Dedicated to..

Recently, in the much touted, much publicized and much hyped World Tamizh meet(செம்மொழி மாநாடு ), a lady ‘poet’ (poetess sounds chauvinistic to me) while reading out her ‘poem’ said tamil(தமில்) for Tamizh (தமிழ்), aval(அவல்) for avaL (அவள்), panam(பனம்) for paNam (பணம்).To top it all, the gentleman who was the Head of the gathering- who calls himself as ‘Kavi perarasar’- while introducing her said 'தமிழ் இவரது பாட்டன் வீட்டு சொத்து (Tamizh is her grandfather’s wealth) referring to her lineage.

Can there be a greater insult to the language?

But this is not an isolated case. Tune in to any satellite channel. Listen to the anchors. Watch any new tamizh movie. Listen how the actors pronounce the words. Listen to the present day songs.Forget even the North Indian singers. Look how the ‘so called Tamizh singers pronounce the words .Cold blooded murder!

At times, one feels a law has to be enacted and the offenders punished very strictly. They must be put behind the bars and an intense training on pronunciation must be given. Their release date will purely depend on their ability to grasp what is taught and their seriousness in implementing it. But there is a serious problem here. As things stand, I feel at least 70%-80% of the Tamizh population does not pronounce the letters properly. This being the case, will there be enough space in the prisons? And even if there is space, do we have enough people to teach the huge crowd?

Point to ponder!!

Today’s rare gem is a very interesting song. Nearly 3 decades back, Raaja sir had envisaged this situation and composed a song as a parody. Malysia Vasudevan, known for his clear diction sang it admirably well. I know how difficult it is for a person who is attached to the language religiously to murder that language.

The song also takes a dig at self-styled moralists who banned songs at their will. The second charanam makes specific reference to the 2 songs that were banned.

Another speciality of the song is the Thyagraja Bhagawathar style of orchestration.

Without any further delay, let me tell you that the song is ‘Vaalvinil un ninaivaal’ from Pattanam pogalam vaa(1981).

We hear the ripples of melody from the jalatharangam followed by the energetic violins. The saxophone follows in the ‘old’ style rather sarcastically. The Raga Charukesi looks at us with glee.

Malaysia Vasudevan starts the ‘murder’ with pin point accuracy. The pause for almost one cycle gives an opportunity for the mridangam to dance with joy.

The first interlude follows the Bhagawathar pattern.But what is admirable is the fact that though it has that old flavour, one can also easily make out the ‘Raaja style’.Isn’t this one of his many strengths?

The CharNams are designed very interestingly. If one forgets the funny voice and the pronunciation, it can easily be called as a pure classical song!

The second interlude gathers momentum with the violins and the Tabla Tarang giving a swirl of patterns. It is graceful and at the same time is very sharp. The tender saxophone and the captivating flute exude brilliance.

As already mentioned, the second charaNam is full of sarcasm. The niraval swarams at ‘Oram po..’ give us loads of laughter. If only the ‘authorities’ who banned the songs were to listen to this, they would squirm in their seats with their conscience constantly pricking them all over.

The ‘kolluthe’ line typifies the present day Tamizh.

This song is dedicated to all the murderers of Tamizh language with a fervent plea to learn the language properly!

Otherwise Tamizh would turn back to them and say ‘Vaazhvinil un ninaivaal azhugindren..’(I am crying!!).