THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: ‘Where had this talent been hiding for so long?’ is the first thought that comes to your mind when you listen to ‘Himakanam...’ from the movie ‘Violin’. Ganesh Sundaram definitely has made an impact on listeners. There is something about his voice, plaintive, sincere, and intense, that touches the listener.But not many people know that Ganesh has been successful as a singer of devotional sings for the past 20 years. So far he has sung 2000 songs in Malayalam and a few in Kannada. He has also rendered more than 100 Christian devotionals.“The voice should touch the hearts of the listeners, otherwise, there will be no impact. And that voice is a gift from God,” Ganesh says. Nevertheless, the man is modest. “My talent is nowhere near that of Yesudas and SP Balasubramaniam.”Bijibal, the composer of the songs of ‘Violin’, is Ganesh’s admirer. “I chose Ganesh because he has a genuine voice,” he says. “That is his best quality. And although he has not sung many film songs, he is a seasoned professional.”It was the album ‘Guruthipooja’ that came out in 1999 that was the turning point of Ganesh’s career. “The songs are in praise of the Goddess of the Chottanikkara temple,” says Ganesh. “It has good lyrics and catchy tunes, and the public liked it a lot. The album is still selling. People still praise me for that. They feel a sense of peace when they listen to the songs.”It has not been an easy journey for Ganesh. There have been times when his income had dipped. “During those periods, I had to rely on my wife, my brother who lives in Muscat and my mother, a former schoolteacher, who gets a pension,” he says.Sometimes, the stress had got the better of him. Once he was doing cover tracks for another singer under music director Raveendran. The lyrics were written by the late Girish Puthenchery. It was about Kuchelan who is starving and goes to meet Lord Krishna. Kuchelan is sure to get a meal with the Lord. “When I sang the song, during a rehearsal, I was reminded of the hardships I faced in my life. After I finished, I burst into tears.”The music director was stunned. All the musicians stopped playing. There was pin-drop silence. “Finally, Raveendran Master said, ‘Son, don’t worry, things will work out’.”Things have worked out and there have been happy moments. In 2006, Ganesh won the Kerala Sangeet Natak Akademi award for the best song in a drama.But it is in playback singing that he has been struggling to make a mark. “You cannot blame music directors,” he says. “For one song, there are 50 singers from whom they can choose.” Ganesh pauses and says, “To succeed, you need a godfather.”Nevertheless, Ganesh got some good assignments. He has sung in ‘Loudspeaker’, ‘Minnaminni Kootam’, ‘Kudumbasree Travels’ and ‘Bombay March 12’, where he shares space with Sonu Nigam in the song, ‘Chakkara Maavin...’ He has also sung a couple of Tamil songs and continues to sing devotional songs, which has been his bread and butter for years. A recent song, ‘Padmaharapriya’ has become a mobile ringtone for many.As for the future, Ganesh says, “I want to sing many more film songs and become as good as it is possible to be.” Ganesh lives at Tripunithura with wife Smitha, an art designer, and sons Shankar and Shridhar.
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