P Susheela gets Padma Bhushan, wishes to give playback

She is the nightingale of the south. Having
started her illustrious career in 1950,
she has sung in various south Indian
languages apart from Hindi.

Born in Vijayanagaram in Andhra
Pradesh in 1935, she sang her first
duet with AM Raja in 1950.
Like they say, there has been
no looking back for her ever since.

Known for her melodious voice, she has
sung for heroines of five generations.

She won the National Award five times
in 1969, '€™72, '€™78, '€™83 and '€™84. These apart,
she had received many state government awards apart from the prestigious Raghupati Venkaiah Award given by the Government of Andhra Pradesh in 2001.

Having retired following her husband'€™s death, she makes special appearances at felicitation functions and awards nites these days.

She has expressed shock and happiness having received the award.

But more than the award, she feels it will revive her career as she is keen to sing once again for the new generation. Like they say -- once a singer, always a singer.

Now, wouldn'€™t it be a pleasure to hear our '€˜Gana Kokila'€™ once again?