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.