He was a notable figure in the field of light music troupes that were popular all over Tamil Nadu during his heyday. We are talking about Mr. Delhi Prakash, who carved a niche for himself in the field as the voice of iconic singer T.M. Soundararajan.

Mr. Prakash has sung for many troupes and used to enliven light music programmes rendering songs of Sivaji Ganesan, including ones that had his dialogues.

Those were the days when I heard thunderous applause not only in Chennai and Tamil Nadu, but also abroad, recalls Mr. Prakash.

His 50-year stint in the field gave him a lot of opportunities to get along well with a lot of legends personally, including music composers Ilaiyaraja, M.S. Viswanathan and Ramamurthy, Sankar-Ganesh, Deva and A.R. Rahman, and singers, T.M. Soundararajan, S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, P.B. Sreenivas, A.L. Raghavan, Mano, S. Janaki, P. Suseela and L.R. Easwari, says Mr. Prakash.

He then trained himself in Carnatic music and now teaches students, while his wife is a Bharatanatyam guru.

Mr. Prakash has been undergoing dialysis for the past eight years and is a beacon of hope for others in a similar situation. He has been using the Injambakkam facility of TANKER Foundation for the past three years.

He is full of praise for the work of TANKER and its dedicated staff. “It is a home away from home,” he says about the unit.

Though he has not met any of the people responsible for running TANKER Foundation, he says he bows his head in thanks to them and seeks God’s blessings for them and their families to lead a healthy and happy life.

Mr. Prakash used to sing in the unit from the bed even while he was undergoing dialysis. He would get requests from different corners of the room and he would oblige them, he says.

His positive frame of mind is infectious. He says he has no regrets and that he has lived a full life. He also spreads this cheer to disheartened patients in the unit.

Mr. Prakash is a robust example of how to deal with the condition and face life squarely. He is truly an inspiration for other patients. More power to Mr. Prakash.

Listen to Delhi Prakash when he ruled the stages during music programmes: