KOCHI: Ganesh Sundaram’s hit song, ‘Himakanam’ from the Malayalam film, ‘Violin’ is having an impact on listeners. There is something about his voice, plaintive, sincere, and intense, that touches the listener. ‘Where had this talent been hiding for so long?’ is the first thought that comes to your mind.
“The voice should hit the hearts of the listeners, otherwise, there will be no impact,” says Ganesh. “But to have that sort of voice is a gift from God.” Nevertheless, the man is modest. “My talent is nowhere near that of Yesudas and S P Balasubramaniam,” he says.
“But I try to do something with what I have been given by God.”
Music director Bijibal, who composed the ‘Himakanam’ song for ‘Violin’, is an admirer. “I chose Ganesh because he has a genuine voice,” he says. “That is his best quality. And although he has not sung many film songs, he is a seasoned professional.”
Not many people know that Ganesh has been a successful Hindu devotional singer for the past twenty years. So far he has sung 2000 songs in Malayalam and a few in Kannada. He has also rendered more than 100 Christian devotionals.
His turning point came when his 1999 album, ‘Guruthipooja’, became a hit. “The songs are in praise of the goddess of the Chottanikkara temple,” says Ganesh. “It has good lyrics and catchy tunes, and the public liked it a lot. The album is still selling. People still praise me for that. They feel a sense of peace when they listen to the songs.”
That is true. When you do listen to ‘Guruthipooja’, there is a soothing tone to Ganesh’s voice, offering balm to wounded souls, and indirectly giving us the option to pray to Bhagawathy to get over the troubles that one is facing in life.
Ganesh lives beside the Pavamkulangara Devi temple at Tripunithura. On a weekday morning, he is the only one in the house. His wife, Smitha, an art designer, has gone to work, while his sons, Shankar, 14, and Shridhar, 10, are at school. Since Ganesh is a professional singer, he can be home on some mornings. But he keeps himself busy by taking part in ganamelas, and concerts during the festival season. But it has not been easy.
There have been times when his income had dipped. “During those periods, I had to rely on my wife, my brother who lives in Muscat and my mother, a former schoolteacher, who gets a pension,” he says.
Sometimes, the stress has got to him. Once he was doing cover tracks for another singer for the late music director Raveendran Master. The lyrics were written by the late Girish Puthenchery. It is about Kuchelan [a character from the Puranas] who is starving and goes to meet Lord Krishna. Kuchelan is sure to get a meal with the Lord. “When I sang the song, during a rehearsal, I was reminded of the hardships I faced in my life,” says Ganesh. “After I finished, I burst into tears.”
The music director was stunned. All the musicians stopped playing. There was a pin-drop silence. Finally, Raveendran Master said, “Son, don’t worry, things will work out.”
Things have worked out, and there have been happy moments. In 2006, Ganesh won the Kerala Sangeet Natak Akademi award for the best song in a drama.
But it is in playback singing for films that he is struggling to make a mark. “You cannot blame music directors,” he says. “For one song, there are 50 singers from whom he can choose.” Ganesh pauses and says, simply, “To succeed, you need a godfather.”
Nevertheless, Ganesh got some good assignments. He has sung in ‘Loudspeaker’, ‘Minnaminni Kootam’, ‘Kudumbasree Travels’ and ‘Bombay, March 12’, where he shares space with noted Hindi singer, Sonu Nigam, on a song, ‘Chakkara Mavin’. He has also sung a couple of Tamil songs and continues with his bread and butter: devotional songs. A recent song, ‘Padmaharapriya’ has become a mobile ringtone for many. As for the future, Ganesh says, “I want to sing many more film songs and become as good as it is possible to be.”