Rotary Club of Vijayawada honours him with lifetime achievement award
Famous playback singer and Padma Bhushan awardee S.P. Balasubrahmanyam on Sunday said the lifetime achievement award he received from the Rotary International here was an honour for all those involved in the making of a song.
He said he was a blessed child for he was lucky to make a mark in the field of music without knowing much about the basics.
“Maybe I could not finish my job in my last Janma [birth] that is the reason the Almighty had sent me to earth to enthral you for decades,” he said amid applause. He said he had been singing songs in more than 15 languages for 50 years.
He bemoaned the lack of interest among the new generation singers in enhancing their knowledge about the lyricists and music directors.“There are many lyricists like Senior Samudrala, Malladi, Arudra, Dasari, Narayana Reddy, Jaladi, Jonnavitthula, Samavedam Shanmukha Sarma but Veturi Sundrarama Murthy stood tall among them.”
He said the modern-day lyricists were capable of writing songs on par with the legendary seniors but unfortunately to make a living in the commercial world of cinema they were forced to compromise with their words.
He also advised the fans of top heroes to prevail over their idols in doing some meaningful films along with commercial films. “It is unfortunate that the awards are going to movies made in other languages,” he said.
Mr. Balasubrahmanyam said retirement meant not giving up work but giving up professional work and taking up the pursuit in which one’s heart is. “In my case, both profession and the pursuit are the same”.
Elaborating on his participation in the famous Padutha Theeyaga, a music programme aired by a popular channel, he said the programme was meant not to create singers but suggest corrective measures. “Some are lucky to sing songs in films.”
He said every programme was a learning curve for him and for the past 19 years he had been immensely benefited by the programme.
Senior Rotarians M.C. Das, Gopal Rao, K. Pattabhi Ramaiah and P. Krishnaji took part in the programme.
Ms. Roja Prassanatha, city’s noted whistle singer, won the appreciation from Mr. Balu for rendering a song from Sankarabharanam .
Mayur Orchestra honours Balu
In the evening, Mr. Balasubrahmanyam took part in the 37th anniversary of the Mayur Orchestra at the Tummalapalli Kalakshetram in which singers Vinod Babu, Vijaya Lakshmi, Rasool Babu and Mohammad Khaja rendered songs for close to three hours.
He was felicitated by founder director Mohammad Khaja.
