SAN JOSE, CA: A soul-stirring concert meant to soothe the spirits was in store for audiences in Bay area when seven-time national award winner, flamboyant, humble, spiritual and god fearing Dr.KJ Yesudas, the legendary singer, performed live in concert on November 12 at the City National Civic auditorium, San Jose. Rasika in association with Instant Karma presented K.J.Yesudas Golden Night Live Concert with Lakshman Shruti Orchestra.
Kattassery Joseph Yesudas is an Indian musician and film playback singer. He has recorded more than 50,000 songs in a number of Indian languages as well as Russian, Arabic, Latin and English during a career spanning more than five decades. Yesudas has won the National Award for the Best Male Playback Singer seven times, the Filmfare Awards five times, and the State Award for the Best Playback Singer forty-three times, which consists of awards by the state governments of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and West Bengal.
He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1975, the Padma Bhushan in 2002, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2017 by the Government of India for his contributions to the arts. After bagging Kerala’s state award for Best Male Playback Singer a record 23 times, Yesudas himself requested the state government in 1987 not to consider him for future awards, so as to ensure other meritorious singers would not face neglect.
On receiving the second-highest civilian award, Dr.Yesudas said, “I started learning at the age of five, and for that, I’m grateful to my father. He asked me to learn classical music, forgetting the boundaries of caste and religion, as I belong to a Christian family. I got this award due to his blessings, my mother’s blessings, and the teachings of my masters.”
Yesudas is a rare synthesis of a divine voice, an infinite range, thorough classicism, a wealth of expression and many more musical qualities. The show opened with devotional numbers followed by his chart-busters in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi. He belted some of the biggest hits of Indian cinema such as Jaaneman jaaneman, Gori tera gaon bada pyara, jab deep jale aana, pramathavanam vendum, Malare Kurinji Malare, Deivam Thantha Veedu, Aakshadesana to name a few.
Fondly addressed as Gana Gandharvan (The Celestial Singer), the artiste said his parents and gurus had played a major role in his journey as a singer. Recalling his younger days and association with musical stalwarts such as M.S.Viswanathan, Ravindra Jain, Balamurali Krishna, T.M.Soundarjan, P.Susila, S.P.Balasubramaniam, he, said it was important to surrender to God to achieve even a little in life.
It was a musical treat to the 1500 fans that had waited for the big day to celebrate his musical journey of five decades. The evening ended with the legend rendering Harivarasnam, the most famous song dedicated to Lord Ayyappa and is sung when the sanctum sanctorum of the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple closes every night.
Rasika, the organizer of the event is a dynamic nonprofit, organization, incorporated in the Oregon and was founded with a mission of promoting and educating Indian arts and culture. In addition to presenting premier Classical Carnatic music and dance concerts by celebrated artists of India, Rasika ‘s goal is also to introduce Indian arts, crafts and culture, to the children through lectures, demonstrations by visiting artists, workshops and summer heritage camp.
Instant Karma, premier Bay area entertainment company has organized and promoted several events in Bay Area. The team has successfully hosted major Bollywood parties, fashion shows, live concerts, independent movie premiers, comedy shows, dance contests and charity events for past few years in Bay area. Special Meet and Greet was also sponsored by Lavanya Duvvi, Intero real estate.
Vidya Sethuraman
India Post News Service
