DhooL.com Song Of The Day

Song of the Day # 426

From: bb (@ 12.234.176.52) on: Wed Apr 21 00:19:40 EDT 2004

Song of the Day: amma undhan kaivaLaiyaai from nijangaL.

http://www.tfmpage.com/cgi-bin/stream.pl?url=http://www.dhool.com/sotd/ammaundhan.rm

- Saravanan writes on this rare Bharathidasan/M.B.Srinivasan song:

‘amma undhan kaivaLaiyAi’ from nijangaL. Sung by Vani Jairam. Bharathidasan’s verses set to music by M.B.Srinivasan.

Ramya Chitra’s Nijangal- 1982 was directed by K.S Sethumadhavan. I have not seen the film, but recollect reading somewhere that it was an off-beat venture, narrating the events subsequent to the breaking-down of a bus, and the varied experiences/ responses of the passengers therein, punctuated with riveting recapitulations of some of their stories.

The film had 3 songs:

1.Namma India desam kooda ippadithaan- TMS & Chorus (Vaali)
2.Un kaathodu kaathodu seithi sonnaal enna- SPB & SPS (Vaali)
3.Amma undhan kai valaiyaai- VJ & Chorus (Bharathidasan)

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These verses form part of a longer poem by Bharathidasan that was published in a collection of his works called ‘Oru Thaaiyin Ullam Magizhgirathu’. While many of Bharathidasan’s verses have become part of tfm history, Bharathidasan also wrote lyrics specifically for a few films in the early years. His first film as a lyricist was Sri Ramanujar (1938/ Yessel Films), though Balamani (or Pakka Thirudan/ 1937/ Sri Shanmugananda Talkies), released a year earlier was the first to carry his songs. He wrote both the script and lyrics for Kaalamegam(1940/ Sri Dhandapani Films). He then joined the Modern Theatres and wrote for films like Subadra-1946, Sulochana-1947, Aayiram Thalai Vaangiya Aboorva Chinthamani-1947 and Ponmudi- 1950. The last film for which Bharathidasan penned lyrics was Valaiyaapathi (1952/ Modern Theatres), for which he wrote the dialogues as well. And when his line ‘Kamizhnthidum poovillelaam’ was altered to ‘Kulungidum poovillellam’ without his consent, Bharathidasan is said to have stormed out in indignation from the Studios, never to return.

Meanwhile, the fad of using verses from Bharathidasan’s poetry collections for film songs had caught on. Or Iravu - 1951(‘Thunbam nergayil yaazheduthu nee’) set the trend. And R.Sudarsanam used Bharathidasan’s lines again in Parasakthi-1952 (‘Vaazhga vaazhga vaazhgave’). Over the years, both while Bharathidasan was alive and afterwards, many MDs have set his verses to tune: MSV-TKR did it in their very first film Panam-1952 (‘ Pasiyendru vandhaal oru pidi soru’) and later in among their last films together- Panchavarnakkili –1965 (‘Thamizhukkum amuthendru peyar’); Govindarajulu Naidu (‘Andha vaazhvu thaan endha naal varum’/Andaman Kaidhi / 1952), S.Dakshinamoorthi -of course he was the MD for Valaiyaapathi as well- (‘Adho paaradi avare en kanavar’/ Kalyani/1952), G.Ramanathan (‘Pandian en sollai thaandipponaandi’/ Thirumbippaar/ 1953 & ‘’Neelavaan aadaikkul udal maraithu’ /Gomathiyin Kaadhalan/1955), Aadhi Narayana Rao & M.Ranga Rao (‘Thaayagame vaazhga thaayagame vaazhga’/ Poonkothai/ 1953), T.G.Lingappa (‘Vennilavum vaanum pole’ / Kalyanam Panniyum Bhramachari/ 1954), C.S.Jayaraman (‘Aalaiyin sange nee oodhaayo’ / Rathakkaneer/ 1954), T.R.Papa (‘Thalaivaari poochootti unnai’/ Rangon Radha/ 1956), T.R.Ramnath (‘Aadarkkalaikkazhagu thedappirandhaval’/ Naane Raja/1956), R.Sudarsanam again (Vetkkamillai vetkkamillai’ /Kuladeivam/1956 & ‘Valiyor silar eliyor thamai’ / Manimagudam/1966), S.Rajeswara Rao (‘Paadi paadi paadi vaadi’ & ‘’Orey oru paisa’/ Petra Manam/ 1960), Kunnakkudi Vaithyanathan (‘Engengu kaaninum sakthiyada’/ Namma Veettu Deivam/1970), Shankar-Ganesh (‘Chithira Cholaigale’/ Naan Yaen Pirandhen/1972), Ilayaraja (‘Kaalai ilam parithiyile’/Kannan Oru Kaikkuzhandhai/1978) and Vidyasagar (‘Thoongum puliyai’/ Puratchikkaran/2000). And at times the same song has found place in more than one film: ‘Sange muzhangu’ was heard first in En Magal (1954/ MD: C.N.Pandurangan) and later in Kalangarai Vilakkm (1965/ MD: MSV). ‘Pudhiyadhor ulagam seivom’ was heard first in Chandrodhayam (1966/ MD: MSV) and again in Pallandu Vaazhga (1975/ MD: KVM), though in the earlier song, the charanam lines were from other works of Bharathidasan.

Tfm has thus been gloriously enriched time and again by the immortal verses of Bharathidasan. Today (April 21st), as we observe the 40th death anniversary of the great Paavendar, let us salute his hallowed memory.

* * * *

Though I have most of Bharathidasan’s songs in tfm in my collection, this one had eluded me for long, and finally I managed to record it from Radio Ceylon some years back. (Thanks to OISG for helping out in the mp3 conversion)

I have seen the song in OLiyum Oliyum: The sequence is that of Menaka taking care of her mentally deranged mother Anandi. As she lovingly nurses her mother, combs her tresses, feeds her a few morsels, and patiently does all that her mother would have done for her when Menaka was an infant at her bosom, this song is the wondrous backdrop that multiplies manifold the melancholy of this reversal of the mother-daughter roles. MBS bases his composition largely on Behaag, rightly harnesses Vani’s voice to bring lilting lustre to Bharathidasan’s lines, and as is his wont, intelligently intersperses chorus voices to enhance the poignant emotions that the song evokes.

VJ’s eyes brimmed with cascading memories as I asked her about this song. ‘It was just then that I had lost my mother’ she said softly. ‘And it was a disquieting co-incidence that the first song that I was called to sing after her demise was this one. Though I finished the recording in a single take, I was moved by the lyrics, and had to control myself from breaking down’.

Discussion Pages in TFMPage on this Song

http://tfmpage.com/forum/494.20880.03.21.22.html

http://tfmpage.com/forum/21263.20880.03.21.22.html

http://tfmpage.com/forum/8983.20880.03.21.22.html