SOTD #938: Two versions of vasanthangaL from Lalitha

[bb]

Song of the Day: Two versions of ‘vasanthagaL varum munbE’ from Lalitha.

http://www.dhool.com/sotd2/938.html

- Saravanan writes:

Ragapravaham Sundar and MSVTimes.com are jointly presenting “Vintage Visu” a grand concert featuring some scintillating compositions of MSV that have not received due attention over the years. The concert is scheduled to be held on 12 April 2008 at Dakshinamurthy Hall, PS High School, Chennai. The Mellisai Mannar has consented to be the chief guest. Here’s wishing the event all success!

For our part, let us dive deep into the MSV ocean one again, and see what we come up with…


* * * *

Two versions of ‘vasanthangaL varum munbE’ from Lalitha

Ashutosh Mukohopadhyay (1920-1989) was a popular Bengali writer and journalist many of whose engrossing stories have found celluloid adaptation. The most famous among them perhaps is the story ‘Nurse Mitra’ that was adapted by the brilliant Asit Sen as Deep Jwale Jai (1959). Asit Sen remade the classic in Hindi after 10 years as Khamoshi (1969).

Another of Ashutosh Mukohopadhyay’s stories that was made into a successful movie was Saath Pake Bandha. The story was fairly simple. The wealthy Archana falls in love with a principled college professor Sukhendu, despite the considerable differences in age and status. She goes ahead and marries him, unmindful of her haughty mother’s opposition. However, the idyll does not last long, the dream turns into a nightmare. Archana’s domineering mother sows the seeds of marital discord by her constant disdainful gibes at Sukhendu’s impoverished circumstances. The hurt Sukhendu becomes cold and aloof. Archana remonstrates with her mother, but her entreaties fall on deaf ears. Things reach a point of no return when Sekhendu demands that Archana severe all ties with her family. Caught between the two, she suffers and watches her marriage collapse. Sukhendu and Archana separate. Years roll by and finally when they meet, they find their defenses crumbling, and reunite with an understanding that the long years of separation had bestowed them with.

The movie ‘Saath Pake Bandha’ (1963) had the legendary Suchitra Sen playing Archana, with Soumitra Chatterjee as her Sukhendu. Chaya Devi portrayed with aplomb the snobbish mother and Pahadi Sanyal performed with restraint the role of the affectionate but helpless father. Hemanta Mukherjee scored the background music for the movie which did not have any songs. Directed by Ajoy Kar, ‘Saath Pake Bandha’ was a great success with Suchitra Sen walking away with the Best Actress Award at the prestigious Moscow Film Festival in 1963.

Anil Ganguly remade this movie in Hindi 11 years later, and ‘Koraa Kaagaz’ (1974/ Shreeji Films) remains a celluloid masterpiece of eternal appeal. As the piteous Archana torn under divided loyalties, the petite Jaya Bhaduri stands tall in her sensitive, delicately nuanced performance. Vijay Anand’s portrayal of Sukhesh was marked by dignified subtleties. Achala Sachdev was perfectly cast as Archana’s meddlesome mother, while A.K. Hangal was the natural choice for the father. Kalyanji-Anandji’s compositions such as ‘mEra jeevan koraa kaagaz’ and ‘rootE rootE piyaa’ have acquired the status of cult classics over the years.

Our Valampuri Somanathan was drawn to this story of marital discord and decided to tell it anew for the Tamil audience. He drafted the screenplay and wrote the dialogues, besides producing and directing the movie. Lalitha (1976/ Girnaar Films) had Sujatha and Gemini Ganesh essaying the lead roles. While Sujatha was an apt choice to bring forth the tumultuous suffering of the character, Gemini Ganesh looked aged and tired. Perhaps the choice was intentional, for even Vijay Anand had looked old beside the vivacious Jaya, and the story itself was that of a mismatch in age and wealth. Sukumari and Calcutta Viswanathan played Lalitha’s parents. The surprise however, was Kamalhasan in the role of Lalitha’s brother. The episodes relating to his love for Sumitra and the scenes involving veteran Thangavelu who played Sumitra’s father temper the somber proceedings with some light moments, even while leading to a startling twist.

* * * *

M.S. Viswanathan’s music was a delectable highpoint. Armed with Kannadasan’s bounty, the Mellisai Mannar composed a set of scintillating songs. Besides lending his own mystic mystique to the SOTD, MSV summoned all his favourite singers to do the needful and then called upon the venerable Thevaram singer of the Kapaleeswarar Temple, Lalgudi Swaminthan to render a few traditional verses. Thus we have the folksy ‘ennamma aaththOra kuruvi’ rendered by TMS & L.R. Eswari with characteristic gusto. Vani Jairam sings the endearing ‘kalyaaNamE oru peNNodu thaan’, the equivalent of Lata’s ‘rootE rootE piyaa’ in the Hindi version. SPB and Vani team up for that unforgettable ‘sorgathilE mudivaandhu, sondhathilE nilaiyaanadhu’, where Vani’s lines sum up the growing disillusionment of Lalitha. P. Suseela and MSV sing two versions of ‘vasanthangaL varum munbE’, MSV’s fitting answer to Kalyanji-Anandji’s touted ‘mEra jeevan koraa kaagaz’. MSV further springs a surprise by getting Lalgudi Swaminathan to chant the Thevaram verse ‘maNNil nalla vaNNam vaazhalaam’ which flows into ‘Oradi kadavutkaaga’, where Kannadasan’s lines glitter as veritable treatises on marriage vows and the spiritual union that the seven steps enshrine. K. Veeramani and Sripathi join Lalgudi Swaminathan midway and whole song takes on the aura of a benedictory hymn.

* * * *

I walked a mile with Pleasure,
she chattered all the way;
But left me none the wiser,
for all she had to say.
I walked a mile with Sorrow
and ne'er a word said she;
But, oh, the things I learned from her
when Sorrow walked with me!

- Robert Browning Hamilton (Along the Road)

The deed is done, the estrangement complete. She is left only with memories, a handful of them sweet, most of them bitter. She distances herself from all that is familiar by taking up teaching in an obscure school, with solitude her sole companion. Time is relentless in its march, and as each year comes and goes even loneliness becomes a way of life. And as she walks one day along her usual pathways, a thousand thoughts come cascading, even as this song is heard in the background.

The Hindi version had the haunting ‘mEra jeevan koraa kaagaz, koraa hi reh gayaa’, easily among Kishore Kumar’s best efforts.

Watch the song here

Kannadasan, as his wont, gives a précis of the entire proceedings in poignant lines.

vasanthangaL varum munbE veyil vandhadhE
mazhaik kaala mEgankaL kalaiginRadhE
pon aanaaL….. vilai illai
kaN aanaaL….. imai illai

Her life seems to be a travesty of nature…she has never danced in the sheer rapture of spring, for her the scorching summer had arrived early. As she walks along paths full of rain that would not come, her thoughts within are as bleak as the landscape without.

ilai uNdu malar uNdu kani illaiyE
kani onRu kai vandhum kiLi illaiyE
avaL veeNai tharum paadal orE raagamE
anandham adhil illai orE sOgamE….

She had on her side beauty, youth, wealth, intelligence and unending love, yet all these could not help her hold on to her marriage. Time, they say, is the best healer; but again, absence, they say, makes the heart fonder. So she walks along the same paths as she has been walking, thinking the same thoughts as she has been thinking…. Hers is a penance in grief….

kavi onRu varum enRu yEdaanavaL
sila naaLil veRum thaaLil kOdaanavaL
panikkaalam kuyil paada koodaanavaL
padikkaamal mudikkinRa paattaanavaL

The lines in the Hindi version sum up the lonely life of Archana as ‘kOraa kaagaz’, meaning a blank sheet of paper. Our bard ushers in the same reference in ‘kavi onRu varum enRu yEdaanavaL, sila naaLil veRum thaaLil kOdaanavaL’, and goes on to describe her wretched life as an unfinished song.

maNachchinnam kazuththOdu sirikkinRadhE
manakkinnam neruppaaga kodhikkinRadhE
ninaikkinRa manam mattum ninaikkinRadhE
thadukkinRa vidhi yEnO thadukkinRadhE

MSV designs a ghazal-like ambience for the soliloquy, and keeps the orchestration to an austere minimum, as if to accentuate the desolate undercurrent of the song. The opening guitar that continues as an unobtrusive presence all through the song, the tabla nodding in hushed empathy to the lines, the santoor and the lone flute in the interlude paint the canvas with shades of sorrow…

Who else but Suseela to bring in the gamut of brooding introspection… Her lines are soaked in sorrow, her honeyed tones drenched in grief, as she brings to life the master’s painstaking work…



Listen to ‘vasanthangaL varum munbE’ from Lalitha (1976/ Girnaar Films)
Sung by P. Suseela
Lyrics by Kannadasan
Music by M.S. Viswanathan

And here is the elusive version sung by the master. It has been many years since I saw the movie on TV, and if I remember right, it was Suseela’s version that made it to the screen. I wonder then at MSV’s version… and at the different placement of the charaNam endings, at the flute singing a slightly different note here… MSV’s arresting voice was made surely for songs such as these… his voice here is the howl of the soul… The late ‘Santoor’ Vishweshwaran once revealed that MSV would sing each of his compositions hundreds of times before the recording, coaching the singers with infinite patience on each note, each nuance... He would not give up until he had extracted what he had wanted…. Truly that was a golden age of film music…

Listen to ‘vasanthangaL varum munbE’ from Lalitha (1976/ Girnaar Films)
Composed and sung by M.S. Viswanathan
Lyrics by Kannadasan



Tags: M.S.Viswanathan , P.Suseela

[bb]

Song of the Day: Two versions of ‘vasanthagaL varum munbE’ from Lalitha.

http://www.dhool.com/sotd2/938.html

- Saravanan writes:

Ragapravaham Sundar and MSVTimes.com are jointly presenting “Vintage Visu” a grand concert featuring some scintillating compositions of MSV that have not received due attention over the years. The concert is scheduled to be held on 12 April 2008 at Dakshinamurthy Hall, PS High School, Chennai. The Mellisai Mannar has consented to be the chief guest. Here’s wishing the event all success!

For our part, let us dive deep into the MSV ocean one again, and see what we come up with…


* * * *

Two versions of ‘vasanthangaL varum munbE’ from Lalitha

Ashutosh Mukohopadhyay (1920-1989) was a popular Bengali writer and journalist many of whose engrossing stories have found celluloid adaptation. The most famous among them perhaps is the story ‘Nurse Mitra’ that was adapted by the brilliant Asit Sen as Deep Jwale Jai (1959). Asit Sen remade the classic in Hindi after 10 years as Khamoshi (1969).

Another of Ashutosh Mukohopadhyay’s stories that was made into a successful movie was Saath Pake Bandha. The story was fairly simple. The wealthy Archana falls in love with a principled college professor Sukhendu, despite the considerable differences in age and status. She goes ahead and marries him, unmindful of her haughty mother’s opposition. However, the idyll does not last long, the dream turns into a nightmare. Archana’s domineering mother sows the seeds of marital discord by her constant disdainful gibes at Sukhendu’s impoverished circumstances. The hurt Sukhendu becomes cold and aloof. Archana remonstrates with her mother, but her entreaties fall on deaf ears. Things reach a point of no return when Sekhendu demands that Archana severe all ties with her family. Caught between the two, she suffers and watches her marriage collapse. Sukhendu and Archana separate. Years roll by and finally when they meet, they find their defenses crumbling, and reunite with an understanding that the long years of separation had bestowed them with.

The movie ‘Saath Pake Bandha’ (1963) had the legendary Suchitra Sen playing Archana, with Soumitra Chatterjee as her Sukhendu. Chaya Devi portrayed with aplomb the snobbish mother and Pahadi Sanyal performed with restraint the role of the affectionate but helpless father. Hemanta Mukherjee scored the background music for the movie which did not have any songs. Directed by Ajoy Kar, ‘Saath Pake Bandha’ was a great success with Suchitra Sen walking away with the Best Actress Award at the prestigious Moscow Film Festival in 1963.

Anil Ganguly remade this movie in Hindi 11 years later, and ‘Koraa Kaagaz’ (1974/ Shreeji Films) remains a celluloid masterpiece of eternal appeal. As the piteous Archana torn under divided loyalties, the petite Jaya Bhaduri stands tall in her sensitive, delicately nuanced performance. Vijay Anand’s portrayal of Sukhesh was marked by dignified subtleties. Achala Sachdev was perfectly cast as Archana’s meddlesome mother, while A.K. Hangal was the natural choice for the father. Kalyanji-Anandji’s compositions such as ‘mEra jeevan koraa kaagaz’ and ‘rootE rootE piyaa’ have acquired the status of cult classics over the years.

Our Valampuri Somanathan was drawn to this story of marital discord and decided to tell it anew for the Tamil audience. He drafted the screenplay and wrote the dialogues, besides producing and directing the movie. Lalitha (1976/ Girnaar Films) had Sujatha and Gemini Ganesh essaying the lead roles. While Sujatha was an apt choice to bring forth the tumultuous suffering of the character, Gemini Ganesh looked aged and tired. Perhaps the choice was intentional, for even Vijay Anand had looked old beside the vivacious Jaya, and the story itself was that of a mismatch in age and wealth. Sukumari and Calcutta Viswanathan played Lalitha’s parents. The surprise however, was Kamalhasan in the role of Lalitha’s brother. The episodes relating to his love for Sumitra and the scenes involving veteran Thangavelu who played Sumitra’s father temper the somber proceedings with some light moments, even while leading to a startling twist.

* * * *

M.S. Viswanathan’s music was a delectable highpoint. Armed with Kannadasan’s bounty, the Mellisai Mannar composed a set of scintillating songs. Besides lending his own mystic mystique to the SOTD, MSV summoned all his favourite singers to do the needful and then called upon the venerable Thevaram singer of the Kapaleeswarar Temple, Lalgudi Swaminthan to render a few traditional verses. Thus we have the folksy ‘ennamma aaththOra kuruvi’ rendered by TMS & L.R. Eswari with characteristic gusto. Vani Jairam sings the endearing ‘kalyaaNamE oru peNNodu thaan’, the equivalent of Lata’s ‘rootE rootE piyaa’ in the Hindi version. SPB and Vani team up for that unforgettable ‘sorgathilE mudivaandhu, sondhathilE nilaiyaanadhu’, where Vani’s lines sum up the growing disillusionment of Lalitha. P. Suseela and MSV sing two versions of ‘vasanthangaL varum munbE’, MSV’s fitting answer to Kalyanji-Anandji’s touted ‘mEra jeevan koraa kaagaz’. MSV further springs a surprise by getting Lalgudi Swaminathan to chant the Thevaram verse ‘maNNil nalla vaNNam vaazhalaam’ which flows into ‘Oradi kadavutkaaga’, where Kannadasan’s lines glitter as veritable treatises on marriage vows and the spiritual union that the seven steps enshrine. K. Veeramani and Sripathi join Lalgudi Swaminathan midway and whole song takes on the aura of a benedictory hymn.

* * * *

I walked a mile with Pleasure,
she chattered all the way;
But left me none the wiser,
for all she had to say.
I walked a mile with Sorrow
and ne'er a word said she;
But, oh, the things I learned from her
when Sorrow walked with me!

- Robert Browning Hamilton (Along the Road)

The deed is done, the estrangement complete. She is left only with memories, a handful of them sweet, most of them bitter. She distances herself from all that is familiar by taking up teaching in an obscure school, with solitude her sole companion. Time is relentless in its march, and as each year comes and goes even loneliness becomes a way of life. And as she walks one day along her usual pathways, a thousand thoughts come cascading, even as this song is heard in the background.

The Hindi version had the haunting ‘mEra jeevan koraa kaagaz, koraa hi reh gayaa’, easily among Kishore Kumar’s best efforts.

Watch the song here

Kannadasan, as his wont, gives a précis of the entire proceedings in poignant lines.

vasanthangaL varum munbE veyil vandhadhE
mazhaik kaala mEgankaL kalaiginRadhE
pon aanaaL….. vilai illai
kaN aanaaL….. imai illai

Her life seems to be a travesty of nature…she has never danced in the sheer rapture of spring, for her the scorching summer had arrived early. As she walks along paths full of rain that would not come, her thoughts within are as bleak as the landscape without.

ilai uNdu malar uNdu kani illaiyE
kani onRu kai vandhum kiLi illaiyE
avaL veeNai tharum paadal orE raagamE
anandham adhil illai orE sOgamE….

She had on her side beauty, youth, wealth, intelligence and unending love, yet all these could not help her hold on to her marriage. Time, they say, is the best healer; but again, absence, they say, makes the heart fonder. So she walks along the same paths as she has been walking, thinking the same thoughts as she has been thinking…. Hers is a penance in grief….

kavi onRu varum enRu yEdaanavaL
sila naaLil veRum thaaLil kOdaanavaL
panikkaalam kuyil paada koodaanavaL
padikkaamal mudikkinRa paattaanavaL

The lines in the Hindi version sum up the lonely life of Archana as ‘kOraa kaagaz’, meaning a blank sheet of paper. Our bard ushers in the same reference in ‘kavi onRu varum enRu yEdaanavaL, sila naaLil veRum thaaLil kOdaanavaL’, and goes on to describe her wretched life as an unfinished song.

maNachchinnam kazuththOdu sirikkinRadhE
manakkinnam neruppaaga kodhikkinRadhE
ninaikkinRa manam mattum ninaikkinRadhE
thadukkinRa vidhi yEnO thadukkinRadhE

MSV designs a ghazal-like ambience for the soliloquy, and keeps the orchestration to an austere minimum, as if to accentuate the desolate undercurrent of the song. The opening guitar that continues as an unobtrusive presence all through the song, the tabla nodding in hushed empathy to the lines, the santoor and the lone flute in the interlude paint the canvas with shades of sorrow…

Who else but Suseela to bring in the gamut of brooding introspection… Her lines are soaked in sorrow, her honeyed tones drenched in grief, as she brings to life the master’s painstaking work…



Listen to ‘vasanthangaL varum munbE’ from Lalitha (1976/ Girnaar Films)
Sung by P. Suseela
Lyrics by Kannadasan
Music by M.S. Viswanathan

And here is the elusive version sung by the master. It has been many years since I saw the movie on TV, and if I remember right, it was Suseela’s version that made it to the screen. I wonder then at MSV’s version… and at the different placement of the charaNam endings, at the flute singing a slightly different note here… MSV’s arresting voice was made surely for songs such as these… his voice here is the howl of the soul… The late ‘Santoor’ Vishweshwaran once revealed that MSV would sing each of his compositions hundreds of times before the recording, coaching the singers with infinite patience on each note, each nuance... He would not give up until he had extracted what he had wanted…. Truly that was a golden age of film music…

Listen to ‘vasanthangaL varum munbE’ from Lalitha (1976/ Girnaar Films)
Composed and sung by M.S. Viswanathan
Lyrics by Kannadasan



Tags: M.S.Viswanathan , P.Suseela

[Ragapravaham Sundar]

Saravanan,

Thank you for the good wishes. I take this opportunity to invite our dhool friends for the programme.

[tvsankar]

Dear Saravanan,
Thanks for the nice songs.
MSV version is rare one.

Once again thank you Saravanan.

sila padangalum padalgalum - vaazhikaiyai katru tharum.
Thirumana vaazhikaiyai kaapatri kolla katru kodutha padmum padalum idhu....

mrakamudiyadha padam and padal.
MSV in Great Composiition......
_________________
Usha Sankar

[rajeshkrv]

Wonderful songs

thanks sara.

All the best for Sundar and Team for the Success of the Concert
_________________
Raj

[Udhaya]

Sundar,
I hope the house is packed for Vintage Visu. How I wish I could be there! I wish someone would bring this kind of concert to my neck of the woods.

Saravanaa,
Superb pick. The song certainly came after the lyrics and rightfully so. The entire song is delectable, but the following lines were outstanding:
kavi onRu varum enRu yEdaanavaL
sila naaLil veRum thaaLil kOdaanavaL

The orchestration and mood sound like a more subdued version of 'thErOttam'. The stutter stepping tabla, must've been Prasad right? Sweet stuff. The MSV version is a real find. So much empathy in that world weary voice. This is another one for the ages.

[vinatha]

Thanks, Sara!!

Though 'Kalyanamey oru pennoduthaan.....' & ' sorgathil mudivaanadhu....'
are my favorites!!

Vani with Lover boy lots & lots of LOVE!!

[OISG]

All the best Sundar Sir.My request songs for the program will be "அம்பிகை நேரில் வந்தாள்" & "கேட்டதெல்லாம் நான் தருவேன்".


Seeing MSV in Asianet when Najim sang "Ulagin" (courtesy - youtube), the fraility was disturbing...I had a similar feeling while watching Sivaji in "thevar Magan". Our prayers for his long life.

Saravanan,I listened to this song and when it ended i felt so lonely. நல்ல பாடல்,நல்ல கவிதை,நல்ல சிறுகதை,நல்ல படம் and your write-ups- They are outliers in the daily life curve.

Udaya, i too thought of "therottam".

[vengayam]

All the best Raghapravaham Sundar!
How I wish I could be there!!
I do not know if you are going to feature only hits of MSv after IR's ascent.. or songs from his overall career.
My picks would be Sugamana sinthanyil (Taxi Driver)
madhamo aavani mangayo ( U U vaa)
Thirumaalin thirumaarbil( Trisoolam)
Enakkorru kaathali( mutthaana mutthallavo)
paduthal purandaall ( vandikkaaran magan)
sriraman sridevi (D Kalyanam)
Andavane kann thirandhu ( D kalyanam)
adiyennai paaramma ( v kathaliye)
Kandathai sollugiren ( SN SM )
Ponnenne poovenna (Alaigal)
I don't know whether they are overlooked but I love them!
Give him a bear hug on my behalf and also a sashtaanga namskaram. man does he deserve it!
Tell him that he has plenty of die hard fans like me all over the globe (in my heart he will always be Visu a cherished friend - such is the intimacy he has created with the listener he has bridged age , time and distance!)
I simply love the man and his work. The first song I ever uttered was - as a child- is engey Nimmadhi ( again a visu ramu number)
I can go on & on I will end up misty eyed so I stop. I haven't listened to MSV's version of Vasanthangal . I'll do so tonight and comment.
from all of us here at dhool , here is wishing our vizha a grand success.
_________________
àœ÷¬î ªê£™«õ¡ ï™ô¬î ªêŒ«õ¡ «õªø£¡¼‹ ªîKò£¶

[bb]

[bb]

[Udhaya]

naan mattum Vintage Visu concert wish list kudukkaatti eppadi!

-niththam niththam en kaNNOdu inbak kanaa

-maalai malar pandhalitta mEgam

-poongodiyE poongodiyE

-maNamEdai malargaLudan dheebam

-puthu manjaL mEnichittu

-thendRalukku endRum vayathu pathinARE andRO

-gowri manohariyaik kaNdEn

-azhagu oru raagam

[SGRK]

(Many) ** Infinity Thanks, Saravanan. araiththa maavu/keeral vizhunthga 78 rpm record thaan - marubadiyum, how do I praise your research, your prose and poetry ? But the icing on the cake is how you get apt photos of artists from the specific eras the songs are from. periyavargaL yaaraiyEnum dhrishti suththi pOda chollungaL.

[SGRK]

"that MSV would sing each of his compositions hundreds of times before the recording, coaching the singers with infinite patience on each note, each nuance... He would not give up until he had extracted what he had wanted…. Truly that was a golden age of film music… "

antha kaalaththil full song with all artistes in one full continous take, quite difficult for everyone - instrumentalists and singers, but especially for singers, who carry much of the song, aside from perfect rendition, need to take care of pronounciation, emotions etc. Asha said in an interview that they could not be heard breathing during the song ! What a feat every song is, when one thinks of how they were recorded.

Long ago, I heard an interesting story about an Ambigapatghi song (was it 'maasila' ?) - 17 takes had been done, each time Bhanu-madam had made a mistake, the young junior TMS (apparently scared stiff of Madam) had made no mistake. In the 18th take TMS made a mistake and the story went that Madam stormed out of the room in a huff.

A small clip of OPN-Asha-Rafi recording, notice how the whle jing-bang singers and instrumentalists are in the same room. In 'server sundaram' they showed a similar recording room in the song 'avalukenna'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCyU2cNXjCs

I guess by 60s they could record 2 tracks separately ? Because I have heard that in 'singaara vElanE nee vaa' the nadaswaram was recorded separately after the rest of the song had been recorded and 'super-imposed'.

At least not having to sing along with 200 instrumentalists, knowing one mistake means keeping them all working for more time, must have been a little less of stress and tension.

[RC]

Can the unfortunate ones like me request a recording (audio and/or video) of the program? Or is it too much to ask?

[Saravanan]

Thank you all for the responses

The concert seems to have been a grand success. My parents were there, and my father called me from his cellphone and made me listen to a song on the Tamil new year that MSV tuned and sang on the spot! Amazing!

Let us wait for a detailed report from Sundar.

RC, Sundar has agreed to bring to dhool excerpts from the program!

[Saravanan]

Thank you all for the responses

The concert seems to have been a grand success. My parents were there, and my father called me from his cellphone and made me listen to a song on the Tamil new year that MSV tuned and sang on the spot! Amazing!

Let us wait for a detailed report from Sundar.

RC, Sundar has agreed to bring to dhool excerpts from the program!

[Saravanan]

Sugrutha,

Thanks for the kind words! Glad you liked the photos. That picture of PS was from the cover of a CD containing a compilation of her Malayalam songs that I got in a clearance sale in Sharjah. The picture of MSV is from the cover of a CD of songs sung by MSV that I picked up from one of the numerous platform music shops in Serangoon Road in Singapore!

Incidentally, while that compilation did have many of MSV's popular songs, it did not have 'vasanthangal varum munbe'. This I got from a Srilankan friend after years of hunting.

Thanks for that video! It was thrilling to watch Rafi, Asha & OPN!

Another story I recall from a LRE interview is regarding the song 'nenjathai alli konjam thaa thaa' . Apparently there were was only a single mike for the 4 of them ( PS, LRE, KJY and M.S. Raju), and they had to keep quickly taking turns with perfect timing!

Regarding 'singara velane devaa', what is said is though the track system was not yet in vogue, under the supervision of audiographer Jeeva the nadaswaram was recorded first, and they were searching for a voice to match it. The rest of course is well known.

[Saravanan]

Sugrutha,

Thanks for the kind words! Glad you liked the photos. That picture of PS was from the cover of a CD containing a compilation of her Malayalam songs that I got in a clearance sale in Sharjah. The picture of MSV is from the cover of a CD of songs sung by MSV that I picked up from one of the numerous platform music shops in Serangoon Road in Singapore!

Incidentally, while that compilation did have many of MSV's popular songs, it did not have 'vasanthangal varum munbe'. This I got from a Srilankan friend after years of hunting.

Thanks for that video! It was thrilling to watch Rafi, Asha & OPN!

Another story I recall from a LRE interview is regarding the song 'nenjathai alli konjam thaa thaa' . Apparently there were was only a single mike for the 4 of them ( PS, LRE, KJY and M.S. Raju), and they had to keep quickly taking turns with perfect timing!

Regarding 'singara velane devaa', what is said is though the track system was not yet in vogue, under the supervision of audiographer Jeeva the nadaswaram was recorded first, and they were searching for a voice to match it. The rest of course is well known.

[ragasuda]

Dear Saravanan and all friends,
One of all my favourites is being discussed here and I am elated to join. Elate more, because I was fortunate enough to participate in the msvtimes.com function. It was an audience of mature and elite. They appreciated each and every nuance of the songs. Sundar needs special mention here for the songs selection he and Sabesan of msvtimes made. And another V. Raghavendran, who is also a lyricist and hardcore fan of Mellisai Mannar, composed a song to mark the beginning of Chitthirai, which was spontaneously, extemporay, composed by our Mellisai Mannar. What a sight - to be with the legend while he composes! And on my part, I made a humble presentation of a small photoframe which contained the still of MSV as Balamurugan in the film Kannagi and the title card showing his name and the list of films composed by Mellisai Mannar for Nadigar Thilagam starred films. And immediately he recollected the incident for acting in that film. An evening we will never forget in our life.
Raghavendran.

[vengayam]

It is blasphemous. My forgetting an MSv sung number. But it all came flooding back to me so much that I sang along with the master
There is something about reading tamizh songs in Roman script that confuses the reader. Also "mera jeevan kora kaagaz " was playing at the back of my mind , so I just could not place the song.

Saravanan and bb,
what about your promises
S: nee irunthaal innerathiley ethetho nadkkum
bb: my write up on "Deva " gaanam is still to see the light

Sundar , engey your wrap up on the evening extrordinary? Eager to read it from the horse's mouth! How many of our requests were featured?

[Ragapravaham Sundar]

A report on Vintage Visu


That was a momentous occasion and indeed an unforgettable experience that only very few would have had the opportunity of seeing MSV in such an exuberant and jubilant mood. That too how fortunate are we to watch MSV compose a tune in his usual style within seconds…yenakku oru paritchai vaikkiraanga naan ennoda stylelayE pannattuma…. We were spell-bound. Throughout I was standing beside MSV during the song composition looking at him with awe. MSV garlanded me with the same sandal that was presented to him by MSV Times.com friends. He was repeatedly telling UngaL anbukku naan adimai. Further, yenakku isaidhaan deivam, yenakku innum niraiya padam varanum, naan music pannanum ….seekkiramE nalla meter, matter and melody idellam amaindha music kandippa vandhudum, konjam poruthiruppom.


The programme went on the expected lines and the audience response was really encouraging. In order to justify the title Vintage Visu, we included songs of 50s from Sugam Engey, Vairamalai, Pettra maganai vittra annai, Paasavalai and Thangappadhumai and Alukkoru veedu. The rest of the 25 songs that we presented are from 60s and early 70s. MSV sat only for Malarukku thendral, Anbumanam kanindha pinney and Orey paadal before he was invited to the stage.


Udhaya, OISG and Vengayam,

We could not consider your wish lists as the song list was frozen a month back. Thank you all for the wishes.

I cannot say the programme was a grand success but we made a sincere attempt to bring some obscure MSV melodies on stage. Soon I will share with you the excerpts from the programme.

Thanks Raghavendran. Your gift to MSV was a good idea and the poster you prepared was indeed excellent.

[SGRK]

Thanks, Saravanan, for the info on the photo and song sources. ulagamellam nAdi, thEdi, koNarntha ariya pokkishangaL.

Isint it a wonder what people those days did with ultra-limited technology ? I mean what you said about recording separately for a single track for 'singara vElanE'. I remember reading a story about how some music director/recording engineer spread sand on the floor in the recording room for a certain sound reproduction effect, and such similar stuff from those days in the 50s and 60s. Amazing !

ingE 20s 30s music ellAm remaster ceygirArgaLE, athu mAthiri nammAl ceyya iyalAdhA ? Is it too expensive ?

vengayam,

'nee ninaithaal' is available in coolgoose for download. My most favourite song, sung by my most favourite singers.

BB,

Please, thaniyaaga MSV songs link kodukka mudiyumaa, main page side-bar-il ?

Raghavendar/Sunder,

Thanks for the update. MSV looks so frail now (as seen in Idea Star). I pray that God gives him another healthy 20 years so he can sing every note that he holds in his heart.

[vinatha]

Congratulations, Sundar! The songs list (I got from MSVTIMES) is good. You have covered most of my favorites like poongkodiye poongkodiye, kuyilaaga, kaadhalin pon veedhiyil, alangaram kalaiyaadha... etc.. Love to listen to the poetry musical he has composed that day! Vinatha

[OISG]

Saravanan,
My Bengali Colleague after reading your writeups of Salil,Nimoy Ghosh and this one was stunned and now he is your fan. He asked the standard question "how old is your friend?".

Further i had been warning you on copyrights and people lifitng your well- researched articles since 2002 and i feel the time has come you consider the issue seriously.

Sundar

Saw the songs list. song selection is very good. You are doing a wonderful job and may god bless you.

[Ragapravaham Sundar]

OISG,

Belated thanx for your generous words.