The music In my heart I bore long after it was heard no more. Vani Jairam swept into the world of Hindi Cinema with that breezy Bole Re Pappi Hara from Guddi catapulting both the young singer and the demure school girl who mouthed it with a smile playing on her lips into instant stardom.  That a simple, demure girl from the South  could take on the established Bollywood Greats  with a plaintive yet intensely  poignant Hum Ko Man Ki Shakthi Dena  In Raga Malhar made everyone sit up and take notice.Offers came alongbut Vani was never able to make it to the top. Vani waited for  more opportunities; gateways to more chart busters to reach higher echelons but that was never to be,. With characteristic  practicality, she accepted her situation, perhaps a little wistfully and turned her attention to the south.  Her early numbers went unnoticed . With Malligai En Mannan mayangum, she  arrived onto Mollywood  with a big bang. Her fresh, lilting voice eminently  suited the romantic , pastoral heroine singing simple lyrics , dancing along lush paddy fields. The Seventies and Eighties were her years of glory wherein she worked with Illayaraja, MSV etal. Ezhu swarangalil ethnai ragaam won her her first national award. The list is long; many songs of which I am not aware of.  Who can forget Orey Naal Unnai Naan from Illamai Unjaladagirathu or En Ullil and of course  Naane Naana  yaro Thana. Also the evergreen Meghame, Meghame.  

       Her oeuvre  was  substantial and magnificent, from melancholy ,pastoral film numbers to paeans of piety.  Mere to Giridhar Gopal stirred the hearts of all. 10000 songs in about 5 decades is no mean achievement. She has sung in languages across the board. Honours were heaped on her, yet she wore them with her characteristic simplicity and humility. The wistfulness; the yearning to be recognised  always remained. But Bole Re Pappi and Hum Ko maan Ki Shakthi will always remain etched in our hearts and ears. Vani Jairam may have gone  but her music in our hearts, we will always  bear.