Survived pressure to change name, says Yesudas

Kochi: Noted playback singer K.J. Yesudas said there was immense pressure on him to change his name when he joined the film industry but his father did not let him do it even at the expense of his career.

“At those times (1960s), it was a trend in the Madras cinema world to change names. I was new and many felt my name won’t suit the industry. The pressure persisted and I wrote to my father asking his permission.

The reply was brief – ‘If there is no other way than changing the name to survive in the film industry, then you better come back’,” Yesudas, who was awarded Padma Shri in 1975 and Padma Bhushan in 2002, recalled.

He was speaking at the 100th anniversary fest of Kumbalam St Mary's UP School, one of the oldest schools in the state.

The music maestro said that now he felt happy to stick to the name. “I love it especially when children address me as ‘Dasettan’. What I want to convey is that we should try to grow as ourselves, developing the talents we have,” he said.

For the school children, the ‘Gana Gandharvan’ had a few more advices to give. “Don’t ever see politics as a means to earn some quick money. In fact, my parents always told me to be sure of two things – never ever join any political party and not be a member of any club.

Each one of you should ask ‘Am I a free man, free of any addictions’,” the maestro said. Yesudas also recited to the children a Tamil poem ‘Nallathai nin maname…’ penned by him to take home the point.