Amid the flood of tears and pains, legendary singer SP Balasubrahmanyam has been laid to rest with a special and deserved sendoff to honor his greatest achievements and unparalleled contribution to the industry and for the nation. As an exquisite and precious artist and towering human being, he directly touched and inspired millions. 

SPB has passed away on Friday at the age of 74 in Chennai due to cardiac arrest. He was battling for survival nearly for fifty days after he tested positive for COVID-19. Though he was towards the path of recovery, his health had attained a major setback on Thursday and placed at an extremely critical state. Despite the efforts, he had breathed his last on Friday, and his body was taken to his residence and kept for the public to pay homage. 

His family had decided to perform last rites at his farmhouse in Thamaraipakkam on the outskirts of Chennai. As thousands had queued before his residence and paid last respects, Tamil Nadu Opposition leader MK Stalin had asked the state government to give him the full honor during his last rites. Hours after the appeal, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami has said that the legendary singer will be laid to rest with full police honors. 

By giving a special and deserved sendoff, the Chief Minister said that the singer holds a place in the hearts of the people not only from Tamil Nadu but across the nation. According to reports, his body was taken to the farmhouse in the wee hours of Saturday and kept for the public to pay homage. Hundreds of police officers were deployed to the farmhouse for security purposes. Since his body was brought to the farmhouse, hundreds of people including the general public, political leaders, and celebrities. 

Tamil Nadu state ministers, seniors officials from Tiruvallur district administration, Tirupati MLA, Actors Vijay, Arjun, Mayilsamy, director Bharathiraja, and singer Mano had arrived at the farmhouse and the police officers had allowed small numbers of people to the farmhouse to prevent the over-crowding. The celebrities had paid their last respects and placed their condolences to the family members of the departed singer. 

SPB's son SP Charan did the last rituals ahead of the rites as millions of his fans had disheartened to see the visuals that their favorite singer is leaving the world. The last rituals were done with their customs and as announced by the Chief Minister, the singer was buried with full police honors. The police battalion headed by the Assistant Commissioner of Armed Forces had rendered a full state honor for SPB. 

As a sign of respect and honor, the police officers shot 72 bullets towards the sky to honor the legendary singer, who had sung over 40,000 songs in 16 languages and conferred with various national awards including Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan. Following the honor, he was laid down to interminable sleep, leaving the fans and people with profound pain and agony. From MGR's 'Aadimai Penn' to Rajini's 'Annathe', SPB had made wonders during his five decades-long career. 

Being a multi-lingual artist, SPB was the voice of many stars and reached many households across and beyond the borders. Apart from singing, he had acted in over 40 movies and composed music for dozens of films in his lifetime. Director Bharathiraja, who was the close friend of the singer nearly for five decades, had visited the farmhouse on Saturday and paid his last respect. While addressing the reports, the veteran director has thanked the Tamil Nadu government for providing full police honors for his friend. The director stated that the singer is still alive with us and he will live forever.