Veteran broadcaster and singer J.M. Raju’s greatest ambition was to become a playback singer. Although he travelled on that path for many years, he could never reach the destination that he had dreamed of. Even when he did make his debut as a playback singer and sing for a couple of films, he could never build on that success.
The Chennai-settled singer and his wife, Latha Raju, were in Thiruvananthapuram for the release of his book, Ente Naadha Mayukhangal . Raju says his book is about his association with legendary music directors of the Malayalam and Tamil film industries. He says his friendship and close encounters with many icons did not help him achieve his dream. Yet, they had a special place in his life and the book is a kind of homage to their bonds of companionship.
Going down memory lane, Raju remembers how his mother used to tell him that he had been singing from the age of five. “In those days Ernakulam was a region of ponds and canals. We lived in a house with a big compound at Vellanaparambu in Palathodu Mukku. Now that place is called Banerjee Road. According to my mother, I used to be perched on a tree, singing to my heart’s content and neighbours would request me for songs of their choice. Perhaps that sowed the seeds of my career as a broadcaster in All India Radio,” says Raju.
After making his reputation in church choirs and local clubs, Raju found a place in the Kochi-based Azad Arts Club, where he met the late thespian P.J. Antony, singer Mehboob and C.O. Anto. “In 1960, I was lucky to be introduced to Devarajan Master. We remained good friends all through. In 1967, I left for Chennai. My only aim was to become a playback singer. After trying for more than a month, I was able to meet music director M.S. Viswanathan. But for whatever reason, I could not sing under his baton for a film. Another person I was lucky to forge a friendship with was B.A. Chidambaranath, whom I consider as my guru. Similarly I was able to form a close relationship with other stalwarts of the music industry,” says Raju.
There is no bitterness when he says that all those great composers could not help him get a break in tinsel town. He had to wait till Balachandra Menon made Premageethangal and Raju sang ‘Kala Kala mozhi…’ composed by Johnson, which “was a big hit in those days”. That is the reason why I was keen on Balachandra Menon releasing the book. ”
Ente Naadha Mayukhangal is about his encounters with 14 famous film directors in South India. Many of them are not alive today but they remain alive in Raju’s memory. “V.K. Dakshinamoorthy, M.B. Sreenivasan, Jerry Amaldev, Johnson, Job and George, Raveendran, A.T. Ummer, M. K. Arjunan, Kannur Rajan, Shyam…They are some of the music composers I have written about in my memoir,” he adds.
He discovered he had a gift for words when senior mediaperson Ravi Kuttikad invited him to write a piece on Devarajan after the master musician passed away. “That opened a floodgates of memories and I found I could write as well,” says Raju, with a laugh. He emphasises that all that he has written about are “sweet memories”. “I may not have become a famous playback singer but there is hardly a place inside and outside India where my wife and I have not been invited to sing by Malayalis residing there. So there is no bitterness or sadness,” he signs off. But not before saying how proud he is of daughter Anupama Raju, a published poet, and son, playback singer Aalaap Raju.
Ente Naadha Mayukhangal
Chintha Publications
Rs. 125
