Eminent playback singer P Jayachandran dies at 80

Renowned playback singer P Jayachandran affectionately called Bhava Gayakan for his soulful renditions that beautifully expressed emotions such as love longing and devotion passed away on Thursday evening at a private medical college here He was 80The singer died at around 755 pm on Thursday while undergoing treatment at a private hospital here hospital sources saidHe was taken to the hospital after collapsing at his residence on Thursday they said He had been unwell for quite some timeThe singer who recorded over 16000 songs in Malayalam Tamil Telugu Kannada and Hindi was widely recognised for his contribution to Indian music having won several awards for best playback singerHe was honoured with the National Film Award and the Kerala governments J C Daniel Award for his outstanding contribution to cinemaAdditionally he won Kerala State Film Awards five times and Tamil Nadu State Film Awards twiceHis performance of Shiva Shankara Sharana Sarva Vibho from the film Sree Narayana Guru earned him the National AwardAfter completing his graduation in Zoology from Christ College Irinjalakuda he worked at a private firm in ChennaiDuring this time producer Sobhana Parameswaran Nair and director A Vincent noticed his performance at a musical show in Chennai and offered him an opportunity to sing in a film This led to his debut with the song Oru Mullappoo Malayumayi penned by eminent lyricist P Bhaskaran for the movie Kunjali Marakkar in 1965However his first released song was Manjalayil Mungithorthi from the film titled KalithozhanBorn on March 3 1944 in Ernakulam Jayachandran was the third son of Ravi Varma Kochaniyan Thampuran of Tripunithura Kovilakam and Subhadra Kunjamma of Chendamangalam Paliam HouseHis musical journey began in high school playing the mridangam and singing light classical musicIn the 1958 state school kalotsavam Jayachandran won first place in the mridangam competitionIt was also during this festival that he met K J Yesudas who won first place in classical music that yearHe collaborated with numerous renowned composers including G Devarajan M S Baburaj V Dakshinamoorthy K Raghavan M K Arjunan M S Viswanathan Ilaiyaraaja A R Rahman Vidyasagar and M JayachandranThe singer worked closely with composer Ilaiyaraaja contributing to several hit Tamil songsJayachandran who left his job to pursue a fulltime career as a singer crooned a series of iconic Malayalam songs including Neelagiriyude Sakhikale Swarnagopura Narthaki Shilpam Anuraga Ganam Pole Upasana Upasana Prayam Thammil Moham Nalki Neeyoru Puzhayayi Enthe Innum Vanneela Ararum Kanathe Aromal Thaimulla and Pookkal Panineer PookkalHis rendition of Onnini Sruthi Thazhthi Paduka Poonkuyile remains a timeless classic in light musicBesides music Jayachandran acted in several movies including Trivandrum Lodge Nakhakshathangal and SreekrishnaparunthHe is survived by wife Lalitha daughter Lakshmi and son Dinanathan who is also a singerThe funeral will be held laterKerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar condoled the demise of JayachandranThe Governor said his endearing voice that charmed audience for six decades will go on to soothe peoples heartsChief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the journey of the song that transcended time and space has come to a haltHe said Jayachandran was a singer who captured the hearts of people across India throughout an entire era It can be said that there is no Malayali who has not been touched by Jayachandrans songs Whether through film songs light music or devotional songs every note he sang found its way into the hearts of listeners he saidVijayan said what set Jayachandrans vocal expression apart from his contemporaries was the uniqueness of his emotionsHistory will remember him as a singer who made extraordinary contributions in bringing the art of vocal music to the common people Through his voice the world recognised the beauty of the Malayalam language The curtain falls here on a melodic wonder that has captured the hearts of generations the CM saidJayachandrans passing marks an irreplaceable loss for both the music world in particular he saidLeader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan described Jayachandran as one of those rare voices that a music lover feels like listening to again and again He said for five decades Jayachandrans voice has enthralled generations of people The unique singing style is something that belongs solely to JayachandranThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever