Man with the golden voice

By M. KRISHNAMOORTHY

AFTER having sung more than 30,000 songs in a dozen languages, legendary South Indian classical singer Dr. K. J. Yesudas is keen to add another feather to his cap with a Malay song. 

He wants to compose and sing Malay songs with local artistes as he enjoyed crooning to such songs at his Malaysian concerts. 

“I have sung to Malay tunes during my visits here and am only waiting for a local singer to approach me, so that we can do a duet or even sing with a group,” said Dr Yesudas, who is revered in his country for his “Golden Voice.” 

“Malaysian songs have a nice rhythm and beat and I would like to sing and record some numbers,” he said in an interview at the Maharaj Restaurant in Petaling Jaya recently. 

Dr Yesudas (second from right) with (from right) his wife Prema, managing director of Maharaj Restaurant Ilan Govan and his wife Mary Govan.

“Singing is the universal language of the soul. Anyone with an imaginative mind can feel and float in music,” said the 65-year-old artiste who has won more than 40 Indian and international awards. 

Last Saturday, he performed at the Putra World Trade Centre. He sang his award winning classical and devotional songs. 

The concert, organised by V-Art Media Sdn Bhd to raise funds for the Sri Shenbagavalli Ashram, was part of his Gurusmarana World Tour. 

He told his audience: “Singing is a creative activity that requires discipline and training daily.”  

Some of the songs he has recorded are in Tamil, Kannada, Gujarathi, Telugu and Bengali.