A voice from yesteryear
G. JAYAKUMAR
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Playback singer Santha P. Nair walks down memory lane.
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EXCHANTING MUSICALLY: Santha P. Nair
`Unarunaru unnikanna,' `Poove nalla poove,' `Kuruvikalai uyaraam' are some of the songs that Malayalis hold dear. Now in her seventies, Santha P. Nair, the voice behind those enchanting songs, speaks of her experiences.
An incident, which she looks back upon fondly, was when music director M.B. Srinivasan asked her to sing a duet with a newcomer for the film `Kalpaadukal'. This was a period when lead female singers were reluctant to sing with newcomers, for fear of losing their popularity. She, however, readily agreed.
Together, they sang `Attention penne,' a song with a touch of humour in it. The new singer's name was K.J. Jesudas, and it was his first duet.
Santha learnt the nuances of Carnatic music at the age of eight. Her gurus included Cherthala Gopalan Nair and Ramnad Krishnan. Under Cherthala Gopalan Nair she gained the confidence for performing on stage . Santha remembers how at the age of 10 she sang a Swati Tirunal Adathala varnam before the famous Muthiah Bhagavathar. "When I finished, he said `belle belle nalla padara."'
After her graduation in music from Queen Mary's College, Chennai, she joined All India Radio, Kozhikode, as announcer. Apart from stage programmes, she regularly sang light songs for the radio.
First offer
The first offer to sing for films came from producer P.R.S. Pillay for the film `Thiramala.' Her first song was a lullaby, `Amma than thankakudame' under the baton of music director Vimal Kumar. The recording was at Cine Laboratory, Mumbai.
"It was a thrilling experience, singing for the first time with a full orchestra," she says. This was followed by several films like `Jailpully,' `Mariakutty,' `Neelakuyil,' `Palattukoman,' `Rarichen enna pouran,' `Murapennu' and so on.
Santha remembers how she was persuaded by Ramu Kariat to compose music for a song in his film `Yezhu Rathrikal.' The music director Salil Choudhury was away in Mumbai. The song was `Makkathu poi varum maanathe.' "When Salilda heard it, he complimented me profusely."
In 1965, she sang `Kadavathu thoni aduthapol' in the film `Murapennu' along with S. Janaki. Although the song remains a hit to this day, that was Santha's swan song.
A new set of female singers had taken over the industry. Santha quietly became a part of the rich heritage of Malayalam film music.
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Entertainment
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
