●கேட்பதெல்லாம் காதல் கீதங்களே…..
May 19 is the birthday anniversary of the voice of the 50s- P. Leela.
Remembering the chanteuse with a scintillating instance of her magnificent vocal skills- கேட்பதெல்லாம் காதல் கீதங்களே from இல்லற ஜோதி. Lyrics by Kannadasan. Music by G. Ramanathan.
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‘கிருஷ்ண கிருஷ்ணா முகுந்தா ஜனார்த்த்னா, கிருஷ்ண கோவிந்த நாராயணா ஹரே’- at daybreak in the temple town of Guruvayoor, it is this divine call that rouses the inhabitants from their slumber...and day after day, the voice that heralds them to this serene awakening is that of P. Leela.
‘Kalaimaamani’, 'Padmabhushan' Porayathu Leela (1935- 2005) started training in classical music as a child in Ernakulam, first under Tirubhuvanam Mani Bhagavathar and later under Vadakkancherry Rama Bhagavathar.
Sensing a bright future for her, her father V.K. Kunjan Menon shifted the family to Madras, where she commenced rigorous training under Pathamadai Krishnan and Maruthuvakodi Rajagopala Iyer. Her father ensured that the child attended concerts by the great doyens of classical music and observed in person the brass tacks of concert performances. Leela was soon singing in concerts, though the opportunities were few and far between. Her performance in a concert organized by Dr. Durgabhai Deshmukh for the Andhra Mahila Sabha caught the attention of some leading personalities from the film world.
And when she did get her first offer to sing for Cinema, her reluctant father accepted with misgivings, for he was not sure if this was a respectable receptacle for his daughter’s talents. Leela’s first film song when she was just 12 years old was for music director Padmanabha Sastri in the film கங்கணம் (1948). The song ஸ்ரீ வரலக்ஷ்மி is said to have been popular in its time. She made her debut in Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada cinema shortly thereafter, and rose to dizzying heights of popularity. Her father now watched with pride as Leela’s vocals filled each year of the golden 50s with a prodigious output of immortal songs…
When hardly in her teens, she came under the tutelage of the great C.R. Subburaman, who coached her to sing some breathtaking songs before his untimely demise. ‘எல்லாம் இன்ப மயம்’ (மணமகள்), her dazzling duet with the formidable MLV is a brilliant illustration of the faith that Subburaman reposed in her. Soon she was singing for all the reputed composers in the South and gradually became the most sought after singer in the 50s. S. M. Subbiah Naidu, S.V. Venkataraman, S. Rajeswara Rao, V. Dakshinamoorthy, S. Dakshinamoorthy, M.S. Gnanamani, Pendyala Nageswara Rao, T.G. Lingappa, T.R. Papa and even Viswanathan- Ramamoorthy…they all came to Leela for challenging or classical based compositions and she exceeded their expectations at every instance with an endearing nonchalance.
However, special compartments in Leela’s portmanteau ought to be reserved for her works for three composers and each one of them collaborated with her to come out with some immortal works that stand the test of time. The first was the talented singer-composer Ghantasala who could not think of an album without Leela- Can we ever forget the songs of பாதாள பைரவி or மாயா பஜார் that Ghantasala reserved for his prima donna? The second composer who kept aside for Leela some of his best compositions in the 50s was K.V. Mahadevan. He was so enamoured of her voice that when he chose to don the singer’s hat himself for மதனமோஹினி, he insisted on Leela singing along with him. Even as late as 1959- 60, when her innings was all but drawing to a close, KVM ensured that some choice compositions came Leela’s way- தை பிறந்தால் வழி பிறக்கும், படிக்காத மேதை, எங்கள் செல்வி, ஆட வந்த தெய்வம் were brilliant flashes from the dying embers.
The third composer who considered Leela as his lucky mascot was the great G. Ramanathan. G.R reserved some of his best compositions for Leela, and she justified his choice by bringing to beguiling life his intricate creations—நாதர் முடி மேல் இருக்கும் (திகம்பர சாமியார்), பாண்டியன் என் சொல்லை (திரும்பிப்பார்), சுந்தரி சவுந்தரி & வாரணமாயிரம் (தூக்கு தூக்கி), காதல் கொண்ட பூவில் வண்டு (புதுயுகம்), தேன் சுவை மேவும் (Dr. Savitri), குண்றுதோர் ஆடிவரும் & வாங்க மச்சான் வாங்க (மதுரை வீரன்), விழியோடு விளையாடும் (கற்புக்கரசி), நித்திரை இல்லையடி (காத்தவராயன்), ஸ்ரீ சரஸ்வதி மாதா (ராணி லலிதாங்கி), காத்திருப்பான் கமலக்கண்ணன் (உத்தமபுத்திரன்), எண்ணமெல்லாம் இன்பக்கதை பேசுதே & ஆடவாங்க (சக்ரவர்த்தி திருமகள்), அத்தானே ஆசை அத்தானே (அரசிளங்குமரி), என்று தணியும் இந்த சுதந்திர தாகம் (கப்பலோட்டிய தமிழன்), நிலவே நீ இந்த செய்தி சொல்லாயோ (பட்டினத்தார்)…
Coming to this song 'கேட்பதெல்லாம் காதல் கீதங்களே' from the 1954 movie இல்லற ஜோதி, GR worked on a Bhimpalasi base to construct
an edifice with layers and layers of lilting passages, each one having a smooth return to the Pallavi. And Kannadasan filled the lines with verses of poetic perfection.
The song had a special place in Kannadasan's heart and decades later, reminiscing on it, he remarked, 'இல்லற ஜோதியில் வரும் கேதட்பதெல்லாம் காதல் கீதங்களே என்ற பாடல், கர்னாடக சங்கீதத்தில் நான் எழுதிய முதல் பாடல். அந்த நாளிலேயே வார்த்தைகள் அற்புதமாக வந்து விழுந்திருப்பதை இன்று நான் மட்டுமே கேட்டுக்கொண்டிருக்கிறேன்...'
The exacting taskmaster GR is said to have demanded several retakes before Leela sang it to his satisfaction. In between the 18 year-old Leela is said to have shed copious tears at the master’s curt insistence at repeated retakes. Yet she persevered, and the final take showcases Leela’s singing prowess in full. The spellbinding progressions where the Veenai and the Violin seem to dance to each minute wave of GR’s baton, and Leela’s spectacular Swara passages ensure that this song is worth cherishing.
A clear audio:
https://youtu.be/tPbFwgsqiok?feature=shared
Video:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvhQ3YdGxvM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvhQ3YdGxvM)
- Saravanan Natarajan
#songpostsfromme
