Renowned musician K. J. Yesudas was on Saturday conferred the title of ‘Sangeetha Kala Sarathy’ at the inauguration of 117th Isai Vizha of Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha by Sri Yathiraja Narayana Ramanuja Jeeyar of Sri Yadugiri Yathiraja Mutt, Melukote.
The Jeeyar also presented the Gottuvadyam Narayana Iyengar Award for Visesha Vadyam to clarinet vidwan A.K.C. Natarajan; Palghat Mani Iyer Centenary Award to Mannargudi A. Eswaran; Dwaram Venkataswami Naidu Award to R.K. Sriram kumar; Dr. M.L.V. Award to Vishnudev Namboothiri and G. Ramanathan Award to V.K. Manimaran.
In his Anugraha Bhashanam, the Jeeyar said that Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha was the oldest one in the city and great musicians, including Maha Vaidhyanatha Iyer and Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, had performed here. This year, Mr. Yesudas had also received the Karnataka government’s Rajyotsava Award.
Sabha president Nalli Kuppuswami Chettiar said the kind of dedication the singer has is amazing. Mr. Yesudas practices a month for one concert and only performs 4 to 5 concerts a year, he said. Carnatic musician T.V.Gopalakrishnan said that Mr. Yesudas had the blessings of his guru Chembai Vaidhyanatha Bhagavathar.
Sabha vice-president Mohan Parasaran said Mr. Yesudas has done a lot for propagating bhakthi . Like M.S. Subbulakshmi’s Vishnu Sahasranamam, his Harivarasanam can be heard in every corner of the world.
Mr. Yesudas recalled how he had to quit his vidwan course after a year and never could complete it after that. “I am still a vidyarthi [student],” he said while dedicating the award to his Guru and parents.
