Yeats, Keats and TS Elliot all wrote fantastic poems. Rumi did the same but at a different level. To connoisseurs of Tamil poems, they transcend all boundaries. A poet can describe his loved ones in so many words, compare her to the lush of Mother Nature or the beauty of a full moon but a Tamil poet tells her at a divine level. Something as mundane as feeling frisky on a wet evening is pictured by Vairamuthu beautifully in a single stanza. (From the 1980s movie 'Raja Parvai' where ironically a blind man describes his feeling to his non-blind companion)
"அந்தி மழை பொழிகிறது,
ஒவொவரு தூளியிலும் உன் முகம் தெரிகிறது"
'Evening rain is pouring,Some may call these lyrics cheesy, but it works perfectly well for admirers of Tamil literature.
In its every droplet, I see your face.
We have heard songs that induce suicide. The Hungarian composer Rezsö Seress is given the dubious honour of composing Gloomy Sunday in 1932, connected to more suicides than any song in history. A Tamil song, Mayakkama Thayakkama from the movie 'Sumathanggi' carries the honour of saving one of Tamil cinema's great music composer from the clutches of suicide. MSV was in the doldrums and was contemplating death. His last wish was to die listening to Tamil music. The song that was playing on the radio was the above, and one particular line struck him. He abandoned his attempt at ending his life and went living a productive life until the ripe age of 85. That specific line is below. It is written to illustrate the turmoil that the lead character was going through as his family commitments pushed him to misappropriate funds at the bank he worked.
ஏழை மனதை மாளிகையாகி இரவும் பகலும் கவியைம் பாடி நாளை பொழுதை இறைவனுக்களித்து கொடுத்து நடக்கும் வாழ்க்கையில் அமைதியத் தேடுSomewhat striking a chord with his line of work - composing songs for others' entertainment, MSV thought the song was speaking to him to stop his nonsensical action.
Building castle in the heart of the poor,The above lyrics can be found in the Youtube clip below. The tail end of the song 'Mayakkama Thayakkama' (Queasy or reluctance?) from the movie 'Sumaithaangi' (One who carries the burden) tells the dilemma of a wage earner whose conscience haunts him after he, as a bank teller, had falsified a signature to draw money to meet pressing familial engagements.
Day and night reciting poetry,
Giving tomorrow to God,
Find peace in the life ahead...
These are some of the pearls of wisdom that the attendees learnt at a recent gathering to appreciate old Tamil cinema songs. A group of close to 80 people comprising Generation-X and Baby Boomer Generation, all with a common interest in pieces from the golden era of Tamil cinema, which is obviously between the 1950s all through the 1970s, gathered at a hall in Kuala Lumpur recently. Accompanied by three singers, a musician and a music machine, the organisers managed to cradle the audience to an era when life was easy, love was private, personal intentions were implied, and politicians were honest.
Interspersed through this 3-hour musical extravaganza was a discourse on musical appreciation, musical game (a sort of Tamil Antakshari) and a mimicry presentation. Antakshari, an ancient spoken parlour game mentioned to have been played by sages even as early as the Ramayana era, involves two groups and their ability to start singing songs with the last word of the song opponent ends.
All in all, it was a Sunday evening well spent, for most of the attendees, who were mainly in the sixties and seventies, a time to reminisce a moment when they were in the spring of their youth and the whole wide world was at their taking. With it must have been bitter instances, but music numbs the pain. The poetic and thought-provoking lines of Tamil songs do it better. It heals.
Interspersed through this 3-hour musical extravaganza was a discourse on musical appreciation, musical game (a sort of Tamil Antakshari) and a mimicry presentation. Antakshari, an ancient spoken parlour game mentioned to have been played by sages even as early as the Ramayana era, involves two groups and their ability to start singing songs with the last word of the song opponent ends.
All in all, it was a Sunday evening well spent, for most of the attendees, who were mainly in the sixties and seventies, a time to reminisce a moment when they were in the spring of their youth and the whole wide world was at their taking. With it must have been bitter instances, but music numbs the pain. The poetic and thought-provoking lines of Tamil songs do it better. It heals.
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