Vani Jairam — A voice for all seasons

Vani Jairam, one of India’s most versatile voices, completes five decades as a playback singer

In 1997, I remember listening into a conversation between some teachers at my school, who happened to be at the recording of the song ‘Piya to manat naahin’ from the Kannada film, Gangavva Gangamayi. A fairly difficult song, composed by the renowned Vijay Bhaskar in Hindustani bandish style, it had several improvisational elements. Vani Jairam sang it flawlessly in a single take. The experience had stunned my teachers, who would stand in the corridors discussing her voice, range, diction and rendition. This is the 50th year of Vani Jairam’s journey as a playback singer. She debuted with the grand Miya ki Malhar composition, ‘Bole re papi hara’, from the Hindi film Guddi (1971). The composition and her singing remain fresh to this day. In fact, at 76, her voice is just as beautiful, seemingly untouched by time.