SP Balasubrahmanyam spent over five decades singing a variety of songs in his energetic and mellifluous voice. In bidding him their final goodbye, however, family, friends and fans could only seek comfort in silence. The singer’s farmhouse in Thamaraipakkam in Thiruvallur district, around 50 kilometres from Chennai where he was laid to rest on Saturday afternoon, wore a pall of gloom. The smell of roses, a symbol of love but also mourning, lingered in the air.
Early Saturday morning, the coffin was placed in a pandal which was erected next to a couple of small buildings inside his farmhouse, for the public to catch a glimpse of their beloved singer.
More than 100 police personnel were deployed to guide and control the crowd thronging the farmhouse. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, all those who wanted to bid goodbye to SPB were made to wear masks while entering the farmhouse. The crowd of visitors who did enter the farmhouse consisted of people from all walks of life — some wearing the uniform of a local conservancy worker, some dressed in kurtis and pants and some dressed in safari suits — which is testimony to the impact that SPB had on the lives of millions of people. Most walked in with yearning in their eyes and many walked away from the coffin with tears trickling down their cheeks.
There were celebrities, too, walking in with the fans to take a last look at their favourite singer. SPB’s longtime friend and director Bharathiraja, actor Vijay, producer-actor Pyramid Natarajan, TV anchor ‘Kalyanamalai’ Mohan, state minister Mafoi Pandiarajan and music composer Devi Sri Prasad were among those who came. Singer and SPB’s contemporary Mano broke down at the sight of his good friend in the coffin, as he offered a garland at SPB’s feet as a mark of his respect and friendship. Several actors from television serials also came in to offer their respects to SPB.
“We should remember his service. He is with us in the form of his songs. He has sung many songs for us. I have no other words to say,” Mano said.
Director Bharathiraja said that his friend SPB will live on forever. “Till the earth, water and air is around, there is no end for him. The entire world is enchanted by his voice... our friend is with us, with music. He has become one with the air,” he said, fighting back tears.
“There is only one Balu.. there is no Balu before, there is no Balu after...If it was not a pandemic situation, this (funeral arrangements) would have been a whole other level.. at a global level. I thank all of you as an SPB fan. He has sung many hit songs for me and he has given life to many music directors. I can only thank him,” Devi Sri Prasad said.
A few metres away, within the premises of the farmhouse, a pit was dug under the supervision of government officials from the Departments of Health and Revenue. SPB’s family members carried his body from the pandal to his final resting place amid tight security and the chanting of the priests.
Actor Vijay, who came around the same time, walked to the spot where SPB’s body was about to be lowered and paid his last respects to the singer. He also had a few words with one of the priests supervising SPB’s final rites and consoled his son SP Charan.
Image: Twitter/Onlynikil
Around 12.30 pm, SPB’s body was lowered into the pit amid chants of ‘Hara Hara Mahadeva’. Around two dozen armed reserve policemen from the Tamil Nadu police, dressed in the ceremonial attire, stood a few feet away from SPB’s body and paid their respects by firing three rounds into the air.
Police salute (image:Megha Kaveri)
Though it is customary for Hindus to cremate their dead, SPB was buried in a small portion of land inside his farmhouse compound. “A few of his close relatives like mother-in-law and father-in-law were all buried and not cremated. So in the same tradition, the family took a call to bury SPB’s mortal remains,” a source close to the family told TNM.
SPB passed away on September 25 after developing complications from COVID-19. Though the singer tested negative for coronavirus on September 4, he was on ventilator support and ECMO. His health deteriorated suddenly on September 24 when the hospital told the media that he was put on ‘maximal life support’ and he died a day later, on Friday.