That there is magic in P. Jayachandran’s voice is undeniable. That is why we would never get tired of listening to songs like Rajeevanayane neeyurangoo… ( Chandrakantham ), Swarnagopura narthakeeshilpam… ( Divyadarshanam ), Suprabhatham… ( Pani Theeratha Veedu ) and Onnini Sruthi thazhthi…
Jayachandran could make his voice heard, and loved, at a time when a phenomenon called Yesudas was the first choice for most melodies that required a male voice. That was no small feat.
Jayachandran made the best of the opportunities that came his way and made hundreds of songs immortal in his unique style and voice. He was able to make an impression on the listener right from his early days.
One of those listeners, S. Manoharan, fell in love with his voice when he heard the song Manjalayil mungithorthi… ( Kalithozhan )—Jayachandran’s first release—while he was at the Physics laboratory of the University College (Thiruvananthapuram).
“I was studying for B.Sc. then; and I was hooked immediately to this new voice,” he says. “I became a fan of Jayachandran, right away.”
That was in 1967. Decades later, his admiration paved the way for a biography on Jayachandran, P. Jayachandran: Malayalathinte Madhuchandrika . The book, published by Mathrubhumi Books (Kozhikode), may not be a definitive biography, but it offers some insights into the life of a remarkably gifted man.
There are quite a few fascinating anecdotes too, such as the one involving composer G. Devarajan. The book also examines closely some of the finest songs of Jayachandran.
