Self made Musician

Once struggling for an opportunity to sing on stage, Unnikrishnan Nair, today, continues to inspire aspiring singers of Nagpur with his velvety voice - an echo of Yesudas. And his sargam group has made a distinct mark for itself...

 MUSIC-LOVERS of the Orange City know him as ‘Nagpur’s Yesudas’ and Unnikrishnan Nair cherishes this identity. However, the man has much more to present than the trademark ‘Yesudas’ style. He sings songs of all genres -- right from Bhajans to film songs-- in eight languages. He single-handedly organises innovative musical events several times in a year through his well-known ‘Sargam’ group. He brings new talent on the stage and encourages amateur singers to perform during public events. Most importantly, Unnikrishnan Nair is doing this for more than three decades. Seniors of Keraleeya Samajam, Ayyappa Samajam, South India Association and other groups may recall young Unni’s first performance on stage way back in 1971. And since then, he is the signature ‘Yesudas’ of Nagpur.

In his young days, Unnikrishnan performing in Nagpur.

“As a young singing enthusiast, I used to stand in the last row of the jam-packed orchestra performances and listen to Ahmed Kadir, Yogesh Thaker and other popular musicians of Nagpur. I was confident enough to sing on stage, but it was hard to get an opportunity those days. There were no TV channels or FM bands,” recalls Unnikrishnan, a retired WCL employee, who then went on to organise his own musical events.
“Sargam was born right there. We never charged money for musical performances right from the first event. The tradition goes on even today,” says a proud Unnikrishnan. However, raising funds for such ‘open for all’ events has always been a major challenge, he accepts. With the smiling support of his wife Rema and two sons, Abhijit and Akshay, Unnikrishnan has been accepting this challenge several times in a year since the last thirty years.

Unnikrishnan with the legendary Yesudas.

“Passion for music made me overlook financial losses. A glitter of confidence in the eyes of a young singer after his maiden performance is reward enough for me,” smiles the man who recognised the singing potential in many a talented singers of the city at a very tender age and gave them their first ever public platform. Aniruddha Joshi and Manjiri Vaidya are a few names that have taken a bow on Unnikrishnan’s stage. And the tradition of introducing new talent continues even today. Moreover, bringing lesser known singers on the stage is another special feature of ‘Sargam’.

“Music is universal language of the heart and I am always in search of new talent,” says Unnikrishnan. Musical events by professionals, doctors, advocates and bureaucrats, organised by ‘Sargam’ have been appreciated by Nagpurians.

The thing that pains Unnikrishnan is that he lacks proper training in music. “I always strove to get proper training in classical music. But things never went my way. But, I believe, at least basic training is a must for a good singer,” Unnikrishnan says. The Nair family dreams to establish a basic music school through ‘Sargam’ in Nagpur.

With Unnikrishnan’s much-evident persistence, this dream too is sure to become a reality in the near future.

Cutting of the same article published in The Hitavada  on February 16, 2013