Shimoga Subbanna’s unique voice resonates through generations

His passing marks the slow fading away of a pioneering generation of singers and composers who made sugama sangeetha a rage

His unique voice that was rich and deep secured Shimoga Subbanna a special place in the pantheon of Bhavageethe singers in Karnataka.

His death on Thursday probably also marks the slow fading away of a pioneering generation of singers and composers who made sugama sangeetha (the tradition of setting poems to music, thereby taking poetry close to people) a rage.

Lahari Velu, of Lahari Music, who brought out most of his albums, said what set Shimoga Subbanna apart from other singers was the quality of his voice. “As an artiste he may have sung fewer songs than many others, which is because he was averse to rampant commercialisation of art. But almost every song he has sung has remained a classic and he is a connoisseur’s singer. Even today most of his songs are being heard by lakhs of listeners on streaming platforms earning revenue for us and I am sure this will be the case for decades to come,” he said.

Born in Nagara, Shivamogga district, in 1938, Shimoga Subbanna became a household name when he won Rajat Kamal award for Best Playback Singer (Male) for his song “Kadu Kudure Odi Banditta…” in Chandrashekhar Kambar’s film “Kadukudure” in 1979 and he never looked back.

Prof. N. S. Lakshminarayana Bhatta, Subbanna’s friend since his student days when he was christened “College Rafi” for his singing talents and even sang the national anthem in front of Jawaharlal Nehru, suggested his name to his other friend Kambar who was making films.

“He first sang in the film Karimayi, but his name G. Subrahmanya became a hurdle for him. The cassette record firm printed the name of S.P. Balasubramanyam instead, given how omnipresent SPB was during that time. Even the radio was crediting the song to SPB,” Prof. Bhatta recounted once.

Dr. Kambar recounting his association with Subbanna said when he sang for Kadukudure next, he decided to give him the name Shimoga Subbanna, which stuck. The singer soon changed his name officially too. The song went on to fetch him a national award.