S P Balasubrahmanyam laid to rest at his farmhouse near Chennai

Legendary playback singer S P Balasubrahmanyam was on Saturday laid to rest at his farmhouse in Thamaraipakkam, 50 km from Chennai, as thousands of his fans, friends and family members bid a teary farewell to the man whose voice mesmerized millions of people for over five decades.

The mortal remains of Balasubrahmanyam, who took his last breath at 1.04 pm on Friday at the MGM Healthcare where he was admitted on August 5 after testing positive for the novel Coronavirus, was taken to his farmhouse on Friday night from his residence in upscale Nungambakkam here.

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Thousands of his fans queued up outside the sprawling farmhouse in Tiruvallur district early Saturday morning to pay their last respects to the legend. At 10.20 am, Balasubrahmanyam’s son S P Charan began conducting the last rites of his father in the presence of close friends and family members that went on for nearly two hours.

A composed Charan, who is also a playback singer, recited Vedic slogans and performed the last rites of his father according to Hindu traditions before he was laid to rest inside the premises of the farmhouse.

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As the family members paid their respects one last time, the mortal remains of the playback singer was carried by a group of people on their shoulders for burial with full state honours.

Before the body was placed in the pit, the City Armed Reserve Police Personnel gave a gun salute and 26 personnel fired three rounds in the air as part of the state honours. As the body was lowered down the pit, chants of SPB Pugazh Onguga (Long Live SPB’s fame) rented the air.

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Besides thousands of fans, SPB’s long-time friend in the tinsel town, Bharathiraaja, popular actor Vijay, playback singer Mano and other celebrities also paid respects to SPB. Mano, who is SPB’s contemporary, broke down after seeing his senior colleague inside a glass casket.

While the Tamil Nadu government was represented by Tamil Development Minister ‘MaFoi’ K Pandiarajan, governments of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala had also sent their representatives as a mark of respect to SPB.