K S Chithra, the Nightingale of Kerala, turns 60

K S Chithra birthday, K S Chithra age: Eminent playback singer K S Chithra, who has been an inseparable part of the daily lives and emotions of Kerala people for the past several years through her mesmerising voice and soulful songs, turned 60 on Thursday. Elated fans flooded social media platforms with touching wishes and greetings to mark the birthday of their favourite musician. Admiringly called as the 'Nightingale of Kerala', Chithra, a multiple national and state award-winning singer, is one of the most celebrated musicians of South India.

Besides the mellifluous voice and nostalgic songs, her down-to-earth persona, humility, simplicity and smiling face also won her a huge fan following cutting across states and languages. Born here on July 27, 1963, Krishnan Nair Shantha Kumari Chithra entered into world of playback singing during late 1970s under the music direction of eminent composer M G Radhakrishnan. In a career spanning over four decades since then, Chithra, with a strong foundation in Carnatic music, has recorded over 20,000 songs in various Indian languages including Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi besides Malayalam and also in several foreign languages.

Her collaborations with legendary composers like A R Rahman, Illayaraja, M M Keeravani and so on and illustrious singers like K J Yesudas and S P Balasubramaniam were iconic episodes in the playback singing history of Indian cinema. The exceptional talent and unparalleled musical prowess have won her six national awards and over 30 state awards in various languages. Cutting across film, politics and musical world, greetings poured in from various quarters wishing happy birthday to the melody queen.

"Birthday greetings to @ KS Chithra. Wishing you an eventful and illustrious life ahead," Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan tweeted. Popular playback singer and Chithra's contemporary, Sujatha Mohan wished her a happy birthday and called her a 'nightingale.' "Happy birthday to our dearest nightingale K S Chithra. May God bless you more and more with all health happiness and peace... Love you," she said in a Facebook post. Extending his birthday greetings, well-known singer G Venugopal, in a Facebook post, wished Chithra enthrall us all the more with her "sweet voice, immaculate rendition and loving affectionate demeanour".

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