Bihar singing icon Sharda Sinha, 72, is currently on ventilator support at AIIMS Delhi, and her fans are rallying online to express prayers and wishes for her recovery. The outpouring of concern led her to top Google Trends on Tuesday as her son Anshuman, barely holding back tears, shared an update on her condition and said her prognosis was grim. Sinha’s battle for life comes just weeks after she lost her husband — whom she described as the wind beneath her wings — to brain haemorrhage.
Here’s a short profile of the celebrated singer, who also lent her vocals for the 1994 Bollywood superhit ‘Hum Aapke Hain Kaun’, among other movies.
Sharda Sinha, The 'Cuckoo Of Bihar’
Sinha was born in Bihar on October 1, 1952, according to reports. She predominantly sings in Maithili and Bhojpuri, and is known as ‘Bihar Kokila’ or the ‘cuckoo of Bihar’.
A report in Jagran detailed how her husband — whom she married in 1970 — helped her pursue a career in singing. Her mother-in-law, the report said, was firmly against women of the family conducting bhajan-kirtan outside the house. Sinha’s mother-in-law was also reportedly displeased when her husband asked her to participate in an event at the local Thakurbari, at the instance of a village elder.
However, her husband eventually managed to convince his mother to let Sinha spread her wings, and the rest, as they say, is history.
A veteran folk singer, her renditions of Chhath Puja songs have given her a special place among her fans. A report in India Today lists her popular Chhath songs as 'Kelwa Ke Paat Par Ugalan Suraj Mal Jhake Jhuke', 'Hey Chhathi Maiya', 'Ho Dinanath', 'Bahangi Lachakat Jaaye', 'Roje Roje Ugelaa', 'Suna Chhathi Maai', 'Jode Jode Supawa', and 'Patna Ke Ghat Par'.
She won the Padma Shri in 1991, and the Padma Bhushan in 2018.
Sinha has a son and a daughter.