MALARO NILAVO - RAGA BANDHANGAL

- Saravanan writes:

 Sung by P.Jayachandran. Lyrics by Kannadasan. Music by Kunnakkudi Vaidhyanathan. * * * * It has been a matter of ceaseless wonder to me that so little is known about a film whose songs found abundant airtime on either shore of the Palk Strait throughout the 80s. A tattered record sleeve relegated to a grimy alcove of a recording center gave forth this information: raga bandhangaL (1982/ Venus Art Creations) was produced and directed by P.Ramachandran. It also displayed a sepia- tinged image of an obscure actress bedecked in traditional dance attire.

 The title, and the songs too, suggest a love story with classical music and dance interwoven into the canvas, inspired probably by the trailblazing Shankarabharanam. Perhaps the newcomers in the cast couldn’t acquit themselves well enough, or maybe the storyline itself was unconvincing, for the film seems to have been dismissed back to the cans without much ado. Nevertheless, the film deserves a glowing mention in the annals of tfm for it boasts of a grand album, each of the 9 songs sculpted with painstaking care by the maverick music-smith. The singers were an ingenious assortment of the celebrated and the inconspicuous.

 ‘gOvardhanan vandhaan kuzhal eduthu’, (Kannadasan) with a splendid flute recital by Nanjappa, is an exacting classic that only VJ could do justice to. ‘nalam tharuvaai en thaayE meenakshi’ (KJY/ Tiruchi Bharathan), imaginatively adapted from ‘jagath janani’, is a song to be cherished with awe. SPB and VJ lift the remarkable music lesson ‘sarigamapadhani enum sapthaswara jaalam’ (Poovai Senguttuvan) to epic proportions. The traditional ‘koovina poonkuyil koovina kOzhi’ finds soulful depiction by Chandrika. The genius of Kunnakkudi Vaidhyanathan is evidenced in the brilliant ragamalika ‘naan paadum paadalukku swaram solla mudiyuma’ (Nellai Arulmani), where T.L.Maharajan finds astute notes for the intricate lines sung effortlessly by SJ. Kudanthai Gajendran ushers in an air of melancholy in his rendition of Bharathiar’s ‘thooNdiR puzhuvinaippOl’. If there is one song in tfm that T.L.Maharajan can look back with justifiable pride, it is the virutham ‘aadhaara sruthiyOdu paadharavindham’ that progresses to the breathtaking ‘umayaaLin thirupaadham nadamidumE’ (Kannadasan). For those who dismiss with disdain Kunnakkudi Vaidhayanathan’s singing efforts citing thOdi ragam’s ‘kottampatti rOtilE’, his poignant ‘yaar sollai kEtpathendRu kanni manam thavikkuthu’ (Udayaraja) in this film would come as a revelation. And, of course, ‘malarO nilavO malaimagaLO’, the SOTD, deserves exceptional mention. What an exquisite, rich album!

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 Kunnakkudi Ramaswami Vaidhyanathan (born 1935) started working as a violinist in Modern Theatres in the late 40s; his prowess on the violin there elicited high praise from even GR. Not surprising, considering that KV had played the violin for the revered Ariyakkudi Ramanuja Aiyangar at the tender age of 11! KV also accompanied the Soolamangalam Sisters and later Seergazhi Govindarajan in their concerts. It was APN who hastened KV’s re-entry into tfm by incorporating KV’s ‘thiruppankundRathil nee sirithaal’ into kandan karuNai. And when APN fell out with KVM, it was Kunnakkudi Vaithyanathan he turned to. Starting from vaa raja vaa (1969), KV commenced his chequered career as a music director. Recognition came soon enough; he bagged the TN State Government Award for the Best Music Director in 1970 for his score in thirumalai thenkumari. He composed music for around 22 films, two of them (padhinettaam padi & ulaa vandha nila) remaining unreleased.

 While it is so easy to pour scorn on KV’s work in films like kaNkaatchi, vaazhaiyadi vaazhai, raja raja chOzhan and navarathiNam; his achievements in deivam, thiruvaruL, raga bandhangaL and thOdi ragam stand timeless testimony to his profound talents. ‘aasai manathil kOttai katti’, ‘vendRiduvEn, naataiyum naadhathaal vendRiduvEn’, ‘yEduthandhaanadi thillaiyilE’, ‘ezhudhi ezhudhi pazhagi vandhEn’, ‘kaavalukku vEluNdu’, ‘muththamzhil paada vandhEn’, ‘life is a flower’ are all silken threads that wove themselves vibrantly into the rich tapestry of tfm in the 70s.

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 Jayachandran pointed to this song unhesitatingly when, in an interview, he was queried about the most challenging song that came his way in tfm. Listening to it, we would agree, for the complex creation conceived by KV blossoms into an unforgettable hindOLam in JC’s maestoso rendition.