Porayath Leela was an Indian playback singer and Carnatic vocalist born on May 19, 1934, in Chittur, Kerala. Trained by masters such as Thiribuvana Manibhagavadhar and Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar, she moved to Madras in 1944. Leela made her professional debut in 1947 and gained prominence with the 1948 Tamil film Kangkanam, performing the song “Sree Varalakshmi”. Her breakthrough came in 1949 with the Telugu production Gunasundari katha. Over a career spanning five decades, she recorded more than 5,000 songs across multiple languages and collaborated with prominent artists like Ghantasala and K. J. Yesudas. Her discography includes revered devotional recordings of “Narayaniyam” and “Jnanappana”. In 1969, she won the first Kerala State Film Award for the song “Ujjayiniyile gaayika” from the film Kadalpalam. She later received the Kalaimamani award in 1992. Leela died in Chennai on October 31, 2005. She was posthumously honored with the Padma Bhushan in 2006 for her contributions to Indian music.
