Everyone's Ashachechi

Ashwin Nath met with an accident last September, fractured his hand and consequently was advised rest at home. A synth player as well as a vocalist of the now-defunct Thakara band, Ashwin was playing something on the keyboard to keep his hands agile. Those beats and music caught the ears of his mother Ashalatha, who was a popular playback singer of the 1980s and 90s. Ashwin’s beats entranced his mother who immediately penned down some lines corresponding to the beats and after arranging them in order, she thought to herself, “Not bad .”  So it became that after a hiatus of more than two decades, Ashalatha went on to write, compose and lend her voice to the video single Marakkuvathengane, with some soulful lyrics as well as some poignant visual moments that are sure to strike a chord with everyone listening to the song.

The name Ashalatha is very well-known among radio buffs but the name Asha chechi is her identity — the name bestowed on her by her callers and listeners who religiously tune into the very popular radio programme that she hosts on an FM channel. Here, she does not just play out requests but also doles out advice, motivates some, encourages others and offers experiences from her own life. Those personal touches have given her unprecedented popularity with people from various parts of Kerala travelling to Kochi to meet her or catch a glimpse of her.  

She is like their elder sister-cum-agony aunt. Though her name and voice was familiar, very few had seen the face behind the voice and through this video song, Asha reveals herself in front of her loved ones. When Asha was a school teacher at the beginning of her career, she had composed music for songs but never written a song. The need to compose and sing a song evolved from a thought to revisit her talent. She sought the assistance of her friends and acquaintances and Marakkuvathengane evolved from that group effort. The theme of Marakkuvathengane is a universal one – young love. Asha has a reason for choosing that. She says, “In the 25 years of my career, the recurrent subjects that I have encountered are a mother’s love and romantic love. Love can have a lot of different levels but what is bittersweet is the love most of us have encountered — the innocent first love of our school days that still has the power to clutch our heart at unguarded moments.” 

While many of her listeners are often heard compelling her to sing on air, which she does oblige occasionally, it was Asha’s mother who was the saddest that she had stopped singing. To this, Asha’s reply was that the love and adulation of her listeners was more satisfying to her and more than what any singer could have gotten. Anandavalli was Asha’s name at birth but her singer parents saw her talent and at the age of three her father renamed her as Ashalatha, after the famous singer sisters Asha Bhonsle and Lata Mangeshkar. Asha decided that she did not want to go to college but wanted to study in a music college, which her parents obliged. 

The biggest blow came when young Asha lost her father to cancer but several big names in the music field became her godfathers. She got introduced to the legend Yesudas at an age of 16 and he was so impressed with her voice that he called her the very next day to sing at Tharangini Studios. She became an inseparable part of Tharangini and from there she went on to sing in 25 Malayalam films, 20 Tamil and 1 Telugu film.  Asha narrates the rest, “I got a job as a music teacher and like everyone else I got married but that did not work out. I had to face life’s curves alone with my son and mother beside me and so my music fell silent. I joined a radio station in Dubai and later hosted the Hello Alukkas programme, after which I returned to Kerala to host the Joy Alukkas show as well as take up a marketing head position.”

Somewhere in Asha there burnt a desire to give back the love she received and do something of her own, which is how she set up her audio production company – Media Waves.  She says, “I wanted to set up something of my own and also spend time for social work. The office I work out of also serves as a space to produce audio works, do counseling sessions and meet people from far and wide.”  She continues with a catch in her voice, “Some of them come from as far as Malappuram with their families to see me and some others offer me money, which I tactfully decline. I also spend Rs 1,000 each for five families per month to take care of their expenses.” 

She reveals, “The doctors had predicted that Aswin’s fracture would take almost a year to set but I believe that his speedy rate of recovery, which even astounded the doctors, is thanks to the prayers of the countless people who love me!”  She has a Facebook page ‘Asha Chechi’, where she post experiences and comments and has followers who interact with her. Before ending, Asha mentions being indebted to her listeners, “I had to read a lot of books to answer their queries and so kept up-to-date on every issue so as to not repeat myself. So, in a way, I am indebted to my listeners for making me grow!”