Farewell South Africa’s nightingale
LOVERS of especially Tamil devotional and popular music have lost one of their most sought-after female singers last Tuesday when she succumbed to a short illness.
Rosy Govender graduated as a young singer with the band Mini Minors to join Padma and then Prema Entertainers as their lead singer.
She was a simple, humble and charitable soul who never hesitated to perform with other bands for fund-raising efforts. She was also a lyricist and composer.
Govender’s love for Tamil led her to propagate the culture among the youth. She raised funds to built a temple for the community.
I had the pleasure of being the compère at a number of shows featuring Govender with the late Billy Naidoo and Sagren Naidoo. The audiences loved her when she, in spite of her small frame, belted out their popular hits.
Popular veteran compère Jugga Pillay said he would remember her as the nightingale of our land.
He said he was blessed to have worked with her as her voice, style and singing maintained that special youth element that was automatically cherished by all age groups.
Danny Harris, who was her backing guitarist for many of her shows, said South African music lovers would miss her because she was dynamite on stage.
Sagren Naidoo, the producer of cultural programmes for Lotus FM and who was Rosey’s co-singer for more than 40 years, said their shows would not be complete without her appearance as she was sensational.
Govender also collaborated with singer/lyricist Segai Kiston to produce an album that was recorded in India with music provided by session musicians. This became a turning point in her career.
With her mellifluous voice she has breathed life into many songs, bringing out the right emotion in each word and making the song waft into the listener’s heart.
Fortunately, Govender’s legacy in the form of beautifully recorded music will remain in the hearts of many for years to come.
May she sing with the angels. DR NICKY CHETTY
Greenwood Park