When Janaki became the constant soundtrack of a family in Kerala
Abhilash Pudukad, 44, skipped a heartbeat when his mobile phone was flooded with the texts of singer S. Janaki’s passing on Saturday (July 11, 2026)
Abhilash Pudukad, 44, skipped a heartbeat when his mobile phone was flooded with the texts of singer S. Janaki’s passing on Saturday (July 11, 2026) evening. S. Janaki’s last rites in Mysuru Away in Abu Dhabi, he fervently hoped it was just another of those rumours that had surfaced six years ago, about which he had later joked with “Janaki Amma,” as he fondly called her. After all, he had spoken to her over a video call less than a fortnight ago, on June 29. In a state of panic, Mr. Abhilash switched on news channels and scoured the Internet, which instantly dashed his hopes. Reality dawned on him that Janaki Amma was no more. “The image that flashed across my mind at that moment was of an angelic Amma, looking heavenward with raised hands. That was during our chat at her Chennai home in 2020, in the aftermath of those rumours. To tease her, I had shown her the photos and articles posted on social media in her memory. She was playful, saying those pictures were awful and asked me to arrange better ones. But then she grew pensive and told me she would be ready to leave when the moment came,” Mr. Abhilash reminisced over phone. S. Janaki (1938-2026) — Recalling the singer’s pan-India career Abhilash and his family back in Pudukad, a panchayat in Thrissur district in Kerala, barely slept that night. His wife Sangeetha kept calling to ensure he was alright. For Mr. Abhilash and his parents — Ayyappan and Radhamani — Janaki was not a distant icon. She was a personal presence in their lives for over two decades, ever since Mr. Abhilash first met her in Sharjah in 2004.
He can hardly recall a childhood memory without the small vintage Sanyo tape recorder and Amma’s mellifluous voice playing in the background. “My parents were diehard fans of Janaki Amma, and we had a collection of her songs. But Appa had one cassette with a single track - Singara Velane Deva (from the 1962 Tamil film Konjum Salangai) — which he played on loop countless times every day. Mother’s favourite was Innale Neeyoru (from the 1970 Malayalam film Sthree). Another memory is of a radio perched on a stand. There was this unwritten household rule that required me to climb onto a wooden stool and notch up the volume whenever All India Radio broadcast her songs,” Mr. Abhilash recalled. S. Janaki: The nightingale who stole Kerala’s heart Yet, Mr. Abhilash wasn’t a convert until he reached tenth standard. That was when he began taking an interest in the singer who was a constant presence in his parents’ lives, and by extension his own. He started collecting her songs. Within six to seven years, his collection had soared to over 10,000 cassettes, stored in sacks for want of space in their small tiled house in Pudukad. One day, while cleaning the tapes spread across his courtyard, a local panchayat member dropped in to inform him about the clearance of a family loan. Impressed by the sheer size of the collection, he brought in a local vernacular daily, Express, which turned Mr. Abhilash into a minor celebrity of sorts. S. Janaki: Not Kerala-born, but forever its voice Later, when he flew to Abu Dhabi for work, access to the Internet transformed his interest into an obsession.
The BriefWire