പി ജയചന്ദ്രന്‍ഭാവഗായകന്‍

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P. Jayachandran (പി.ജയചന്ദ്ര൯) is an Indian playback singer. He has won one National Award, four Kerala State Awards and four Tamil Nadu State Awards. He has recorded songs in Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi languages. Jayachandran is also affectionately called the Bhava Gayakan.


After love, music is the second most "instrument" which touches the heart of every one, young and old alike. For love and music both have no barriers whatsoever and they transcend all boundaries. And when love and music mingle together and attain great heights because of the deep devotion of a musician then there is favour and applause not only men but of the creator himself who has gifted man with natural talents in music.

This very fact has been established time and again by many a great musician from time immemorial. One such great devotee of music is Jayachandran, a great playback singer the South India has seen and heard.

Jayachandran has carved his own niche in the South Indian music and till now has over 10000 recorded songs to his credit in Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu. Jayachandran with his sweet and romantic voice has made light film music memorable with his immortal love songs which always tingle young hearts.

The intensity of this mellifluous voice could do such justice to love and romantic songs that Jayachandran is considered to be the most suited and god-gifted singer of love songs. For Jayachandran, age too has not been a barrier over the years of singing. Indeed his voice is getting younger with the passing of time just as love and music are ageless and love songs are an immortal creation of god.

CHILDHOOD

Being the son of a well-bred musician, music was not an extra curriculum for Jayachandran. He was with the presence of music from his childhood itself.

Jayachandran was born in 'Bhadralayam', Ravipuram, Ernakulam, and later his family moved to Irinjalakkuda. Fascinated by the beautiful notes of Mridangam, he began to learn the essence of that spectacular instrument at a very tender age. But he had not learnt any sort of classical music.

His musical insight and his genuine love for music had helped him in conquering an esteemed position in all the music contests he had participated. This helped him to be the maestro of music.


FAMILY

Music is in his blood. His father Thripunithura Ravivarma Kochaniyan Thampuran was a learned musician, though not a professional singer. His mother Subhadra Kunjamma was also a great music lover who encouraged Jayachandran to learn the notes of Mridangam at a very tender age and with her support he could attain dexterity with the mridangam.

His elder brother Sudhakaran, who was a close friend of Yesudas, himself a good singer, was instrumental in helping Jayachandran become a professional singer. Jayachandran used to sing the songs taught by his brother in school functions. He has a younger brother called Krishna Kumar and two sisters Sarasija and Jayanthi. His family consists of mother, father, two sisters and two brothers. His father passed away in 1983 and mother also died in 1991. But the untimely death of his elder brother Sudhakaran in the year 1989 was the most tragic one.

Jayachandran was married in the year 1973 to Lalitha, an ardent lover of music who always tried to encourage him. The wedlock bore the couple a daughter named Lakshmi and a son called Dinanath. While Lakshmi has sung for a recent album, Dinanath has lent his voice to songs in two Malayalam films. In Puthooram Puthri Unniyaarcha he has sung with Yesudas's son Vijay an old song which was originally sung by Yesudas and Jayachandran 30 years ago.

Though Jayachandran has settled in Chennai, he loves the beauty and culture of Kerala. He loves to settle in Kerala in his old age near the banks of the holy river Bharathapuzha to enjoy a peaceful life.

EDUCATION

Jayachandran graduated in Zoology from Christ College, Irinjalakuda. He was a student of the Irinjalakuda National School from where he received many prestigious prizes for playing the Mridangam and light music in the State School Youth Festival.

Jayachandran is very glad to have a family like his. His boost towards his achievements was mainly due to the sincerity and loving nature of his family as a whole.All the while Jayachandran is busy singing he still has his family affairs blocked in the bottom of his heart.

HITS & MEGAHITS

Here are some mega hit songs sung by Jayachandran.

Manjalayil Mungithorthi
Anuragaganam pole
Iniyum Puzhayozhukum
Poovum Prasadavum
Karimukil Kattile
Suprabhatham
Malayaala Bhaasha Than
Raajeeva Nayane
Ragam Sreeragam
Ishta praneswari
Sandhyakenthinu Sindhoorum
Upasana
Indumukhee
Hrudayeswari
Kaavyapusthakamallo Jeevutham
Ramzaanile Chandrikayo
Madhu Chandrikayude Chaayathalikayil
Harshabaashpam Thooki
Mallikappoovin Madhuragandham
Ninmaniyarayile
Chandanathil Kadanjeduthoru
Kallolinee.. Vana kallolinee..
Ekantha Padhikan Njaan
Rasaathi Unne Kaanaatha Nenjam (Tamil)
Manjolai Kili Thaano (Tamil)
Mandara Pushpavu Neevu (Kannada)


MegaHits

Jayachandran got his first state award in 1972 for the song "Suprabhatham..." for the film "Panitheeratha Veedu". Its music was done by Sree M.S.Viswanathan. The year 1978 brought him another state award. The song was" Ragam Sreeragam" for the film "Bandhanam" and the music director was M.B.Sreenivasan. He received a prestigious national award in 1985 for "Sivasankara Sarva Saranya Vibho...", a Gurusthuthi sung for the film "Sree Narayana Guru". The song " Prayam Nammil..." from the film Niram " brought him a third state award in 1998.The song 'Anuragaganam pole....' which was really sung as a reserve grew to become a great hit unexpectedly and which enhanced the efforts of Jayachandran and Baburaj together.

He got the first Asianet award and the Arabian award for the same song in the same year. Its music was done by Sree Vidyasagar. In 1994, he received the Tamil Nadu state Government award for the best singer for the song , "Kathazham Kattuvazhi..." for the film"KizhakkuCheemayile". A.R.Rahman has composed the music. As a recognition for his contribution to Tamil film music, he was honoured with the "Kalaimamani" award of the Tamil Nadu Government.
The most recent but the most valuable award that Jayachandran honoured with was the Swaralaya Kairali Yesudas Award on the very beginning of 2001. The first of its kind and the first person to receive it , this award has a firm position in Jayachandran's heart. The motive behind this award is to choose the best from the singers and lyricists within a span of 30 years. This goes to prove that the contributions of Jayachandran is the best, was the best, and will be the best. He got  Kerala State Government award in 2003 also for “Neeyoru Puzhayay..” in Thilakkom.

National Film Awards:

1986 - Best Male Play Back Singer for the song Shivashankara Sharva Sharanyavibho in the film Sree Narayana Guru

Kerala State Film Awards:

1972 - Best Male Play Back Singer for the song Suprabhatham in the film Pani Theeratha Veedu
1978 - Best Male Play Back Singer for the song Ragam Sreeragam in the film Bandhanam
1999 - Best Male Play Back Singer for the song Prayam Nammil in the film Niram
2004 - Best Male Play Back Singer for the song Neeyoru Puzhayaay in the film Thilakkam

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards:

1972 - Best Male Playback Singer - for the song in the film Panitheertha veedu
1978 - Best Male Playback Singer - for the song in the film Bandhanam
1994 - Best Male Playback Singer - for the song Kattazham Kattuvazhi in the film Kizhakku Cheemayile
1997 - Kalaimamani award by Tamil Nadu Government for 30 Years in Tamil Film Music

Asianet Film Awards:

2001 - Best Male Playback - Raavanaprabhu
1999 - Best Male Playback - Niram

THE GURUS DIVINE

Jayachandran's first Guru was his school master K.V. Ramanathan. He was the one who had given a chance to Jayachandran to sing in the school stage at Irinjalakuda National High School. Jayachandran still cherishes the memories of his master with full respect.
Another person to whom Jayachandran is highly indebted is G. Devarajan, the famous music composer in the Malayalam films. Jayachandran considers him as his father, Guru and also a friend. Jayachandran makes it a point to visit G. Devarajan whenever he is in Thiruvanthapuram.
B.A. Chidambaranath is another music composer whom Jayachandran respects very much. He is the one who introduced Jayachandran to the Malayalm film industry by giving him a chance to sing in his film "Kunjali Marakkar" in 1965.
He also holds P. Bhaskaran and Vayalar Rama Verma, noted lyricists of yester-year in the Malayalam film industry with deep reverence.


AWARDS

Jayachandran got his first state award in 1972 for the song Suprabhatham in "Panitheeratha Veedu" composed by M.S. Vishwanathan. Devour in Jayandran's Suprabhatham
In 1978 he got another state award for the song Ragam Sreeragam in Bandhanam composed by M.B. Srinivasan. He was the recipient of the national award in the year 1985 for Sivasankara Sarva Saranya Vibho in Sree Narayana Guru composed by G. Devarajan. In 1994 he received the Tamil Nadu State Government Award for the song Kathazham Kattuvazhi in "Kizhakku Cheemayile" composed by A.R. Rahman. In recognition of his services to the Tamil music world, he was honoured with "Kalaimamani" award by the Tamil Nadu Government. In 1998 he got the state award, Asianet Award and Gulf Award for the song "Prayam Nammil" in film Niram composed by Vidhyasagar.

In the year 2001, he was selected as the most valuable singer in Malayalam Films by Swaralaya Kairali Yesudas Award. The award committee has decided to given this award to a singer or a lyricist who has been contributed the most to the Malayalam film music industry. By getting this award, Jayachandran has proved that he is a class singer who has contributed his best to the music world.

ABOUT AWARDSJayachandran considers awards as a recognition for performance. He always considered it a challenge to get awards as it reflects ones talent. Getting awards definitely encourages to do better and better. Awards give a strong support to a singer which contributes greatly to the quality singing of a singer. A singer after getting awards will know how his voice is preferred by the public and of how it should be improved and presented to them. Jayachandran then stresses on the point that awards should not be regarded as a yardstick to measure the capacity and capability of an artist.It cannot and should not be taken as the final recognition. An artist should always remember that an award is only a step towards perfection.


JAYACHANDRANS COMMENTS AND TALENTS

ACTING

Jayachandran has acted in two films namely "Nakhashathangal" and "Krishnapparaunthu". When director Hariharan offered him a role in "Nakhashathangal", Jayachandran was not aware of his acting talent. He portrayed the role of a young Namboodiri in the film which was well appreciated by one and all and the film was a great hit. But the second film did not meet much success which made Jayachandran give up acting though everybody liked his role with utmost perfection in Nakhashathangal. Jayachandran does not like his role in the other film which was not a success. He is not very keen on acting as it is not his portfolio and it needs a lot of patience and travelling from one place to another for shooting, which is also quite hectic.

HOW TO SING

"At times Jayachandran's voice and songs sound sweeter than any Yesudas's songs". says Vidyasagar, the famous music composer. Jayachandran says, " The greatest asset for a singer is Bhava. The ability to imbibe the right mood and convey the right expression alone can give life to a song. The primary lesson an aspiring singer should be "how not to sing" rather than "how to sing". Yesudas and I have never imitated any other singers though there were a number of talented singers like Kamukara, Udayabhanu, P.B. Srinivasan and A.M. Raja before us. We had sung in our own styles.

TAMIL SONGS

Jayachandran likes to sing Tamil songs. He comments' "The natural flow of the Tamil language gives a musical touch to Tamil which makes its songs much more musical". Jayachandran has sung songs for many megahit Tamil films. Some of the most popular songs are; Thirumurugan Ariginile Vallikurathi..", "Palabhikesham Cheyyavo…" "Kannanin Sannithiyil…" "Kolumbhu Veeitiyille illannivi khaarazhagi..", "Kannalille meen vettai…", "Kavithai arangerum neram..", "Nan Thaiyumanaannan…". Issaikkavu" etc. Jayachandran's first song, sung in Tamil was "Thankachimizhu Pol" for the film "Manipayal", His first hit in Tamil waas "Ponnenna Poovenna Kanne…" for the film "Alaigal". The all time favourite and a very beautiful Tamil song that cannot be passed without a notice is the mega hit "Rasaathi Unne Kanathe Nenjum", for the film "Vaidehi Kaathirundhal. Apart from Malalayam and Tamil, Jayachandran has sung songs in Kannada and Telugu films too. But he has not sung any Hindi film songs yet. Jayachandran does not think that the age of melody is over. He says melody and melodious songs will always remain close to the hearts of people. Melodious songs-Jayachandran's favourite.
But Jayachandran does not argue on the fact that now a days rhythm is more prominent in film music than Raga and Bhava. According to him, many a time the literary aspect of film music is sidelined" .

THE SHORT BREAK FROM FILM MUSIC

He strongly denies the notion that he took a break from music for a while. He states, "No, never was I away from music. It was only that I didn't prefer singing for films in that period. Even then my schedule was packed with live concerts and devotional songs".

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OLD AND NEW SONGS

Jayachandran feels that these days film songs have lost their identity and individuality. According to him earlier songs were the result of a combined effort. The producer, the director, the writer, the composer, the lyricist, the singers…. were all very deeply involved in the making of film and its songs. This sense of togetherness contributed greatly to the quality of the film and its music. Nowadays these people do not even see each other. Another point to be brought into light is that the earlier songs were closely related to the theme of the film. They evolved naturally in a movie. But new songs come from nowhere and some times appear a forcible entry.

music today

According to him, the blind run after western music has damaged film music to a large extent. He feels that the advancement in the field of music technology has done much harm to films. In most cases the increase in the number of instruments used, adversely affect the quality of music. He is of the opinion that the deteriorating quality of our film songs can be imputed to the track singing system.

Views And Comments About Other Singers
Jayachandran discusses his views about other singers and musicians. To begin with he always starts his day of a busy schedule of singing by devoting a few minutes to his singing goddess P.Susheela, who had possessed a divine voice which was recognized by the whole of India, aged but an unforgettable singer. " If I have to point out a male singer I admire most, I will name Raafi Saab. He would sing all types of songs in the exact mood needed and miraculously create a blend of music with the song. As a singer if you consider it necessary to imitate anybody's style I would suggest Raffi's. I consider his singing as near to perfection." The Nightingale of South India, S.Janaki cannot be passed without a keen reference by Jayachandran. He comments that her voice cannot be imitated in anyway at all. "Mannade is another singer whom I admire very much. I grew up listening to his magical voice "."Ofcourse not to forget Kishore Kumar. I truly admire his versatility. Talking about versatility the most famous female singers of all times need to be most certainly mentioned, the professional singing sisters Latha Mangeshkar and Asha Bhonsle. Their voice have created miracles in the whole of India. They have proved to instill shockwaves in the world by their vibrating voice. They don't need any introduction at all. Both of them are capable of adding the right spice to the right mood of the song. "I have also great respect for Baburaj" whom we most lovingly called Babukka. We used to sing together for many programmmes at his place in Malabar. It was he who showed me Kozhikode city for the first time. When he auditioned my voice for the first time I couldn't sing as I was literally shivering. He is one of the best music directors of all times, he had a style which was combined of both Hindustani and Mappilapattu." "I am an ardent fan of and also loved to work under Dakshinamoorthi Swamy.

About Dakshinamoorthi Swamy & Devarajan Master

He was an expert in mastering the combination of Bhakthi and Bhava". I am also a fan of Raghavan master as his voice had a touch of folk in his music." "M.S.Viswanathan is really a genius in music. If I could, I would crown him as the greatest music composer of the whole world, he has got a style of elegance combined with his tenure" "Ilayaraja is unique with his own style. His music is a combination of the folk and western music". "A.R.Rahaman is a musician who gives paramount importance to music technology. He cares much for the quality of sound recording and mixing". From this we can generally conclude as to how our great singer has the capability of evaluating and grasping the good and bad points of various musicians and singers.


EXCERPTS

It is probably because of the sanctity of his soul and the magical melody of his transparent love for music that nature has instilled in his voice the power of music. Through the well known songs of Upasana and the famous 'Harshabashpam Thooki' Jayachandran won the prestigious award that Yesudas garlanded him. Unexpected prizes are priceless, that is why this award was so tenderly accepted by Jayachandran .
He thought that moments of receiving the award was truly unbelievable. He contributed beautiful songs for a whole generation to hear and to devour.Jayachandran believes that since the rhythm of today's songs are fast, the songs are also faster which now proves to be a great dent for Malayalam songs. He holds a bright future for Malayalam songs that will return to the old hygiene of lyrics and tone of the voice.
Here are some excerpts of the interviews by various newspapers on the day of receiving the 'Swaralaya Kairali Yesudas Award':

'Desabhimani' reports...

Why do you think that Yesudas - the 'Ganagandharvan' did not pave out a way for singers as popular as him?
Eventhough many singers come up on the singing scenario often none has been able to match the the trance that Yesudas has created. His waver of voice is something incapable.
· What is your experience in first composing lyrics and singing them?
It was in 1965 for the film Kunjali Marakkar that I had sung for the first time. The starting was itself not right but fate still continued to be with me by giving me a lift with the song 'Oru Mulla…..'

'MannathuKannikal...' "my favourite song"

Which do you prefer, film songs or other type of songs?
I prefer film songs but I have sung many devotional songs as well.

'Malayala Manorama' Enquires...

The reason behind your dislike of Micheal Jackson?
I have never heard any of Jackson's music so how am I supposed to comment on whether I like or dislike him.
How about A.R. Rahman's music?
Well simply great. I admire his sense of style in music. Though the voice is given very less significance to the orchestra of the song it improves the quality of the song.

Do you agree with the policy of imitating voices while singing?
Imitation is highly not advisable. It will prove to be of very less utility in the future for the imitator himself. I suggest that new singers should never imitate except in a few occasions like at private parties or other functions.
From the beginning of your career you have sung songs which have become hits and megahits. Do you prefer any song to the others?
Yes I would like to specify a few of my favourite songs: 'Manathukannikal Mayangum Kayyangal…' for the film Madhavi Kutty. Then the song 'Upasana Upasana' for the film Thottavadi.The song 'Manjalayil Mungithorthi' for the film Kalithozhan. 'Harshabashpam Thooki' for the film 'Muthassi', the song 'Karimukil Kattile Rejanithan Veettile' for Kallichellama. These are my favouriter film songs. But I am really fond of the song 'Onnini sruthi thazhthi...'. I feel like hearing the song atleast a 1000 times. It was a song sung for DD4 and which by gods grace had become an immediate hit.

Even with all these songs at hand he is a fan of many of Yesudas' songs. When he speaks of them itself his face glows with a glimmer of light. The soft spoken Jayachandran still keeps Yesudas in a very high esteem.

· Your happiest and saddest moments?
My most sorrowful moments are when my father, mother and my elder brother passed away. My most happiest time was when I received the first State award.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Vipin........... [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

vipinyetta

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sweet

eniketttavum ishtamulla oru gayaknane

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kaaat wrote:

nalla song enikk ettavum ishtamulla jayachandran song