5 Decades of Celestial Singing

His beard and his sharp eyes add a certain effect to the aura and the depth of his music – K J Yesudas is perhaps one of the tallest classical singers in the country. The value of his accolades and his work can hardly be estimated but if numbers are any indication in his fiftieth year as a recorded singer, then he’s come a very long way – his cabinet at home holds seven National Awards and forty three State Awards from Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and West Bengal for playback singing. Add to that, honorary doctorates from three reputed universities in Kerala and Tamil Nadu and a Padma Bhushan for his contribution to music – that includes more than fifty thousand recorded singles and a vibrant recording studio in Trivandrum and Chennai. 

K J Yesudas

In his early music career, he was known as the voice of Prem Nazir in Malayalam cinema but that changed soon after he released his own albums of classical and devotional music. His renditions of chants ring out through speaker phones at several temples in southern India. On several occasions, he has taken trips across the country to popularise his form of devotional music, influenced strongly by his training in Carnatic classical music. Krishna nee Begane Baro and other classics like the Harivarsanam Mangalam are often the opening tracks at any devotional music gathering in Trivandrum or Chennai.

He was part of collaborations with other famous musicians like Salil Chowdhury and Khayyam. In most of the twenty six Malayali films that Salil Chowdhury directed music for, Yesudas was asked to sing. This, for many, is perhaps Malayalam cinema’s most last partnership in terms of the kind of music that was produced.

In Hindi cinema, his songs from Chitchor (Jab deep jale aana and Gori tera gaon bada pyaara got him the national award the same year) made him a runaway hit before he went on to sing for several other famous productions. Bengalis remember his song on Vivekananda - Nahi shurjyo nahi jyoti – as they had flocked to see his open air performances during his Kolkata tours. His five decades as a professional singer have been a source of great affect for many. He responded to these sentiments by producing music as well as singing for several initiatives for musical collaborations that preached peace and communal harmony. We wish him several more years of great music and even greater warmth from his admirers.

Welcoming Spring in Mewar

Mewar Festival

Spring festivals in South Asia come in all forms and hues. They are often associated with the harvest season and the onset of the crop symbolises a fresh spring and a new year. In north India, the festival of Baisakhi in Punjab is most popular for starting off the celebrations on the first day of the month of Baisakh, which is otherwise also celebrated by Bengalis as Poila Baishakh, or the first day of the New Year.

In Rajasthan, the onset is celebrated with the Mewar festival in Udaipur. The idea is relatively new, as it tries to expand the regional consciousness around the previously princely estate of Mewar, but it builds upon an older and more popular set of celebrations and ritualistic performances around the same day. The most important of these celebrations is the Gangauri Puja where women dress up the idols of Isar and Gangaur and a procession travels from one locality to another collecting more devotees and adding more colour and music. The last segment of the religious rituals at the Gangauri Ghat along the Lake Pichola includes several ritualised chants and offerings by women who are yet to be married.

Once these festivities are concluded in the afternoon, the idols are set afloat on boats into the lake on boats which are specifically decorated for the same purpose. Decked with flowers and painted in blue and red and other ceremonial colours, the central boat is surrounded by several smaller boats on which musicians continue to play and sing. The Mewar festival builds upon this spirit of spring and the state of Rajasthan promotes it as a grand cultural event. 

The evening is famous for the spectacular fireworks displays that light up Udaipur’s night sky. A few minutes away, the spacious premises of the Bharatiya Lok Kala Mandal are packed with travellers, visitors and citizens of Udaipur and other parts of Rajasthan. The series of performances begin with musicians playing an assortment of instruments which are then followed up by folk dancers, especially those specialising in the Kalbelia form. Puppet shows and magic shows have a segment of their own which is not just restricted to the halls of the Kala Mandal building – street shows are in full swing with huge crowds gathering around each artist.

International visitors to Udaipur on this day have a specific treat in store for them. Couples can register to be part of a fashion contest where they have to dress up in Rajasthani courtly attire and try to impress the audience with their ability to pull off the exquisite and layered style of clothing. The festival brings together several elements of Mewar’s history and culture while maintaining the legacies of its monarchic institutions which have patronised such kinds of arts and crafts for centuries now. The day is a great occasion to see the confluence of different art forms across the region of Rajasthan in one place and sink into the celebration of the new harvest year. The onset of spring is one thing no one wants to miss, in any part of the country.