Forever yours, musically
MALATHI RANGARAJAN
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It was a scintillating session of music with MSV and TKR, at Kamaraj Hall, Chennai.
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Photo: S.S.Kumar
EVERGREEN REFRAINS: Composers M.S. Viswanathan and T.K.Ramamurthy.
Recently All India Radio, Chennai, threw open the doors of Kamaraj Hall to connoisseurs of music, MSV style, and the packed auditorium was proof enough that scintillating melodies are timeless. The show was aptly titled, `Andrum, Indrum, Endrum' (`Yesterday, Today & Forever').
Singers Jaishri, Anusha, Ananthu and others, transported the audience to the mellifluous world of composers M.S.Viswanathan and T.K.Ramamurthy. Organised for the occasion of Tamil New Year's Day, the accent was also on AIR Rainbow's 101.4 FM channel.
Bouncing back to form after a bout of illness, MSV was a picture of enthusiasm. The concert began with the ever-popular `Shanthi Nilayam' number, `Iraivan...' And with it the melodic mood was set.
Mention Kannadasan, and the man always gets emotional. Fondly remembering the lyricist's favourite song, `Pullaanguzhal ... ' MSV had Kovai Murali and Ananthu rendering the piece with fervour. The improvisations in MSV's voice added lustre to the piece.
When Ananthu, an MSV constant, sang the ever-enjoyable `Engeyum... ' that Kamal Haasan crooned on screen several years ago, the audience cried out for a repeat and MSV smilingly obliged. Ananthu's another Kamal gem, `Unakkenna Melae Ninraai' was again lapped up by the crowd, whose voracious appetite for the MSV charm seemed insatiable.
Equally fascinating were Deepan Chakravarthi (it was joyous to watch TKR cheerfully putting his hands together for Deepan C. on listening to his opening lines of `Senthamizh Thenmozhiyaal ... '), and Krishnaraj who so tellingly replicated Sirkazhi Govindarajan's `Odam Nadhiyinilae ... ' (Krishnaraj's cheerful smile throughout the song was appreciably infectious.)
The impact
AIR could have paid more attention to the present performing capacity of some of the alluring yesteryear voices, especially as the entire show was being recorded for broadcast. None can dispute the greatness of these singers. Their works of yore are still in demand. But like all other things in life, voices too lose their lure with age.
The timbre of T.M.Soundararjan and P.B.Sreenivos that evening, were not a patch on their own original! After the first two songs, TMS's voice warmed up to a certain extent. His third effort, `Ulagam Pirandhadhu... ' was at best bearable. But sadly PBS could not sustain for even a few minutes — he could neither keep pace with the rhythm nor the instruments. It was disconcerting to hear the greats, whose voices are synonymous with eminence, going off-key! Yet you have to give it to them — their spirits were incredibly high. However, among the senior lot Vani Jairam contributed with her incomparable `Malligai Mullai ... ' presented in the tone she had displayed decades ago. A.L.Raghavan was another singer whose voice is still intact. For the crowd, it was a jubilant jaunt, a nostalgic cruise! And as they nodded their heads in appreciation for the well-sung songs, you understood the thrill of the back-to-the-past syndrome!
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