Tamil, Telugu film singer P Susheela hospitalised; condition stable, says family
The 88-year-old playback singer was admitted to Kauvery Hospital in Chennai after she complained of severe stomach pain
The health condition of acclaimed playback singer P Susheela, who was hospitalised on Sunday (August 18) after she had reportedly complained of severe stomach pain, is stable, said reports.
The 88-year-old singer was admitted to Kauvery hospital in Chennai and is currently being treated for kidney related issues. The singer’s family too assured the fans and well-wishers that the singer is under good care.
P Susheela, who was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2009, has sung over 1,000 songs in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Sinhala. Fondly referred to as ‘Gaana Kokila’, she holds a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for singing the most number of songs in Indian languages.
Susheela was born in Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh, where she studied classical music in Maharaja`s Music College, Vizianagaram from the famous violinist Dwaram Venkatasamy Naidu. After getting a first class diploma, Susheela went to Madras for higher studies in music in the Music Academy under the principalship of Musiri Subramania Iyer.
She started giving classical music performances in public and also through All India Radio, Madras, Vijayawada, Bangalore and Hyderabad stations.
Her four-decade long playback career started when music director Pendyala Nageswara Rao scouting for new talent picked her out from a bunch of new singers at All India Radio. Her first song was a duet with A M Raja - 'Edhukku azhaithaai' - for the Tamil movie 'Petra Thaai' in 1952. There was no looking back for this singer after that as her melodious voice caught the attention of other music directors and she became a sought after playback singer.
There was no Tamil movie that did not feature her songs. Susheela herself said that 'music is god's gift to me'. Her songs in movies like 'Pava Manippu', 'Palum Pazhamum,' 'Parthal Pasitheerum', 'Uthama Puthiran', to name just a handful still remain favourites of film music lovers. She has also given hundreds of golden melodies under the direction of stalwarts Viswanathan - Ramamurthy.