SOTD #530: dEvan thiruchabai from avar enakkE sondham

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Song of the Day: dEvan thiruchabai malargaLE from avar enakkE sondham.

http://www.dhool.com/cgi-bin/stream.pl? ... anthiru.rm

- Saravanan writes:

Sung by Poorani & Indira.

Lyrics by Panju Arunachalam. Music by Ilayaraja.


* * * *

avar enakkE sondham (1977/ P.A. Art Productions) starred Jaishankar, Srividya, Fadafat Jayalakshmi, Thengai Srinivasan and others. It was the time when Panju Arunachalam had begun to don many hats besides lyrics writing; avar enakkE sondham was among those early films for which he wrote the screenplay, dialogues and lyrics, besides being the producer.

‘iru kaNgaL ondRaaga, iru kaatchi thaniyaaga’ this line from a song in the film succinctly summarizes the plot. Anand (Jai) and his wife Kavitha (Srividya) are at constant loggerheads. Kavitha rules the household with an iron hand and the children too resent her stringent disciplinary measures. Both Anand and the kids find comfort in the affection and care that they get from Elizabeth (Fadafat J) who is a typist in Anand’s office. Kavitha misunderstands this relationship; but gradually realizes the error of her own ways. All is well that ends well.

* * * *

It was ‘annakkiLi’ Selvaraj who introduced IR to Panju Arunachalam. Selavaraj, who had earlier been highly impressed by IR’s talents when IR had composed music for his stage drama, had words of high commendation for IR. And thus was born the prolific Panju- IR association that saw so many landmark collaborations in the coming years.

From 4 films in 1976, IR had progressed magnificently to 12 films in 1977. And most of those 12 would not merit even a dusty rear corner in memory had it not been for his wonderful songs. The year would also remain special to IR for the reason that it was in 1977 that he bagged the TN Govt’s Award for his outstanding work in 16 vayathinilE.

avar enakkE sondham had 6 songs, and the SOTD being the piece de resistance. I have a hazy recollection of watching this song in oLiyum oliyum- Fadafat J singing with the kids, with Jai looking on. P.Suseela’s alluring ‘thEnil aadum rOja’ is the other divine creation that bestows upon the album the boon of immortality. The jaunty baila ‘suraangani’ (MV/Renuka) found instant favor with the youth of the time, and Radio Ceylon, quite understandably went to town with it. TMS too found place in the album- while the melancholic and meditative ‘kuthirayilE naan amarndhEn’ was perhaps a characteristic TMS number, the uproarious ‘kabhi kabhi mErE dil mEin’ captures TMS at his mischievous best- he simply freaks out in the swift classical passages culminating in a delightful dappankuthu! SPB’s wry ‘oru veedu iru uLLam’ was the last song in this unforgettable album.

* * * *

Poorani and Indira were regular singers in IR’s troupe. In 1975, a year before annakkiLi, IR, along with his brothers, had come up with an album called ‘Pop Hits of 1975’. GA had penned the songs, and along with TMS, SPB, MV and R.D.Baskar, Poorani was the only female singer to feature in the album. After ‘dEvan thiruchabai malargaLE’, it was GA who gave Poorani a few opportunities like ‘adi ennOda vaadi’ (oru vidukathai oru thodarkathai), ‘vaanam poo sindhattum’ (malargaLilE avaL malligai’ and ‘veLLam polE thuLLum uLLangaLE’ (kanavugaL kaRpanaigaL). As for Indira, prior to ‘dEvan thiruchabai malargaLE’ she had sung ‘dear uncle’ in uRavaadum nenjam. Poorani and Indira continued in IR’s troupe as chorus singers, and sang in his stage shows too. Perhaps they are still part of IR’s chorus singers; ‘dEvan thiruchabai malargaLE’ being their fleeting tryst with tfm history.

* * * *

As a small boy in 1977, I was creating a racket at home when my parents had left me for a few days in the care of my grandmother and uncle. To give some respite to my paatti, and to put a temporary end to my tantrums, my uncle, who had got in his college two tickets for IR’s show, took me to the Music Academy. I admit I didn’t go too willingly and was fidgeting restlessly in my seat. But when the curtains were raised, and as the strumming of the guitars began in the dim light, I remember falling silent and sitting transfixed as the entire hall listened in rapturous silence to ‘dEvan thiruchabai malargaLE’. As the violins faded in the end, the lights came on and the entire hall rose to give a standing ovation to IR, Poorani and Indira. (This was the song that IR featured as the invocation in all his shows till 1982; he switched over to ‘janani janani’ thereafter)

Whenever my craze for tfm is the topic under discussion in the family circle, my uncle invariably recalls this incident! Looking back, I don’t wonder at it, for the sheer magic of the song is such. The guitar which forms the mesmerizing mainstay of the song, the flute which beguiles at every note, the accordion which teases and tantalizes playing hide and seek, and the violins which seem to go berserk methodically in the end…what a masterpiece! And the church bells toll approvingly in divine benediction, lending the song an aura of heavenly intervention. As a child I could not have surely appreciated the intricacies of this composition (not that I know much now!), but this song was probably my initiation to the enchantment of tfm, and I have been hooked ever since :)

Even now my fingers falter when I attempt to describe the excellence of the song. Mere sober words and meager labels are inadequate to the task; pompous terms, jeweled exotic phrases rise to the excited fancy. The song has the vivacious vagueness of art and the sharp precision of science. It quickens the blood and clears the head; it fills the soul with blissful well-being….oh well, in short, the song has the warmth of a good heart..

[Guest]

lallalaa lala lalalalaa... aaav [face=Tamil]¦¸¡ð¼¡Å¢[/face] [face=Verdana]this song was repeated ad nauseum in the late seventies[/face] personally i found it a bit jarring. there was an easy ring to the song but the chorus was really looong drawn out
How come you did not mention VKR when you wrote about [face=Tamil]¸¡À¢ ¸¡À¢[/face][face=Verdana]as akila ulaga VKR Rasigar manra thalaivar I take offence :x [/face]

[guest]

u know, poorani shifted her family to delhi long back and stopped singing with GA troupe. But sometime later her son ravikanth (am i correct) who can sing in kamal voice joined GA troupe and sing kamal songs like inji iduppazaga. the pity thing is he is now married to ambiga as her 2nd husband.

this song devan thiruchabai is a like typical christian devotional chorus song.

[sriram]

Song of the Day: dEvan thiruchabai malargaLE from avar enakkE sondham.

http://www.dhool.com/cgi-bin/stream.pl? ... anthiru.rm

- Saravanan writes:

The song has the vivacious vagueness of art and the sharp precision of science. It quickens the blood and clears the head; it fills the soul with blissful well-being….

beautifully written Saravanan. thanks for the song as well.

[sathyakabali]

beautiful writeup Saravana.

HAPPY DEEPAVALI

ellOrukkum iniya Deepavali vaazhththukkaL!

[Babu]

Saravanan, great writeup for a wonderful song.

[*]

Wow, what a song! Kannikeshwaran's 1993 usenet series on IR started off with mention of this song. After reading it in 2001, my two and half yr hunt for this ended last year when our senior DFer Ramki kindly pointed out that its available in coolgoose. great pleasure it was to listen to it after more than 20 years.

I thought it was by Jency. It has more of instrumental brilliance and fairly ordinary tune, personally speaking the best christian song in tfm should be a toss-up between TMS' Devane Ennai Paarungal and VJ's Mannulagil indru devan.

Recollect GA introducing a Poornima in a 1992 concert(poorani?). In our old DF, Evolution vii informed us she was a regular track singer for his troupe.

[GK]

Fantastic song, fantastic writing. Ah the 1970s..... how different were those times! Our house was right next to Music Academy. We used to go to dramas and carnatic music programs and film music programs, for example to AV Ramanan's Musiano, at the Academy with my parents. We didn't have a TV then so the only entertainment was radio and Vividh Bharathi! Cathedral Road was not the mess it is today. I remember listening to this song often on the radio and I was moved then as I am now by the simple tune. Thanks Saravanan for this nostalgic trip.

[Senty]

great song sara,
Happy Diwali to everyone

[NoteMan]

Great song and great writeup Saravanan. It was really nice to start my day with such a mellifluos melody. The song composition and orchestrization is almost divine. I hope to see more songs from this movie on SOTD.

[sriram]

I thought it was by Jency. It has more of instrumental brilliance and fairly ordinary tune, personally speaking the best christian song in tfm should be a toss-up between TMS' Devane Ennai Paarungal and VJ's Mannulagil indru devan.

I thought it was by Jency too. reg. other christian songs, we went through this discussion already when IIRC "mAdhA un kOvil" was SOTD.

[Thamizh]

Excellent writeup Saravanan.

Andhap Padalil irundha Guitar Isai ,ungal ezhuthu irandum arpudam. Thanks a ton.

Ellorukkum Enadhu iniya Deepavali Nalvazhthukkal.

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Hi Thamizh, can you please register and introduce yourself. Registration is quick and easy.

[thops]

guys listen to the song "Mareyadiru Sneha" from the movie Prathidhwani...music by GKV...i am assuming assisted by IR...

http://musicindiaonline.com/l/18/s/movie_name.2796/

the guitar, bells very similar to Devan Thiruchabai Malargale...

and needless to say...excellent writeup by Saravanan

[chandru]

HI..
HAPPY DEEPAVALI TO ALL..

Saravanan... a beautiful song with a pucca write up.. is there another version of this song in male voice (I think Vijayakumar acted for that song.. with the lyric..Devan thiruchabai malar ithu" but I am not sure.

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Veera wrote:

Excellent narrative by Mr. Saravanan. Loved the little history on IR's
early days. Such personal anecdotes really spice up SOTD. I enjoyed this
especially because it was late 1970s which was when i was just old enough
to know what TFM was about.

Happy Deepavali to you and your team... may your wonderful work keep
going...

[OISG]

One more reason to stick to Pre-82 IR.Ever since Saravanan started liberally :wink: using the word "enchant" i developed a fascination for this word (too!).IMHO the word would suit this song to a perfect T. Vengayam,VKR has damaged your music taste buds :shock:

The church bell and the flute and the postlude with amazing violins has a mystic effect.The christian feel is well brought out thru catholic music notations :D Sung by fringe singers,the movie pretty ordinary but IR has come out with a stunning one.What better proclamation IR could have made to prove that the hour belonged to him

"Hour" enakE sondham :D

Songs like these it took to unsettle the Mellisai Mannar initially and ultimately unseat him from the top by early 1980s.(Eppadi Sivaji mathiri sirichukkittE azhuthirukEnaa :D :cry: )

[vengayam]

Vengayam,VKR has damaged your music taste buds

I forgot to log in the last time I posted my comments. But OISG you have found me out :) May be the VKR bit helped.
I still stand my ground I am not particularly fond of the tamil christian genre--- may be the result of withstanding the onslaught dished out by various closed eye singers. there are only 2nos I can stand 1. Arul thatum deva mathaave (gnanasoundari),2. thattungal thirakkapadum ( inspite of the same closed eye eerie feeling Tape Rajamanikam?) I like Vaanamenum veethiyile but this I classify as a duet with passing reference to Matha.

Fie on you for daring to even criticise VKR's vocal chords. Avar katthinaalum it was fresh. " [face=Tamil]«ÐÄ À¡Õ ¸Ø¨¾ ... 㧾Ţ 㧾Ţ[/face][/quote] :wink:

[Da Vinci]

I haven't heard this song for a very long time and I haven't heard it yet from the SOTD URL. But I remember this song vividly for its ‘life’ which Tamil Christian Songs seldom had. I have played in a Christian band which was conducted by my Guitar teacher, and I remember how insipid and boringly conventional most of their songs were. You don’t have to know the song to play the bass, for instance ! Most of them would just ape some conventional western music. Even within this convention, I think this song was remarkable, for it had the breath of the creative genius behind it. Just listen to the glide from D-Major (as I remember having played in that key) to C-Major in the Pallavi. It is a treat for any guitarist to strum and shift those chords, for the melody behind the movement is so natural without any forced convention or cheap imitation of the same genre of music from the West. I think it is the streak of originality that makes this song outstanding among its kind.

[Kitcha]

Doesn't get any better but then I've always wondered if Raja ever heard the Neil Young song "Don't let it bring you down" from "After the Gold Rush" while composing this. I'd like to think the chances are remote...plus, its only the first line that sounds similar.
For anyone interested, Annie Lennox also has a cover version of the song in her album 'Medusa' which was also on the 'American Beauty' soundtrack.

[Saravanan]

Thanks for your responses, friends!

Happy Deepavali to all!

[mythila]

OISG, neengal enna Sledai Singamo? :)

[Isaiyil_Ivan]

Friends,
I am unable to play the song though I have RealOne Player. When I click on the link directly, it says "Page cannot be Found" inside a little box. When I copy paste link in RealOne Player and try to play it, it says "Requested file cannot be found because it may be removed or outdated". I cleared all cookies, history & temporary internet files, but no use :(

I never used to get this problem in Dhool.com before. Only for past 3-4 days. All other online music sites work fine for me. Is the Dhool site server down for maintenance or something??

Hope someone can offer me a solution. Thanks!!

Anxious, cos a lot of my favorite songs are in here!!! :(

[*]

Happy Birthday Saravanan. Wish you many more happy returns of the day :)

[bb]

Isaiyil Ivan,

We exceeded the bandwidth and were forced to cut back on the streaming. So, no songs except for current SOTDs this week.

[NoteMan]

bb,
Can you put atleast this one song, for this week? I really couldn't find it anywhere on the net. Thanks in advance.

[bb]

Noteman, done.

[NoteMan]

bb,
Thank you, once again.

[Saravanan]

Thanks, Prabhu, for your wishes!

[sriram]

belated wishes, Saravanan. ennikku b'day? ippo enna, oru 427 vayasu aacha ungalukku? :-)