Who was Vani Janiram? Voice behind 'Bole re Papihara' and 10,000 other songs

Veteran singer Vani Jairam was found dead on Saturday (February 4) in Chennai at the age of 77. She was 77 and was living alone at a downtown apartment, where she was found dead, police said adding there was an injury on her forehead and further investigation is on. 

The iconic singer has voiced over 10,000 songs in 19 languages. She was the voice behind the popular Hindi song, 'Bole re Papihara'. Vani Jairam was recently awarded the Padma Bhushan award. 

Vani was born in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, to a family of classically trained musicians. She was the fifth daughter in a family of six daughters and three sons. 
 
Jairam gave her first public performance at the mere age of eight years old at the All India Radio, Madras. 

Read: Veteran playback singer Vani Jairam passes away in Chennai aged 78

She learnt the various vocal forms such as Thumri, Ghazal and Bhajan under Ustad Abdul Rehman Khan's guidance and appeared in her first public concert in 1969. After that, she entered into the music industry of various film industries and left her long legacy.