Ours is a 30-year-old relationship. I first heard a song by Jayachandran Sir while I was studying at University College, Thiruvananthapuram. I was a BSc student and I heard the song on a radio in the college laboratory. I fell for his voice with that song.
I had the privilege to watch his first ganamela. It was at Kavilkadavu in Thiruvananthapuram. He rendered his hit song “Poovum Prasadavum” there. All others were film songs rendered by other singers like Yesudas. I have attended over 150 ganamelas in which he sang.
A friend named Pradeep introduced me to Sir when he came to Thiruvananthapuram for a song recording. We formed an instant bond and the relationship grew stronger over the years. Several times he had told me that we should have met much earlier.
In 1997, I moved to a new house in Thiruvananthapuram. He stayed at my home for six days when he arrived in the city for a recording. When we were together, we would chat late into the night, sometimes up to 3 p.m. singing songs and discussing them.
In 2003, he was down following a throat problem. His wife told me about his condition over the phone. Based on my request, he came to stay with me. I took him to a good ENT doctor here and he was advised one month of voice rest. For one month, he stayed in my house without speaking anything. He communicated to us in writing. The treatment was a success and he was cured. Afterwards, his first song was “Alilathaliyumay” in the film “Mizhi Randilum”.
