Legendary singer, composer SP Balasubramaniam passed away today. It was a shock. My heart was filled with disbelief and sadness.

Having listening to SP Sir's music over the years was already a rich experience, but having a chance to meet him in person was thrilling. We had the pleasure of hosting him in 2019 when SP Sir visited Singapore for a concert. 

During that time, he spent two full days at the GIIS SMART Campus in Punggol, rehearsing for the concert. While his entourage rehearsed in our multipurpose halls, he was humble enough to give us some time to encourage our students by having an interactive session with them. He agreed to be a guest at our renowned  Leadership Lecture Series during which SP Sir inspired our students with his speech.

During the visit, when I went up to meet him at GIIS Grand Auditorium, I witnessed the great singer interacting with enthusiasm with our excited students, which really touched my heart. He spoke to them, accepted our hospitality and while leaving the auditorium - looked around the large facility and said: This is how auditoriums should be. 

This was a great compliment to our auditorium. He was clearly impressed by the state-of-the-art acoustics and the impressive sound system, which had given him and his team a great facility to rehearse. He expressed a wish that he would like to come back and perform specifically for the GIIS students again some day. These words were very encouraging for us. 

Later SP Sir spent nearly two hours at our Radio Studio recording a podcast interview with our student. He spoke about his life's journey and shared very personal experiences with the listeners. 

Listen to his podcasts here and here.

I remember we had a surprise visitor at the campus that day. Musician and drummer Shivamani - who was also in Singapore during that time - had heard that SP Sir was in GIIS SMART Campus and voluntarily rushed to our school to pay a visit to the legendary singer. The two had a very warm greeting and spent time together as old friends do. He complimented Shivamani saying that this was the most talented drummer of all times. 

It was an afternoon to remember for everyone in the room. Later, he obliged us by posing for photographs with each one of us. 

His booming voice and large personality still fills up the heart, and I am sure the memories linger on everyone's mind who were there in the Radio Studio that day. 

It is sad that we never had a chance to host SP Balasubramaniam again. It is even sadder that now, we will never be able to. 

May his soul rest in peace.