Akhil PJ
Jan 10, 2025 17:11 IST First published on: Jan 10, 2025 at 17:11 IST
A singer who could make a toddler sing almost constantly, even though he couldn’t yet speak properly. That’s how P Jayachandran shaped my life. His music brought out the singer in me, and remained very much a part of my encounters with music through these years. Mine isn’t the only such story.
P Jayachandran, or rather, “Bhava Gayakan”, was a household name. Through different technological eras, from gramophones to tape recorders, and walkmans to Spotify, his songs made it into the playlists of millions and almost always hovering somewhere at the top. Generations changed, his listeners grew old, but his music remained young. His first release, the 1966 song “Manjalayil mungi thorthi” is still an audience favourite, much like his recent hit “Podimeesha” that came out half a century later, in 2016.
He was also a favourite of musicians. Jayachandran started his journey with the biggest musician of his time in Malayalam, G Devarajan, with whom he had countless hits. Despite the towering presence of K J Yesudas in the playback singing scene, Jayachandran made his way to audiences by creating a niche repertoire of melodies. And it was M S Baburaj, another popular musician of the 1960s, who gave him the hits that shaped his melodic, soulful singing style. His collaboration with V Dakshinamoorthy, K Raghavan and M K Arjunan too brought many hits, including the 1970 masterpiece, “Nin Maniyarayile”.
In Tamil music, Jayachandran’s collaboration with Ilaiyaraja — which resulted in the 1984 song “Rasathi Unnai” — and A R Rahman — whose 2002 track “Oru Daivam Thantha Poove” is still a chartbuster — made him a popular name in his neighbouring state too. Fast forward to the 1990s and 2000s, when his collaboration with musicians like Johnson, Raveendran, Vidyasagar, M Jayachandran and Bijibal too brought out many audience favourites including the 2000 song “Poove Poove”, the 2003 song “Aalilathaliyumai”, and the 2011 hit “Premikkumbol Neeyum Njanum”.
The tunes he crooned were hallmarked by simplicity. His music was as human as he was. Without creating a personality cult, without creating a buzz around himself, Jayachandran sang in a way that his music “spoke” to his audience. And that conversation was all the more easy as the tunes — devoid of any complex vocal jugglery — were accessible to anyone, any time. His music did not exclude anyone based on their knowledge levels or social classes. Anybody who could enjoy the blend of tune and rhythm, nodded their heads to P Jayachandran.
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His songs, regardless of the languages they were made in, effortlessly explored a range of emotions. Be it Tamil, Kannada, Telugu or even the handful of Hindi songs he lent his voice to, audiences connected with their essential musicality. From joyous romance, an indelible feature of his voice, to soothing lullabies to pathos in its various forms, P Jayachandran did it all. He was also a favourite with musicians who composed devotional songs. This was irrespective of faith; Jayachandran captured a secular spirit, a fundamental quality music should bear.
In short, as Maya Angelou famously said, his music made many “crawl into the space between the notes” and curl their backs to solitude, letting them get in touch with their own softer emotions.
Jayetta, you will be missed.
akhil.pj@expressindia.com
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