Saravanan Natarajan writes:
'Hitler Umanath' (1982/ PVT Productions) was the third and last in the ‘Nath’ series that Sivaji chose to indulge in. Based on a stage play (Story: Mahendran, Dialogues: Mouli) and directed by veteran P. Madhavan, the movie had Sivaji Ganesan, K.R.Vijaya, 'Major' Sundararajan and Surulirajan in the lead roles.
M.S. Viswanthan set to music the lyrics written by Kannadasan, Vaali and Subbu Arumugam. For this Villuppaattu written by Subbu Arumugam, MSV seems to have been content to let the honours lie with Malaysia Vasudevan, Surulirajan and of course Subbu Arumugam.
Malaysia Vasudevan is astounding as Surulirajan's singing voice, and gets all the nuances of villuppaattu right. But it is Surulirajan (going by the lines he seems here to be an office peon trying to ingratiate himself into the good books of his superior) who steals the show with his naive, ebullient narration, frequent amusing quips and occasional exasperated rejoinders to the misplaced enthusiasm of his troupe members.
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'தந்தனத்தோம் என்று சொல்லியே, வில்லினில் பாட வந்தருள்வாய்...' the vibrant resonance of cymbals, the merry jingle of bells, the steadying reassurance of the veesukol striking the string ..the unobtrusive throat clearing.. and the raconteur is ready to tell his tale. Interspersing the narration with songs composed mostly impromptu to suit the theme and audience, he is wise and witty and leads his troupe through an animated interactive performance that has the audience spellbound.
Villuppaattu (the bow song) is an ancient art of story telling. Like Alha of Uttar Pradesh, Burra Katha of Andhra Pradesh, Kabin of Bengal, Lavani of Maharashtra and Gee-Gee of Karnataka, the Villuppaattu is a traditional performing art of Tamilnadu. Also called 'villaadi', ‘villaadippaattu', 'villadichaanpaattu', 'villisai' or simply 'villu', Villuppaattu was traditionally performed at temple festivities in the southern districts of Tirunelveli, Thoothukkudi, Nagerkoil and Kanyakumari. One long held view is that a court poet of the 15th century invented the Villuppaattu, while other accounts say that this art traces its origin to the 16th or 17th century. Researchers are divided over the issue though; some insist that it was in existence much earlier.
The சிலப்பதிகாரம் has references to Villuppaattu. Justice Maharaja Pillai reckons Villuppaattu to date from the times of ancient man, while researchers like Shanmugasundaram, Somaley and Perumal peg its origin to the heroic age. Kailasapathy compares this epic tradition with that prevalent in Ancient Greece. Iaympillai concludes that villuppaattu was in existence even in the 9th century. N. Vanamamalai's comprehensive analysis is held as the finest study on this folk art. Arjun Appadurai, Frank Korom and Margaret Mills have come out with some fascinating insights in their 'Gender, Genre and Power in South Asian Expressive Traditions'. Stuart Hart Blackburn, considered an expert on folklore and oral literature of the South and North-East India, toured the southern districts extensively and researched deeply into the history of villuppaattu. His PH.D thesis in 1980 submitted to the University of California, Berkeley titled 'Performance as Paradigm- The Tamil Bow Song Tradition' is considered the last word on this traditional art form.
The villu is a 7 or 8 feet long lacquered bow made either from a bamboo stick or from the branch of a palmyra or Jack fruit tree. This is fitted with a chord of hide or verve. A number of bells are hung from the chord. The middle of the bow rests on an earthen pot. A typical villuppaattu troupe consists of 5 members. The lead performer, who is the chief narrator, holds the two veesukOls (shafts) one in each hand and striking them on the chord to produce the rhythm, he narrates, sings, questions, enacts, gesticulates.. The udukkai, jalra, and kudam are the instruments wielded by the other members. One member sitting by the side of the lead singer queries, comments and engages in role-playing with him.
Villuppaattu has seen shifts in focus, content and style over the centuries depending on contemporary need. In ancient times, the primary intention was to prevent the audience from falling asleep; hence the artistes narrated engrossing tales from mythology/ folklore and history such as சுடலைமாடன் கதை, எசக்கி கதை, கான்ஸாஹப் கதை, நீலி கதை and அஞ்சு ராஜாக்கள் கதை. Such myths, epics and ballads emphasized good morals and concluded with good triumphing over evil, imbibing ceremonial rituals with social, secular and universal values.
During the freedom struggle, Villuppaattu was used to inspire people to fight against the British tyranny. Biographies of great leaders and social reformers were subsequently incorporated as themes of Villuppaattu. In modern times, science, technological advancements inagriculture, health, hygiene and social awareness have all been found propagation through Villuppaattu.
Thovalai Sundaram Pillai, Sathur P. Pitchai Kutti, Vilathikulam Rajalakshmi, Srinivasan, Sevalkulam Thangaiya, Elappa Pillai, Kovilpatti Chinnappa, Sivakasi Kanthimathi and Kanchipuram Muthuganesan were some famous exponents of Villuppaattu over the years. 'Kalaivaanar' N.S.Krishnan is said to have rejuvenated the art form in the 1940s touring the southern districts performing a Villuppaattu on Gandhi's Dandi March. Kothamangalam Subbu's காந்தி மகான் கதை was a hugely popular villuppaattu. Actor 'Kuladeivam' Rajagopal was another famous villuppaattu exponent. Actor S.S.Rajendran gave villuppaattu performances on several occasions. Kanchipuram Vajravelu, Athur Gomathi and Muthulakshmi are contemporary villuppaattu artistes. However, the one name that comes to mind at the very mention of villuppaattu is that of Subbu Arumugam.
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'Kalaimaamani' Subbu Arumugam was born in 1928 in Sathirapudhukulam near Tirunelveli. 'villupaattu was born here and I grew up in a surrounding where I could hear villuppaattu throughout the day, explains Subbu Arumugam as to how he was attracted to the art form. His parents were Avana Subbiah Pillai and Subbammal. Nurturing an abiding passion for Tamil and music since early childhood, Subbu Arumugam's first anthology of poems 'குமரன் பாட்டு' was published when he was barely 14 years old. When NSK visited 'Hindu College' in 1948, he was highly impressed with a song on Gandhi that Subbu composed spontaneously and invited the talented youngster to stay with him in Madras. Some of NSK's comedy sequences were written by Subbu during this period. He also penned the lyrics for some film songs like பொய்யெனும் காட்டில், இனிதான தென்றல், அன்போடு இன்பமாய் வாழலாம் (all from விடுதலை), நாட்டில் நீதி (அதிசயப்பெண்), 'துள்ளித்துள்ளி ஓடுது' (மீண்ட சொர்கம்) and உம்மேல கொண்ட காதல் (காதல் ஜோதி).
His first Villuppaattu performance in Madras was a biography of Gandhi in the presence of M.S.Subbulakshmi and Sadasivam. After the demise of N.S.Krishnan, Subbu became a full-fledged villuppaattu performer, ushering in a fresh lease of life for the art form threatened with extinction. His Villuppaattu secured a regular Sunday slot in AIR, Madras. Being a poet and writer as well, he brought in refreshing lyrical simplicity and elegance to the content, and has widened the scope of the art form by selecting a range of subjects- mythology, biographies, social and health related issues like family planning, evils of drink, small savings, khadi, agriculture-related issues, women's rights, AIDS, safety measures in factories, hygiene.
The Kanchi Paramacharya was an avowed fan of Subbu's art, and this is the greatest blessing that this birth has given him, says Subbu in an emotion-choked voice. Subbu's 'Kaladi mudhal Kanchi varai' is a moving homage to the great seer. Subbu has also been performing at Thiruvaiayaru during the Thyagarja Aradhana Festival for many years. He has conducted workshops for students of Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan and Rosary Matriculation schools.
Today Subbu Arumugam is the one of the very few practitioners of this ancient art form, having performed all over India, Srilanka and Singapore. His son Gandhi and Bharathi accompany him in his concerts. Gandhi's dissertation for M. Phil was on 'கவிஞர் சுப்பு ஆறுமுகம்- வில்லிசையில் நகைச்சுவை'. Bharathi's was on 'கவிஞர் சுப்பு ஆறுமுகம்- வில்லிசையில் தேசப்பற்று'. Subbu's elder daughter Subbulakshmi's M.Phil thesis was on 'Folk arts as a medium for non-formal education with special reference to Villuppaattu'. Eric Miller, a Ph.D student, had come down to Madras and after learning villuppaatu from Subbu Arumugam, presented a detailed paper titled 'Questions of Discipline and Genre: Storytelling Studies and Subbu Arumugam's Villuppaattu (Bow-Song)' at the University of Pennsylvania.
Subbu re-entered cinema with writing the comedy sequences for Nagesh in சின்னஞ்சிறு உலகம் (1966). In the aftermath of this success, Subbu went on to pen the comedy tracks for Nagesh in several movies like உலகம் இவ்வளவு தான், செல்வமகள், சொர்கம், அன்னை அபிரமி and வீட்டுக்கு ஒரு பிள்ளை.' 'மஞ்சக்கயிறு தாலி மஞ்சக்கயிறு' the song that Subbu wrote for Manorama (உனக்கும் வாழ்வு வரும்/1978) was a chart-topper in its time.
Listen to this song- how innovatively does Subbu employ the Villuppaattu to suit the sequence in the movie, and how adroitly does he manage to insert an ode to the Nadigar Thilakam into the lines! Even the seemingly insignificant insistence on getting paid ('ரூபா ரூபா..' that is drawn out of 'ஸ்வரூபா' while rendering Arunagirinathar's 'நாத விந்து கலாதி') is a reflection of an actual incident in Bharathiyar's life narrated by Justice Maharaja Pillai: When Bharathiyar was 8 years old, he was furious when a Villuppaattu singer at an Amman temple committed the sacrilege of reminding the organizers through his song to pay the arrears due to him!
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So go ahead and enjoy this hilarious caper!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG0oQSU5M9E&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhCDbNfiAso
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