Poetic mission
K. PRADEEP
|
`Paduga Saigal Padoo' combines O.N.V. Kurup's lyrical lines and Umbayi's melody.
|
THE SINGER AND HIS MUSE: Umbayi, left, and O.N.V. Kurup.
It was nearly 12 years ago. Umbayi's (P.A. Ibrahim) daughter showed him a poem that was printed in a popular Malayalam weekly. The poem was by O.N.V. Kurup and Umbayi fell in love with it.
He played it on his harmonium. The poem became a melodious song.
"I could not sing it for my shows because I had not got the permission from the poet. Then, I met O.N.V. sir at a Kochi hotel where I used to sing regularly. Although I sought his permission, he politely declined. I carried that song in me, singing it to myself," recounts Umbayi. That song has now been included along with eight others by O.N.V. in Umbayi's new Malayalam ghazal album `Paduga Saigal Padoo.'
It was a year back, after the release function of the Umbayi-Sachidanandan album `Akale Mounam Pole,' at Gorky Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram, that O.N.V. asked Umbayi to meet him.
"He gave me four poems and asked me to set them to music. He also insisted that they be set in Kedar, Yeman and Mia Malhar ragas. I was on cloud nine. It was a moment that I had waited for so long. For the next few days I was immersed in composing the music for those lovely lines. When I was through, I met O.N.V. sir and sang what I had composed. This time I carried the old, brown, cutting of that poem that I had first tuned. He was pleasantly surprised and readily agreed to my request to include it in the album," Umbayi adds.
The four songs `Ethoru apoorva nimishathil... ,' `Ennum oru poovu... ,' `Tharumo oru nimisham... ,' `Njan ariyathen... ' and the one that Umbayi treasured for a long, long time `Parayoo njanenginne... ' comprise the songs of the album.
Although the songs do not strictly follow the structures of a raga, they have vivid shades of Thilang, Kedar, Bilawal and Misru-Peelu respectively.
"O.N.V. sir then left for London where he wrote the next four poems. Every poem, word, image that he wrote was simply beautiful. But for me the last four poems were special," feels Umbayi.
The album opens with O.N.V.'s tribute to K. L. Saigal and his immortal song `Soja rajkumari... ' The ghazal, `Paduga Saigal Padoo... ' composed in Mia Malhar must probably be the only occasion where a poet pays a tribute to a singer and one of his favourite songs.
What makes the album interesting is that the songs are not all about joy, sorrow or love. O.N.V.'s keen observations on life and society are reflected in some of the ghazals like `Nilavelicham nilamazha... ' (Sahana) and `Enthinnu kottiadakkunnu... ' (Sivaranjini). The album ends with a Ram Dhun, `Ishwar Allah... .'
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Entertainment
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
