THRISSUR: The queues were long at the Kerala Sangeeta Nataka Akademi as hundreds of people paid their last respects to ‘Bhavagayakan’ P Jayachandran on Friday. From prominent directors and musicians to ardent fans of the sweet voice and expressive singing of Jayachandran, people from all strata of society paid homage.
The mortal remains of Jayachandran – who breathed his last in a private hospital on Thursday – were brought to his house at Poonkunnam early in the morning. Lyricists Sreekumaran Thampi and B K Harinarayanan and poet Rafeek Ahmed, among others, were present alongside the bereaved family to receive Jayachandran one final time. Thampi broke down on seeing his motionless body.
The house – located on Thottekkatt Lane – was where Jayachandran practised music and did ‘sadhana’, and spent time alone every morning. As the maestro himself had said, he listened to music a lot and that was what prime ‘sadhana’ is. He would advise budding singers the same – listen to music of all types to learn and improve. Singers who considered him Guru also visited his home and paid their respects.
For his friends and neighbours, Jayachandran was a simple human being who used to venture out in a saffron-coloured mundu and T-shirt, with a ‘kuri’ on his forehead, for shopping.
“Sometimes, he would drive a car, while on some days, he would take an autorickshaw. He always took time out to greet people and say something whenever he arrived here at the old house. For the larger public, he may be the legendary singer Jayachandran. For us, he was Jayettan, who followed such a humble lifestyle,” a neighbour said.
Around 10:30 am, the body was taken to the Akademi where people were already waiting to see their favourite singer one last time.
Directors Balachandra Menon, Sathyan Anthikkad, Sibi Malayil, Kamal, and Renji Panicker, musicians Ouseppachan and Alphonse Joseph, actors Jayaraj Warrier and Manoj K Jayan, singer Indulekha Warrier, and the late Devarajan Master’s daughter Sharmila Ashok, among other prominent personalities, paid homage to the singer whose voice had become his signature.
Revenue Minister K Rajan, Higher Education Minister R Bindhu, MPs V K Sreekandan and Shafi Parambil, District Collector Arjun Pandian, CPI leader V S Sunilkumar, Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala and KPCC working president T N Prathapan were among those from the political fraternity who paid last respects. In the evening, actor Mammootty and singer M G Sreekumar also visited the family and paid tributes to Jayachandran.