Singer Vani Jairam found dead

National Award-winning legendary playback singer Vani Jairam, who was conferred with the Padma Bhushan award - the third-highest civilian award -- this year, was found dead at her Chennai home on Saturday, reports Times of India.

According to reports, she was found dead with an injury on her forehead at her house on Haddows Road, Nungambakkam, in Chennai. She was 78 years old.

Vani Jayaram’s husband died a few years ago and she used to live alone in her apartment in Chennai. Reports are that the singer’s maid turned found her dead.

Vani Jairam recently completed 50 years as a professional singer and had recorded more than 10,000 songs in 19 languages including Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada.

The singer has worked with legendary composers including MS Viswanathan Ilaiyaraaja, RD Burman, KV Mahadevan, OP Nayyar and Madan Mohan, among others.