* * A tribute to the Chinnakuyil on her birthday * *
Saravanan Natarajan writes:
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If she is imploring plaintively ‘Kaahe sathaaye aajaa’ in one of the numerous Hindi FM stations, she is full of sensual remembrances of last night in Raat ka nasha abhi in another. The soothing ‘Mayangi poyi nyaan mayangi poyi’ which fetched her the Kerala State Award makes it the airwaves almost daily, a decade after it was first heard. The lilting ‘Malargal ketten’ was requested for and aired in Hello FM even today. Like most people who have a long drive to work, I try to beat the monotony by alternating between the various local radio stations. But on a typical morning I get to listen to the same voice, whichever channel I tune in to, whichever language it may be in. Hard luck on a guy who’s trying to beat monotony, you may think. But far from feeling bored, I listen with renewed amazement at the hitherto unscaled heights of glory that the unassuming Chithra has touched, and the nonchalant ease with which she seems to have bridged the seemingly insurmountable North-South divide, even while establishing herself firmly in the hearts of music lovers in all the four Southern states…* * * * *
For K.S. Chithra, life has been learning to expect the unexpected, and every turn has been full of delicious surprises. If things had gone according to her father’s initial plans, Chithra would have remained a music teacher in an obscure Tiruvananthapuram school. Krishnan Nair always pinned higher hopes on his elder daughter Beena, whom he thought had a bright future as a vocalist. Krishnan Nair was himself a vocalist of repute who performed regularly for AIR-Tiruvananthapuram, and his wife Shantakumari was a veeNai player and music teacher. Beena was gifted with a wondrous voice, and Krishnan Nair ensured that Beena was trained extensively from an early age. But it was little Chithra, born on July 27, 1963 in Tiruvananthapuram, who turned out to be a bundle of surprises, and who would make her father’s dreams come true. As a tiny tot, she is said to have nodded her head happily and sang along with a childish lisp when P. Susheela’s ‘Priyathama priyathama’ was being aired on the radio. Perhaps her destiny was chalked at that moment…
Playing with her dolls when Beena was being taught music, Chithra could recollect and sing whatever she had heard. She even sang a few lines for a music feature in an AIR broadcast when she was barely 5 years old. In a recent interview, Chithra remembered how academics never interested her, and even while walking to and fro on the terrace with a book in her hand and an exam on the morrow, her attention would be riveted on the snatches of the songs that could be heard from a neighborhood temple.
Krishnan Nair couldn’t but notice where his younger daughter’s interests were, and applied for the National Talent Search Scholarship on her behalf. Though the rules stipulated that the aspiring students ought to have learned music for two years, the 13-year old Chithra breezed through the rigorous interview, singing an intricate piece in Thodi that secured her a 7- year scholarship to learn music. Later, Chitra completed her B.A. in music, passing out with a university rank.
Chithra was learning music under Prof. Omanakkutty, when Omanakutty’s brother composer M.G.Radhakrishnan was on the lookout for a fresh voice.
The perspicacious Omanakutty pointed to Chithra, and thus Chithra entered the film world, singing a song of riddles for the movie ‘Attahaasam’. ‘I never thought that I would become a full-fledged playback singer even then!’ reminisces Chithra now, wondering anew at the unpredictable twists and turns that make up life. ‘During my school vacation, after my SSC exams, I sang a duet with Yesudas which was released before my first song. I was literally trembling with fear that day. Till then I had only seen and admired him from far. And now I was standing next to him, in the same room, singing a duet with him! Later I sang in several shows of Yesudas all over India as part of his troupe and also for his Tarangini cassettes.’
Music Directors who chanced to listen to Chithra when they came to the Tarangini Studios in Tiruvananthapuram were impressed with her, and film offers started pouring in gradually as Chithra became the favourite singer of upcoming composers such as Raveendran and Jerry Amaldev.
Raveendran was constantly urging Chithra to relocate to Madras, so that she could widen her horizons. But Chithra was reluctant to leave all that she was familiar with and come to Madras where she hardly knew anyone. She did make a trip to Madras though, to sing a song written by P.B. Srinivas and composed by S.P.Venkatesh for a Hindi film called Khushi Aur Khushi that was never released.
It was at this juncture that director Fazil was planning a Tamil remake of his Malayalam super hit Nokkethadhoorathu Kannum Nattu, and wanting Ilaiyaraja to score the music, arranged for Ilaiyaraja to see the movie. Intrigued by the female voice that brought the same luster as Yesudas did to the haunting ‘Aayiram kannumaai’ of Amaldev, Ilaiyaraja sent for Chithra. This was one summons that Chithra couldn’t resist, and the rest, as they say, is history. Chithra sang ‘பூஜைக்கேத்த பூவிது ’ with Gangaiamaran and the solo ‘கண்ணான கண்ணா உன்ன என்ன சொல்லி தாலாட்ட ’ under Ilaiyaraja’s baton for நீதானா அந்தக்குயில் , and there was no looking back….
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Tuning in late to தமிழ்ச்சேவை இரண்டு one morning sometime in 1985, I wondered for a second (just for a second!!) if Jency had returned to sing, as I listened to the last lines of the Jayachandran/Chithra duet ‘தேகம் சிறகடிக்கும் ’ (நானே ராஜா நானே மந்திரி ). But the second time I listened to the song a few days later, I realized that I had not heard the voice before; and a couple of pronunciation errors notwithstanding, found myself liking the new voice. Several albums wherein Chithra sang for Ilaiyaraja were released in the latter half of the same year:
‘அன்பே என் அன்பே நீயே எந்தன் ஆதாரம் ’ (உரிமை), ‘அந்த நிலாவத்தான ’ (முதல் மரியாதை ), the entire கீதாஞ்சலி album (that had gems like ‘மலரே பேசு மௌன மொழி ’, ‘துள்ளி எழுந்தது பாட்டு ’ and ‘ஒரு ஜீவன் அழைத்தது ), ‘ஊர் ஓரமா ஆத்துபக்கம் ’ (இதயக்கோயில் )…and presently, with பூவே பூச்சூடவா, தமிழ்சேவை இரண்டு started calling her‘சின்னக்குயில் சித்ரா’. Chithra had come to Tamil Film Music to stay. And this remarkable achiever rounded off her very first year in Tamil film music with a National Award winning performance in சிந்துபைரவி . ‘பாடறியேன் படிப்பறியேன்’ merging seamlessly into மரிமரிநின்னே had Chithra doing her mentor proud. Even in a recent interview she says humbly, “I owe a lot to Raja sir. He is the main reason for whatever I have achieved so far, and I will be forever grateful to him”.
In the very next year, many and varied were the treasures that Ilaiyaraja presented to Chithra, and Chithra made sure that she adorned each one with grace and élan. ‘உன் பார்வையில் ஓராயிரம்’, ‘தேவனின் கோயில் மூடிய நேரம்’, ‘குழலூதும் கண்ணனுக்கு’, ‘காற்றோடு குழலின் நாதமே’, ‘இந்த வெண்ணிலா இங்கு வந்தது’, ‘நூறாண்டு காலங்கள் நீ வாழவேண்டும்’, ‘பொடி நடையா போறவளே ’, ‘சிலுக்கு தாவண ’, ‘என் ஜோடி மஞ்சக்குருவிi’, ‘கண்ணனை காண்பாயா’, ‘காதலி காதலி கண்கள் என்னை தீண்டு’, ‘காலம் இளவேனிற்காலம்’ were some of the winners that the Ilaiyaraja- Chithra teamwork came up with in 1986. And again it was in this year that Chithra did a fantastic job in புன்னகை மன்னன் . Save the brilliant ‘கவிதை கேளுங்கள்’ by Vani, the album was wholly Chithra’s. And she did full justice to the songs- be it the two duets with SPB or the two solos, ‘ஏதேதோ எண்ணம் வளர்த்தேன்’ being the first among the enticing equals.
The subsequent years saw Chithra rising to prominence as a mandatory inclusion in most Ilaiyaraja albums. The master saw to it that there was no genre of songs that Chithra left unexplored, and constantly coerced her to better her own best.
‘சிட்டுப்போல மெட்டுப்போல’,
‘நீ ஒரு காதல் சங்கீதம்’,
‘இளமை ரதத்தில் இயற்கை சுகத்தில்’,
‘வா வா வா கண்ணா வா’,
‘மலையோரம் வீசும் காத்து',
‘வா வெளியே இளம்பூங்குயிலே’,
‘ஒரு கிளியின் தனிமையிலே’,
‘கண்ணின் மணியே கண்ணின் மணியே’,
‘கண்ணா வருவாயா’,
‘சங்கத்தமிழ் கவியே’,
‘நின்னுக்கோரி வர்ணம்’,
‘வா வா அன்பே அன்பே’,
‘யாரை கேட்டு நீர் தான்’,
‘மலையோரம் மயிலே’,
‘உயிரே உயிரின் ஒளியே’,
‘வா வா வஞ்சி இள மானே’
‘சாமி என் தாலிக்கொடி’,
‘இதழில் கதை எழுதும் நேரமிது’,
‘என்ன சமையலோ’,
‘நான் என்பது நீயல்லவோ’,
‘முத்தமிழ் கவியே வருக’,
‘தென்பாண்டி தமிழே’,
‘என்னுயிரே வா என்னுயிரே’,
‘பூங்காற்றே இது போதும் என் உடல்’,
‘பூவும் தென்றல் காற்றும்’,
‘வானம் தொடாத மேகம்’,
‘இந்த மான் உந்தன் சொந்த மான்’,
‘குடகு மலை காற்றிலொரு’,
‘இசையாலே நான் வசமாகினேன்’,
‘குருவாயூரப்பா’,
‘மீனம்மா மீனம்மா’,
‘வானம்பாடி பாடும் நேரம்’,
‘மாருகோ மாருகோ’,
‘பூங்காற்று உன் பேர் சொல்ல’,
‘வந்ததே குங்குமம்’,
‘ரம்பம்பம் ஆரம்பம்’,
‘மத்தாப்பூ ஒரு பெண்’,
‘கல்யாண தேன் நிலா’,
‘ஒரு ராஜா வந்தானாம்’,
‘மழை வருது மழை வருது’,
‘சத்தம் வராமல் முத்தம்’,
‘மல்லிகையே மல்லிகையே தூதாகபோ’,
‘நிக்கட்டுமா போகட்டுமா’,
‘சொந்தம் வந்தது வந்தது’,
‘நேத்து ஒருத்தர ஒருத்தர’,
‘சொர்கத்தின் வாசற்படி’,
‘தூளியிலே ஆட வந்த’,
‘காதல் கவிதைகள் படித்திடும் நேரம்’,
‘கற்பூர முல்லை ஒன்று’,
‘பூங்காவியம் பேசும் ஓவியம்’,
‘யாரும் விளையாடும் தோட்டம்’,
‘ஆலைப்போல் வேலைப்போல்’,
‘தை பொங்கலும் வந்தது’,
‘சித்தக்கதி பூக்களே’,
‘மகராஜன்னோடு ராணி வந்து சேரும்’,
‘நாட்டுப்புற பாட்டு ஒண்ணு’,
‘இந்த பூவுக்கொரு அரசன்’,
‘உல்லாச பூங்காற்றே’,
‘செம்பூவே பூவே’,
‘மன்னன் கூரைச்சேலை மஞ்சம் பார்க்கும் மாலை’…. the list goes on…
* * * * *
And with Ilaiyaraja showing the way, the other composers too started sending for Chithra as well to bring to life many of their imaginative compositions. Gangai Amaran was her co-singer when Chithra sang her first song in Tamil, and later Chithra sang some noteworthy songs in GA’s music:‘சிங்காரக்காத்து’, ‘நீ தானா நெசந்தானா’, ‘சாதி மல்லிகை சமஞ்சு நிக்குது’, ‘மோகத்தை கொன்றுவிடு’, ‘சொல்ல வல்லையோ’, ‘ஸ்ரீ ரஞ்சனி என் சிவரஞ்சனி’, ‘காதல் பொல்லாது’, ‘பூந்தோட்டமே உனை நான் பார்க்கிறேன்’, ‘ஹீரோ வந்தாச்சுடி’.. GA composed music for the Malayalam film Anuraagi, and Chithra and Yesudas sang two enchanting versions of ‘Ekaanthathe neeyum anuraagiyaano’, Chithra had a soft solo ‘Udal ivide en uyir avide’ and had a caressing duet with Yesudas ‘Ranjani raagamano konjum mozhiyil’ .
Few and far between were the projects that came the MSV’s way at the time, but in his waning years the மெல்லிசை மன்னர் did give Chithra some treasured opportunities: ‘பூக்களும் வண்ண வண்ண கவிதைகள் படிக்கும்’, ‘இன்னைக்கு நடந்த நினைப்பிலே’, ‘சங்கீதம் என் நிம்மதி’, ‘சுகம் தரும் நிலா , ‘சரியென ஏழு ஸ்வரங்களும்’, ‘தாமரை இலையே தூது செல்லாயோ’, ‘எங்கும் இன்பம் காணுதே ’, ‘கன்னியவள் நாணுகிறாள்’, ‘என் அன்னை தேசமே’, ‘பொன்னோ மணியோ பூவோ கனியோ’, ‘சந்துமுனை சிந்துகளை படிப்போம்’, ‘கஸ்தூரி மான்குட்டியாம்’ ‘நீ முத்தமிட்டதும் என்னை கட்டிக்கொண்டதும்’….
Shankar-Ganesh’s star was on the decline from the mid -80s, but Chithra got to be part some of the flashes from their dying embers: ‘ஜானகி தேவி ராமனை தேடி, ‘ரோஜாப்பூ ஒரு பெண்ணானதே’, ‘மாசி மாசந்தான்’, ‘ஓடத்தண்ணி உப்புத்தண்ணி’, ‘சிட்டுக்குருவி தொட்டுத்தழுவி’, ‘ஓ தென்றலே’ , ‘ஒரு காதல் தேவதை’..
Chandrabose was one composer who was in great demand in the second half of the 80s, and he gave Chithra one of his best compositions in that period-‘மெதுவா மெதுவா ஒரு காதல் பாட்டு’. ‘சின்ன கண்ணா செல்ல கண்ணா’, ‘ஏதோ நடக்கிறது’, ‘பூ முடிக்கணும்’, ‘என் ராசாத்தி’, ‘வண்ணத்து பூச்சி வயசென்ன ஆச்சி’, ‘வான் மேகம் அது பூ தூவும்’, ‘இளங்குயில் பாடுதோ’,‘ரவிவர்மன் எழுதாத’, ‘தோடி ராகம் பாடவா’ were some other songs that Chithra sang for Chandrabose.
In his last movie, V. Kumar called Chithra to sing a caressing duet with SPB, ‘பட்டு பூச்சி பட்டு பூச்சி பூவெல்லாம்’. Kunnakkudi Vaithyanathan gave her some intricately structured songs in the unreleased ‘உலா வந்த நிலா.’ T. Rajendar turned to Chithra to render some of his compositions in that period such as ‘காதல் ஊர்வலம் இங்கே’, ‘அடி அம்மாடி சின்னப்பொண்ணு’, ‘சொல்லாமத்தானே’, ‘குக்கு குக்கு குயிலே’ and ‘தோள் மீது தாலாட்ட’.Raveendran and Jerry Amaldev had already reaped repeated success with Chithra in their Malayalam ventures, and so quite naturally when a few Tamil offers came their way, Chithra got to be part of these exciting collaborations as well. A one-film wonder like Murari can rest on his laurels like ‘சோலைக்குயில் நெஞ்சுக்குள்ளே’ and ‘மலை நாட்டு மச்சானே’ rendered by Chithra.
Any composer who got an opportunity to compose for a Tamil film in that period would compulsorily reserve at least one song for Chithra and wait patiently for her to fit the recording into her tight schedule; such was Chithra’s standing then.
R.D. Burman (நதியா நதியா நைல் நதியா), Laxmikant-Pyarelal (அச்சமில்லா பாதையில்), Bappi Lahiri (தகத்திமி தானா), V.S. Narasimhan (விழிகளில் கோடி அபிநயம்), L. Vaidyanathan (என்னை விட்டு பிரிவது நியாயமாகுமா), Devendran (கண்ணுக்குள் நூறு நிலவா / புத்தம்புது ஓலை வரும்), Hamsalekha (ராக்குயிலே கண்ணிலே என்னடி கோபம்/ சேலைக்கட்டும் பெண்ணுக்கொரு/ ஓ காதல் என்னை காதலிக்கவில்லை), M. Ranga Rao (குடும்பம் ஒரு கோயில்), Manoj-Gyan (சின்னகண்ணன் தோட்டத்து பூவாக/ கண்ணா நீ வாழ்க/ உள்ளம் உள்ளம் இன்பத்தில் துள்ளும் துள்ளும்/ அழகில் சோக்காத ஆண்களா), Bhagyaraj (அம்மாடி இதுதான் காதலா), SPB (உன்னை கண்ட பின்புதான்/ இதோ இதோ என் பல்லவி), S.A. Rajkumar (ஆயிரம் திருநாள்)
…Chithra worked with them all to come out with stunners time and again..
And the following decade brought about exhilarating changes in Tamil film music; a fresh set of talented composers like A.R.Rahman, Deva, Maragathamani, Vidyasagar, Sirpi and Bharadwaj burst upon the scene and many of them brought about original and inventive ideas in music, even as the old guard remained unfazed. … and all these composers entrusted Chithra with many of their best works. ARR has always relied upon Chithra to embellish many of his complex creations.
Some exquisite illustrations of this teamwork are ‘புத்தம் புது பூமி வேண்டும்’, ‘அஞ்சலி அஞ்சலி’, ‘அழகு நிலவே’, ‘என் மேல் விழுந்த மழைத்துளியே’, ‘தென் கிழக்கு சீமையிலே’, ‘கண்களில் என்ன ஈரமோ’, ‘காத்து காத்து’, ‘தென்மேற்கு பருவக்காற்று’, ‘தொட தொட மலர்ந்ததென்ன’, ‘கண்ணாளனே’, ‘உயிரே’, ‘மலர்களே மலர்களே’, ‘ஊ லாலாலா’ ‘தீண்டாய்’, ‘எங்கே எனது கவிதை’, 'கண்ணாமூச்சி ஏனடா’..
Deva was responsible for Chithra creating history of sorts singing the famous ‘ஒரு தாலி வரம்’ with 108 names of the divine Mother in breathless perfection; a song that vies with L.R.Eswari’s famed albums in blaring from loudspeakers during the Aadi month. ‘புல்வெளி புல்வெளி’, ‘சின்ன சின்ன பனித்துளி’, ‘பொருள் தேடும் பூமியில்’, ‘நிலாவே வா வா வா’, ‘முதல் முதலில் பார்த்தேன்’, ‘தொடுவானமாய் உனை பார்க்கிறேன்’, ‘வைகரையில் வந்ததென்ன வான்மதி’, ‘தங்க மகன் இன்று’, ‘ராசிதான் உன் ராசிதான்’, ‘மனசே மனசே’, ‘காலமெல்லாம் காதல் வாழ்க’,‘இதயம் இதயம் இணைகிறதே, ‘சிகப்பு கலரு சிங்குச்சான்’ are but few instances of the unforgettable songs that Chithra sang for Deva.
Maragathamani deserves a very special mention in the Chithra chronicle- even in the few Tamil films that he worked in, Maragathamani gave Chithra some of her best songs ever. ‘தத்தித்தோம்’ from Azhagan, in Chithra’s opinion, remains among the most challenging songs in her career. ‘நாடோடி மன்னர்களே’, ‘நீ ஆண்டவனா’, ‘கம்பங்காடே’ from வானமே எல்லை, ‘மறக்கமுடியவில்லை’ and the soulful ghazal ‘samundar baar baar aata hai’ from ஜாதிமல்லி are all magnificent works. ‘உயிரே உயிரே’ inspired from Enigma won popular appeal. The bilungual Devaraagam had Maragathamani composing some enchanting songs for Chithra.
Balabharathy (உன்னைதொட்ட தென்றல்), Adityan (ஒயிலா பாடும் பாட்டு/ வெள்ளி கொலுசு ஜதி போடுதே), Mahesh (பூங்குயில் பாடினால்), Sirpi (கன்னத்துல வை/ I love you love you /தென்றல் தென்றல் தென்றல் வந்து/ என்னை தேடாதோ /காதல் சொல்ல வார்த்தை வேண்டுமா), Ranjit Barot (மின்னலொரு கோடி), Aagosh (தொலைவினிலே/முந்தானை சேலை), Vidyasagar (பாடு பாடு பாரத பண்பாடு / அடி ஆத்தி/ அன்பே அன்பே நீ என் பிள்ளை / நீ காற்று நான் மரம்/ உடையாத வெண்ணிலா/ தேவதை வம்சம்/ தோம் தோம் தித்தித்தோம்/இரவு கவிதை கவிதை இரவு), Bharadwaj (ஒரு பூ வரையும் கவிதை / வானும் மண்ணும் கட்டிக்கொண்டது/ உன்னோடு வாழாத), Ramesh Vinayagam (காதலை வளர்த்தாய்)… they have all tasted stupendous successes with Chithra.
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If this was the story of Chithra’s tryst with Tamil film music, in Malayalam, for over two decades Chithra remained perched at unassailable heights. Pages can be written on Chithra’s triumphant reign in Malayalam, suffice to say that V.Dakshinamoorthi, M.B.Sreenivasan, Bombay Ravi, Shyam, M.G.Radhakrishnan, Johnson, Raveendran, Jerry Amaldev, Ouseppachan, Benny Ignatious, Sharath, Vidyasagar, Mohan Sitara, M.Jayachandran, Deepak Dev, Devi Sri Prasad, ….absolutely no composer who was part of Malayalam film music in this timeframe who could remain immune to Chithra’s magic. Chithra sang for one film album of Salil Chowdhury too: ‘Thumboli kadappuram’. And in the few Malayalam albums that came his way, Ilaiyaraja harnessed Chithra’s talents to the fullest.
Chithra has notched unprecedented successes in Telugu and Kannada as well, and no mean achievement, this. After P.Leela, Chithra is the only female singer from Kerala who could win the hearts of fans in all the fours southern states. It was veteran K.V. Mahadevan who introduced Chithra in Telugu; she sang her first Telugu song under his baton for the movie Pralayam. KVM also gave Chithra a challenging classical outing in Swatikiranam, where Chithra sang some breathtaking songs with Vani Jairam and SPB. Ilaiyaraja and Keeravani (Maragathamani) have given Chithra many, many wonderful songs in their Telugu albums. In an interview Chithra admitted that she found it very difficult to sing Telugu film songs initially, for she did not know the language, and most of the songs that she got to sing were fast-paced, where she had a tough time balancing correct pronunciation with expressive singing.
She expresses her gratitude to SPB with whom she got to sing many of her duets in Telugu- SPB used to explain the meaning of the lyrics and the teach her the correct pronunciation as well, she reveals. Today it would seem as though Telugu is her native tongue, so perfect are her pronunciation and accent. At the ‘Chithra Musical Nite’ held at the Laitha Kala Thoranam in Hyderabad in December 2005 with the first playback singer of Telugu cinema Ravu Balasaraswathi as the Chief Guest, Balasaraswathi observed that listening to Chithra’s perfectly rendered Telugu songs, no one would believe that Chithra was from Kerala. Heaping praise upon Chithra, Balasaraswathi exhorted the present day singers to take Chithra as their model.
ARR, of course, has made Chithra sing many of his Hindi numbers (Yeh haseen vaadiyaan /Kehna hi kya /Yaaron suno zara/Oo lalalala/ Yu hi tu/ Rang de basanti). Some of Chithra’s Hindi songs that rank high in my list, as they would in anyone else’s: ‘Tum bin kya hai jeena’ (Tum bin) where Chithra’s angst-filled rendition would move anyone who has felt the pang of separation from a loved one, ‘Kyun baar baar ankhon mein tum karwat lete ho’ (Filhaal) where she brings to life Gulzar’s sheer poetry, the title track of Tera jadu chal gaya, where Chithra is the sobering complement to Sonu Nigam’s operatic high, ‘Ganga chali tu kahaan’ (Pardes) where she teams up with Shankar Mahadevan to enthrall, Chup tum raho’ with Chithra and Maragathamani (MM Kreem here!) at their ethereal best, and ‘raat hamaari to’ where Chithra weeps for the wretched Lalita losing her beloved Shekhar (Parineeta). Chithra’s songs like ‘Roop suhaana lagta hai’ (lifted from Ottagathai kattikko), ‘Kasam ki kasam’, ‘Pyaar tune kya kiya’, ‘Khwaabon..khayaalon..khwaahishon ko chehra mila’, ‘Har subah bahut yaad aata hai’ and ‘Hum bhool gaye hain rakhke kaheen’ are very popular and find frequent airtime.
Composers Rajesh Roshan, Nadeem-Shravan, Anu Malik, Nikhil-Vinay and Ismail Durbar have expressed their admiration for Chithra. Lata and Asha have hailed Chithra as the best of the current generation singers. At the grand function got up at the Andheri Sports Complex to greet Lata Mangeshkar on turning 75, it was Chithra who at Lata’s express request opened the show with ‘Rasika balma’. However, Chithra’s Northern sojourn has not without its shades of unpleasantness. In an interview, she revealed that many of her Hindi songs were replaced with songs sung by another singer in the cassettes/ CDs and were even removed from the film tracks. “What pained me most was that they never bothered to inform me why my songs were being replaced. Initially, I was really hurt. But then…that was not the end of the world..” she philosophizes.
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Chithra is not inclined towards the current trend of remixes. She also regrets the loss of melody in today’s film music. “I wish the old magic of melody returns. Nowadays, the orchestra overrides a singer’s voice, suppressing it rather than supporting it. The quality of music apart, the standard of lyrics have also gone down. That is not because the lyricists are incapable of writing better songs, but because they are compelled to write inane stuff.” Repelled at the crude and suggestive innuendoes in the lyrics of a song she was once asked to render, Chithra requested timidly that they be altered. But she was told curtly that her brief was to only to sing and she was not to interfere with the lyricist’s work.
Chithra longs for the return of earlier days when there were live recordings with interesting interactions with co-singers, instrumentalists, composers and technicians, and there were practice sessions before the actual recording. She turns wistful when she muses over those wonderful sessions in the company of her seniors and associates. “I miss the live recordings with my co-singers. I used to learn a lot from them and we used to share a common bond of friendship. Today, we are asked to record from different locations and composers just splice our recordings together.
The human touch is gone. I cannot look into my co-singer’s eyes and feel the common passion of creating a tune anymore. I do not even know many of them by face!” she bemoans. But she has something to offer her solace- with remarkable foresight she has preserved recordings of the training sessions from the good old days when music directors taught her how to render their tunes. “This is something I value a great deal. The recordings include the voices of all the music directors who have taught me, right from M.S.Viswanathan and R.D.Burman. Sometimes, it is the Pallavi or the Charanam of a song, with some of them playing on their favourite instruments.” Priceless souvenirs indeed!
A Grade ‘A’ artiste of AIR and Doordarshan, Chithra has also sung film songs in Bengali, Oriya, Punjabi and even in Baduga! Chithra’s non-film albums have also elicited critical acclaim and commercial success. Her first Indipop venture was Salim- Suleiman’s ‘Ragga Ragga’ with the Voodoo Rapper. ‘Piya Basanti’ where Chithra teamed up with the legendary sarangi exponent Ustad Sultan Khan to sing the tunes composed by Sandesh Shandilya was a runaway hit, and went on to win the MTV Award. Another popular album of Chithra is ‘Sunset Point’, which had the unusual structure of Gulzar narrating a story, interspersed with songs sung by Bhupinder Singh and Chithra.
Of course, Chithra has sung numerous non-film albums in Malayalam. Her devotional songs such as ‘Guruvayooramarum’, ‘Chotaanikkara Devi’, ‘Achutham keshavam’, and ‘Govinda rama rama’ are popular in temple festivities all over Kerala. Chithra and Unni Menon sang for ONV Kurup’s private album called ‘Swarnarekha’ which had music by Salil Chowdhury. Her albums like ‘Classical Moods’ and ‘Devipriya’ have kirtans and bhajans soaked in piety. ‘Chaitrageethangal’ composed by the gifted Sharat, boasting of that fantastic ‘madhuram gaayathi madhuram’ by Chithra, has achieved record sales. Inreco released an album called ‘Annai Mookaambigaye’ which had Chithra singing paeans in Tamil to the Kollur Goddess. ‘’Enchanting Melodies’ (Padams of Swati Tirunaal) and ‘Krishnapriya’ are her other non-film ventures.
Chithra paid her homage to the one and only M.S.Subbalakshmi by coming out with an album titled ‘My Tribute’ wherein she has rendered the songs immortalized by MS like ‘Kurai ondrum illai’, ‘Bhavaayaami raghuraamam’ and ‘Kaatrinile varum geetham’. She sang in Usha Utup’s album in aid of Tsunami Relief- ‘We Believe in Now’.
Chithra is working towards venturing into full-fledged classical concerts. Her guru Omanakutty has declared that if she could snatch Chithra away for a just a month from playback singing, she would prepare her for a classical concert. While expressing her gratitude for her teacher’s confidence in her abilities, Chithra feels that she still has a long way to go. “My ambition had been, and still is, to be a classical vocalist. But what I have learnt so far is not enough. I am not yet ready for concerts. It needs a lot of training.” She made a timid foray by doing a classical music concert for the Surya festival though, and it did get favourable notice.
She owns a cassette company called ‘Audio Tracs.’ Managed by her husband, the company is into producing devotional and folk albums in Tamil and Malayalam by upcoming singers, lyricists and composers. She also owns a recording studio called Krishna Digi Design. Her beautiful house at 2/9, Anantha Ramakrishnan Street, Devaraj Nagar, Saligramam in Chennai is aptly named ‘Sruthi’.
Chithra has traveled extensively and performed in shows all over India and in the U.S., Canada, U.K, Germany, France, Australia, Sri Lanka and the Middle East. She has been part of memorable concerts of Ilaiyaraja and A.R.Rahman. She is the only singer from India to perform live in the House of Commons, London, and the first female singer from the South to perform live in the Royal Albert Hall. Her concert at Stadhalle in Zurich on 5th May 2005 had the newly renovated hall filled with frenzied fans even in the aisles. She has accompanied SPB in many of his shows. She has always been willing to perform in events that support charity; from the ‘Chithra Nite’ in aid of the Thiruvalla Junior Chamber to the ‘Santhwanam’ show for Tsunami victims, Chithra does her bit for social causes.
Chithra’s parents have departed for their heavenly abode, one after the other. Both her sister and brother are settled abroad. Her husband Vijayashankar is an electronics engineer, and though he has no musical training, shares Chithra’s devotion to music. “He has been very supportive, encouraging and undemanding.” says Chithra. After singing over 12,000 songs, she has cut down her assignments of late. After a long anxious wait of 15 years, Chithra became a mother. Brimming with happiness, Chithra said, “I feel whole now. Nandana is the center of my universe, and I want to take things easy. I did not travel till she was six months old. Even now, I have to sneak out for recordings without her knowledge!” But fate dealt her a vicious blow- in April 2011, Nandana, a special-needs child, drowned in a swimming pool and died before she could be rescued… Chithra remained a heartbroken recluse for a long time before slowly starting to appear in public and TV shows again…
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Numerous are the awards and honours that have been heaped on Chithra. She has the rare distinction of being the only female singer who has won the State Awards of all the four Southern States. Starting from 1985, she has won the Kerala State Award for the Best Female Playback Singer a record 15 times, overtaking Janaki’s earlier record of 12 Kerala State Awards. She has won 6 Andhra Pradesh ‘Nandi’Awards, 2 Karnataka State Awards and 4 Tamil Nadu State Awards. She was honoured with the Kalaimaamani Award in 1995.
Chithra has received 6 National Awards for the Best Female Playback Singer, and here again, this is a singular record. The first one was in 1985 for ‘Paadariyen paddippariyen’, and it this award that remains very special to her. “This song is unforgettable because I had to skip my MA Final exams to record it. It was Ilaiyaraja who helped me decide whether I should sing it. He said, “Music has much more in store for you than academics” she reminisces. She was on stage in a concert with Yesudas when the news came, and she came to know of it only when Yesudas announced it on stage. “But I did not believe it till I saw it in the papers the next day!” she recalls. She received her second National award the very next year for ‘ManjaL prasaadhavum’ from Nakakshathangal (1986), composed by Bombay Ravi. “I initially thought it might be singer Chitra Singh who has won the award, as I could not imagine winning the award twice in a row!” said an amazed Chithra at that time. Little did she realize that this was only the beginning!
It was another beautiful composition of Bombay Ravi that fetched Chithra her third National Award- ‘Indhupushpam choodi’ from Vaishaali (1988). The fourth was for the feet-tapping ‘Oo lalalala’ by ARR from Minsaara Kanavu (1996). The fifth was for ‘Paayalen chunmun chunmun’ from Viraasat (1997), which was a blatant lift by Anu Malik from Ilaiyaraja’s ‘Inji iduppazhaga’. Interestingly, Janaki had won the National Award in 1992 for rendering the Tamil original! Nonetheless, it was another feather in Chithra’s cap- she had become the first female singer from the South to have won the National Award for singing a Hindi song. The last one was for the stirring ‘ஒவ்வொரு பூக்களுமே’ from Autograph.
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But success, even in such mammoth proportions, sits lightly on Chithra’s shoulders. She remains humble, unaffected, non-controversial and simple.“I never expected to come to this field. It’s all destined!” she philosophizes. And if she hadn’t come to this field? “I would sing, nevertheless,” she avers. “Singing is my life. I would have taught music in a school or given tuitions” she adds, with her trademark smile. And yes, her constant smile is another factor that has endeared her to thousands of fans. SPB once surmised that she must have been born with it!
Chithra has time and again expressed her gratitude to all those who helped her reach where she is today. Her thanks are first to her father who was her first teacher as well. She then thanks Omanakkutty, M.G.Radhakrishnan and Yesudas for giving her the initial break, Jerry Amaldev and Raveendran for leading her to fame; Shyam, Kannor Rajan and Johnson for helping her move in the right direction; Ilaiyaraja for moulding her to become what she is today; S. Janaki for being her friend, philosopher and guide; and MSV, KVM, Satyam, Chakravarthi, ARR, Keeravani, Vidyasagar, Hamsalekha and Bharadwaj for giving her many wonderful songs. When asked to compare the working styles of Ilaiyaraja and ARR, Chithra says, “With Raja Sir, the orchestra is set beforehand and he teaches you how to sing. Rahman, on the other hand, will let you sing and then set the orchestra. He also retains all the takes and chooses the best ones.”
Chithra has always enjoyed an excellent rapport with her co-singers. Queried about singing earlier with Yesudas and SPB, and singing now with Vijay Yesudas and S.P.B.Charan, she laughs and exclaims that she has known both Charan and Vijay since their childhood, and they have a blast when singing with her. While singing ‘Dasettan’ and ‘Balu Sir’, however, she is respectfully attentive to their suggestions.
Chithra turns emotional when speaking of S. Janaki. “Janakiamma means a lot to me. I am very close to her. She is a living legend and I have learned a lot from her. If she goes to Kerala when I am there, she stays with me.” In another interview, Chithra recalled how in her initial years, Ilaiyaraja urged her to listen to Janaki’s songs to understand better the fine art of playback singing, and how Janaki motivated her and instilled confidence in her to try experimenting with her voice in songs like ‘ஒத்தையிலே நின்னதென்ன’ (Vanaja Girija) and ‘மாருகோ மாருகோ’ (Sathi Leelavathi)
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“Smt. Krishnan Nair Shanthakumari Chithra” boomed the resonant voice announcing the Padma Shri Awards at the glittering ceremony at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan on March 28th 2005. And as Chithra walked up the aisle to be decorated by President Abdul Kalam, it seemed as though her parents were there not only in name, but also in spirit, watching with pride their daughter being honored. And the moment also ended the collective angst of the Southerners that no female singer from the South had been considered for the Padma Awards all those years.
The photographers and journalists gathered there wanted a moment with Chithra. But where was she? A frantic search found her with Shahrukh Khan….getting his autograph! “It is for my sister’s children who are die-hard fans of Shahrukh…” stammered a blushing Chithra! When asked to say a few words on receiving this high honour, she said, “A little bit of music is all that I know, but it is everything to me. What I am today is wholly due to the blessings of my mentors...” But the beaming face revealed the rightful pride and joy within….
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On her birthday today, let us wish Chithra Chechi many more years of music…
Some numbers in my perennial playlist under different composers:
Ilaiyaraja:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mReUJ80KifA
Gangaiamaran:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBuPdlgOUj0
Chandrabose:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tydqH0tVAvw
Deva:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPT9cwSG_0U
Maragathamani:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyApdG4tGnw
Bharathwaj:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZda2-aAtV0
ARR:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E61HNXjgyqA
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