'Don't measure my grief by my tears': S Janaki's granddaughter responds to critics

Following the death of veteran playback singer S Janaki, her granddaughter Apsara Vydyula has shared an emotional note on social media, urging people not to judge her grief by the absence of visible tears.

In a heartfelt Instagram post, Apsara reflected on losing both her beloved grandmother and her elder sister, saying grief is deeply personal and cannot be measured by outward expressions of emotion.

She revealed that many had questioned why she did not appear visibly devastated in public after Janaki's passing. According to Apsara, grief is experienced differently by each individual and does not always manifest through tears. She said it was her grandmother who taught the family to view death from a spiritual perspective, reminding them that love does not end when life does. Sometimes, she added, grief is quiet, silent, and deeply personal.

"Over the past few days, I have seen people question my grief because they do not see tears in my eyes. Please don’t measure my love for my grandmother by the tears you do or do not see. We were taught, especially by her, to understand death from a deeply spiritual place. She taught us that love does not end when a life does. My experiences have made me stronger than I ever wished I had to be. Grief is not always loud. Sometimes it is quiet, steady and deeply personal," Apsara wrote.

In her post, Apsara also remembered her elder sister Varsha, who passed away in August 2023. She described Varsha as "the most cherished person in my grandmother's world" and said the two shared an extraordinary bond.

"My grandmother’s favourite person in the world was my elder sister, Varsha. They were so alike. They understood each other in a way that words could never fully explain. They were, in every sense, made for each other. I don’t want the world to forget that Varsha is the one who should have been standing where I am today, taking care of our grandmother and doing everything that now falls upon me. She passed away in August 2023, and our family will never truly recover from that loss. Grief doesn’t disappear. It simply becomes something you learn to carry for the rest of your life. The only comfort I find is knowing that they are together again " she added.

S Janaki was admitted to a hospital on Saturday after experiencing dizziness at her residence in Bogadi, Mysuru. She passed away later that evening. Following the death of her only son, Muralikrishna, in January, Janaki had been living in Mysuru with her granddaughter Apsara.

During a remarkable career spanning more than six decades, S. Janaki recorded thousands of songs and left an indelible mark on Indian cinema across 17 languages, including Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Hindi, Odia, Bengali, Marathi, Tulu, Urdu, Gujarati, Sanskrit, Badaga, Punjabi, Konkani, and Assamese. She also sang in Sinhala, English, German, and Japanese. She received four National Film Awards and 33 state film awards, making her one of India's most celebrated playback singers.