SPB remembered on his first death anniversary
The Hindu
A close associate of S P Balasubrahmanyam recalls the legendary singer’s magnanimity
Sometime in 1995.
That evening SP Balasubrahmanyam was travelling abroad and I accompanied him to the Madras airport. He wore an elegant white outfit and had a couple of programmes to attend enroute. The car stopped first at eminent ENT surgeon Dr KK Ramalingam’s clinic on Poonamallee High Road for a quick consultation. After that, we proceeded to the Chennapuri Andhra Maha Sabha, near the Central Railway Station.
It was an anniversary celebration and the organisers had invited SPB to felicitate him. The hall was rundown. It had a metal roof and was littered with broken chairs. The stage had no curtains and there were no stage lights either. The audiences as well as the organisers were casually clad in dhotis and shirts with folded sleeves. Once SPB stepped in, they received him with excitement, shouting in a mixture of Tamil-Telugu –English slang, “Aye, thambi arrived, let’s start the programme.” There was no formal reception and no decorum in place. Added to that there was utter confusion on the stage as to who should sit where.