K.J.Yesudas - Article in Deccan Chronicle for Music Festival 2010

Yesudas, remains a lion on stage
By Shubashree Desikan
Jan 09 2011

Dr K.J.Yesudas’ concert at Bharat Kalachar was an amazing feat, so much so that the grand lady, Mrs Y.G.Parthasarathy compared him to a lion emerging from a cave. The versatile singer has been given the Alvas Virasat award at Mangalore. A few years earlier, he had requested the Kerala Government to leave him out of the contention for the best playback singer award. He says, ‘yes, there are many youngsters who deserve to be considered. It is not to be interpreted that I just refuse awards or any such thing’.
Despite his seniority and experience (he has recorded 40,000 songs so far) he still listens to the masters to fine tune his sensibilities. He advocates this, ‘It is important to listen attentively, and notice their exact notations. What is the length of the note that he sang? I can write it down. That is not to say one must copy; the true test is when you sing it with your original capacity’
How is he the king of the cutchery and the light music stage? ‘People come there with an expectation which I must fulfill. It is important to conserve your voice. I do not talk on concert days. I have sacrificed, because I believe my voice is a gift and I must nurture it’.
S.Balachandar, his first music director, still brings a shine at mention. ‘With so few people in his team, unlike the practice in tamil film industry, he was full of grace, like the Sun, tall and dressed in white! I emulate him in the way I dress. Of course there is another advantage in wearing white; no one would know how many pairs you possess,’ he laughs. ‘S.Balachandar’s Andha Naal is a masterpiece, so fresh even today! It is so unlike the present films which are only the stuff of dreams. That was reality, which is why it has lasted. Fantasies and dreams break when you get out of the hall.’
‘Classical singers sometimes are not easy for the audience to appreciate, for example M.D.Ramanathan, was criticized for being slow, even in varnams. He had few listeners sometimes, yet never compromised. Many times changes are made. The varnam Gnanamu Sakaradha, which people sing in Purvikalyani now, is said to have been composed by Thagaraja in Shadvidhamargini. Changes happen, along the way, perhaps to capture audience; perhaps Purvikalyani has the spring that was not in the other’.
‘Sangeetha Gnanamu: so many old Telugu books have the opening phrases in a different notation. It sounds more correct to me, because every phrase starts with panjamam. In the present monotonous way, when tha and gna are sung on the same note, there is a danger that sangeetha-gnanam sounds like sangeeth-agnanam, just the opposite!’