The passing away of SPB Sir triggered something strong in me.
On the 25th morning, I woke up, ready to start my day. As it often happens, I felt like humming a raag as I got ready for the day and on that day it was Kapi, one of my favourites. After humming for a while, I remembered the humming from the title track of Roja, which is also based on the same raag. My mind then drifted to SPB Sir and I immediately checked up on how he was doing. No new updates.
Not an hour later, when I took a break from work, I opened my social media to see the devastating news. I cried on the spot for the man he had been and the love he had showered on all artists, new and old. I am not going to talk in detail about his accomplishments like 6 National Awards, over 40,000 recorded songs or his partnership with many music composers. Check out Wikipedia for that.
But what I want to talk about is the respect and love I developed for him as a fan through the years. He was a well established singer even before I was born. So I grew up listening to his songs in popular Hindi and Kannada movies. I first registered the magic of his singing when I was ahead enough in my own training to recognise the subtleties and I remember getting very excited one day listening to “Yeh Haseen Wadiyaan” on the radio and wondering, who are these singers?!
Since then I heard a lot of more of the work he has done. But the most impact he had on me was when he was the host for the Kannada singing reality show “Yede Tumbi Haduvenu.” By then, we had been spoilt with Indian Idol and the likes, making me used to drama more than music on the shows. I was so taken aback when I saw the way he gave his opinion on a performance.
He was always kind and respectful towards the participants, irrespective of their age, gender or experience. He always made it a point to highlight every good aspect of the performance, before he very politely gave tips on where there was scope for improvement. He knew that every singer is an artist in themselves and rather than putting them down, he wanted to see every artist succeed. Such is the love of an artist for his art.
One instance which will also be very close to my heart is when on the same show, he was asked about his fluency in Kannada (he could speak even better than me). He replied saying he was grateful for the love the Kannada community showed him and we might as well say that Kannada was also his mother tongue.
As I read through the various posts and how many artists also shared their experiences with him, I realised that it’s not just me who felt this sense of pride about him. The 4 big states of south India and a large part of the Hindi speaking community too is remembering him fondly. He is loved not by communities, but by the entire nation.
He was well know for his romantic songs and the lovely expressions he brought with him. But I leave you with a unique song written by Anand Bakshi & composed by Lakshmikant-Pyarelal from the movie Ek Dooje Ke liye, with the lyrics entirely made up of movie names! I cannot, simply cannot, imagine anyone else singing this song so well. The naughty yet innocent expression of love, the energy & acting of this voice and the adorable music video will leave you feeling happy on the inside. Just like SPB Sir’s gentle temperament.
Also, check him out grooving to this quirky song with Pradbhudeva!
A true mentor, an outstanding artist and above all, a good human being, thank you SPB Sir, for your kind service to humanity. Your voice has gotten us through tough times and all of us will cherish your music for many years to come.