An institution called K J Yesudas

By Pradeep

Padmashree K J Yesudas, one of the best known Indian singers, who gave his sweat and blood for music turned sixty on January 10. Here's a rendezvous with the ace singer.

There is one voice that the Malayalee, world over, recognises. It is a voice that has become part of the collective memory of the Malayalee. It wafts in the wind, hauntingly; ushering in memories both happy and gloomy, of the land the Malayalee calls his own. K J Yesudas is Kerala's very own voice.

And after recording over 40,000 songs and winning scores of accolades including the coveted Padmashree honour and seven national awards for the best playback singer, Malayalam's very own Gana Gandharvan (the divine singer) is still breathing music and enchanting music lovers the world over.

The hallmark of this gifted singer has been his ability to defeat a hostile environment; a propensity for hard work and a never-ending quest for excellence in a field that he has turned his own. He has been able to achieve this discipline as he had a mission in life, a dream to fulfill.

His father, the noted stage actor-singer of yesteryears, Augustine Joseph, was determined to turn his eldest son into a singer. He spared no efforts in doing so. There was a time when Augustine Joseph was the toast of the town. His house at Thoppumpady in Kochi was literally filled with friends and fans, who spent the day eating and talking. But when the man fell on bad days there were very few to extend a helping hand.

Young Yesudas grew up in penury, but there was this goal that he had set for himself. There was his father's dream that he knew he had to fulfill. When he was taunted and scoffed at for being a Christian and attempting to learn Carnatic music, when he was almost chucked out of the RLV Music Academy for defaulting on the monthly fees, when he was asked to sleep in the car shed of an eminent musician, when he had to travel miles in Chennai living mainly on tap water when music directors initially found him ineffective and then, when AIR, Trivandrum considered his voice not good for broadcasting - Yesudas suffered patiently. All these only acted as catalysts that sparked off his long cherished dream.

All that the young singer needed was a break. And this he got through divine intervention. Director K S Antony needed a new male voice and the choice was Vaikkom Chandran. But the noted stage singer suggested the name of the upcoming singer, who was by then making a mark through his ganamelas. The film `Kalpaddukal' in 1961 saw the birth of a new voice. The few lines composed by Narayana Guru ironically expounded his life's policy of ``one caste, one religion, one God''. The rest is history.

A phenomenon in South Indian film music, Yesudas has overcome language barriers and sung over 40,000 songs in a career spanning nearly four decades.Yesudas' classical style has often come in for harsh criticism. There are many purists who consider his style neither Carnatic nor Hindustani. But once again, through sheer perseverance and hard work he went on to prove his critics wrong. Every year he prepared diligently before the Madras concerts, singing elaborate pallavis and rare ragas. But the truth is that Yesudas has been greatly instrumental in popularising Carnatic music.

Yesudas got his first recognition at the tender age of seven, when he won a gold medal for music at a local competition in Fort Cochin. He got the prestigious national award for best playback singer seven times: Manushyan Mathangale Srishtichu (Achanum Bappayum-Malayalam) in 1972, Padmatheerthame (Gayatri-Malayalam) in 1973, Gori Tera (Chit Chor-Hindi) in 1979, Akashadeshamu (Meghasandesham-Telugu) in 1985, Unnikale Oru Kathaparayam (Unnikale Oru Kathaparayam-Malayalam) in 1987, Ramakatha Ganalayam (Bharatham-Malayalam) in 1991 and for songs in the film Sopanam in 1993. He has won the award for the best playback singer in Malayalam ever since its inception in 1969, except for seven times. (From 1987 to 1991 he had opted out of the race to facilitate opportunities for fresh talents). He picked up his 23rd state award last year.

The other major accolades India's ace singer received were - the best playback singer award in Tamil in 1988 and 1992, best playback singer award in Telugu in 1988, Sangeetha Raja Puraskaram in 1974, Sangeetha Chakravarthy Puraskaram in 1988, Sangeetha Sagaram Puraskaram in 1987, Lata Mangeshkar Award of the Madhya Pradesh government in 1992 and National Citizens' Award in 1994. Turning sixty this January 10, the voice that has brightened up the lives of millions all these years continues ageless and is bound to be heard for centuries to come.

Music is devotion for Yesudas and nothing mundane carries him away. When he made his debut in films way back in 1962, the recording process was simple and unsophisticated, though laborious. Imparting the needed feeling to the lines in the presence of the music director and other film technicians was comparatively easy. With recording going hi-tech and track recording turning out to be the order of the day, 'emotion' usually became the causality. But this was not the case with Yesudas.

Even when recordings were done from his studios, set up at his residence in Florida, listening to just the track-recordings and with no clue of the story-line of the film, Yesudas was still able to breathe life into them, giving it the emotions that blend so well with the lyrics and most importantly, the scene itself. Some of the recent songs stand testimony to this quality, which none of the recent singers have been able to imbibe.

It was the late Salil Choudhary who provided the break for Yesudas in Hindi films in 1976. His first venture Anand Mahal was not a big box-office hit though the Yesudas-Sabita number Aa Aa Re Mitwa... was noticed. It was the film Chit Chor under Ravindra Jain that really launched Yesudas in Hindi films.

"Sing with your voice and with your heart and with all your moral convictions. Sing the new songs, not only with your tongue but with your life," says Yesudas.

Having gone through all sorts of experiences - bitter and sweet - and after 40,000 songs and many an accolade, what do you long for now?
I consider the recognition significant, especially at this stage of my career. It means that even today the people appreciate your work. I've always believed that any artiste should stop the moment he senses that his audiences no longer want him. I feel overwhelmed with the love and appreciation people shower on me. I feel extremely happy.

Do you feel you have played your part well or do you feel much remains to be done?
I don't feel like I have not achieved much or I have not done what I have to. One may have nurtured many ambitions at a younger age. But now I realise that my destiny is not in my hands. And for quite a long time, I haven't longed for anything.

You had earlier talked about cherishing the dream of a music university. Do you still have that idea in mind?
That still remains a dream. And I am more convinced now that it is too luxurious a dream for an individual. It is primarily the responsibility of the government. People like me are mere tools.

Your classical style and method have often come under attack by critics, saying it is neither Carnatic nor Hindustani?
You can call my style Bharatheeya if you think I don't fit into the accepted genres. If you think that I'm too light, it's the reward for my hard work. Making things simple is not easy after all! Very often I feel the pull of strong, diverse forces. One, the ordinary listener, who insists that I should not turn complex during my concerts and the other, who coaxes me to become more elaborate and intricate. I have tried to adopt a style and method that satisfies both.

Staff Reporter Date:11/12/2005

Governor to grace the occasion

K. J. Yesudas being felicitated at the Narayana Tirtha Jayanthi festival held at Narada Gana Sabha recently. — Pic. by M. Moorthy

Pujyasri Narayana Tirtha's 327th Jayanthi (Tharangam Music Festival) was celebrated for three days at the Narada Gana Sabha last week. Homage to the great savant was paid by several speakers and musicians who sang tharangams. Reverence was the keynote of the festival and the Managing Trustee, Thirupoonthuruthy V. Venkatesan thanked all the participants.

On the penultimate day of the festival at the end of his concert K. J. Yesudas was conferred the title, "Bhakti Sangita Geetha Sironmani" jointly by the Thirupoonthuruthy Sri Narayana Tirtha Swamigal Trust, Narada Gana Sabha Trust and Saraswathi Vaggeyakara Trust. Several speakers felicitated Yesudas, recipient of the Padma Bhushan award. The theme of the speeches was his "golden voice, simple living without any inhibition regarding caste, creed or religion and his effort to bring world brotherhood through music of different types."

In his reply Yesudas passionately pleaded with the youth not to fall a victim to the corrupt influence of western culture but imbibe only the good points in that culture. He thought music was the best vehicle to achieve this. He emphasised the need for appointing a music teacher in every school and make music compulsory in the curriculum.

Mr. Venkatesan said that the first floor of Nama Sankeertana Mani Mantapam at Thirupoonthuruthy was completed and will be opened on August 30.

Soaked in bhakti

A charming Charukesi alapana for Narayana Tirtha's Krishna Krishna Krupasamudra with brief but sweet swaras highlighted Yesudas's bhakti-soaked concert. A dedicated specialist in tharangams, the popular musician sang with fervour and perhaps because of concern for a correct rendering of the Sanskrit lines with proper diction he made repeated reference to the notes he had in front — though this might not have brought satisfaction to his rasikas.

Yesudas might have made some changes in the ragas also for the tharangams. But this liberty the audience was prepared to willingly give to the artiste who with his malleable voice was able to communicate the message of the great Krishna savant, in a telling manner.

Yesudas began the programme with "Jaya Jaya Swamin" after a comprehensive alapana in Hamsadhwani. Swaras at the Pallavi sparkled.

The Hindolam alapana and "Govardhanagiridara" was a good follow up. "Saranam Bhava Karunamayi Gurudeena Dayalo" in Pantuvarali, "Jaya Jaya Ramanatha", "Govindaghataya", a Khamboji piece, "Pahi Pahi Jaganmohana Krishna Paramananda Sri Krishna" (Nadanama Kriya) and "Mangalani Thanothu Madhusudhana" in Madhyamavati proved a fitting finale — Yesudas prefaced this tharangam with a spicy alapana — to a glorious exhibition of bhakti - saturated music that sent the audience home in a prayerful mood.

The accompaniments, Delhi P. Sundarrajan (violin) Vellore Ramabhadran (mridangam) and Vaikom Gopalakrishnan (ghatam) played their roles perfectly.

Sundarrajan while showing his prowess in alapanas (his answers in swara duels were quite equal) followed the vocalist faithfully without flourishes. Ramabhadran, as usual, adapted his beats according to the main artiste's style of rendering. On the whole it was an elevating soulful concert.

K.S.R

Yesudas selected for Swaralaya-Devarajan Master Award

Classical musician and playback singer K.J. Yesudas has been selected for this year's Swaralaya-Devarajan Master award for his contributions to Indian music.

Poet O.N.V. Kurup, who chaired the award jury, and former Kerala Minister for Cultural Affairs M.A. Baby announced the award at a press conference here on Monday.

They said Mr. Yesudas had been incomparable these past five decades not only as a singer, but also as a music director. The award, instituted in the memory of music director G. Devarajan, carries a cash prize of Rs.50,000 and a plaque.

Karnatic musician Omanakutty, music director M. Jayachandran and music critic Ravi Menon were members of the jury that selected Mr. Yesudas for the award.

Music legend KJ Yesudas on 50 years in the industry

There's no substitute for dedication and hard work, Indian singing legend K J Yesudas tells Shiva Kumar Thekkepat

Grace personified when Friday meets him prior to Gandharva Gaanam, a show to be held today in Dubai, where he will be given an award for his contribution to the Indian music industry, he simply says, "I know there must be a reason you couldn't keep the appointment.''

Although he's 72, from Kerala, India, and has won the National Award for the Best Male Playback Singer seven times (more than any other Indian singer), and the State Award for the Best Playback Singer 43 times, he still commands a huge following, and has more young fans than his son, singer Vijay Yesudas, 33.

Proof of that are the hordes of adoring fans waiting to catch a glimpse of the singer outside the Dubai hotel where our interview is conducted. More than half of them are teenagers who had come to know that the star was staying there.

Yesudas has won numerous awards including an honorary award in 1999 by Unesco for Outstanding Achievements in Music and Peace at the "Music for Peace" event in Paris, a concert held to mark the dawn of the new millennium and whose attendees included artistes such as Lionel Richie, Ray Charles and Montserrat Caballé. A Padma Shri (one of the highest awards given to civilians in India) winner in 1975, he also received the Padma Bhushan in 2002 for his contributions towards the arts. The man for who music is a way of life waxes lyrical on his career, early life and dreams:

Work

My parents - Augustine Joseph and Elizabeth - discovered my talent for singing when I was a kid. I remember them telling me that I sang a classical piece after listening to it a couple of times when I was two-and-a-half years old

My father was a very popular singer and stage actor during his time, in the 1950s. But he didn't take any formal lessons in music, which was probably why he insisted I study music so I could get a proper base and build a strong career in it. That said, it wasn't that he was imposing his dreams upon me; he recognised my talent and wanted to equip me to exploit it fully. We were four brothers, and I was the eldest. My younger brothers too have some singing talent, but aren't in the field of music.

So I really can't say if it was my talent that brought me success or my father's dedication to honing my voice. While I attribute my success to God I also believe I owe a lot to my father.

One important lesson I learnt from him was to never do anything you are not qualified to do. Though he was a very good singer, he never sang classical Carnatic (a system of music associated with the southern part of India) songs as he wasn't trained in it. That's a lesson I never forgot.

I started learning music at the age of five. During those years - the 40s - music was the only thing on my mind. I didn't learn music because I wanted to become famous or earn a lot of money. It was to follow my father's advice and learn as much as I could about music. All the material success and accolades are a result of pursuing that goal.

It was only in my late teens when my father's health started failing and we were in dire straits that I considered taking it up as a profession to help my family's financial condition. I began singing professionally, for films, at the age of 21.

I remember my father telling me, "You will get what you deserve; you don't have to go begging for anything." And that has been my experience too.

One piece of advice I often give young singers, including my son Vijay, is to not get sidetracked from their primary duty of learning music. This is the age of marketing and hard sell. Everybody wants instant results. But no amount of hard sell will prop you up if you don't hone your craft. Success is ephemeral; only talent lasts.

I learnt this lesson from one of my gurus, Palakkad Mani Iyer, one of the greatest Carnatic percussionists from southern India. After a concert, he would never wait to be paid. "Money should follow me, not vice versa," he used to say. And it did. It was not pride on his part. It was the value he accorded his art.

That's why it's so important to keep honing your art, no matter how successful or how experienced a singer you are.

Practising singing is quite like learning to be a marathon runner. It's not just about speed and power. It's about analysing each step, and deciding what and how much you have to put in where. It's in the details. You have to analyse the tune and tone, immerse yourself in it to come up with a performance of depth. That's the role of teachers. They guide us every step of the way.

My success, if you want to call it that, has been in not succumbing to temptations that would have taken me away from practising music in the proper manner. I practise music for four to five hours every day but there are moments when I feel like taking it easy and relaxing. During those moments, my passion for music and desire to keep improving force me to shrug off my lethargy. That's what keeps me going. It's not about earning money or fame, it's about respecting one's art.

That's why I don't give much credence to competition among singers. Your competition should be with yourself. Using that marathon analogy, you can't stop and pick up every runner who falls on the way to the finish line. They have to take care of themselves. Call it selfishness if you will, but I believe I have a job to do - which is to sing well.

Play

My life has been so inextricably tied to music and musicians - they are the ones who influenced me during my formative years as a singer. Though my father had died by the time I had made it big as a playback singer in films, I had a number of musicians like P Devarajan, V Dakshinamurthy, S Baburaj, among others who I looked up to and learned a lot from.

Though I am not very well-read, I looked for what was worth emulating from books. I adapted what I could to my life.

My teachers were a great inspiration. When I was studying music at the RLV Music Academy at Thripunithura, (southern Kerala), I was in a very tight financial situation. I couldn't even pay the fees. It was only Rs5 (less than 40 fils), but I couldn't afford to pay even that, let alone buy food. It was our Sanskrit teacher Padma, who helped me out those days. She's now bed-ridden. I consider her as my mother. She fed me as well as taught me and helped boost my confidence.

Then there was one Mr Rao who ran a small caféteria near our college. He knew my financial condition and would allow me to eat there, often for free. They were all indelible influences.

There were two teachers, Kumaraswamy and Kalyanasundaram, who influenced me greatly. I also remember a teacher named Harihara Subramania Iyer. He used to often deride me in class. But I don't hate him, because I feel he's the one who goaded me into becoming the singer I am today. He drove me to push myself, prove myself.

In fact, I don't hold any grudges with anyone. My father had a lot of friends when he was successful but they disappeared when he fell on bad times, then reappeared when I became a success. I didn't spurn them, but they taught me to take everything in life with a pinch of salt.

Marriage further strengthened my resolve to stick to my principles, because my wife Prabha is even more disciplined than I! For instance, if I want to relax with my family and plan to skip practice for a day, she will not have it and will persuade me to spend at least a few hours practising. We've been married 42 years now, and I would attribute my professional success in this period to her.

I have three sons - Vinod, Vijay and Vishal. I've been lucky in that it was my wife who looked into everything when they were growing up and allowed me to follow my career.

For me, relaxing is easy. I only have to turn to music, or even take up a book to read, and I just switch off from it all. Earlier I used to be crazy about playing tennis. I even used to put off recordings to play tennis. Lifestyle matters a great deal to a singer. If you are not disciplined in all aspects of your life, you will not make it. Health is of utmost importance. Only if you are healthy will you be able to resist the temptations life throws at you. I really enjoy eating sweets and ice creams, but I don't remember the last time I had one because they can affect my voice. I am fanatical about my diet, and it, perhaps, shows in my performances.

The importance of diet struck me when I was 65 and found that I had difficulty in pitching my voice high. I took that as a sign of ageing, and accepted it. But once on a tour in Canada I came across a book, Eat Right for Your Type by Dr Peter D'Adamo. It interested me as it talked about how food affects different body types. I began paying more attention to what I ate. The book says that my body type should not indulge in heavy exercises, that I should not eat wheat products. And when I followed the advice, it actually reflected in my singing. I started sounding younger and could hit the high notes again.

I feel when someone asks you to sing without preparation, you should not have to clear your throat even once. The words should just flow out of your mouth. And that will happen only if you are disciplined, in body, mind and spirit.

Dream

Personally I don't have many dreams except for the health and well-being of my family. I have already achieved much more than I dreamt of, and whatever I get is a bonus.

My dream now is to see people going beyond the boundaries of region and religion for the greater good of the country, and the world. Why are we so parochial and obsessed with ourselves, our family, our city? Why can't we think of the greater good of people at large?

I am a member of an informal group called Janapaksham (People's Side) which fights for people's rights in Kerala. We have many issues of public interest that we try to bring into focus. I hope we will be able to mobilise public support to help the disadvantaged.