The mesmerising voice of Uma Ramanan falls silent

Uma left behind a legacy of unforgettable songs. And, memories of a golden voice.

Along with her husband, she performed over 7,000 concerts in many languages, including Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi.

In an interview with The Hindu, Uma recalled she wasn’t given an acceptable place in the industry. “Fulfilment at the emotional level still eludes me,” she was quoted as saying.

Her voice blended with KJ Yesudas’s seamlessly when she sang Ilaiyaraaja’s “Aagaya Vennilavae” from Arangetra Velai (1990), directed by Fazil.

Uma Ramanan’s first break came from a duet she sang for director T Janakiram, in the Hindi film Play Boy (1976), featuring Roopesh Kumar and Ritu Kamal.

Eventually, she sang a duet in Sri Krishna Leela (1977), with a music score by SV Venkatraman. The film had Sivakumar, TR Mahalingam, Jayalalithaa, and Srividya, in pivotal roles.

The rest, as they say, is history!

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Uma Ramanan — Ilaiyaraaja’s rare find

Uma and Ramanan performing on stage. (Supplied)

Along with a few of her peers, Uma Ramanan is regarded as one of Ilaiyaraaja’s rare finds in his career. Some of her best songs include Poongathave Thaazh Thirava (Nizhalgal), Ponn Maanae (Oru Kaidhiyin Diary), Nee Pathi Naan Pathi Kanne (Keladi Kanmani), Sri Ranga Ranga (Mahanadhi), and so on.

Not many knew dance was equally a part of Uma’s childhood. She was drained under acclaimed danseuse Padma Subrahmanyam.

Throughout her career, Uma Ramanan worked with many renowned composers including Vidyasagar, Deva and Mani Sharma, so on.

Bengali, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi, Telugu, English, and Punjabi are among the eight languages in which Uma and Ramanan are fluent.

Singer Sriram, who sang the chorus on stage with Uma Ramanan, recalls, “She was a live wire. For any artiste to make a mark, a unique style is a must. This is easier said than done. Her foundation in music was quite strong. She could sing effortlessly even higher notes. Her voice was simultaneously thin and unique, deep and powerful.”

Kannum Kannumthaan, which Uma sang with Harish Raghavendra for Thirupaachi (2005), was her last song. The Perarasu film had Vijay and Trisha, in lead roles.

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