மலர்ந்தும் மலராதவை - 3

Saravanan Natarajan writes:

Malarndhum Malaradhavai - 3

பூவே....மல்லிகைப்பூவே....

The bustling Luz Corner in Chennai is always an ideal place for hoardings and wall posters, and from my early childhood I have always paused there awhile, glancing in fascination at the numerous garish notices. It was during one such walk that a hoarding atop the Luz Lodge caught my attention. The name of the film ( என் தங்கச்சி படிச்சவ), or the picture of a beaming Prabhu did not catch my fancy so much as the accompanying caption: “கங்கை அமரனின் 100வது படம்!" Honestly, I was startled at the thought that 100 films had come by with Gangaiamaran’s music.

Musing over what initially seemed to be an exaggerated claim, I realized presently that it could be true, as many of GA’s albums were for films that were packed off to the cans within a week of their release, or even worse, for films that had never been treated to even that one week’s outing. And the magic figure might have been arrived at after taking all these abandoned albums into reckoning. GA was truly unfortunate on this score- so many, oh so many of his wonderful compositions were wasted on nonstarters. Like ‘மலர்களில் அவள் மல்லிகை’, for instance.

The record sleeve of மலர்களில் அவள் மல்லிகை (V.S. Cine Creations) shows a bespectacled Master Shekar along with Sangeetha. Lavanya played the other female lead. Dialogues were by Sirumugai Ravi, and the story and screenplay were by the director of the movie, R. Anand. The producers of this ill-fated venture were Vijayakumar & Sukumar. The year mentioned on the record is 1979.

1979 was the year when Gangaiamaran made his debut as a Music Director, and from all accounts the first movie to be released in his music was கரை கடந்த ஒருத்தி. And the same year saw the releases of two other albums of GA too- சுவரில்லாத சித்திரங்கள் and ஒரு விடுகதை ஒரு தொடர்கதை, all boasting of some bewitching numbers. But I vaguely recall reading somewhere that மலர்களிலே அவள் மல்லிகை was the first album that GA bagged and he could never get over the disappointment at its accursed fate.

His frustration is quite understandable, for the songs in the album are incredibly good for a debutant composer. But Radio Ceylon’s munificence must have brought him some cheer, for even as Vividh Bharathi feigned ignorance of the album’s existence, good old தமிழ்ச்சேவை இரண்டு went to town with the songs of மலர்களிலே அவள் மல்லிகை.

GA had crafted 5 songs for the film, and each one is a treasured classic. ‘நானும் நீயும் இன்று இளைஞன்’ (Vaali) is nothing short of bottled ebullience, sung with joyous zest by SPB and Malaysia Vasudevan. In the haunting ‘இசையினிலே ராகம் பல நூறு’, P. Susheela, Poovai Senguttuvan and the piano vie with each other for the top honours. 'வானம் பூ சிந்தட்டும்’ (GA) has an archetypal GA beat, with Malaysia Vasudevan and Poorani giving a fair account of themselves.

‘பூவே மல்லிகைப்பூவே’ (Kannadasan) has a mesmerizing violin as the invisible third singer accompanying Jayachandran & S. Janaki. The song was hugely popular and found regular airtime in Radio Ceylon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKL3p661tuE

‘சிந்து நதியோரம், தென்றல் விளையாடும்’ is of course the first among these equals, and was anointed by Radio Ceylon as its pick of the lot. I can vividly remember being drawn by its melodious magnetism at that time. Gangaiamaran gives an early illustration of his abundant talent in the song’s masterful arrangements. The Charanam, with its lilting flow, is structured with intricate perfection. And Jayanchandran and Susheela render the high-pitched lines with characteristic felicity.
Unfortunately, the audio in the link available in YouTube tends to gallop at a pace that besmirches the sedate sweetness of the song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bzWA7v_AaQ

These two were among the songs I mentioned to Jayachandran when we met him last year, and he was delighted at the recall. He expressed his angst that such gorgeous songs remained buried deep in the remorseless sands of time…

Let us, on our part, resurrect them to rightful glory…

Discussion at:
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