During my childhood, I used to believe that all songs in movies were sung by Prem Nazir. Later, someone told me that he only moved his lips to the lyrics while someone named Yesudas was the one who actually sang them. From that moment, my admiration shifted from the actor to the singer.  

This revelation amazed me. It was my aunt, Chinnammu Valyamma, who first introduced me to the fact that there was another singer besides Yesudas—P. Jayachandran.  

As a young UP schoolboy, it wasn't easy for me to distinguish between the two voices until I heard the song "Poovum Prasadavum." I remember it vividly, the song first drifted into our study room from the radio playing in my father's office room next door.

It began with the chirping of birds, followed by a faint flute melody in the background, and then a mesmerizing humming. Only after that did the singer’s voice begin to flow.  

I was completely immersed in the song until my father called out from the other room, "Why can't I hear the sound of you reading? What are you doing there?" 

By the time I refocused on my studies and textbooks, I heard the announcer on the radio: "What you just heard was a song sung by P. Jayachandran from the film 'Thokkukal Kadha Parayunnu.' Lyrics by Vayalar, music by Devarajan."  

Jayachandran—the name stayed with me from that day.  

The next day, Joy, a classmate of mine in sixth grade, told me that Jayachandran was the younger brother of Yesudas. He said his older brother had told him so. I almost believed it, as I felt there was a certain similarity in their voices. But when I shared this story at home, my aunt burst into laughter.

"How is that even possible? Yesudas is a Christian, and Jayachandran is a Hindu," she explained. Then she added thoughtfully, "Personally, I like Jayachandran’s songs a little more. He has a nice, soft voice."  

Years later, when I heard music composer Devarajan master describe Jayachandran as a singer with a voice that embodies the Malayali male ideal, I immediately thought of my aunt’s words: "A nice, smooth voice like a pebble. Not too smooth, but it’s that slight roughness that makes it unique." What a perceptive observation!  

Sometimes, I felt that Jayachandran's talent truly blossomed in love songs. The young lover in ‘Muthassi,’ who sings ‘Indhumukhi Innu Ravil Enthu Cheyyum Nee,’ transforms into the lover in ‘chronic bachelor’ in ‘Ekandha Sandhya Vidarnnu... Sneha yamuna nadikkaarayil... Innum Aval Kaananilla.’  

When asked how he keeps the love inside him alive even at this age, Jayachandran would simply reply, "I don't know." he would add, "It's all due to the grace of Guruvayoorappan."  

Lyricist Girish Puthenchery once offered a beautiful explanation to the same question.

 "All the emotions come naturally to him, and they resonate in his voice. Even Jayettan doesn’t fully realize it. He effortlessly elevates the lines, words, and even syllables beyond the emotion intended by the lyricist or music director. I haven’t seen this quality in many singers."  

Girish cited the song ‘Marannitum Enthino Manassil Thulumbunnu’ from the film ‘Randam Bhavam’ as an example. 

"When we write 'Kozhinjittum Enthino... Pookan Thudangunnu... Pularmanjukaalathe Snehatheeram,' there’s an emotion we intend. The music director adds another layer to it. But when Jayettan sings? He infuses it with his heart and takes us to a ‘snehatheeram’ that neither I nor Vidyasagar imagined. It feels like no one else could make us experience the words like ‘ pularmanju’ or ‘snehatheeram’ so tenderly."