SPB Vs KJ Yesudas

                                                   SPB  Vs  Yesudas

In Aug 2020, when Indian Play Back Singer Mr. S.P. Balasubramanyam got admitted in Hospital for COVID-19 treatment, rumour mills started spinning about his health & his son started giving updates about his health almost every day. Me & my friends who love SPB’s songs started sharing his songs. YouTube’s artificial intelligence started suggesting number of videos available regarding Mr. SPB.  This made us see no. of his interviews, Live concerts, reality shows etc…

One thing I noticed that whole of SPB family are fans of Hindi Play back singer Mr. Mohammed Rafi & one of the Instagram chat between Mr. SPB Charan & Ms. S.P. Shailaja they mentioned about a debate usually goes in many households in 70s & 80s, who was the best singer between Kishore Kumar or Mohd. Rafi ?

This was also happening in our house too. I am a die-hard Kishore Kumar fan, whereas my sister was a Mohd. Rafi fan.  Our family friend from Srilanka was a great Yesudas fan & I am a SPB fan.

What is so special in identifying with one style of singing ? is it just a waste of time on fanaticism ?

I personally feel, it is more psychological & it is part of human evolution.

Kishore Kumar & SPB have more mass appeal & commercially more saleable than their counterparts Mohd. Rafi & Yesudas due to their wider fan base,   Whereas Rafi & yesudas are technically well trained, classical singers with a mellifluous voice.  Rafi’s “suk ke sab saathi” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlXzVjgZvyw )  & Yesudas’s “Ka karoon sajini”  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-bvaFL-IOs)are my favorites too.  

Their voices can soothen you to the hilt. For a Hindustani / Carnatic well trained listener, they will vouch for Rafi or Yesudas only. They both gave flawless performances. Yesudas is still ringing, I feel he is even several notches higher to Rafi saab, by his devotional songs accomplishments.

Our KK & SPB are not just singers, they are actors. Even SPB acknowledged in one of his interviews, a play back singer can easily be a good actor. ( But Sir, your one film wonder sister is not entirely on your side ).

For Me Kishore Kumar = SPB + Nagesh.

( https://www.thebetterindia.com/71302/kishore-kumar-singer-actor/)

According to me , Nagesh is supposed to be Indian cinemas the best actor. Nagesh’s every movement in his wafer thin body emotes a feeling. Kishore Kumar was a comical hero. Even his films in 1950s are so fun filled. His “padosan” way he teaches singing to Sunil Dutt & prepares him for ghost singing are simply hilarious. 

(You can see the same movie in Tamizh “aduththa veetu penn” – you can see a what a difference KK’s screen presence can make) 

He could give all sorts of sounds from his body. He didn’t simply sing from throat.  At the same time, KK’s classical Sivaranjani rendition of “Mere neina sawan badon” ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vPjMX17qC4&list=PLyERhttXAhRqoDC-0up6BR0SLPV5Jp1Ag ), even SPB tried to give justice to this song in his tribute to RD Burman at Hyderabad. 

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8itSuU7nGGk ) 

When I was digging a bore well in my farm, bore jig drilled till 600 ft, water was just trickling little, I heard KK singing in rather sinking in “phir bhi mera mann pyasa”. He touches you some where very deep. KK’s emotions will make you very thirsty to hear & see him more. KK & Rajesh Khanna were such a great pair in their bests like “Amar prem” ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5fGAhR1LcY ). He could give a classical- jovial “ Kay ke paan banaras wala” ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmEuL5QygDc )for Amitabh too.

Coming to our beloved Human being, humility personified, I was wondering why my eyes were rolling down tears, even when I heard a fake news about him, is the way he expresses himself in every interview 1^st as a human being, respecting every musician on the dais & always using polite words to fellow singers. I know how many hearts in India & abroad felt the same “Jiyo tho jiye kaise bhin aap ke, lagtha nahin dil kahin bhin aap ke” ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_mVJlTe4TU )your “Saajan” song.  

Your “Sankarabharanam”  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xrJTAKJotg)a Telugu movie ran to packed houses in Rural Tamizh Nadu for 500 days.  No one else could recreate such a magic in a Language maniac state. The Movie didn’t have a big star cast. SPB & KVM were blessed abundantly by Lord Siva is the only meaning anyone could derive. 

Even the cult movie “Bahubali” ran as a Tamil dubbed movie with many Tamil famous stars acting in it.  More so even a trained Carnatic or Hindusthani Musician could spell a magic as your voice did.  Your rendition of  “thagida thathimi” ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nyc0q0NARDs ) song in Sagara sangamam ( Salangai oli ) or “tere mere beech mein” ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPaGMGHeR_Q ) in “Ek tuje ke liye” could give the whole movies’ total essence in 3 minutes of your singing with right emotions.

My Father was not a film buff. He was not after film songs. He would only chant mantras for Pooja. In all his life only one song “uchchi vagunthu eduthu” ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vg_Is7rE8yA )from Actor sivakumar’s 100^th film “Rosapoo ravikkakari” we have heard from him as your voice moved him deeply.

That way as you always humbly accept, Play back singers are really lucky, phenomenal phrases of the lyricist, passionate coordination & composition by Music Director, brilliant execution by the Director, yet the 1^st name that pops out of the listeners mind is the singer as they are the medium, who carries others efforts with their voices. ( But now thanks to advent of electronic instrumentation rarely a PBS gets an identity or they are not required to carry the burden of the identity. Music directors now ensure singers’ egos are now totally dissolved to evolve singers spiritually rather.  That way too you are the Ultimate singer to get an identity.)

Now coming to the core subject, who’s the best singer ? a technically flawless or emotional singer with wide ranges. Simply Rafi or Kishore, Jesudas or SPB.

I as a rasika, analysed, why I like SPB & KK more than Rafi & KJY ?                     I want more drama to unfold when I hear a song. 

His holiness Shri. Sivayasubramanya Swami, Kauai adheenam, in Hawaii islands , who was the reincarnation of King Raja Raja Chozhan ( Who built Big Temple, Thanjavur ) , has mentioned about the need for the Universe to enable advent of television or Internet, soaps, dramas, cinemas is for acceleration of evolution of Human beings on Earth or for dissolving their past life karmas. Instead of giving more births for humans to evolve in Kali yuga, humans are given opportunities to evolve by watching movies & dramas to live another life. Genre of the movie which haunts you more gives a glimpse of the area that soul has to evolve. The directors, artists, singers, Music directors, camera man are like light workers who enable the drama to bring closer to your soul treatment.   ( https://www.himalayanacademy.com/monastery/lineage-philosophy/gurudeva )

To make the verdict clearer for Rafi’s fans to understand is that in Indian History, which avatar of Lord Vishnu endears you the most Rama or Krishna ??? Our famous Ran Chor das ( who ran away from war front against Jarasand to create Dwarka island in the sea ) will run away with the award.

Rama, the ideal man, had to suffer, fight, undergo pain till he attains enlightenment, whereas the poorna avatar, as Shri Satya Sai Baba calls, Lord Krishna is ever enlightened from the moment he enters the mother’s womb. His life is fully of drama. 

He showed all the emotions without getting attached to it. He reared cows, stole butter, abducted women, ensured his clan wiped off in war, yet he carried only one weapon throughout his life was his flute vis a vis a bow and arrow of Rama. Krishna’s music & conscious dramas endeared him to the masses.  Even SPB sir, you were the witness to the performances of two gopikas, Mr. Kanna dasan & Mr. M S Viswanathan, in front of you to compose their beloved ecstasy on Krishna & chose you & One of the Great TMS sir to sing the “ ayarpadi maligayil” ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h05gWi-XqZ0 ) & “Pullanguzhal” ( pullanguzhal). Even after 40 years of his death, there is no one come near to Cult image of Kanna dasan as that Muthiah (rarest pearl) dissolved himself in the identity of Krishna as he penned the immortal lyrics with all the drama elements of human evolution “Chenjotru kadan theera” . 

We have to take this birth, a drama, to evolve. So we love the performers, who can give us many lives to experience, we may get carried away sometimes on singers’ brilliance or raga expansions but the one who carry us through a life experience is the one we seek more.

Dear Mr. SPB, through this blog, I humbly request you to give us two albums in your voice. 

1. MK Thiagaraja Bhagavathar songs – as my ears are yet to hear such a voice. I am sure if he had today’s technologies , his voice could have ringed more bells than many other singers.

  2. Oothukadu Venkatsubba iyer songs -  I may sound greedy to request you to enact his role on screen and sing all his songs in one movie & ensure it runs to full packed houses in Rural Telangana (Kaveri to run in Krishna’s belt ) is what we rasikas’ minds’ “alaipayuthey”. 

      

Hope every pore in your lungs open up to pour out your soul’s music.

 

Krishnakumar Sathiyawageeswaran  

Post Subscript on 2nd Nov 2020 :

The above post was written & published when Mr. SPB was recuperating in a Chennai Hospital. But his body lost the battle on 25th Sep 2020.  Many many fans kept on writing tributes about him. This kind of out pouring no other singer or any cine actor could accomplish. Every News channel showed his funeral live. People thringed his house & burial at his Farm.  One of the fans have mentioned about SPB acting in Telugu version of "Padosan" in the name "Pakkiniti Ammayi". I didnt get an opportunity to see it & compare it with Kishore's performance. 

But one superlative Which Mr. SPB achieved in his life time was that of a "Humble Human Being" He was cordial to everyone in on & off the stage. His life's biggest message is this.