Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Cinema Plus | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

Photo: K.V. Srinivasan

DOWN MELODY LANE L. R. Easwari

Y.Gee. Mahendra’s Madhu Enterprises will felicitate the singer who’s nearing the golden jubilee of her career, on December 9, and honour her with a musical evening of her hits, to be sung by the up and coming voices of today. “I always wished to be unique and I’m thankful to greats such as filmmaker A.P. Nagarajan and composers K.V. Mahadevan, M. S.Viswanathan and T.K. Ramamurthy who made it come true,” says the yesteryear ace. Tagging along for recordings with her mother, a chorus singer, young Easwari easily imbibed the music around her. The energy and drive of the girl, who joined the singing group with mom, got her the first break from APN, in “Nalla Idathu Sambandham.” “Mahadevan was the composer. I sang four songs in it,” she remembers.

The big break from MSV-TKR came in the form of , “Vaarayo en Thozhi.” From day one its popularity has never waned. “It won’t. It’s timeless.” The frank speak is typical of Easwari. Working for MSV was challenging. He wouldn’t spare a singer till he/she sang it the way he wanted. “Certain improvisations, he would accept. But sometimes he would tick you off, saying ‘Just stick to what I tell you.’ There were singers, who would go away wiping their tears, saying they would return the next day. But I would stand unfazed and not budge till I got the effect he wanted. ‘I have to make him eat his words and compliment me,’ I would tell myself. After all, at the end of the day, it was the singers who got name and fame from MSV’s creations.”

If she carved a niche for herself as a crooner for on-screen vamps she also made a mark singing for heroines and comediennes. “Porandhaalum …” with Chandrababu is a hit with even today’s youth. “We had 45 takes for the song. Eventually it was the first take that was okayed. Though the two were great friends, at recordings MSV was a taskmaster. But see the everlasting pieces he made Chandrababu sing?”

“ We had no tracks to listen to, and rehearsals with the entire orchestra were an elaborate affair. Even if one musician made a mistake we had to begin all over again. And even if there were 30 violins playing in unison, TKR would turn around and say, ‘The third violin in the fourth row went wrong.’ Geniuses, I tell you!”

Easwari’s songs on various deities marked another facet of her singing prowess. She sang sensuous numbers and devotional strains in the same breath. “Kunnakudy Vaidyanathan drew me into it first and K.Veeramani gave me some popular devotionals. I didn’t quite expect these songs to make me famous even in far away places such as Malaysia and Singapore,” laughs Easwari.

Her music troupe is still a big draw at temple festivals all over.

“What has to come my way always has. I’m contented with,” she smiles.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail