95-year-old releases her songs for 1st time

MUMBAI: An audience of 150 was overcome with emotion as 95-year-old Parvathy Seshanandan released her devotional songs at Matunga Mysore Association hall on Wednesday.

The Kerala native, a keen follower of Lord Ayyappa, has been writing lyrics in honour of various deities but this was the first time she went public.

“So far, I have only been singing them while cooking food in the kitchen,” said Seshanandan, laughing as spectators came up to congratulate her. She has not taking formal training, yet each line fell in perfect metre with a little help from music teacher Indu Suresh.

Professional singers rendered eight songs at the event, all in praise of various deities including Murugan, Siddhivinayak and Ayyappa. Seshanandan’s daughter Kalyani Tripurasundari, who lives in Bahrain, hosted the narration with anecdotes. Seshanandan’s son S Sivasubramanian said his mother is a devotee of Lord Ayyappa and has been making a pilgrimage to Sabarimala shrine since 35 years. “These lyrics were written about 30 years ago, and today we are so touched at the response,” he said. The writer was born in Thiruppanithura in May 1923 and arrived in Mumbai in 1940 after marriage.