The joy of Tamil songs

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,
In its every droplet, I see your face.

 Some may call these lyrics cheesy, but it works perfectly well for admirers of Tamil literature.

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 தேடு 

Somewhat 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,
Day and night reciting poetry,
Giving tomorrow to God,
Find peace in the life ahead...

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.

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.

             

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Teachers, glad you didn't leave us kids alone!

PFS 55 GTG 2018
A meeting of students honouring their dear teachers. ©FG

The excitement was palpably clear. Hints of tinges of moistening of the angle of eyes were there but they tried to suppress it. Laughter was free-flowing, so were the stories of an era so distant yet so near. It was a reminiscence of the memory of a bygone era of Malaysia that we yearn to re-live and re-create. Chatter interspersed with occasional bouts of schoolboy chuckling and heckling was drowning the background piped-in music.

A student went, "Gagool (as we referred to one of the fiercest teachers in Form 1; after the character in Henry Huggard Ridley's 'King Solomon's Mines') told me that I stank." The speaker is now a former state football player, who, during school holidays, was forever seen in possession of a soccer ball. It appeared like his main intention of attending school was to play football. He could come to school early, at noon, for the afternoon session, just to play football with whoever was playing. After a hard play in the heat of the tropical high noon sun, he would enter the classroom all dishevelled, clammy and reeking of sweat. It was as though coming to class was an interlude as he would rush to the field during recess and again after school. Disapproving of his overindulgence in extra-curricular activities, 'Gagool' and many teachers would admonish him. He, however, defying all odds, secured a place in the state football team and is doing well in his career too.

And another went, "My economics teacher, Mr NB was so crossed with me that I kept getting poor grades in his subject that he said that he would eat his shoes if I passed my economics." "That spurred me to push hard. When the A-levels results were out and I got through with flying colours, the first thing I did was to ask NB, 'would you like ketchup with that, Sir?' "

Thus went the night with talks of moments that left a mark in their respective lives. Something that may be trivial to some, which the teachers did in the course of their day to day duties may have been a game changer in some. The bottom line is the respect of people of the yesteryears gave to figures of authority. Unlike the people of the 21st century, folks then gave their undivided support to teachers. If a student was punished in school for whatever reason, the last thing that he would do is to complain to his parents. He knows that that would signal another barrage of missiles from the parents instead! Such was the trust in the system. Everybody did their given job well with dedication. Job satisfaction was not measured in terms of monetary figures but in unspoken deeds of appreciation, staying true to the profession and moments like this.

Pink Floyd must be wrong. We need education. Our thoughts need to be controlled and steered towards the path most travelled. Only after that can we venture to areas less explored. We need sarcasm as we need to see the other side of things, from a different perspective. Did I say it makes you witty? We are all another brick in the wall but left to our own devices and the elements of Nature, we would wither away. We need the resilience to fight a good fight. All in all, don't just leave us alone! 

Thank you for all the guidance and the selfless contributions that went beyond the call of duty. 

  

 

©FG

https://asok22.wixsite.com/real-lesson 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Outlet valve...

After 26 years, comrades of the same ship pursuing the same paper qualification met up recently. Many things happened in their lives, the good, bad and ugly. Definitely, they had all matured gracefully. They were no more the shy inhibited individuals as before. Hard knocks of life have made them approachable and humble.

Each attendee was given the opportunity to narrate their career journey. One thing that I noticed is that everyone had their own outlet to unwind from the demands of their daily dealings. Two cruise along the country road on their Harley Davidson bikes, one spend precious time of solitude in an orchard tugged far from human activity. One continue collecting diplomas and paper qualifications. One immerse himself in the pixels world of photography. Yet one runs marathons and away from his shadow. Quite a number surrender themselves to philanthropy. 

Of all of the interesting extracurricular activities that I heard that evening, one insists that she chose archery as a sport that sharpened her mind. She finds that her mental acuity is sharpened by pulling the bow to aim the arrow at the bullseye.