as a child i used to listen to the songs of singer tm soundararajan and hum them then one day the film sankarabharanam 1980 released and my life changed forever i found the film interesting but what piqued my curiosity were the songs in it despite having no training in classical music i could croon those songs effortlessly the songs were by spb siri repeatedly sang his songs after that and even before i realised it i had become his bhakthan and he had become my god the first time i got the opportunity to sing a song of his on stage was in 1985 i was at a wedding reception and one of my friends had coerced me to go up on stage and i burst into the song pani vizhum malarvanam from ninaivellam nithya the song was a rage at that time later i got the opportunity to share the stage with the doyen on a few occasions during a concert in 1993 i had just sung the song andhimazhai pozhigiradhu when spb sir walked up to me and said the two magical words well done at another concert i was performing the interlude in the song vizhiyile mani vizhiyile when spb sir casually put his hands around my shoulders and gave me a peck on my cheek i was rendered speechlessyears after that little did i expect that a casual conversation between two friends one evening would become a turning point in my musical career the musical night mind body soul my tribute to the two doyens of music spb sir and ilaiyaraaja sir was conceived and the first show was held on 1792009 the unique concept of playing retro tamil music at a resto bar was a refreshing change for music buffs since then my team has been performing every thursday even during the pandemic we took the virtual route to enthrall our patrons spb sir was so exhilarated about the music night that he graced the show on some key milestones during the 100th week of mind body and soul he said its not easy for the audience in a bar to stay glued to retro music every week you have done a fabulous jobspb sir would also draw attention to the mistakes i made while singing and correct them once when i sang kettathellaam naan kuduppen he remarked you shouldnt sing it that way he then sang the entire pallavi for me it was a goosebumpsinducing moment learning from the guru himselfour last meeting in person was by the fag end of 2019 i had gone to meet him and give him an album which also had a collection of pictures of him during the lockdown we would have regular chats over the phone i would dig out some rare songs of his and send it to him he would send back a voice message saying that he didnt even remember singing themtoday he might not be physically around us but i