Remembering LV.. Lakshminarayanan Vaidyanathan

Remembering LV...

19 May remains a sad day for music lovers, for it was on this day in 2007 that L.Vaidyanathan passed away. He had apparently just completed his morning prayers at his Mowlivakkam residence around 6 am, when he complained of chest pain and collapsed on the way to the hospital. He was 65. Ilaiyaraja, SPB and Chithra were among the throngs of mourners who gathered to pay their lastrespects. He left behind his wife Chenjulakshmi, sons Ganesan and Muthukumaraswami, and an immortal legacy of music…

Lakshminarayanan Vaidyanathan was born on 9 April 1942 in Jaffna, when his illustrious father was a professor of music in the Jaffna College. Vidwan V. Lakshminarayana Aiyar hailed from Ramanathapuram and was a celebrated vocalist and violinist; he was the Guru for many popular artistes of today like Sanjay Subramaniam. LV’s mother Seethalakshmi was a gifted vocalist and vaiNika. All the six children learned music from an early age from their father.

Nurtured thus from infancy in a house that reverberated with music, LV showed ample evidence of his talents even as a child. He proved a diligent disciple with astounding grasping powers. Is it of any wonder, then, that LV had his arangetram as a violinist at the tender age of 8 in the local Murugan temple! The child was soon performing in concerts all over Sri Lanka and Radio Ceylon even aired a one-hour violin recital by LV. Eager to expand his music horizons, LV learned Hindustani music, western classical violin and piano as well. When the family shifted to India in 1957, LV came under the tutelage of the great GNB. At a time when legendary violinists like K. Rajamanickam Pillai, Mysore Chowdayya, Papa Venkatramaiah and Venkataswamy Naidu were at the prime of their faculties, it was an astounding feat for the teenager LV to make a mark as an able accompanist to the likes of Chembai Viadyanatha Bhagavathar, GNB, Madurai Mani Aiyar and D.K. Pattammal. He also won the first prize in a music competition held by All India Radio, and received the award from the President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad. He continued learning Western classical violin from an acclaimed violinist called Wilfred Forbes.

Drawn to film music, the teenager persuaded his father to take him to G. Ramanathan with a request to be enrolled in his troupe. Listening to LV playing the violin, the impressed master is said to have demurred initially, stating that LV had a bright future in the classical arena. But G. Ramanathan had to give in to an insistent LV. Thus began LV’s tryst with film music. Besides G. Ramanathan, LV was soon playing the violin for many composers of the time such as C.N. Pandurangan, V. Dakshinamoorthi, K.V. Mahadevan, T. G. Lingappa, M.S. Baburaj and M.B. Sreenivasan. He worked with Salil Chowdhury when Salilda came to Madras to compose music for ‘Chemmeen’. LV thereafter joined G.K. Venkatesh’s ensemble and soon rose to become GKV’s chief associate.

It was Kannada cinema that first recognized the genius of LV and gave him some prized opportunities to prove his mettle as an independent composer of rare merit. LV has composed music for more than 30 Kannada movies, and many of his songs have become hugely popular. Take one of his early albums as a paradigm of his artistry- ‘Hemaavati’ (1977/ Jain Combines). This was a musical subject and LV had come out with a brilliant score. If ‘Guhunalli sodara vaatsalya’ by P.B. Srinivas leaves you yearning for more, Janaki’s ‘Shiva shiva ennada naalide eeke’ is one of most complex movie compositions ever. When asked in a TV interview about the first National Honor that came her way, Janaki’s eyes lit up as she reminisced about ‘Senthoorappoove’. However she added wistfully, ‘That very year, I had sung an extremely challenging song ‘Shiva shiva ennada naalide eeke’ for the Kannada film ‘Hemaavati’. It was an intricate classical composition by L. Vaidyanathan, full of complex passages and breakneck notes. I wish some recognition had come for that song…’

See the below video clip. First we have Janaki speaking of this song and then we have the song itself. The classical song was tuned in 2 Ragas, Thodi and Aabogi by LV. Janaki reminisces that she was given very little time to learn the notes. The renowned M.S. Gopalakrishnan declared that it was not possible for a vocalist to traverse at the breakneck speed set by LV and it was better to restrict the complex passages to his violin. However, LV was confident of Janaki’s innate talents, and Janaki did justice to LV’s trust.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiMV6UH66Xk

Some of LV’s famous Kannada albums are ‘Aparachitha’, ‘Kampana’, ‘Anubhava’, ‘Elu Suttine Kote’, ‘Handatha Hoovu’, ‘Anaamika’, etc. Thespian Rajkumar is said to have ranked LV’s score for ‘Ondu Muththina Kathe’ (1987/Padmasri Enterprises) as among the best albums that he had sung for. Songs like ‘Hodeya doora’ (Anubhava/ Vani Jairam), ‘Ee shrushti yentha cheluvinaalaya’ (Yelu suttina kote/ SPB & Vani Jairam), ‘Santasa araluva samaya’ (Yelu suttina kote/ SPB) and ‘Mallige hooninante’ ( Ondu muththina kathe/ Rajkumar & Ratnamala Prakash) became immensely popular. Besides these, LV joined hands with C. Ashwath (the musician who immortalized Shishunala Sharif's mysticism), and under the name Ashwath-Vaidy the duo composed music for movies like ‘Kanchana Mruga’, ‘Aalemane’, ‘Anupama’, ‘Narada Vijaya’ and ‘Baadada Hoo’. LV and K. Kalyan jointly composed music in 2006 for Kavita Lankesh’s ‘Thana nam thana nam’. LV’s last Kannada venture was perhaps the interesting children’s movie ‘Moggina Jade.’

LV has been repeatedly associated with award winning/ offbeat ventures of gifted filmmakers in various languages like ‘Thilaadanam’ (Telugu), ‘Hrudayanjali’ (Telugu), Mane (Kannada, and its Hindi version ‘Ek Ghar’), ‘Tabarana Kathe’ (Kannada), ‘Swaroopam’ (Malayalam), ‘Kaam kalaa thaandav’ (Hindi, ‘Ananda Thaandavam’ in its Tamil/Telugu versions), ‘Stree’ (Telugu), ‘Kraurya’ (Kannada), ‘Daivithinde Vikarthigal’ (Malayalam), ‘Pushpak’ and ‘Current’ (Hindi).

It was C.V. Rajendran who brought LV to Tamil film music to compose the songs for his ‘Vaazhthungal’ (1978/ Senthamarai Combines). Though the movie starring Muthuraman and Chandrakala came a cropper, LV’s lilting compositions therein such as ‘Arulvadive paramporuL vadivE’ (KJY) and ‘Poonthere chinna chinna kaaleduthu vaa’ (SPB) have stood the test of time.

Listen to the psalm ‘Arulvadive paramporul vadive’ written by Thellur Dharmarasan and sung by Yesudas.‘Lead, kindly light, amid the encircling gloom, lead Thou me on! The night is dark, and I am far from home; lead Thou me on!’ – many of us may remember this stirring hymn by Cardinal Newman. The same complete surrender to the Almighty finds emotive portrayal in this song. The voice of Yesudas, with its intrinsic undercurrent of sorrow, is as spellbinding as ever, and when piety gets added, the result is a song like this—a repository of serenity and divine harmony.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ5Dnvdz4b8

Director K. Hariharan came up with an unusual story of the exploitation of workers by a factory owner and a young engineer who strives to bring them justice. ‘Ezhaavathu Manithan’ (1982/ Latha Creations) that marked Raghuvaran’s debut was LV’s second Tamil movie, and he won widespread critical acclaim for setting Bharathiar’s verses to scintillating tunes. The lilting contemporary cloak that is thrown over Bharathiar’s ‘Kaakai chiraginile’ (KJY), the innovatively tuned ‘Nenjil uramumindri’ and the intense, brooding ‘Nallathor veenai seithe’ (both by Rajkumar Bharathi), the melodic enticement of ‘Veenaiyaiyadi nee enakku’ (KJY & Neeraja), SPB’s rousing ‘Achchamillai achchamillai’ all go make Ezhaavathu Manithan one of Tamil Cinema’s finest albums ever.

Listen to the ever popular Kaakai Chiraginile:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVkG3N2q4ZY

The same year, LV scored music for C.V. Rajendran’s ‘Lottery ticket’ (R.V. Creations). The movie had Mohan, Prabhu and Suhasini in the lead and LV’s songs for the movie enjoyed repeated airtime. The magnificence of imagination that is evident in the Vani solo ‘Aavaniyai kondaada vandhaan’ is striking. In the course of an interesting conversation with Vani Jairam, I recall her paying glowing panegyrics to LV’s infinite talents. The gentle flight of romance that the fluffy Jayachandran-Vani duet ‘Kannil vandhaai nenjil nindraai’ takes us on passes through languorous skies of wistful enchantment…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqRv0ts43MQ

‘Kavithai Paada Neramillai (1987/ Maya Scope Film Company) was the next opportunity that came LV’s way. Starring Shanawaz, Amala & Yugi Sethu, the film was Yugi Sethu’s remake of N.Chandra’s Ankush. Unfortunately, Yugi Sethu let his quirky ideas rob the screenplay of its original tautness and arresting appeal, and the movie was dismissed with the contempt it deserved. Lured by a gorgeous Amala, I recall watching a noon show of this dismal debacle in a near-empty Devi Paradise with a group of friends, and we were filled with chagrin at the disjointed narration.

However, LV worked enthusiastically to give the movie an album that it little deserved. ‘Pulli vaiththavan iraivan’ glitters with the philosophical lines of Ilandevan enhanced manifold by a pensive Yesudas. ‘Ilaya thalaimurai kodi katta vendum’ is an enterprising experiment- Vairamuthu’s rousing lyrics rendered by an inspired SPB with the proceedings punctuated imaginatively with poetry recitals of C. Mani and Athmaram, and hold your breath… an extract of news read by H. Ramakrishnan! ‘Thoduvaanam nijamalla’ is a lyrical argument with Vairamuthu putting forth the views of both the rebellious youth and the level-headed girl; Rajkumar Bharathi and S. Janaki render the lines with élan.

My favorite from this forgotten album is the ethereal ‘Putham Pudhu Ulagam’ by Janaki. What is life if full of care, we don’t have time to stand and stare’ lamented W.H. Davies. Vairamuthu echoes similar thoughts with his own poetic flourishes here. A young woman is awestruck at the sweeping vistas that nature unfolds…. Lit by the setting sun, the iridescent sky beckons to her, even as a brand new world out there reveals itself in all its glory. She sighs in bliss at this visual extravaganza and describes excitedly all that she spies. She then bemoans the pathetic plight of man whose mundane worries have made him indifferent to nature’s bounty. I remember bewitching Amala singing this song on screen…Janaki in her honeyed, soothing elements… hark at her ring in a rhapsody of serene rapture; of course she cannot resist a half-suppressed giggle of gaiety while she exclaims ‘Iyarkaiyellam sirikkirathe!’… What a kaleidoscope of enchanting images does LV conjure up with his brilliant orchestration! Only a person who has drunken deep of both Western and Carnatic music could cast such a spell, and of course LV was a cornucopia of creativity… LV responds to Janaki’s notes at the end… What an amazing artiste he was!

'En kaathal kaNmaNi’ (1990/ Progressive Cine Arts) starring Vikram and ‘Dasarathan’ (1993/ Aalayam Cinema) starring Saratkumar were the other movies over the years which had songs composed by LV. The charming mischief in ‘Ennai vittu pirivathu niyayamaaguma’ (En kaathal kanmani/ SPB & Chitra), the caressing coalescence of KJY and SPB that ‘Aaraaro aariraaro’ (Dasarathan) made possible—these samples suffice to bespeak LV’s musical genius. Going by sheer numbers, he may be an insignificant speck in the vast Tamil film music horizon; but in the pantheon of melody makers whose each creation is an exquisite work of art, LV looms large and luminous.

LV is said to have composed the background music for ‘Mugathil Mugam Paarkkalaam’ (1979), for which IR composed the songs. Another movie for which LV composed the bgm was the Sivaji Ganesan- Arjun starrer ‘Mannavaru Chinnavaru’ (1998/ Kalaipuli International), for which an obscure Geethapriyan composed the songs. LV’s wonderful music was the unspoken word and the unsung song in Singitam Srinivasa Rao’s silent ‘Pesum Padam’ (1987/ Mandakini Chitra). The Kannada version ‘Pushpaka Vimaana’ fetched LV the Karnataka State Award for the Best Music Director. Balumahendra came to LV to secure an exquisite bgm for his Doordarshan movie ‘Sandhya Raagam’ (1989), and LV filled the frames that spoke of an old man’s loneliness with a haunting score from a lone flute. LV composed the bgm for award winning films like Jayabharathy’s ‘Uchchi veyil’ (1990/ Jwala), K.S. Sethumadhavan’s ‘Marupakkam’ (1991/ NFDC) and Amshan Kumar’s video documentary ‘Subramaniya Bharathi’ (1999). Kanala N.T. Sastry’s riveting ‘Harvesting Baby Girls’ (2003), ‘Oruththi’ (based on Ki. Rajanarayanan’s ‘Kidai’) that was screened in the Indian Panorama of the International Film Festival of 2003, K. Muthukumar’s short film ‘Pirantha naal’ (2005), and ‘SheWrite’ (2005) based on the lives and works of four Tamil women poets, directed by Anjali Monteiro and K. P. Jayashankar were the diverse ventures that were embellished with LV’s arresting background score. Prior to his demise, LV had just completed composing the music for the animation movie ‘Lava Kusha’ that was produced in Telugu, Hindi and English. In an interview Theodore Bhaskaran remarked “Very few music directors, with the possible exception of L. Vaidyanathan and Salil Chowdhury, have demonstrated an understanding of the medium of cinema and the role of musical score in the narrative.”

If these were LV’s achievements in film music, his noteworthy efforts in the non-film oeuvre are too numerous to list. Accompanied by his illustrious brothers L. Subramaniam and L. Shankar, LV has performed in live concerts all over the world. I have read an old review of a landmark performance of the three brothers at the Music Academy on December 29, 1966, and the reviewer was falling short of words to praise the talented youngsters.

Shankar Nag’s adaptation for Doordrashan of R.K.Narayan’s ‘Malgudi Days’ remains an integral part of the memories of many of us who grew up in the 80s. And just like we can never forget Swami and his escapades, LV’s folksy title score for the serial, with his endearing ‘thaa na na’ will always have a special place in our hearts.

Listen to Malgudi Days title score:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLHE5KnVpPk

LV had effortlessly married Eastern and Western influences, assimilating Carnatic music with pop, rock and jazz, and his abundant talents are revealed in various albums that he was involved in over the years. LV collaborated with his two illustrious brothers L. Subramaniam and L. Shankar, and accompanied by Palghat T.S. Mnai Iyer on the mridangam and the siblings came out with scintillating album ‘The Violin Trio’. LV also brought out the album ‘Violin Duet’ wherein he has worked with Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi. ‘Navagrahas- Signs of Destiny’ (Rajkumar Bharathi), ‘Panchabhutam’ (Bombay Jayashri), ‘Shri Mahalakshmi Ashtothram’, ‘Shri Kadgamaala Stotram’ and ‘Baagyada lakshmi Baramma’ (all sung by Aruna Sairam), ‘Engengum Sakthiyada’ (T.L. Maharajan/Sujata/ Sindu) and ‘Mata Ka Jagran’ (Narendra Chanchal) are successful albums by LV. Trailblazing albums like ‘Nirvana- Music of the Soul’, ‘Musical Yatra’ and ‘Journey to India’ have fetched LV international laurels.

LV was invited by the Singapore Indian Orchestra & Choir and he worked with them on the album ‘Musical cascade- Gaanavarshini’. LV brought together talented performers from the Singapore Indian Orchestra, Orkestra Melayu Singapura and the Youth Chinese Orchestra to perform at the Festival of Asian Performing Arts at Singapore in June 1997. Titled ‘Crossroads’, the music was a fusion piece made up of Indian, Malay and Chinese elements, and was conducted by LV. Again, on 15 June 2002, at the International Arts Festival at Singapore, LV conducted a fusion-piece concert, ‘Sangamam’, which combined Indian, Malay, Chinese and Western musical elements. Wedding songs from all over the world, a startling crossover between Antonio Vivaldi and Tyagaraja, an eastern adaptation of Mozart’s symphony and a medley of Indian, Malay and Chinese folk styles were LV’s inventive compositions that made ‘Sangamam’ an enormous success.

LV was also actively associated with composing music for dance productions. His music for danseuse Parvathi Ravi Ghantasala’s ballets ‘Annamiah’ and ‘Uchchi Thilagam’ received wholesome praise. After years of outstanding musical achievements, LV belatedly found place in the list of ‘Kalaimaamani’ awardees in 2003. LV was among the chief guests at `Lissenup Fest 2003', a cultural event organized by the SAE Technology College in Chennai in which 15 city colleges had participated, and the youthful enthusiasm of the talented composer was a joyful revelation to the students. LV served as a member of the Jury for the 52nd National Film Awards in 2005.

LV’s son Ganesan is proving to be a chip of the old block. A trained sound engineer, Ganesan assisted his father on the background score for ‘SheWrite’, besides working as the audio engineer for the movie. He was actively involved in recent albums like ‘Gently for You’ (Classical Piano, Additional Keyboard & Drum Programming by Ganesan) and ‘Explosions-2’ (Keyboard programming by Ganesan). The Tamil movie ‘Pathukku Pathu’ (2009) came out with Ganesan’s music.. Here’s wishing the youngster all the very best in his endeavours! He will certainly be blessed by his illustrious father, the unassuming genius called LV...

Few hearts like his, with virtue warm'd,
Few heads with knowledge so informed:
If there's another world, he lives in bliss;
If there is none, he made the best of this…
- Robert Burns
-Saravanan Natarajan

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