For singer Kaushik Menon, SP Balasubrahmanyam is much more than a legendary singer he looked up to. “He changed my life,” says an emotional Kaushik. “My relationship with
SPB sir was like that of a father and son. I was barely 16 years old when I moved to Chennai looking for a career in singing. The initial days were full of struggle, so much so that I ended up spending many nights sleeping in temples.
When SPB sir came to know about this, he headed straight to the temple, gave me a slap and asked me to shift to one his apartments. He then gave a recommendation letter to one of the leading orchestras in Chennai and I started earning.”
He adds, “When SPB sir learnt that I had finally started my studio, he was on cloud nine. He came all the way from Hyderabad to inaugurate it. It was raining cats and dogs on that day and he reached the studio with a lot of difficulty. The moment he entered, he said that it felt like entering a temple. For me, it was like god entering the studio. It was a moment that I would never forget in my lifetime.”