P. Jayachandran Photo courtesy: The Hindu
Playback singer P. Jayachandran, known for his soulful singing and whose magical voice enthralled music lovers for more than six decades, died at a private hospital in Thrissur on Thursday. He was 81 years old. He was undergoing cancer treatment for some time.
Having sung over 16,000 songs that have influenced generations, Jayachandran’s voice transcends boundaries, resonating across Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi. Despite the challenges of age, her voice had a youthful charm that was capable of arousing romantic hearts till the end.
Jayachandran became Malayalam’s beloved playback singer through his soulful renditions that spoke straight from the heart. With songs filled with every emotion from love to separation and pain, he became the voice that resonated with the essence of life for music lovers.
multidimensional
Born in Ravipuram, Ernakulam to renowned musician Thripunithura Ravi Varma Kochaniyan Thampuran and Subhadra Kunjamma, he was brought up in Irinjalakuda, Thrissur. Jayachandran developed an early passion for Kathakali and various art forms including mridangam and chenda playing.
His school years brought him many awards for smooth music and mridangam playing, which laid the foundation for his illustrious musical career.
His musical journey in films started with his first song in the film Kunjali MarakkarWhereas oru mullappu malayamayi‘ His first song recorded in 1965 was Manjhlayil Mungithorthi… in the movie Kalithozhan That was the one that marked the beginning of his incredible career. Since then, he has sung countless songs that have enthralled the Malayalees.
He has worked with many composers, including G. Devarajan, MS Baburaj, V. Dakshinamurthy, K. Raghavan, MK Arjunan, MS Vishwanathan, Ilayaraja, AR Rahman, Vidyasagar and M. Jayachandran.
several awards
His contributions were honored with several prestigious awards, including the JC Daniel Award and the Kalaimamani Award, making him a renowned figure in Indian music. He won a National Award, five Kerala State Awards and four Tamil Nadu State Awards.
funeral on saturday
He is survived by his wife Lalita and children Lakshmi and Dinanath (singer). His mortal remains will be kept at his residence in Punkunnam from 8 am on Friday for people to pay their respects. Later, the body will be kept at the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy from 10 am onwards. The funeral rituals will be conducted at Paliyath House, Chendamangalam till 11 am on Saturday.
published – January 09, 2025 09:18 PM IST
