Thodudaya seviyan - Kanmalar 1970

Genius Series - Dr.Balamuralikrishna - Part 1

- Saravanan Natarajan

During the course of the interesting conversation I was fortunate to have with singer Jayachandran earlier this year, we spoke of some songs of other singers that he was in awe of. One such name that sprung up more than once was Balamuralikrishna. Jayachandran raised his hands in reverence and added sadly that the great vocalist has not been keeping well in recent times.

"Padmavibhushan" "Sangeeta Kalanidhi" “Isai Perarignar” "Gana Sudhakara'' "Sur Singar'' "Geeta Kala Bharati'', “Chevalier”……the titles, doctorates, fellowships and awards that have been conferred on Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna are too many to recount. Suffice to say, he has richly deserved them all. Let us, on this platform, confine our recollections to his tryst with Tamil film music.

MBK made an enchanting entry in Sridhar's Kalaikkoyil (1964); the song was ‘Thangaratham vandhadhu veedhiyile’. But in spite of subsequent success in immortal songs like ‘Oru naal pddhumaa’, he could not make it big as a playback singer in Tamil cinema. Nevertheless, he brought lingering luster to each song that came his way, be it T.K. Ramamoorthi's ‘Arulvaaye nee arulvaaye’ (Sadhu Mirandaal-1966), S. Rajeswara Rao's ‘Aadhi anaadhiyum neeye’ and ‘Chinna china kanne’ with S. Janaki in Bhaktha prahalada (1967)- MBK himself acted as Narada in the film, T.G.Lingappa's ‘Puththam pudhu meni’ with P.Susheela in Subadhinam (1969) or the two wonderful songs for KVM in Kanmalar (1970): "Thodudaya seviyan’ (with Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi) and ‘Ambalathu nataraja’ (with S. Janaki).

Presenting here the stirring ‘Thodudaya seviyan’.

* * * * *

Kanmalar (1970/ Ganesh Movies) was scripted by Madurai Thirumaran and produced by V.K. Ramaswami and V.K. Muthuramalingam. The movie was directed by Pattu under the supervision of veterans Krishnan- Panju.

Gemini Ganesh played Kannan, the city bred engineer who comes to a picturesque hamlet to construct a viaduct, and ends up falling in love with the demure Valli, (Sarojadevi) daughter of an impoverished Odhuvaar. Sowcar Janaki played the sprightly and bold Vadivu, the close friend and trusted confidant of Valli, who performs the supreme sacrifice and helps in reuniting Kannan and Valli in the end. A cliched story, with the lead actors well past their prime, the movie was destined to fail.

* * * * * *

K.V. Mahadevan’s album was the silver lining here. Working with Maruthakasi, Kannadasan, Thanjaivaanan and Vaali, the Thirai Isai Thilakam composed six songs in all. ‘poo undu pinjundu’ written by Maruthakasi, is a jaunty ditty that KVM rightfully entrusted the vivacious L.R.Eswari with. Thanjaivaanan penned the pastoral delight ‘Aathangarai orathile yaarumilla nerathile’ sung with relish by TMS. P. Susheela reveled in the two solos that came her way, both by Kannadasan, ‘Adi aayee aayee aayee kalyaana kaalamadi’ and ‘Podhumada saami ponnu patta paadu’ .

KVM invited Balamuralikrishna to render the two remaining songs. As the songs were to be sung on-screen by veteran Nagiah, himself an accomplished singer, and considering that Nagiah was playing an Odhuvaar in the movie, KVM must have thought it apposite to send for MBK. And the venerable vocalist did ample justice to the compositions. One is the haunting ‘Paamaalai avar padikka poomaalai naan thodukka’ rendered by a soulful S. Janaki, with MBK singing the impassioned preamble,‘Ambalathu Nataraja’.
’
The other song, is of course, Thodudiya seviyan with which the movie opens…

* * * *

During my childhood vacations in my village, a round of the three local temples was an everyday routine. And at the ancient Eswaran temple, I remember being stirred to piety by the heartfelt lines sung at the sanctum by a tall, thin person smeared liberally with scared ash, whose half-closed eyes always radiated serenity. He was referred to simply as ‘Odhuvaar’ and this humble man commanded the respect of everyone in the village. I am sure many of you would have heard the songs of Odhuvaars reverberate in the interiors of temples that you frequent.

The history of Odhuvaars can be traced back to the time of King Raja Raja Chozhan. During the sixth to the ninth centuries, Sambandhar, Appar, Sundarar and Manikkavasagar were in the forefront of a grand revival of Saivism as against the inroads made by Buddhism and Jainism all over the South. Singing emotive paeans to Lord Siva that we classify under Thevaaram and Thiruvasakam, these savants toured the length and breadth of the country. These spontaneous outpourings were unfortunately believed to be lost in the remorseless march of time. At the turn of the 11th century, King Raja Raja Chozha, himself a fervent Saivaite, initiated a massive hunt for these hymns, and the leaf-bundles bearing the invaluable hymns were finally located in the Nataraja temple at Chidambaram. The king entrusted a scholar named Nambiandar Nambi with the sacred task of compiling the hymns. Collectively called as ‘Thirumurai’ these hymns in 12 volumes are the compositions of 27 ardent devotees of Lord Siva.

And to propagate these soul-stirring hymns across the temples in his kingdom, the king employed more than 3000 singers who were called Odhuvaars, the name derived from the verb ‘Odhu’ meaning ‘to chant’. The Odhuvaars were humble, deeply religious and extremely austere in their daily life. They had to undergo rigorous training in the art of temple singing from childhood under exacting teachers. Their talents were carefully honed, and selfless dedication to the Lord inculcated in them with diligence. Over the centuries, generations of Odhuvaars have held sway in our ancient temples, singing the Thirumurai hymns of timeless allure. It is a matter of regret that bereft of patronage and significant means of livelihood, the Odhuvaars are a rapidly dwindling community today… I remember reading somewhere that there are currently less than 50 Odhuvaars in Tamilnadu.

It is still possible though, that in the dimly lit interiors of some obscure temple in the South, a sonorous line from Thevaaram would waft through the crevices, and you would come across a valiant remnant of this vanishing tribe opening his soul to the Lord, unmindful of the din around him…

* * * * *

This song features one such Odhuvaar in a village temple… At the break of dawn, the temple bells toll; and in the gentle awakening of the day, as the doors of the sacred sanctum open, the aged minstrel draws his young students around him, and they recite the same piety-soaked verses that centuries ago a 3-year old child on the steps of the tank in the Seergazhi temple uttered in beatific response to his father’s puzzled query as who had fed him milk….the first Pathikam in the Panniru Thirumurai..

thOdudaiya seviyan vidai yEriyOr thuuveN madhi soodi
kaadudaiya sudalaip podi poosi ennuLLam kavar kaLvan
yEdudaiya malaraan munainaat panindhEtha aruL seidha
peedudaiya piramaapuram mEviya pemmaan ivanandRO

And moved by the tantalizing portrayal of the Lord in Sambandhar’s verses, the Odhuvaar breaks into a rapturous song of his own, ‘Odhuvaar un peyar Odhuvaar…’ he sings, immersed in the ecstatic contemplation of the divine. His daughter, who has been culling flowers from the garden and stringing them into beautiful garlands for the deity, joins her father midway, and her enchanting extolment is no less stirring…

* * * * *

When Kannadasan listened to the lines, he is believed to have assumed that they were also from the Thevaaram. When he was informed that they were, in fact, penned by Vaali, he is said to have hugged Vaali in joy. The chorus voices reciting the Thevaaram verses in unison give the song an arresting opening. MBK lends Vaali’s lines a salubrious serenity that is so becoming, and the remarkable Rajalakshmi adds her inimitable flourishes that seem to envelop the lines in a divine halo. KVM crafts a bewitching Khamas…

Song: Thodudaya seviyan
Film: Kanmalar (1970)
Vocals: M. Balamuralikrishna, Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi
Lyrics: Vaali
Music: K. V. Mahadevan

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1018417744856618/permalink/1245861095445614/