Music fraternity wishes Gana Gandharvan on his 84th birthday

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: K J Yesudas, the versatile singer fondly called as Gana Gandharvan of Malayalam turned 84 on Wednesday. He will be celebrating his birthday at his home in Dallas, Texas, USA. The music fraternity wishes the singer on his birthday.

Yesudas, a unique talent in the Indian music has not come to Kerala after the pandemic. A devotee of Mookambika Devi, he has been visiting Kollur Mookambika Temple on his birthday and singing keerthan for many years. His children also accompany him. However, due to reasons including Covid, the singer is not visiting Kerala for a few years. Special pujas are being done today for Yesudas including in Mookambika.

The veteran’s 84th birthday will be a low-key function. There are no special celebrations. He will cut a cake at 11 am (Indian time) online before his fans. His wife Prabha Yesudas will be with him. Celebrities including Mohanlal and K S Chitra will wish him via Zoom.

Yesudas wanted to celebrate his birthday in Kerala this time. However, he has inconvenience in reaching Kerala as he has a music concert in the US on January 18. He will be reaching Chennai at the end of this month. He will also attend the song recording of two films in Malayalam. Meantime, a music programme Dasettan @84 has been organized in Kochi under the leadership of Yesudas Academy @ 84. Many including his son and singer Vijay Yesudas will attend the function.

The dance and music festival programs of Soorya, a stage and film society in Thiruvananthapuram, starts every year in October with a concert by Yesudas. However, that was cancelled following the absence of Yesudas. There were hints that he would come this time, but did not arrive.

For a Malayali, the name Yesudas is the last word of the song. That glorious purity of voice conquered many generations. Even today, a day will not pass for a Malayali without listening to Yesudas's song.

Yesudas was born on January 10 in 1940 at Fort Kochi in Ernakulam. Yesudas has sung more than 50,000 songs, including in foreign languages, in a career spanning decades. Like Malayalam, he has created waves in south Indian languages including Tamil. Songs sung in Hindi are also all-time hits.

He received many honors including Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan. Yesudas' fans have been demanding Phalke award and Bharat Ratna for him for a long time.