Happy Birthday, K.S. Chithra: 'Melody Queen' of Indian cinema speaks to Asianet News

Kerala's 'Nightingale' K S Chithra is celebrating her 60th birthday today. She has recorded more than 18,000 songs in various Indian languages throughout the course of a career spanning more than four decades. She is particularly well-known for her long history of working with playback singers KJ Yesudas and SP Balasubrahmanyam as well as music composers AR Rahman, Ilaiyaraja, Hamsalekha, and MM Keeravani. 

K S Chithra is also referred to as the 'Melody Queen' of Indian Cinema. The prestigious Royal Albert Hall in London referred to her as the Golden Voice of India, and a large international crowd hailed her performance in the auditorium with great enthusiasm.

In a conversation with Asianet News, Chithra claimed that only her daughter Nandana's birthday had been previously celebrated. She occasionally receives a surprise cake from some fans, though. 

When asked if she could recall any such surprises, Chithra recalled that once when travelling abroad, a technical issue caused her flight to be postponed and rescheduled for the next day. The airline made arrangements for the travellers to stay in a hotel close to the airport. Chithra and her husband had forgotten that it was her birthday the following day. Chithra was very surprised when her first fan, Valarmathi, called to wish her a happy birthday. As mobile phones were rare back then and no one knew where she was spending her time. 

Talking about her school days and education, Chithra said that she was simply an average student. "In particular, I had to take extra classes, and my teacher Saraswathi Amma made me do a number of practise exams to pass the board exams for the 10th Class," she said.

As someone who has enjoyed music since she was a young child, Chithra stated that she has always wanted to teach music. "I surely would have been a music teacher if I did get my MA in music."

The legendary singer claimed that her greatest strength came from the people she loved who stood by her side during times of severe adversity. She added that she leaves all circumstances in the hands of God, no matter what they may be. 

Chithra has won 36 state film awards from six different Indian states, including 16 Kerala State Film Awards, 11 Andhra Pradesh State Film Awards, 4 Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, 3 Karnataka State Film Awards, 1 Orissa State Film Award, and 1 West Bengal State Film Award. She has also won six National Film Awards and nine Filmfare Awards South. For her significant contributions to the Indian musical community, she received the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan, India's third and fourth-highest civilian accolades, respectively, in 2005 and 2021.

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