L.R. Eswari

A celebrated Bollywood singer particularly in the Tamil community, L.R. Eswari was born Lourde-Mary Rajeswari in Chennai, India on December 7, 1939. As a teenager she recorded her first song for a film, “Inbanaalidhe Idhayam Kaanudhe". Starting in 1958 she became one of the most in demand and popular singers in the industry. She applied distinctive husky voice to a variety of styles including folk, love songs, and religious compositions. Though she performed primarily in Tamil, she has also recorded in other Indian dialects. With numerous hits to her credit including “Maayadari Sinnodu”, “Arey Yemiti Lokam”, and "Malle Puvvulu Pillagaalulu", she maintained a very busy work schedule for a quarter century before retiring in 1984. With the exception of 1991’s “Chinna Chinna” from the movie Gnana Paravai, she was not heard from until 2011 when she performed “Kalasala Kalasala” in the film Osthe. While in her early years she would easily record over a dozen songs a year for various films, in her older age she would appear about once a year in the 2010s. Such was her profile and popularity that she was awarded the Kalaimamani, one of Tamil Nadu’s highest official honors. Even in 2021, more than 65 years since her first film work, she was getting recording on the pop chats in Malaysia.

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