MALAI RANI MUNDHANAI - OREY VANAM ORE BHOOMI

- Saravanan writes: 

MSV and Jolly Abraham- Part 1

He is a revered name in South Indian Christian music circles. His performance earlier this month at the Festival of Worship organized by the Asian Indian Christian Church at Silver Spring, Maryland had the audience spellbound. He was the star attraction at the ‘Aradhana 2007’, a grand praise and worship program at the North Valley Christian Fellowship in Milpitas. The devoted flock to his stirring concerts- be it at the El-Bethel Assembly of God Church in Staten Island, The Forum Hall at Denver, The Chicago Indian Church, The New England Tamil Church at Wakefield, St. George Syriac Orthodox Church at Toronto, The National Evangelical Church in Bahrain or at devotional congregations all over India. Brother Jolly Abraham (or Jollee Abraham as he spells his name) has found his true calling in service of the Lord.

However, there was a time in the not too distant past when Jolly Abraham had made a memorable tryst with film music. While the Malayalam film songs he rendered are numerous, with many of them being hugely popular, there are a handful of Tamil film songs that came his way that have remained in my frequent playlists unmindful of the years passing by.



A website devoted to Brother Jollee Abraham and his gospel songs has a brief biographical sketch:

http://www.jolleeabraham.com/aboutus.htm

Jolly Abraham learned music from masters such as Kumbalam Baburaj, Natesa Bagavathar and R.M. Sundaram. He came to Chennai from Cochin in 1974 to record two devotional songs for HMV. He remained in Chennai, finding employment in the recording studio of HMV. It was then that he made his debut in film music, and that prized opportunity came from lyricist Sreekumaran Thampi who was producing the Malayalam movie ‘chattambi kalyaaNi’ (1975/Bhavani Rajeswari Films) starring Prem Nazeer, Soman and Lakshmi. Singing the song ‘jayikanai janichavan nyaan’ for Prem Nazeer under the baton of veteran M.K. Arjunan, the newcomer stole the show in the album that had songs by stalwarts such as Yesudas, Jayachandran, Brahmanandan, P.Leela and Madhuri. M.K. Arjunan was so impressed by the young singer that he continued to give him some worthy songs in the subsequent years. Sample these- ‘manam pOtti veenu’ (paarijaatham/1976), ‘pidichal pulinkOmbil’ and ‘enikkippOl padanam’ (madhuraswapnam/1977), ‘kaLLakkaneru koNdu’(priyadarshini/1978), ‘allaavin thirusabaiyil’ and ‘thankam kondoru’ (jayikanai janichavan/1978), ‘shantha raathri thiruraathri’ (thuramukham/1979) and ‘nellu vilanjE’ (nithya vasantham/1979).

Other composers were not far behind in employing the vocals of Jolly Abraham. G. Devarajan gave him songs such as ‘sahyachalathilE’ (peNpuli/1977), ‘dhoom thanakka’ (guruvayoor kEsavan/1977), ‘yEzhu swarangaL’ (samudram/1977), ‘villadichaan paattupaadi’ and ‘aalam udayOne’ (vellayani paramu/1979), ‘kanva kanyakE’ (amirtha chumbanam/1979) and ‘punyapithaavE’ (ee thalamura inganE/1985). Under the baton of Salil Chowdhury, Jolly sang a mellifluous duet with Vani- ‘maamaliyilE poomaram’ (aparaadhi/1977). Dakshinamoorthi Swami called the youngster to team up with veteran P. Leela to render ‘gOvindanaama sankeerthanam’ (thuruppu gulan/1977). Another composer who summoned Jolly repeatedly was A.T. Ummer- remember songs such as ‘kuttappa nyaan achanallada’ (snEhikkan samayamillaa/1978), ‘athiraponnoonjal’ (puthariyamkam/1978), ‘varika nee vasanthamE’ (pambaram/1979), ‘inathE pulari’ (agnivyooham/1979), ‘nimishangaL pOlum’ (manasavachcha karmana/1979), ‘maanishada’ (arangum aniyarayum/1980) and ‘yahaabi’ (maNithali/1984). Shyam (enikki nyaan swantham, aadipapam, kaumaraprayam (all 1979), ammayum makkaLum, nayattu (both 1980), veLichcham vidharunna peNkutti, john jaffer janardhanan (both 1982), himam, aadhipathyam (both 1983)) and K.J. Joy (pattaaLam janaki/1977, muthuchippakaL/1980, OrmakaLE vida tharoo/1980) reserved some delectable numbers for Jolly. Even as late as in 1993, Jolly got to sing along with M.G.Sreekumar the popular ‘anthikadapurathu’ composed by Johnson for the movie chamayam.

* * * *

However, there was one composer who took Jolly Abraham possessively under his fold and ensured that the youngster got to sing many of his delightful compositions, both in Malayalam and Tamil, and he was none other than our Mellisai Mannar M.S. Viswanathan. At the dawn of the 70s, MSV went all out to bring variety in the vocals. Even while retaining his loyal team of stalwarts TMS, Suseela and Eswari, the master set about encouraging new talent with enthusiasm. Thus the new sensation SPB became a pet protégé, the hitherto sidelined Janaki found some challenging compositions of the master coming her way, Yesudas, who could not make much headway in tfm in the 60s truly arrived in the 70s, Jayachandran found exciting avenues opening up both in Malayalam and Tamil, and the gifted Vani Jairam soon found a permanent place in MSV’s ensemble. And in the late 70s and early 80s, singers such as B.S. Sasirekha, T.L. Maharajan, Rajkumar Bharathi, Seergazhi Sivachidambaram, Kalyani Menon and Bombay Jayasri secured enviable opportunities to sing under the master’s baton.

And foremost among MSV’s discoveries in this period was Jolly Abraham. Impressed by the newcomer, the master took it upon himself to ensure that Jolly got to sing songs of varied delight under his baton. Thus in the late 70s and early 80s Jolly basked in the privileged attention of MSV. At a time when tfm was in the trance of the early magic of IR, these delightful MSV-Jolly Abraham collaborations managed to find fleeting popularity , but soon disappeared from the airwaves. Let us revisit some defining instances of this collaboration and rediscover the joys of a bygone era. True, many of these songs are all but forgotten today, but I am sure they are bound to evoke a sigh of nostalgic bliss in all those in whose memories tfm of the 70s holds a special place. Admittedly, Jolly Abraham was not in the league of Yesudas or Jayachandran, but MSV did find a spark in Jolly that he harnessed to create songs of lilting appeal.

The first song that Jolly Abraham sang for MSV was for the Malayalam movie ‘panchami’ (1976/Supriya) starring Prem Nazeer, Jayan, Soman and Jayabharathi. The song ‘rajanigandhi vidaRnnu’ found instant appeal, and is rated among the best ever works of MSV in Malayalam. The following year saw MSV’s Malayalam compositions such as ‘kapalikare’ (rathimanmathan) and ‘ambalapuzha payasam’ (parivarthanam) striking gold in Jolly’s vocals. The annals of Mfm of 1978 surely have a special place for those joyous MSV-Jolly collaborations such as ‘visvamOhini’ (madhurikkunna raathri) and ‘karaNam thettiyal’ (raNdiloNNu).

And it was also in 1978 that MSV escorted Jolly Abraham to Tamil cinema. MSV got Jolly to render 4 songs in different movies in 1978, and the newcomer made an unforgettable debut singing the song ‘adiyEnai paaramma pidivaatham yEnamma’ for the movie vaNakkathukkuriya kaathaliyE.

vaNakkathukkuriya kaathaliyE was produced and directed by A.C. Thirulokachander. Aroordas wrote the dialogues for the movie that was based on a story by novelist Rajendrakumar. Sridevi played the dual role of twins separated at birth, with one of them gifted with clairvoyant powers. The cast included Vijayakumar, Rajinikant, Jaiganesh, Jayachitra, S.V. Subbiah and Ashokan.



The song sequence of the SOTD is this. Vijayakumar dons the garb of a mendicant who woos Sridevi on the steps of a hillside temple. He is optimistic of his success; after all a similarly disguised Lord Murugan had won over Valli, hence the odds seem tilted in his favor. Though she is disgusted initially at this wizened vagabond daring to make lecherous advances, the disgust turns to delight when she realizes his true identity. More merriment is in store when thereafter she mistakes a genuine mendicant for Vijayakumar, and dances around the bewildered beggar with romantic abandon, even as Vijayakumar watches the fun amusedly.

MSV crafts a caressing melody that seems perfect for a lover wooing his inamorata, with the thundhana finding imaginative employment all through the song. Jolly makes a great entry in tfm.

Listen to ‘adiyEnai paaramma’ from vaNakkathukkuriya kaathaliyE (1978/Cine Bharath) 
Sung by Jolly Abraham & B.S. Sasirekha
Lyrics by Vaali
Music by M.S. Viswanathan

The song is 30 years old now (the movie was released in July 1978), yet the master has bestowed upon it an effortless enticement that enables it to defy with contempt the ravages of time…

SOTD #953: MSV and Jolly Abraham- Part II

Moderators: Murali Venkatraman, Saravanan

15 posts • Page 1 of 1

SOTD #953: MSV and Jolly Abraham- Part II

by bb » Tue Jul 08, 2008 6:18 am

Song of the Day: MSV and Jolly Abraham- Part II.

http://www.dhool.com/sotd2/953.html

- Saravanan writes:

MSV and Jolly Abraham- Part 2



Though the first Tamil film song that Jolly sang was ‘adiyEnai paaramma’ from vaNakkathukkuriya kaathaliyE, the first Tamil movie to be released with a song by Jolly was oru nadigai naadagam paarkiRaaL. oru nadigai naadagam paarkiRaaL was released on 30 June 1978, while vaNakkathukkuriya kaathaliyE was released a fortnight later on 14 July 1978. ‘nadigai paarkkum naadagam’, the song that Jolly sang with B.S. Sasirekha for MSV in oru nadigai naadagam paarkiRaaL was featured as SOTD earlier with a memorable write-up by Sathyakabali. See here:

http://www.dhool.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4352

Let us now revisit the 2 songs remaining from the MSV-Jolly collaborations of 1978. Interestingly, these 2 are Jolly-Sasirekha duets as well, thus Sasirekha was Jolly’s co-singer in his first 4 Tamil songs; and except innadigai paarkkum naadagam’, Sasirekha was merely a humming companion.

The first song is ‘mangai endRaal vaanam kooda mayangum’ from the movie iRaivan koduththa varam that had Vijayakumar, Rajinikanth, Srikanth, Sumitra, ‘Fadafat’ Jayalakshmi and Lakshmisri in its cast. This was among the last movies directed by veteran A. Bhimsingh. More on Bhimsingh’s last movies here:

http://www.dhool.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4393

This song was filmed on Rajinikanth. I have vague memories of watching the song on TV many years back- it showed an unabashed Rajini professing love to a series of women in succession. MSV comes up with a catchy tune bolstered by a grand prelude; Sasirekha hums through the first and third interludes, while MSV designs a longish second prelude. The inimitable Kannadasan seems a trifle indulgent as he writes on one of his favourite themes, while Jolly sings the seductive lines with youthful ebullience. The feet-tapping rhythm of the song showcases the master composer in his elements…

Listen to ‘mangai endRaal’ from iRaivan koduththa varam (1978/ Raja Cine Arts)
Sung by Jolly Abraham & B.S. Sasirekha
Lyrics by Kannadasan
Music by M.S. Viswanathan

* * * *

The last of the MSV-Jolly collaborations of 1978 is ‘kalyaaNappeN pola vandhaaLE’ from agnipravEsam. Srikanth and Padmapriya were the lead actors in this obscure movie directed by K. Narayanan.

Listen to ‘kalyaaNappeN pola vandhaaLE’ from agnipravEsam (1978/United Combines)
Sung by Jolly Abraham & B.S. Sasirekha
Lyrics by Pulamaipiththan
Music by M.S. Viswanathan

A song replete with the grandeur of an archetypal MSV composition; the second charaNam veers into a path quite different from the ones traced by the first and third. The getti mELam heralds the auspicious opening, and the song flows on in the exacting lines of the master. And with a soulful rendition by the singers, this one is surely worthy of excavation from the remorseless sands of time. 

- Saravanan writes:

MSV and Jolly Abraham- Part 3




Progressing to 1979, we find Jolly Abraham singing for Shankar-Ganesh, and the song was ‘paalukku aadai suvaiyaagum’, a duet with Vani Jairam for the movie ‘raajrajEswari’. The same year, HMV released a record of Tamil Baila songs sung by Jolly Abraham. The songs were written by Udayanan and set to tune by Ben Viswesh. I recall songs from the album such as ‘mElE paar vaanam’, ‘meesa muLaichchaa’, ‘vaadi raajaathi’and ‘kalyaaNa aasai’ finding frequent airtime. Besides this, Jolly’s version of ‘chinnna maamiyE’ was also popular at the time.

Coming to Jolly’s songs for MSV that year, we find Malayalam collaborations such as ‘aalinkombathu’ (iniyun kaaNaam), ‘allah allah’ and ‘padachontE kaiyilE’ (indradhanus) and ‘sankhumukham kadappurathoru’(pathivritha).

In Tamil, we find that Jolly got to render 3 songs for MSV in 1979. The first of these was ‘malairaaNi mundhanai’ from orE vaanam orE bhoomi. We had dwelt at length on this movie when the song ‘vaLamaana bhoomiyil’ was featured as SOTD. See here:

http://www.dhool.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3543

The song ‘malairaaNi mundhanai’ is sung by Vani Jairam, with Jolly providing the humming support. The sequence shows Nurse Lakshmi (K.R. Vijaya) singing out of awe and joy at the sight of the Niagara falls, while Doctor Joe (American actor Joe Waddington) who encourages her to sing, sings along with her, perceiving her excitement with indulgence, and yes, love.

Listen to ‘malairaaNi mundhanai’ from orE vaanam orE bhoomi (1979/Geo Movie Productions) 
Sung by Jolly Abraham & Vani Jairam
Lyrics by Kannadasan
Music by M.S. Viswanathan

Various poets have waxed eloquent on the wonders of the Niagara Falls James K. Liston in his ‘Niagara Falls- A Poem’, equates the falls to a divine power and exclaims, ‘How long has tuned this mystic minstrelsy? When did thy swift but solemn march begin? When wast thou first heaved o’er those heights sublime-that fringe, with green, Ontario’s mantle blue?’’ Henry Austin in his ‘Niagara’ pays his obeisance thus, ‘In all the lightness of thy moving grace; in all the whiteness of thy soaring spray; in all the brightness of thy might!’ J.S. Buckingham in his ‘To Niagara’ gushes, ‘Hail! Sovereign of the world of floods- whose majesty and might first dazzles, then enraptures, then o'erawes the aching sight!’ And Henry Howard Brownell in his ‘Niagara’ queries, ‘Whence come ye, O wild waters? By what scenes of majesty and beauty have ye flowed?’

But our mighty bard, of course, is in a league of his own. See how he interprets with imaginative flourishes the thoughts of a woman who is awestruck at the first glimpse of the mighty torrents; the poetry just tumbles from his pen…

malai raaNi mundhanai sariya sariya
maNmaadha vaNNa madi viriya viriya
iLankaatRu maarbagathai thazhuva thazhuva
eNNugindREn kavidhai ondru ezutha ezutha 

And in his ode to the cascade, Kannadasan goes on to wonders thus at the origin of the falls- he philosophizes that the air that escapes through the sighs of a lover condenses into water as the tears of his beloved, and even as the clouds gather to console and comfort, the cataract pours…

kaadhal vitta moochu ondRu perugi perugi kaatRaagi
kaadhaliyin kaNNeerthaan urugi urugi neeraagi
mEgamennum thOzhi vandhu kaniya kaniya mozhi pEsi
thaayai vittu Odichchellum peNNai polE nazhuvi
mEdai vittu aadi thuLLum menmai thaanO aruvi.. 

How imaginative of him to see the rushing waters as a petulant child running away from her mother!

Like poets over centuries, composers too have been spellbound by the majestic sight of the Niagara. The violin piece ‘Niagara’ by Norwegian violinist Ole Bull, German composer Friedrich Wilhelm Tschirch’s concert overture ‘Am Niagara’ and Polish-French pianist Henri Kowalski’s ‘Aux bords du Niagara’ are profound instances of 19th century works inspired by the mighty falls. Legend has it that Dvořák stood transfixed at his first sight of the Niagara and exclaimed, 'Lord God, this will become a symphony in b minor!’ Nathaniel Dett’s ‘Cave of the Winds’, Harvey Gaul's ‘The Masque of Niagara’ and Joseph Roff's suite ‘Niagara’ are musical works of the 20th century that have the thundering falls as their theme.

Our Mellisai Mannar earns a place of pride in this pantheon. I always wonder at the man’s creative prowess- his compositions have in turn beckoned exotic Europe in sivandhamaN, summoned the mystique of the Orient in ulagam sutRum vaaliban, and now serenade the majesty of the Niagara in the SOTD. I just cannot fathom how, for the songs must have been composed much before they were filmed…. How much imagination and thought must have gone into every note….Listen to the magnificent prelude… the first glimpse of the waterfalls in their glory…. Jolly Abraham’s opening humming is like the first wisp of the spray that lands on the hands of the delighted tourist ….Vani arrives bedecked with the imperial majesty of the tune that matches the splendour of the falls…Observe the structure of the charaNam…how the lines assume a graceful ascent and then tumble down much like the cascades they speak of….Cascades of sumptuous music…

* * * *

The next song that Jolly Abraham sang for MSV in 1979 is a great favourite of mine- ‘aasaiyuLLa maapiLLaikku’ from needhikku mun neeyaa naana. Produced by K.S. Kutralingam and directed by Durai, the movie starred Vijayakumar, Srikanth, Latha and Aparna.

Listen to ‘aasaiyuLLa maapiLLaikku’ from needhikku mun neeyaa naana (1979/ Sri Gomathisankar Films) 
Sung by Jolly Abraham & P. Suseela
Lyrics by Selvabharathi
Music by M.S. Viswanathan

The song opens with the man and woman shivering, unable to bear the cold. I assume they are trapped in a place that is open to icy blasts of wind; else they have sought shelter from the downpour outside. Inborn inhibitions drive them to huddle separately, with some partition erected between them. However, the wet weather makes them seek warmth, and the roaring fire that they have lit evokes unbearable physical longings in them… she seems bolder of the two, and takes the initiative to express her feelings and questions the need for the partition between them…. He understands but wants to be sure before he proceeds further… he sings of all that he dreams…and asks if his she would do all that he dreams of… her response is couched in affirmative analogies…the cautious man that he is, he needs further convincing … she loses her patience then and chides him for prolonging the debate denying them both the pleasure that they crave for… Suseela and Jolly Abraham enact this scorching sequence with fetching panache…

The song was often aired at that time, and then like many of its contemporaries was soon forgotten. A delight such as this surely deserves a place in posterity.

MSV and Jolly Abraham- Part 4



Let us take up today the next 2 MSV-Jolly Abraham collaborations, both of them delectable Jolly Abraham- Vani Jairam duets. 

The first is ‘mayangum uLLangaL’ for the movie ‘mahalakshmi’. Jaishankar, Sangeetha, Asokan and Major Sundararajan were the actors in the movie that was produced by Aruppukkotai S. Arumugam and directed by R. Pattabhiraman. 

Listen to ‘mayangum uLLangaL’ from mahalakshmi (1979/Arumugam Arts) 
Sung by Jolly Abraham & Vani Jairam
Lyrics by Kannadasan
Music by M.S. Viswanathan

Filled with the master’s famed flourishes, this song was another Radio Ceylon favourite that found itself consigned unfairly to the dustbin of history. 

* * * *

We now progress to 1980. We find Jolly Abraham singing for T. Rajendar and A.A. Raj, and the song ‘ada manmathan ratchikkaNum’ (oru thalai raagam) was a runaway hit. Another 1980 song of Jolly was 'raajaa unnai paarthaalE pOthum' composed by Rajesh which Jolly rendered along with S.P. Shailaja for the Modern Theaters' venture 'thuNivE thOzhan'.

Jolly also sang for Vijayabhaskar this year; the song ‘iravil iraNdu paRavaigaL’ (soundharyamE varuga varuga) in which Jolly’s co-singers were P. Suseela, SPB and Vani Jairam, was put up as SOTD here:

http://www.dhool.com/sotd2/482.html

Resuming our trail of MSV-Jolly Abraham collaborations, we look first at the Malayalam songs that MSV reserved for Jolly Abraham this year. The song that comes to mind at once is the lilting duet with P. Suseela ‘kannipoovinnu kalyaaNam’ for the movie Lorry. Another popular Malayalam song that Jolly sang for MSV in 1980 is ‘ponnunkula pookkula’ with L.R. Anjali. 

In Tamil, 1980 saw Jolly Abraham singing 2 songs for MSV, and let us take up the first one in this chapter. The song is ‘gangai karaiyil viLaindha kavithai’ from the movie ‘geetha oru seNbagappoo’. The movie was produced by T.R. Krishnan and G.M. Mani, and directed by S.A. Kannan. The story revolved around Geetha (Lavanya) whose marriage has been predetermined with her maternal uncle Thyagu (Srikanth). However, Geetha is in love with Saravanan (Jaiganesh), a tenant in their house. Saravanan in unaware of Geetha’s feelings; and he finds himself drawn to his superior at his workplace - Lalitha (Subhashini). Things move along predictable lines, with Geetha uniting with Thyagu in the end. 

This song finds place as a dream sequence of Geetha… she imagines Saravanan carving her face on the riverside rocks, and from there they are transported to a distant time in history when as lovers they strolled across continents and centuries…

Listen to ‘gangai karaiyil’ from geetha oru seNbagappoo (1980/Rajeswari Movies) 
Sung by Jolly Abraham & Vani Jairam
Lyrics by Kannadasan
Music by M.S. Viswanathan

Kannadasan dips his pen in a magic potion of joyous romance, and the verdant verses flow on….Jolly Abraham gives the song an arresting opening. The master designs an intricate structure with the lines taking a captivating convoluted path marked by staggering turns. Vani makes a bewitching entry with a caressing humming. The interlude that follows is truly magnificent. A remarkable composition.

MSV and Jolly Abraham- Part 5



The other composition of MSV that Jolly Abraham rendered in 1980 was delightful duet with S. Janaki, ‘Oduvathu azhagu ratham’ from ‘deiveega raagangaL’. Srikanth, Vadivukkarasi, Surulirajan, ISR, V. Gopalakrishnan, Sachu, Leela and Pushpa acted in the movie that was written and directed by A. Veerappan. Srikanth played a sitar player who seduces a series of women. The story revolves around 3 such jilted women who end their lives and then hover around him as ghosts seeking vengeance. The movie was treated at the marquee with the contempt it deserved. A. Veerappan ought to have stuck to what he knew best- writing dialogues for comedy sequences! 

Listen to ‘Oduvathu azhagu ratham’ from deiveega raagangaL (1980/Aachi Cine Arts) 
Sung by Jolly Abraham & S. Janaki
Lyrics by Kannadasan
Music by M.S. Viswanathan

You would have realized that it is this pleasing song that manages to salvage the movie from total oblivion. MSV’s mastery over his craft is evident all through… the allure of the accordion that arrests the listener from the opening, the different delineation that Janaki gives to her lines of the pallavi, the subtle percussion all through, the shift to the tabla in ‘kalyaaNa peN allavO’ in particular, the wonderfully designed charaNams that flow so seamlessly…

* * * *

Turning the pages of the 1981 chronicle, we come across the graceful Malayalam duet ‘Omal kalalaya vasangaLE’ composed by MSV that Jolly Abraham and Vani Jairam sang for the movie ‘kOLiLakkam’. 

In Tamil, the MSV album in which Jolly Abraham found place was thiruppangaL. The movie had Jaiganesh, ‘Fadafat’ Jayalakshmi and Radhika in its cast and was directed by Joseph Anandan. ‘Oraayiram thiruvaasagam’ from the movie was earlier featured as SOTD here: 

http://www.dhool.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5227

Jolly Abraham got to sing 2 songs in the movie- ‘ennadi kalyaaNa peNNE’ with Sasirekha and ‘iravin veLichangaL’ with Ramola. 

Listen to ‘ennadi kalyaaNa peNNE’ from thiruppangaL (1981/Maharani Productions) 
Sung by Jolly Abraham & B.S. Sasirekha
Lyrics by Kannadasan
Music by M.S. Viswanathan

The following year, the lone MSV composition that Jolly Abraham sang, along with Malaysia Vasudevan and S.N. Surendar, was ‘delhikku raaja paLLikku pOnaa sandhOsham thaanE ellOrukkum’ (oru vaarisu uravaakiRathu/Trinity Creations). Jolly’s lines were filmed on veteran Jaishankar who played a good-natured Pathan. And in 1983, Jolly sang in MSV’s home production ‘silk silk silk’ (Sri Ganesh Kalamandir). The song was the operatic duet ‘ennai vittu pirindha kaadhalan’ with Vani Jairam.

And with that we come to the end of the retrospective of the songs that Jolly Abraham sang under the baton of the Mellisai Mannar. A short and sweet association that bequeathed a dozen delights. True, most of these songs were for nondescript movies and would have never come to our notice had it not been for Radio Ceylon; and even then found only ephemeral popularity and have been lost subsequently in the relentless march of time. Again, these songs would never find inclusion in any compilation of the best compositions of MSV. Nonetheless, they do have an endearing appeal that would secure for them a place, howsoever humble, in the annals of tfm. 

* * * *

Jolly Abraham sang the popular duet ‘rEkha rEkha’ (kaatRukkena vEli) with P. Suseela in Sivaji Raja’s music in 1982. The song found place in the SOTD parade here:

http://www.dhool.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2462

1983 saw Jolly Abraham singing with S.P. Shailaja the song ‘bhoomiyilE saami illai’ for the movie ‘bhaktha dhuruva maarkaNdEya’ Music was by veterans P.Bhanumati and S. Rajeswara Rao. 

After a long hiatus, Ilaiyaraja sent for Jolly Abraham to sing the song ‘oru chinna maNikkuyilu sindhu padikkudhadi’ with Bhavatharini for the movie kattappanchayathu (1996).

Jolly acted in the Malayalam movie ‘aakramanam’ (1981/Bhavani Rajeswari Productions) in which he sang the song ‘Odum thira oNaam thira’. The same year he played a cameo in the Tamil movie ‘kiLinjalgaL’ (Sunitha Cine Arts). The movie was dubbed in Malayalam as ‘Ruby my darling’ in 1982. 

Jolly Abraham is an A grade artiste of All India Radio and has featured in several Doordarshan programs as well.

* * * *

Jolly Abraham sang a set of devotional songs for Madras Pentecostal Assembly which became immensely popular. And this led to Jolly recording 14 volumes of gospel songs for MPA. Subsequently, Jolly trained his focus on devotional songs and is today the foremost among gospel singers of the South. He sang for many non-film devotional albums, the songs of which found frequent airtime. Songs such as yEsu en parikaari, aah engum inbam, sandhOsham poguthE, yEsu endhan nEsaraajan, kartharai nambiyE, visuvaasam visuvaasam, agni jwaalai, thirumbi vandhEn and oru pOthum maRavaatha have all acquired the halo of immortal classics. Inreco’s ‘adhisayamaana suvesEsham’ featuring Jolly Abraham and Sasirekha is an album of perennial popularity. Veterans of Christian devotional works, including Jikki, Sister Sarah Navroji, P.J. Lipson, Sathy Victor, M.S. Seelan, B.M.J. Dhairiyam, Chitty Prakash Dhaiyiram, Llewellyn Samuel and EVA. S.M. Jayakumar have all worked repeatedly with Jolly Abraham to bring out songs of stirring piety.




Jolly Abraham established a music troupe of talented artistes called ‘Hosanna’. Led by Jolly, Hosanna has performed devotional concerts all over the world. Setting up his own state-of- the- art recording studio and audio company, both in the name of his son, Rohith, in Chennai in 1991, Jolly has released numerous devotional albums such as Christmas vandhadhE, maNavaazhvu, several volumes of Gospel Hits, 14 volumes of Hosanna, ekkalam (video), Bethalayin oli, Millennium Carols and Christmas Star that have found commercial and critical acclaim. Besides Tamil, Rohith Recording Company has brought out several devotional albums in Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada as well. Another innovative release is ‘sarva samaya sangeetham’, an album featuring lessons in Carnatic music. An English album presenting Biblical stories in songs titled ‘The Singing Bible’ is a recent success. 



With an intention to serve the underprivileged, Jolly established a trust called ‘Musi-Care Cultural & Charitable Trust’ in 2001. Music events, including a 12 hour non-stop concert every year, are organized and the proceeds are used to buy wheel chairs, sewing machines, calipers, medicines etc for the poor and needy. Veterans like PBS, Yesudas, SPB, Jikki, S. Janaki & L.R. Eswari have performed willingly in these concerts. 

Though hailing from Kerala, Jolly has made Chennai his home. His wife Elizabeth, son Rohith and daughter Reshma support him wholeheartedly in his desire to serve the Lord through music. Reshma and Rohith are quietly blossoming into popular singers in their own right. In an interview, Elizabeth had this to say of her husband, ‘As he would appear regularly on television, his face and voice were familiar to me. I liked his voice but was not his admirer. In fact, I was an ardent fan of S. P. Balasubramaniam. But when my father showed me his photo in connection with a wedding proposal, I was surprised. Now, my life is centres round him. I try to support him in his work. The Bible says wives have to be submissive. Many men misuse this verse, justifying their inclination to rule over their wives. Jollee believes a marriage can succeed only in a democratic atmosphere, where the wife can voice her views freely. If I can convince him he is in the wrong, he will give in graciously. I was only too happy when he decided to use his talent to glorify God. Despite an unwillingness to give up food that would harm his voice, he sounds good even at this age. It is only right that he dedicates such a gift to the One who gave it.’

And Jolly has this to say of his wife, ‘Criticism helps you clamber up the wall of perfection. She points out what is wrong in a performance; I am thankful for it. She assists me in my singing. For instance, she tutors me in the pronunciation of difficult Tamil words. It is better to make a mistake at home than in front of 5,000 people!’



Jolly never fails to attend social and cultural events, and wins over the crowd with his disarming smile and endearing humility. A unique Bharatanatyam recital titled ‘yEsuvE saraNam’ conceptualized and staged by Maryland’s Kalairani Natya Saalai opened with Jolly rendering the invocation "I will worship you in song, music and dance steps" in Lathangi Raagam. When the Mogappair Malayali Samajam held a grand celebration for Onam 3 years back, Jolly was the star attraction. He was the chief guest at the launching of the Powervision Christian Channel in Bahrain, and performed at the music festival organized by the channel in Doha last year. 

Soon after the ‘kattapanchayathu’ song, Jolly took a voluntary decision to move away from film music and sing only gospel songs and propagating glory of the Lord. The verse from the Bible that stood by him in remaining steadfast to his decision was Isaiah 43:1 which says “I have called you by your name and you are mine”. Now in his 50s, Brother Jolly Abraham is a contented man, and devotes himself to the service of the Lord with serenity and joy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNMC0EyduhQ


Leave to the nightingale her shady wood;
A privacy of glorious light is thine
Whence thou dost pour upon the world a flood
Of harmony, with instinct more divine;
Type of the wise, who soar, but never roam-
True to the kindred points of Heaven and Home!

- William Wordsworth (To the Skylark)


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