BENGALURU: Padma Bhushan awardee K J Yesudas was honoured with the B Saroja Devi National Award 2015 at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan on Saturday.
The award includes a cash award of Rs 1 lakh. After conferring the award on the singer, Saroja Devi recalled the time she had gone to New Jersey and attended a concert by Yesudas. “I was in New Jersey for a couple of years. At the concert, I saw Yesudas singing and his wife had closed her eyes mesmerised by his devotion to the art and god,” she said.
After accepting the award, Yesudas spoke of the importance of simplicity and humanity, recalling how his father had told him not to cave to the advice from many members of the film industry to change his stage name to have more success.
Housing Minister M H Ambareesh was among those present.