Sendu malli malaiyo - Manthiri Kumaran

Saravanan Natarajan writes:

Rajan-Nagendra Part 1:

Reminded of the talented M.K. Atmanathan by Kumaraswamy Sundar’s post, I dug up some of my old collections over the weekend. Began with listening to the Edhaiyam Thangum Idhayam album for which Athmanthan had written some songs. Lulled by the lilting compositions of T.R. Papa (9 of them in all), I was shaken out of my reverie when Seergazhi Govindarajan began on a high note with ‘Vidiyum varai kaathiruppen’. Filled with joy at listening anew to this forgotten treasure, I realized that besides Edhayam Thangum Idhayam, the CD also had songs from the obscure ‘Ellorum Vaazha Vendum’.

I sat back with rapturous anticipation of the treat that was to follow, for I remembered that this album had some magnificent compositions that have sadly remained unnoticed…and my thoughts went naturally to the immensely talented brothers Rajan-Nagendra who had worked with passion to create a memorable score for their first Tamil venture…
* * * * *

Rajan & Nagendra were brothers and were prolific composers in Kannada. They remained an enduring and endearing musical duo, composing music for reportedly 375 movies over 4 decades. No compilation of evergreen Kannada hits would be complete without the melodious compositions of R-N.

Rajan (born 1933) and Nagendrappa (1935- 2000) were born into a musically rich family in Shivarampet, Mysore. Their father Rajappa was a musician who had worked in live orchestras for silent movies and was known for his skills on the harmonium. Renowned musicians were frequent visitors at their house. Thus the children grew up in a household that reverberated with music all day long. After learning the rudiments of music from their father, the brothers underwent formal training under a reputed vocalist called Bidaram Krishnappa.

Therafter, Rajan learned to play the violin from vidwan R. R. Keshavamurthy and later enrolled as a student under the great Chowdiah. Nagendra continued his vocal training and also learned to play the Jaladharangam. In an interview, Rajan recalled, “I worked for some time as a typist in the education department and found it similar to the harmonium keys, so I also learnt to play the harmonium. A person was selling his veena for Rs. 25. I bought it and learnt to play the veena. I also used to play the flute.” The brothers performed as musicians in stage concerts of Jai Maruthi Orchestra in Mysore.

Even as children they astounded many trained musicians with their prodigious mastery- Nagendra would create magic on the Jalatharangam, while Rajan’s adroit playing of the violin was legendary.
Seeking greater opportunities, they went to Madras and worked under the pioneering composer H.R. Padmanabha Shastri. This was a great platform for the brothers to observe first-hand the art of composing and recording music for movies. Nagendra then returned to Mysore to complete his schooling and later worked with the innovative Kannada Bhavageethe singer and composer Pandeshwara Kalinga Rao (Remember the haunting Kalinga Rao- Jamunarani duet ‘Ennai ariyaamale’ from Manaiviye Manithanin Manickam?)

It was Nagendra who first made his debut in film music…he sang a duet in the movie 1952 movie ‘Sri Srinivasa Kalyana’ with the famed singer Amirbai Karnataki under the baton of veteran P. Shyamanna. Impressed by the talents of the young Nagendra, B. Vittalacharya, who was one of the producers of Sri Srinivasa Kalyana, commissioned Rajan- Nagendra to compose music for his richly-mounted ‘Sowbhagyalakshmi’ (1953) and there was no looking back ever since.

The brothers took up permanent residence in Madras where movies in all the four southern languages were being made. Their work throughout the 50s in Kannada movies such as Chanchalakumari, Kanyadana, Rajalakshmi, Muthaide Bhagya, Mangalyayoga, Maane Thumbida Hennu and Manege Bandha Mahalakshmi won them critical notice and a huge fan following.

Reminiscing on those heady years when there were no sound-proof recording rooms, Rajan said in an interview “We would record songs only at night, with two mikes – one for the singer and one for orchestra. And we would do it in an asbestos-covered shooting shed; no fan or AC! The music would be routed to a generator van with a recordist sitting inside.” It would then be printed on a negative (there was no way to instantly playback what they had recorded), and they would wait for movie theatres to finish their last show for the night before they could go in and listen to the tracks. And then, edit. And to ensure that shrutis of all instruments matched, Rajan recalled going to Bombay to get a tuning meter; all the musicians would tune up on that before performing live in the orchestra.

“We would record several takes but the tempo of each one would be different because of voltage problems. So we used a rhythm box to create a click track to maintain tempo. Now its common practise to create a click track, but when we introduced it, there was a lot of opposition from musicians.” It was only in the 60s that Madras got its recording studios with three-channel tracks to record singer, rhythm and orchestra, Rajan said in the interview.
* * * * *

Despite notching a string of hits in Kannada, Tamil cinema did not deign to encourage their timid overtures. Ellorum Vaazha Vendum (1962/ SRS Pictures), the title may have proclaimed righteously, but Rajan-Nagendra’s compositions therein found few takers. And this was grossly unfair, for every song in the album was crafted with painstaking care. Rajan- Nagendra worked with a bevy of the talented singers to come up with one stunner after another…

Andhi saayum velai (happy & pathos versions)- Jikki
Nalla thamizh vilakke- A.M. Raja & Jikki
Mayil vizhugum thanniyile- Tiruchi Loganathan
Ponnu ponnu ponnu- S. Janaki
Podhuma innum venuma- Jikki
Vichitirame manithan sarithirame- C. S. Jayaraman
Vidiyum varai kaathiruppen- Seergazhi Govindarajan
Aarambame inikkum- C.S. Jayaraman & Leela

It is a matter of wonder that the leading singers in Tamil film music of the time did not feature in this album, and R-N brought back singers who were beginning to be forgotten. And perhaps this was one of the reasons why the songs did not become popular…

Yet that doesn’t take away from each of the compositions the innate beauty that R-N invested into them.

Listen here to ‘Vidiyum varai kaathiruppen’, where Seergazhi Govindarajan sounds so achingly forlorn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBMfOJ1Y_Vw


Listen here to the dainty duet by A.M. Raja & Jikki- Nalla thamizh vilakke:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA7blU_kRYk


Ellorum Vaazha Vendum, with Balaji, Malini & M.R. Radha in its cast, was consigned to the cans within no time, and the songs that R-N so eagerly worked on did not elicit any notice.
* * * * *

Filmmaker B. Vittalacharya kept reminding us of the duo, as his many fairy-tale ventures dubbed into Tamil came with R-N’s music- Mandhirikumaran (1963), Veeradhi Veeran (1964) and Madurai Mannan (1966) to name a few.

At the insistence of Vittalacharya, R-N agreed to adapt the tune of Ravi’s immortal ‘Chaudhvin ka chand’ for Mandhirikumaran and bade TMS render this gentle number ‘Sendu malli maalaiyo’ as a solo and then again as a duet with P. Susheela. Watch the duet here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M72j5J6d9I


Another charming TMS- P. Susheela duet ‘Thendral poongavil nindraadum thogai’ from the movie was also popular in its time
:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4I7jwJaqGw


Ebullient and enticing as always, L.R. Eswari makes merry in this number from Veerathi Veeran:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaVliE0urXY



Innum innum idhu, a lovely TMS- S. Janaki duet from Veerathi Veeran was a favourite of Radio Ceylon. TMS in one of his rare mellow outings and a young Janaki add infinite allure to this caressing number:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9_WkEFN49Q



* * R-N in the 70s: To be covered in Part 2 * *

Discussion at:
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Iraivan padaitha ulagai ellam - Vaa Raja Vaa

Genius series - Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan
By Saravanan Natarajan

isaiyaai thamizhaai iruppavanE- Part 1

I have lived a life that is full…
I have traveled each and every highway...
And more, much more than this...
I did it my way.


- Paul Mustapha Abdi Anka

Sure he did it his way, and perhaps that is why Kunnakkudi Ramaswamy Vaidyanathan will be remembered forever. His demise on 8 September 2008 marked the end of a remarkable era. The heartfelt tributes that came pouring in from stalwarts and commoners alike were but a reflection of his enormous appeal. An outstanding classical violinist (albeit his scant regard for the disapproving purists), a trailblazing innovator who brought the magic of the violin to the masses, composer of thousands of stirring devotional songs, a daring creator who has usurped a chapter for himself in the annals of Tamil film music, a firm believer and propagator of the therapeutic effects of music, an exacting master who has tutored hordes of students on the intricacies of the violin in his famed gurukulam, the mainstay for 28 long years of the annual festival at Thivayyaru in honor of the presiding deity of Carnatic music….. KV was a genius of epic proportions….
* * * *

Boasting of a beautiful hilltop shrine, Kunnakkudi is a serene hamlet near Karaikkudi. It was here that KV was born on March 2 1935 to Ramaswamy Sastri and Meenakshi Ammal. ‘Sangeetha Sahitya Harikathapraveena’ Ramaswamy Sastri was a renowned Harikatha exponent. An erudite Sanskrit scholar, he was an acclaimed musician as well- the violin, veena, flute and jalatarangam came alive in exquisite enchantment in his hands. He was also a trained vocalist and had composed songs set to classical ragas. He has several students learning music and the vedas under him in his school ‘Shanmuga Vidya Saalai’.

KV’s sisters Subbulakshmi and Sundaralakshmi learned music from their father and used to present vocal recitals accompanied on the mridangam by their elder brother Ganapathisubramaniam and on the violin by Thirupathoor Haridas Rayar. Interestingly, despite being born in a household that reverberated with music, the child KV showed no inclination towards it. He seemed disinterested is studies as well and was content to spend most of his time in precincts of the hilltop Shanmuganathar temple. Rising early in the morning, the child would bathe in the Mayuragiri tank and cull flowers from the temple gardens for his father’s morning prayers. He would then return to the temple and listen with serene bliss to the odhuvaars reciting the ancient Thevaram verses and would join the priests chanting the Shanmuga Sahasranaamam. Thus his days passed in carefree happiness, not in the least bothered at the plethora of adjectives ranging from ‘good for nothing’ to ‘dunce’ that the villagers showered upon him.

However, destiny had other things in store for the 8 year-old boy and his happy-go-lucky days came to an end. Thirupathoor Haridas Rayar, the violinist who used to accompany KV’s sisters, failed to turn up for an important concert held during the annual Karthigai festival. Sastri was understandably irked and the next day when Rayar came home, he questioned Rayar rather crossly on his unexplained absence. Rayar gave a callous reply and added haughtily that though Rayar had taught his daughters to sing and son to play the mridangam, they were still dependent on him for playing the violin. The chagrined Sastri could not allow such arrogance going unchallenged and spying KV who was just entering the house, he caught hold of the child’s hand and vowed that he would make the child a skilled violinist. KV’s sisters and brother burst out laughing at this seemingly impossible event, and Haridas Rayar sniggered as he said that he would be the happiest person if KV could be so transformed. However, it was KV’s mother Meenakshi who held him in her arms and cajoled him to apply assiduously to his father’s lessons and make his words come true.


His loving mother’s words goaded the child KV into action. Though he started his lessons with a slight reluctance, he was soon entranced with the instrument and the music that gushed forth from it. And wonder of wonders, within a year, he accompanied his sisters and brother in a concert at the hilltop Shanmuganathar temple, presided by none other than an amazed Haridas Rayar! In an interview, KV credited this magical transformation to his father’s blessings, mother’s love and of course, divine intervention.

KV was soon accompanying his sisters in all their concerts when he got an unexpected opportunity to play for the redoubtable Ariyakkudi Ramanujam Iyengar. And this happened at the Vaikunta Ekadasi festival at Karaikkudi organized by a local businessman known as ‘Gadigarakkadai’ Naidu. Kunnakkudi recalled the momentous event thus, “Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, who was a close friend of my father, was performing in a village near ours, at a Krishna temple, for a festival. I accompanied my father to the festival. It so happened that the violinist who was to play for the concert did not turn up. So Ariyakudi spoke to my father and asked "Why don't you tell your son to play the violin for me?" My father was taken aback, because I used to play the violin only for small kutcheris. Ariyakudi asked me, "How many kirtanas have you learnt?" I very meekly said, "I know about ten to fifteen kirtanas." He blessed me and said "Come on, play confidently for my kutcheri". The performance was a big success.” This marked the beginning of KV’s jump to the big league, and soon enough he was playing for masters such as Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer, kalyanakrishna Baghavathar, T. K. Rangachari, Sathur Subramaniam, Madurai Mani, Sankarasivam and Palakkad Rama Bhagavatar. Besides the famed vocalists, KV also played the violin for instrumentalists such as S. Balachandar, T.N. Rajarathinam Pillai and Thiruvenkadu Subramaniya Pillai. Even at the age of 14, KV had mastered not less than 500 kritis.


Two events during this period were to remain in KV’s memory forever. One day a young ascetic with a luminous glow on his face accosted KV and asked him his name and if he was a violinist. Then seeing the sacred ash applied carelessly on KV’s forehead, he gave a KV a gentle slap and instructed him on how to apply the Vibhuti stripes and Kunkuma pottu on his forehead. When Ramaswamy Sastri heard of this, he was eager to meet the savant, but their search was futile. KV believed that the elusive saint was Lord Muruga Himself, and till the day KV’s mortal remains were consigned to flames, the Vibhuti and Kunkumam were applied as prescribed by the ascetic.

The second event that made a lasting impression on the teenager was when his father was lying seriously ill and had slipped into a coma for 26 days. At the instance of Dr. Ganapathisubramaniam, a physician who was also a musicologist, KV played the Bhairavi Ragam continuously for hours at his father’s bedside. Amazingly, Sastri’s eyes flickered and his cheeks were soon wet with tears. He recovered gradually and lived thereafter for several years. This incident instilled in KV a lifelong belief in the therapeutic effects of music.
* * * * *

It was at this juncture that KV made his foray into film music. As he recalled, “Right from my childhood, I was always interested in film songs, because most of the songs in those days had a classical base.” KV had accompanied the legendary M.K.Thyagaraja Bagavathar on some of his concerts, and the adulation that MKT received everywhere filled KV with a desire to make it big in cinema. The opportunity came through a family friend Venkataramana Rao who was a Jalatarangam player and a staff artiste in the Modern Theaters, Salem . Rao managed to convince the reluctant Sastri that KV would be paid a regular monthly salary which the family was in need of at that time. For his part, KV promised his father that he would continue his everyday routine of diligent practice so that he retained his unique bowing and fingering techniques.

At the Modern Theaters, KV was interviewed by none less than G. Ramanathan. GR was mightily impressed with the youngster’s dexterous handling of his favourite Charukesi, and admitted him into his orchestra at once. In due course, KV rose up to be a leading violinist in the troupe of S.M. Subbiah Naidu. He moved to Madras in 1952 in search of better opportunities. He was introduced to the Soolamangalam Sisters and was soon accompanying them on the violin in their concerts. Thereafter he played for Seergazhi Govindarajan, T.M. Soundararajan, P.Leela and N.L. Ganasaraswathi. It was then that KV formed his own ensemble and commenced composing devotional songs for HMV and Columbia. Among KV’s earliest devotional albums was Muruga Ganamrutham sung by Soolamangalam Sisters. He went on record more than 700 devotional songs, many of which became hugely popular and retain their appeal to this day. KV was also composing music for several stage plays during this time. Lyricist Poovai Senguttuvan once recalled a stage play called ‘Oviyan magan’ which was scripted by him, and which had songs composed by KV and sung by TMS and Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi.

It was in 1967 that a composition of KV first made it to cinema. KV had asked Poovai Senguttuvan to pen a paean to Lord Murugan for a devotional album to be sung by Soolamangalam Sisters. Poovai Senguttuvan hesitated, for he was an atheist, but under KV’s urging he eventually agreed. As he closed his eyes in contemplation, he recalled the cries of ‘Muruga Muruga’ that reverberated all around the Thiruparankundram hill when he had been to the shrine as a child. And so came forth the opening lines ‘thirupparankundRathil nee sirithaal, muruga, thiruthaNi malai meedhu ethirolikkum’. KV set the lines to tune and the song rendered by Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi and Jayalakshmi was recorded within one hour. The song turned out to be a chartbuster in its time and when the sisters rendered it as an invocation song in a film chamber function, A.P.Nagarajan, A.L.Sreenivasan and Kannadasan fell in love with it instantly. They were unanimous in their desire to include the song in the movie ‘Kandan Karunai’ that they were engaged in making at the time. When they approached KV, he agreed to their proposal willingly and it was thus that the song, rendered afresh by Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi and P. Suseela, found place in the movie. And it was this introduction to APN that led to KV making his debut as a music director 2 years later and again it was APN who retained KV as his music director in all his subsequent ventures.
* * * *

One morning KV had just completed his morning prayers when there was a knock at his door. It was a summons from APN, and when KV reached APN’s office, APN welcomed him with the words, ‘Vaa raja vaa!’ APN then revealed to a bewildered KV that the name of the movie that KV was going to compose music for was ‘Vaa Raja Vaa’. Disappointed at his big projects like ‘Thirumaal Perumai’ and ‘Gurudatchanai’ not doing well, APN embarked upon a series of low budget movies, completely eschewing front-ranking actors and technicians. ‘Vaa Raja Vaa’ was the first in this series.
Vaa Raajaa vaa (1969/ C.N.V.Productions) had a child actor Master Prabhakar in the lead role, supported by Seergazhi Govindarajan, Surulirajan, K.D. Santhanam, V.S. Raghavan, Baby Sumathi, Kumari Rukmini and others. The movie was written and directed by A.P. Nagarajan. The movie revolved around a 10 year-old boy Raja who works as a tourist guide in Mahabalipuram. He comes across a pillar on which there are engraved some pearls of wisdom. How the child realizes the truth in each one of the engraved proverbs and how they help him to upgrade his life form rest of the tale.
KV set about composing the songs, with Muthu, Sethu and Raghavan as his assistants. He seems to have obeyed APN’s dictum of avoiding front-ranking artistes and sat instead with an unusual set of lyricists- Ulundurpettai Shanmugham, Azha.Valliappa, Poovai Senguttuvan and Nellai Arulmani, and opted for Seergazhi Govindarajan and L.R. Eswari as his singers. Seergazhi Govindarajan played the role of a CID who dons the garb of a mendicant in order to nab a gang of thieves, and naturally sang his own songs. The first song that KV composed was ‘iRaivan padaitha ulagai ellaam manithan aaLugindRaan’ written by his good friend Poovai Senguttuvan and sung by Seergazhi Govindarajan. Filled with philosophical reflections, the song rendered in Seergazhi’s resonant voice marked an auspicious beginning to KV’s film career.

Listen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2vE0KQ4MMU

The buoyant ditty marked by an extended postlude ‘aadi paadi srikka vaipathu enga oorunga’ has L.R. Eswari accompanied by L.R. Anjali and chorus voices. ‘kallellam silai senjaan pallava raaja’ is a resounding ode to the majesty of Mahabalipuram penned by Azha. Valliappa and sung with gusto by the inimitable L.R. Eswari. The virutham ‘kaLLamilla piLLaiyidam kadavuLai kaNdEn’ that flows into ‘siRu kuzhandai vadivinilE deivam vandhu pEsudhamma’ written by Uludurpettai Shanmugam has Seergazhi at his ruminative best.

‘uNmai edhu poi edhunu oNNum puriyala’ is the last song in the album, written by Nellai Arulmani and sung by L.R.Eswari. In a crevice between two rocks, the child Raja sees a man trying to molest a woman, and rushes to her rescue. It is only then that he realizes that it was actually a movie being filmed, and the man and woman were playing the roles of the villain and heroine. Disconcerted at his hasty conclusion and unwarranted intervention, he runs away from the shooting spot and sings a song on how appearances can be deceptive.
Listen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TjIYnP8jP4

With the backdrop of Mahabalipuram and the simple story of an enterprising child, ‘Vaa Raja Vaa’ had a triumphant run of 100 days. KV’s songs became popular making his debut a grand success.

- To be continued….

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