"One song is more than enough to make a life meaningful," Vasanthi used to say. "Many have asked me, why does Vasanthi need a thousand songs? Isn’t this one song enough? In a way, they are right. Today, Malayalis know me as the Vasanthi who sang for ‘Manimaran’. That song has blended into my very breath. Even if I sing a hundred songs, I might never have the fortune to come across something as precious as that."

It was in 1970 that Machattu Vasanthi, along with her father and a recommendation letter from M T Vasudevan Nair, traveled to Chennai to meet P A Backer, the producer of the movie ‘Olavum Theeravum’. "The letter introducing me as a promising singer did wonders. They entrusted me with a significant song. A duet with Dasettan (K J Yesudas). It was a dream come true for any female singer. Although I had sung alongside Dasettan in a couple of stage shows, I had never even imagined standing in the recording studio with him. Those were the days when singers like Janaki and Suseela reigned supreme."

Her first meeting with Yesudas was back in the sixties, during a music concert at Zamorin’s High School in Kozhikode. "I was fortunate enough to sing a few duets with Dasettan and Jayettan (Jayachandran) during the ‘Sukumaran’s Orchestra’. I still remember the song I sang with Dasettan: ‘Kudamulla poovinum Malayali penninum udukkan vella pudava…’ After that, I met him again at a concert in Manjeri organised by Baburaj. The next time we met was during the rehearsal for the song 'Manimaran Thannathu'.

The rehearsal took place in a hotel room where Baburaj was staying. The recording followed at Revathy Studio. "The very next day was Dasettan's wedding. We had to finish the recording quickly so that he could head home. The song was okayed in just one or two takes. During the recording, something funny happened. When I reached the line, ‘Nee ente khalbil vannu chirichu nilkum’, I suddenly smiled, unintentionally. It just happened. I thought it would add charm to the song."

"Right after the recording, I saw Babukka (Baburaj) rushing towards me from the console. I was scared, thinking I had made a mistake. 'Oh no, did I mess up?' I thought. But to everyone's surprise, including mine, he came up to me, kissed me on the forehead, and said, 'Well done, child. You sang exactly as I had envisioned it’. It was then that I finally breathed easy," she remembered.

Vasanthi made her playback debut in 1957 with the movie ‘Minnaminungu’, which featured Baburaj's music. After a long hiatus, she returned to sing for the film ‘Ammu’, where she shared a song with S Janaki and L R Eswari, again under Baburaj's composition. Five years later came ‘Olavum Theeravum’. "After the recording of 'Manimaran Thannathu', my father and I returned home. Despite the warm encouragement of sound recordist Kannan and others, urging me not to leave, we were not in a position to stay back in Chennai. Later, I had to step away from music for a while. By the time I returned, much time had already passed," 

Vasanthi, the singer who briefly sparkled and then faded, sang in just a handful of films. ‘Kuttyedathi’, ‘Meeshamadhavan’, and ‘Vadakkumnathan’ featured some of her work. Yet, Malayalis remember her to this day for one song: the one she sang with Yesudas in ‘Olavum Theeravum’—’Manimaran thannathu ponnalla ponnu, madhurakkinavinte karimbinthottam’.

In her later years, Vasanthi withdrew into her home, grappling with health issues and financial struggles. Even during her most difficult moments, she would try to smile when people called. I remember her once saying, "My dream is to sing until I die." 

That voice, which once brought tears and smiles on stage, is now a cherished memory. 

In an era dominated by the likes of Susheela, Janaki, Chithra and Sujatha, Vasanthi was a brief yet brilliant star who shot into the musical firmament, only to be veiled by the curtains of obscurity. Today, we remember her for that one song—a melody that will forever echo in the hearts of music lovers.