Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 10 (IANS): For the second straight year, veteran singer K.J.Yesudas, who turned 82 on Monday, will be unable to offers prayers at the famed Kollur Mookambika temple in Karnataka.

Since the outbreak of Covid pandemic, the noted singer has been in Dallas and hence not been able to take part in his musical tribute at the temple, a practice for close to four decades. On his birthday every year, his family sings 'bhajans' at the temple.

The temple is considered a very revered place among performers in music and art.

However, his good old friend K.Ramachandran has reached the temple and offered prayers for the well being of the legendary singer.

Meanwhile, to mark his 82nd birthday, 82 singers will assemble at the temple and render 82 songs of him to complete the celebrations.

In a music career spanning over six decades, Yesudas has recorded more than 80,000 songs in over 14 languages, including Arabic, Latin and Russian.

Yesudas, over the years, has won a record eight national awards, and 25 state awards .

The singer has also been conferred with the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan.

Apart from his songs, the singer is known for his trade mark attire -- a white kurta and a white dhoti and in the recent years, he has been sporting a white beard.

On November 14, 2021, the singing legend was greeted by many for completing 60 years as a playback singer.