music director in Telugu Cinema field, after Bhanumati and P. Leela. She has also written lyrics for a number of songs in Tamil and Telugu. Janaki sang a sensational Tamil song for a small girl of 3 or 4 years old in a child's voice that paved the way for a variety of “child songs” in different languages in her voice. Her voice did wonders when she sang for a sixteen-year-old boy, a grown up lady, a very old woman, and some rustic songs. Her magical voice represents that of a baby, an adolescent, and even of a man's. She let her voice strolled to get consorted with great instrumentalists like

Bismillah Khan (on Shehnai for a Kannada film),
M.S. Gopalakrishnan (on Violin for a Kannada film),
Karaikuruchi Arunachalam (on Nadaswaram for a Tamil film),
Naamagiri Pettai Krishnan (on Nadaswaram for a Malayalam film) and
Hari Prasad Chaurasia (on Flute for Malayalam & Telugu films).

She moulds her voice according to the artiste for whom she renders a song. Sometimes she even adds certain breathtaking special effects into her songs. In the Malayalam song “Nadha Nee Varum…,” for the film Chamaram, she included a soft laughter that leaves the listener with goosebumps. She laughs melodiously for the Telugu song “Sirimalle Puvvalle Navvu…” in the film Jyothi, which was released in 1976 under the music direction of Chakravarthi. She brought out a typical child's voice for the Telugu songs “Gunnamaamidi Komma Meeda…” in the film Baalamithrula Katha, in 1973, and “Govullu Thellana Gopayya Nallana…” in the film Saptapadi, in 1981. Her Malayalam song, “Kokkaamandi Konanirachi…,” with the voice of a baby girl, left listeners awestruck. She even imitated a drunkard's voice in the song “Paapa Peru Malli… Ooru Kotta Dhilli…” in the film Mouna Geetham.

According to Janaki, her voice is God's gift. She neither practices nor does anything to maintain or improve her voice. She believes that God maintains it for her. All she does is avoid ice cream and cold drinks. She just goes to the recording room or the stage and sings, leaving everything to God. Janaki normally gets not much of a notice before she has to sing at a recording. The music directors usually call her up on the phone and ask her to go for recording of the song the next day.

Compared to singing at a studio recording, Janaki likes to perform live on stage. She opines that the enjoyment of the audience is what makes any singer happy. She thanks God for whatever she is and whatever she has been able to do. Janaki says that she will keep singing as long as her fans want her to. She thanks all her fans for supporting her.

Janaki’s favorite singers are Mohammed Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar, and Asha Bhonsle. One of Janaki’s most memorable moments was her meeting with Lata Mangeshkar in Hyderabad at a function to honor Ghantasala. They met each other on the stage, and spontaneously hugged each other. Janaki recalls that as a very memorable event in her life.

Janaki has also released quite a few albums of her songs on various subjects, including one with love songs. She has also brought out an album with patriotic songs, in which her son has sung the title song with her.

Thousands of songs that Janaki has rendered as a playback singer have left a lasting impression in the hearts of her fans, with hardly anyone who could match her pitch and talent.

The Telugu songs

“Nee Aasaa Adiasaa Lambodolla Ramadasa…”
“Nenoka Poola Mokka Kada Nilichi…”
“Nee Leela Paadedha deva…” (Muripinche Muvvalu)
“Pagale Vennela…” and
“Ye Divilo Virisina Parijathamo…”

are still as captivating as they were when they first came out.

She gave her voice to dance numbers like "Naravaraa O Kuruvaraa" (NartanaSaala, 1963 – Susarla Dakshinamurthy),
"O VannekaaDaa Ninnu ChooDa" (PaanDava Vanavaasamu, 1965 - Ghantasala),
"NaruDa O NaruDa Emi KOrika" (award winner) (Bhairava Dweepam, 1994 – Madhavapeddi Suresh),
"AaDadaani Ora ChoopulO" (Aaradhana, 1962 – S. Rajeswara Rao),
"MuttemanTi Chinadaanni MogalirEkupoovu Danni" (AakaSaraamanna, 1965 – Rajan-Nagendra)
are some of the popular ones.

She sang for five generations of heroines:
Jamuna   – PagalE Vennela JagamE Ooyala (Poojaaphalam, 1964 – S.Rajeswara Rao),
Janaki   – OhO OhO Paavuramaa,
Vanisree – PagalaitE DoravEraa Raatiri Naa Raajuvura (Bangaaru Panjaram, 1968 – S. Rajeswara Rao),
Vijayashanthi – Bujji PiTTa Bulli PiTTa GooTilOni GuvvapiTTa (ChinaraayuDu, 1992 – Ilayaraja),
Amala    – Sarasaalu Chaalu Sreevaaru VELa Kaadu (Shiva, 1990 – Ilayaraja),
Rambha   – NaruDa O NaruDa Emi KOrika (Bhairava Dweepam, 1994 – Madhavapeddi Suresh).

She always sang so very naturally that one feels that the heroine is singing the song herself. She excelled in all type of combinations:
with Ghanatasala – NaDi REyi E JaamulO (Rangula RaaTnam, 1967 – S. Rajeswara Rao–Gopalam),
with Balamurali Krishna - Vasanta Gaaliki Valapulu REga (KarNa - Pendyala Nageswara Rao),
with Susheela – SarilEru Neekevvaru Narapaala Sudhaakara (KanchukOTa, 1967 – K.V. Mahadevan)
are only some of the many examples.

In Malayalam, among her evergreen songs are

“Thaliritta Kinaakkal…”
“Sooryakanti…”
“Sandhye Kannerithenthe…”
“Mathalappoo Poloru…” and
“Anjana Kannezhuthi…”





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"Without music, life is a journey through a desert. - Pat Conroy"

"There is no delight in owning anything unshared." Seneca [Roman philosopher]

Awards:

Janaki, recipient of innumerable awards, has the remarkable distinction of having rendered 20,000 songs in 15 different languages namely Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, Sinhalese, Bengali, Oriya, English, Sanskrit, Konkani, Tulu, Saurashtra, Baduga and German, which is a veritable feat that carved a permanent niche for her.

She won All India Radio Second Prize (1956) from the then President of India Late Dr. Rajendra Prasad. Janaki has bagged many awards as the “Best Female Play-Back Singer.” She has received many awards from various government and non-government institutions as recognition for her great singing talent.

Janaki has performed many stage shows world wide, for light-music troupes like Swaramaadhuri, the troupe that has over 1000 artistes and singers associated, and has the distinction of rendering over 5000 concerts in the past. Janaki won the first national award for the song “Senthoora Poove…” in the Tamil film Padhinaru Vayathinile, under the music direction of Ilaiyaraja. She won Tamil Nadu State Government award six times, Andhra Pradesh State Government award six times, “Kalai Maamani” in 1986, “Sur Singaar” in 1987, “Singer of the Century” award, and “Bharatidas” award. The Andhra Pradesh Kalavedika complimented her with “Sangeeta Ratna” award and one lakh rupees, on The 100 Years of Cinema festival. She won four national awards. She was honored for her outstanding contribution to South Indian cinema. Her song “Ee Duryoadhana Dussaasana…” in Pratighatana, composed by Chakravarthi, secured her the Best Singer award for the year1986. She was also honored with the Cinema “Achiever Award” by the Government of Kerala in the year 2002. She has won awards for her songs in the Malayalam film Oppol, Telugu film Sithara (which had the same music composition as the Tamil song “Thoorathil Naan Kanda…” in the movie Nizhalgal). She also won the award for the fourth time for the song “Inji Iduppazhaga…” in the Tamil film Devar Magan. She has received many State Film awards during 1969 – 2001, as a female playback singer for singing in different films. She has also acquired an award by Sangeetha Ganga Gayana Organization. After her husband's demise she almost broke off singing for films. She is now totally indulged in making her own albums like devotional songs of Meera etc.





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"Without music, life is a journey through a desert. - Pat Conroy"

"There is no delight in owning anything unshared." Seneca [Roman philosopher]

"I want to sing for my fans till the end of my life."






S. Janaki

CHENNAI: Urusanam, Sendura Poove, Chinna Thayi, and more numbers will be offered for over three hours by light music queen S. Janaki in Endrum 16, organised by Saadhaga Paravaigal and Vaali Sukriva Event Managers.

Janaki was present at an informal media briefing on the programme scheduled for May 7 at the Santhome Higher Secondary School grounds at 6 p.m. "Music has been God's gift to me and I am very happy to sing songs that give people peace of mind," said the singer.

"Singing is being near God and if God is moved by the music of Tyagaraja and Meera Bai, will not people be moved?" she asked.

Besides Naadam En Jeevane, which she is singing specially because the name of the orchestra `Sadaka Paravai' features in the song, the surprise will be a discussion between Chinna Machini and Kutti Machan, which has been composed and tuned by her.

Moved by the love her fans show her, she said, "I want to sing for my fans till the end of my life."





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"Without music, life is a journey through a desert. - Pat Conroy"

"There is no delight in owning anything unshared." Seneca [Roman philosopher]