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KAVIYARASU KANNADASAN

Topic started by On behalf of Sankar (@ 210.186.51.129) on Mon Dec 30 07:11:34 EST 2002.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

Kaaviyathayin Illaya magan
Kadhal Pengalin Perun thalaivan
Paamara jaadiyil thani manidan – naan
Padaippadhanal yen per Iraivan

Naan Manida jaadiyai aati vaipen – avar
Maandu vital adhai paadi vaipen
NAAN NIRANDARAM AANAVAN AZHIVADILAI
ENDA NILAYILUM ENAKKU MARANAM ILLAI

These are the great lines of Kaviyarasu Kannadasan in the movie Ratha Thilakam where he acts in the movie singing these lines. ( Song.. Oru Koopayilae yen kudiyiruppu)

What a visionary he was ? Indeed, he is NIRANDARAMAANAVAN.

I share some of my observations about Kavingyar. I want all the fans of HIM to join this discussion and add more quality material in praise of his great works.
This is the only way we pay tributes to this GENIUS.
WILL WE EVER GET BACK A KAVINGYAR LIKE KANNADASAN ??

Read the complete opening post here.

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Responses:

• Old responses
  
• From: Udhaya (@ 204.31.171.54) on: Thu Apr 10 00:13:20 EDT 2003
  
  Lollu,
  I was perfectly aware of the link and how bb had already put it up. I should have made it clear. When I mentioned that we should present this thread in a refined way, I meant, edited, reorganized, and presented in a seamless way so that it reads coherently in a topic by topic manner. A separate website just for these recollections of Kannadhaasan as someone had suggested would work. But I believe a compiled book would be the ideal, permanent record for Mahendra Raj's rare knowledge.
  
  
• From: puvanes (@ 161.142.100.81) on: Thu Apr 10 01:48:41 EDT 2003
  
  kambar is a great poet.kannadasan simplified kambar's poem to make paamarar makkal understand the song's message.kambar's poem that kannadasan simplified was in the film thyaagam.the song was nallavarkellam.we take a look at kambar's poem now
  nathiyin pizhai andru narumpunal
  inmai atre
  pathiyin pizhai andru payanthu
  namai puranthaan
  mathiyin pizhai andru maganpizhai
  andru maintha
  vithiyin pizhai ithartku ennai
  vegundathu
  can we understand this poem?very difficult isn't it.there is a background story for this poem. when letchumanan heard that raaman lost his kingdom to kaigeyi. letcumanan lost his temper and tried to destroy thasarathan, kaigeyi and barathan.then raman came and appease letchumanan.he said "thambi kobappadalaama,kobappaduvathu thavarillaya.nathikku pogirom, nathiyil neerillayendraal nathiyai thittamudiyuma?nathiyin meethu thavarunda.atupolthaan ithuvum .enakku arasillaamal ponathu kaigeyi, thasarathan, barathan kutramalla.vithiyin kutramappa,ithartku nee kobappadalaama?"
  
  now we take a look at kannadasan simplified song
  nathi vellam kaainthu vittaal
  nathi seitha kutram illai
  vithi seitha kutram andri veru yaaramma
  there is another song in kambaraamayanam similar to kannadasan's paal vannam paruvam kandu from paasam.the poem in kambaramayanam had alot of 'kandu'.i think this matter has been discussed in this thread earlier.
  
  
• From: Thiagarajan (@ 61.11.27.185) on: Thu Apr 10 04:43:03 EDT 2003
  
  Simplifying and adopting are the great service that Kavingar did to tamil folk. He has read almost all the available literature especailly in Tamil and adopted according to the needs. This is from Kuruntokai to Andal.
  
  Chillendru pootha (Malaitta Mangai), Palvannam (Paasam) from Kambar
  Oruthi makanai Piranathavanam(Kudumba Thalaivan), Kuthu vilakeriya (Pachai Vilakku)from Andal
  Antrou nal avanudaia perai (Thai katah Thanayan) from Thevaram
  Manalavo kangal thangtau (Neethikupin pasam) from Kalidasa
  So on
  The thing is it is a good adoption and has reached to thousands of people.
  
  Another story was about ----- oru madapura (in Murdan Muthu). The madapura is living in the garden. That is not correct because madapura will nest only in the palace. The answer given by Kavingar was that palace Puras lost their wealth and came to garden.
  
  This aspect of telling the total story of the picture in a song is the very good quality of Kavingar. Even without seeing the picture still people remember Tamil film story due to Kavingarpattu.
  
  Another point is that Director A. Bhim Singh generally produces his filme without title. After Kavingar's song, he select the title form his song like Palum Palamum and Parthal Pasi Theerum.
  This is enough for the time being.
  
  
• From: R. Mahendra Raj (@ 203.106.163.77) on: Thu Apr 10 05:50:35 EDT 2003
  
  Puvanes, thanks for the info.
  
  As mentioned earlier kaviarasar was an admirer of Kambar's works hence the many songs like "Netru varai nee yaro naan Yaaro" ('Vazhkai Padagu' 1965), ('Thozh kandaen thozhae kandaen' ('Veera Abimanhyu' 1965)etc. And who can forget "Kamban yemaanthaan" ('Nizhal Nijamaagirathu' 1979)?!
  
  RC, yes. Kamalhassan commented later that for his age the late Muthuraman was tough and muscular and he (Kamal) had a tough time balancing him when he was collapsing.
  
  Udhaya, thanks for the suggestion re - the recollections into a book form. I am now seriously giving it some thoughts.
  
  About "Satti suttathadaa" - thanks for the add ons. It now makes perfect reading. I share the same with you - the last two lines are also my favourites since it has befitted with my own bitter personal experiences (not politics!)!
  
  Re - "Ettadukku maaligayil". I totally agree with you. You see the genuis in kaviarasar is such that you can look into his songs from whatever angle or perspective and it will fit in the situation as though it was written for that particular situation.
  
  One of the many reasons as to why producers were bent on booking him is that whatever lyrics which emanates from him will surely fill in for the situations. If not the first stanza the second will bound to commensurate the situation. This is an unique and divinely feature which no poet had or has been known to possess. He used to appear in a medidative pose when the situations are told and in a flash the lyrics are born as though he had seen the entire movie! I presume during these times he must have been matching his experiences as well so as to give life to the songs.
  
  Therefore, you may be right after all from that perspective. My posting was based on info received from one of his close Malaysian associate who is in the same age group with kavairasar!
  
  Re - the 'oppaari' issue.
  
  Dr. V.M. Palaniappan, a close relative of kaviarasar and who is a Malaysian citizen told that during his hey days kaviarasar likes to attend funerals of relatives just to listen to the 'opaaris'and not out of respect for the dead souls!. He used to be fascinated with the unintelligible words that flowed spontaneously from the wailers who were mostly illiterates. He used to wonder whether they possesed the gift of the gab or was it the divine's way of telling that fluidity of words is not the pregorative of poets alone.
  
  When you narrated Kamban's position it made me ponder whether our kaviarasar was indeed a reincarnation of him for the similarity of the above situation!
  
  About the referrals.
  
  It was a well-known fact that he had had introduced many into the cine field and heading them are Manorama and Panju Arunachalam who are still active. Of course the others like AVM Rajan, Pushpalatha have faded into oblivion. Shankar Ganesh (thought to fill the gap after the MSV-TKR split) was the other musical pair introduced by kaviarasar. Actually it was through Panju Arunachalam that kaviarasar introduced them for the film 'Maharasi' (1968). Their first work was on kaviarasar's film 'Nagarathil Thirudargal' (1967) which filming stopped half way. Not to disappoint this energetic duo kaviarasar recommended them to Devar for the above film.
  
  That is the reason why in the credits they never failed to state "kavingyar vazhangiya" just above their names. I wonder whether they are still doing this.
  
  So Shankar-Ganesh too had remained ever grateful to kaviarasar.
  
  When Manorama expressed her desire to act as heroine it was kaviarasar who advised her against it. Knowing the cine field too well he suggested that she considers the comedienne role so that she could last a life-time in the acting profession. She took his advice and hence the statement by kaviarasar.
  
  That "Paavadai thaavaniyil" info was news to me. Thanks and I hope more can come out with such background info on songs to keep this thread even more livelier.
  
  Talking of Kerala it brought to my mind re- MGR.
  
  When MGR became the CM in 1977 he was invited by the Kerala government to pay an official visit. MGR obliged and during his public function speeches he never did once speak in Malayalam although he had had ample opportunity to do so.
  
  This made our kaviarasar pen a poem for him upon his return highlighting his greatness of being faithful to the Tamil language. Kaviarasar had had heard MGR speak in Malayalam in private with those who were near and dear to him but when there is a non-Malayalee in the audience he spoke in Tamil. That was etiquette practised by MGR. For your info folks, MGR was proficient in Malayalam too.
  
  I can't remember the exact words of the poem but it went something to this effect "you are a descendant of Cheran but brought up in Paandi naad but when returning to the domicile state you still preferred your adoptive mother instead of your native..."
  
  When I became interested in kaviarasar during the late eighties I regretted very much for not paying serious attention to his columns which appeared in Kumudham until his death. There were so many stories from various magazines and periodicals which I had had read but not stored in my memory.
  
  I remember reading one piece about him in 'Kumudham' from a reader based in US after his death in 1981. At the function where kaaviarasar was invited to speak (his last public function) one of the guests presented him with a hand-held electronic calculator. Kaviarasar thanked him and immediately operated the device and got carried away with its swift arithmetical functions! The reader said that one could notice the child-like amazement in kaviarasar when he was 'playing' with the calculator.
  
  The reader concluded that it was indeed shocking to learn later that he went into a comatose after the function. Only moments before he was playing like a child as though he had decades and decades of years ahead and now this news!
  
  See you again folks and thanks once again for the compliments and new inputs.
  
  
• From: Subbu (@ 216.52.49.9) on: Thu Apr 10 06:27:39 EDT 2003
  
  Dear M.Raj,
  
  When I tried sending you a mail, I got the failuer message
  -----
  This is an automatically generated Delivery Status Notification.
  
  Delivery to the following recipients failed.
  
  raj_k65@yahoo.sg
  -----
  
  Any reason? Can you please check?
  
  
• From: puvanes (@ 161.142.100.81) on: Thu Apr 10 10:07:26 EDT 2003
  
  regarding to the ettadukku maaligayil song, there was another kannadasan ettadukku song which was actually adopted from paambaatti chitthar phrase.the song was undaaki vittavargal rendu paeru in mugaraasi
  the paambaatti chitthar phrase was
  maada maaligaigal vanna mandapam
  mathil soozhntha aranmanai matrum ullavai
  koodavaraa
  the kannadasan song was
  pathanatthil paathi ivan vaanggi mudithaan antha
  pattayatthil kandathupol vaeli edutthaan athil
  ettadukku maadi vaitthu
  kattadatthai katti vittu
  ettadikkul vanthu padutthaan
  no matter how much money we can earn finally what left was only eight feet ground (grave)
  
  we have discussed about kannadasan-patthinatthaar-veedu varai uravu song.there is another song which kaviyarasu adopted from pattinatthaar poem.
  the song section was in thai thantha pichayile from saraswathi sabatham.the patthinatthaar song was
  
  maatha udal salitthaal
  valvinaiyen kaal salitthen
  vethaavum kai salitthu vitthaane naatha
  iruppaiyoor vaazhsivane
  meendum or annai
  karuppayoor vaaraamal kaa
  
  the kannadasan song was
  
  petraval udal salitthaal
  pethai naan kaal salitthen
  padaitthavan kai salitthu ointhaanamma
  meendum paavi oru thaai vayitril piravenamma
  
  

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