CHENNAI: As a toddler, he would hum songs he’d heard on the radio and elsewhere. It was just “time-pass” and he had not imagined he would make it big in the future. Today, Ayyappa Dasan, has done over 3,500 devotional songs, and says that his journey has been nothing less that beautiful.
“I have always loved music. I would listen to a lot of songs and that’s how I learned initially. My journey, thankfully, has been steady since the time I started,” he smiles.
The singer recently performed at the ‘Urur Olcott Kuppam Vizha 2018 — Tamil Thirunaal Event Announcement’, along with his band Rasikapriya. He has been actively singing in both films and devotional genre. “From light music to devotional to films, I have sung it all. But I mostly prefer singing devotional songs,” he says.
Though he did not receive any formal training in music until the 1970s when he finished Class 10, Ayyappa says that he wouldn’t shy away from singing any song. “I did not know the technicalities of the ragas; back then, it was all the listening that helped me,” he adds.But soon he trained with musicians, Needamangalam V V Subramaniam and Nanganallur V Ramanathan, under whom he learnt for over 16 years. “I learnt the nuances and intricacies of Carnatic music, which in turn helped me to challenge myself further,” he explains.
Ayyappa, started singing solo at first, and it was in collaboration with several musicians that he formed his music troupe/band, Rasikapriya in 1985 and has been performing with them till date. The band’s name was inspired by the raagam Rasikapriya, which is the last melakarta raagam out of the 72 in Carnatic music.
How does he manage singing different genres? “Everything is a challenge and I really love challenges. Whenever I sing another musician’s song, I make sure I leave my signature in it,” he says. “Avangala maathiri paadaruthukku avanga irukkangale, naama thevaiyilla (They are already there to sing like them, they don’t need us).”
The 62-year old has performed in over 2,500 concerts across the country and abroad — Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Malaysia and Singapore. “One thing I noticed is that unlike people who get up and walk out in the middle of a concert here in several sabhas, people there don’t leave until the whole concert is over,” he points out. “Interestingly, the halls will be jam-packed if it is a devotional concert that is happening.”
Recalling his first recording in 1985, we asked Ayyappa if he was nervous. “Not at all! When it comes to music, I am like a lion (chuckles). I am a totally different person when I get on stage or hold the mic.”