Daijiworld Media Network - Mysuru
Mysuru, July 12: The curtain fell on a golden era of Indian music as legendary playback singer S Janaki, affectionately revered as "Janaki Amma" and the "Gana Kogile" (Nightingale of Song), was cremated with full state honours on Sunday evening.
The last rites were performed at a farmhouse in Kaniyanahundi in Heggadadevana Kote taluk, approximately 25 km from Mysuru, fulfilling the icon's final wish to be laid to rest in the royal city she chose as her retirement home.
In a profound departure from long-standing tradition—which has historically reserved the role for men—Janaki’s granddaughter, Apsara Vydyula, performed the final rites. Chanting Vedic hymns and carrying the traditional earthen pot, Apsara circumambulated and lit the funeral pyre of her grandmother.
The rituals were conducted according to Telugu Brahmin customs under the guidance of Ramesh Sharma of Srirangapatna and the Shashwathi Kriya Samithi.
A State's final farewell
Acting on directives from Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, the Mysuru district administration accorded the 88-year-old maestro ultimate state respects. A police contingent offered a solemn gun salute as the national anthem echoed through the farmhouse grounds.
Earlier in the day, Janaki's mortal remains were kept at the Maharaja’s College Grounds from morning until evening to allow a massive outpouring of grief from the public. Thousands of emotional fans lined the streets as her body was transported in a beautifully decorated vehicle.
"One of India's most iconic personalities, the legendary playback singer known as the 'Gana Kogile', Janaki, is no longer with us. She served the film industry in several languages for nearly 50 years," stated Chief Minister Shivakumar in Bengaluru, adding that the government would actively explore avenues to immortalize her rich legacy.
The public homage drew a vast assembly of dignitaries, including Mysuru district in-charge minister Yathindra Siddaramaiah, urban development minister Dr Siddaramaiah, former minister B Sreeramulu, and prominent members of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce.
The music and cinematic fraternity turned out in large numbers, with composer Hamsalekha, actors Srinath and Sadhu Kokila, and singers Rajesh Krishnan, Sunitha, Archana Udupa and Vijay Prakash paying their final respects.
In a moving tribute, Vijay Prakash arrived with a group of children from a television reality show who collectively rendered Janaki’s evergreen Kannada anthem, 'Nodu Baa Nodu Baa Nammura...'.
The heartbreak behind the silence
Janaki passed away at 7:30 pm on Saturday at a private hospital in Mysuru. Doctors reported she had been rushed to the emergency ward in critical condition earlier that day, suffering from viral fever, fluctuating blood pressure, weak kidneys, and a severe foot infection (corn) that had grown infected. Exhausted and fragile, she suffered multiple cardiac arrests during treatment and could not be revived.
Close associates and veteran actress Bharathi revealed that Janaki’s health had been in a fragile state, compounded by profound personal tragedy. She had never fully recovered from the loss of her only son, Murali Krishna, who succumbed to cancer just six months prior on January 22.
The mother and son had been inseparable and were actively searching for a permanent home together in Mysuru at the time. The family had also suffered the loss of Janaki's elder granddaughter four years ago in a tragic scuba diving fire accident in the United States.
Her caretakers and ardent fans, Naveen and Pavan — who shared an affectionate 34-year bond with the singer since Naveen tracked her down as a 12-year-old boy in Chennai — shared that Janaki had a final, unfulfilled dream.
"Her wish to hold a memorial concert in December as a tribute to her son Murali Krishna remained unfulfilled. She had shortlisted songs, had invited artists including Sujatha Mohan, Chithra and others," Pavan revealed, promising that the S Janaki Charitable Trust would be revived to fulfill this dream and construct a fitting memorial.
A voice that transcended boundaries
Born on April 23, 1938, in Pallapatla in Andhra Pradesh's Guntur district, Janaki was the daughter of Sistla Sreeramamurthy, an ayurvedic doctor and teacher. She formalised her musical roots under Nadaswaram vidwan Paidioswamy and gave her first stage performance at the tender age of nine.
Her professional journey began at 19 with the Tamil film Vidhiyin Vilayattu (1957). Over an extraordinary career spanning more than six decades, Janaki recorded an astonishing 48,000+ songs across approximately 20 Indian languages—chiefly in Kannada (over 8,000 songs), Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam, alongside Hindi, Odia, Tulu, Urdu, Punjabi, Bengali, and foreign languages like English, Japanese, German, and Sinhala. Her legendary duets alongside icons like P B Srinivas, S P Balasubrahmanyam, and Dr Rajkumar remain gold standards of Indian cinema.
Janaki officially retired from live public concerts on October 28, 2017, during a farewell event at the Open Air Theatre of the University of Mysore. Her caretakers noted that even in retirement, she sang endlessly at home, filling her space with Meera bhajans and classical melodies.
Following her demise, Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a statement calling her passing "an irreparable loss to the world of music and culture," noting that her melodies "will continue to enchant listeners in the years to come."
To ensure her artistic brilliance endures, Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce president Jayamala urged the state government to quickly establish an S Janaki Study Centre at the University of Mysore. Concurrently, Minister Dr Siddaramaiah confirmed he would hold immediate talks with the chief minister regarding the construction of a state memorial to permanently honour the legendary songstress.