Vani Jayaram was born in
Vellore in
Tamil Nadu, in a family of musicians. Her mother is the disciple of
Ranga Ramunaja Iyengar, a great
veena exponent. Kadaloor Sreenivasa Iyengar, who taught Vani’s sister music, was fascinated by her observation and grasping power. He taught her a few
Dikshitar kritis when she was hardly five.
[2] The fifth daughter in a family of six daughters and three sons, Vani always secretly yearned for a career in film playback singing. Considered to be a child prodigy, Vani Jayaram claims to have recognized the different ragas of Indian classical music before the age of five. Her voice was first heard on
All India Radio, Madras, at the age of eight.
Vani Jayaram studied
Carnatic music under the tutelage of
Kadalur Srinivasa Iyengar,
T. R. Balasubramanian and
R. S. Mani. Her
Hindustani classical music guru was
Ustad Abdul Rahman Khan.
After her marriage to Jayaram she settled in
Mumbai, where she realized her dream.