மலர்ந்தும் மலராதவை # 17

Saravanan Natarajan writes:

மலர்ந்தும் மலராதவை # 17:

கொடை தந்த வள்ளல்….

The man continued to play the accordion and waves of nostalgia filled the air as one Hindi classic after another came to enchanting life in his nimble fingers. The diners at the Indian restaurant in Southall, London could not care less though; I had to move my table closer to the stage to enjoy the music above the din of the incessant chatter. It was around 10 years back - I had been on an assignment to Basing Stoke for a week and was starved for Indian, vegetarian food. And when a kind Malayali colleague offered to drive me to London for dinner one Friday evening, I jumped at his offer and it was thus that I found myself at this joint. As I tucked into the food, I became aware of live music, and it was this man who was playing the accordion with obvious enjoyment, unmindful of the lack of attention.

The scintillating performance was completed to indifferent applause, and a man, presumably the manager of the restaurant, presented a memento the musician and gave a small speech thanking him. It was only when he mentioned ‘K.J. Joy’, that I gave the musician more attention. I looked at him with wondering eyes, and then found myself rushing towards him. I greeted him and asked him incredulously if he was The K.J. Joy, the man behind many a gorgeous Malayalam song. With eyes twinkling behind the glasses, he admitted to being so and I shook his hands with happiness. ‘சிப்பியின்னுள்ளே முத்தாடும் சேதி’ I sang softly and he played the notes with amused indulgence. I took leave of him reluctantly as we had a long drive ahead of us.

As the car sped on its way to Basing Stoke that rainy night, I talked continuously of K.J. Joy and his works to my colleague, who though a Malayali, had lived in the UK all his life. We wondered together on the whimsical ways of life…. I thought back of those glorious years in the late 70s up to the mid-80s…the years when Joy’s baton was always in the air…There was a program called ‘Madhur Geetham’ between 4.30 and 5.30 on Vividh Bharathi, with 15 minutes for songs from each of the Southern languages. I used to tune into it as soon as I returned from school and Joy’s songs used to find place almost every day in the Malayalam segment. ‘Lalitha shasranama japangal’, ‘Bindu nee ananda’, ‘Pon thamarakal’, ‘Akkarayikkara ninnal’, ‘Manideepa naalaam’, ‘Amirthmozhugum gaanam’, ‘Thechipoove mizhithirakoo’, ‘Poomarathin chillakalil’, ‘Kurumozhi koonthalil’…. Each song a work of art, crafted to absolute perfection.

Joy had started off as a musician in the famed, magnificent orchestra of M.S. Viswanathan in the 60s. He was the accordion player for the Master and I also recall him stating in an interview that he was the first keyboard player in South Indian film music. He made his debut as an independent music director with the 1975 Malayalam movie ‘Love Letter’, and together with Shyam and A.T.Ummer, charted a refreshing course of light music in the following decade.

And in the midst of those prolific years, Joy worked on 2 Tamil movie albums as well- ‘யாருக்கு யார் காவல்’ (1979) was an adaptation of Sujatha’s ‘ஜன்னல் மலர்’- an adaptation that the anguished writer was quick to disown. However, Joy’s ‘சிப்பியின்னுள்ளே முத்தாடும் சேதி’, sung by SPB & P. Susheela, with its celebrated accordion flourishes managed to hog the airwaves even in the face of the Ilaiyaraja juggernaut. Again, the 1980 movie ‘அந்தரங்கம் ஊமையானது’ might all be forgotten today, but Joy’s creations such as the ebullient SPB- Janaki duet ‘காதல் நதியே கங்கை நதியே’ and the caressing Yesudas solo ‘மலர்கள் சொறியும் பூமரங்கள்’ linger on in memory…

To see that gifted musician and prolific composer reduced to playing the accordion to an uncaring audience in a London restaurant filled me with grief….

I chanced upon this video on KJ Joy recently and discovered the Malayalam original of ‘சிப்பியின்னுள்ளே’. But to see an ailing Joy recalling his career and reiterating his reverence for MSV summoned back my hapless rage at the capricious deal that is called life…

http://www.mathrubhumi.com/tv/Programs/Episode/1655

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I was rearranging some CDs in my collection last weekend when I discovered this song amidst some obscure numbers from the early 80s. Presenting it as part of this series today- a song that Joy composed for ‘கொம்புத்தேன்’ a Tamil movie of 1982 vintage, that, to the best of my knowledge, remains unreleased. During his years with MSV, Joy had fallen under the spell of the majesty of TMS and the dulcet tones of Susheela, and invites them to sing this lovely duet. Though I find the names of a Gopal & Sreepathy added to that of Joy in some sites, I distinctly recall this song being credited solely to K.J. Joy in the Radio Ceylon announcements. Joy strings together Kannadasan’s lines to a haunting tune and the veteran singers conjure up the magic of a bygone era…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76bpatjV8gs&feature=youtu.be

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