KMD's video: Odum Nathigalil - Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa 1983

Raaga maalika Odum Nathigalil - P. Jayachandran & P. Suseela Super hit song Ragamalika Internationals sa ri ga ma pa (not to be confused with Parthibans 1994 film sa ri ga ma pa da ni) was another movie whose reels lie forgotten in the attic of some crestfallen producers house. The record sleeve has a picture of Roopa condescending to part with a reluctant smile. The other songs were Odum nadhigaLil by Jayachandran & PS (Kannadasan), ennamma ennamma by Malaysia Vasudevan (Thendral Thyagarajan) and ulagathil naanoru by S.Janaki (Kannadasan) Putting up a brave face despite the ravages wrought by the ethnic conflict in the early 80s, Radio Ceylon endeared itself to its listeners by continuing to air their favourite programmes. And it was in mid 1983, when the schools in Madras were closed in view of the happenings across the Palk Strait, that I first happened to listen to this song one lazy forenoon. And soon enough, Sunday after Sunday, this song stayed put as the numero uno in the weekly countdown, nonchalantly fighting off spirited challenges from the more hyped Goliaths. Many of us would remember the song vaai vittu sirichaa nOi vittu pOgum from KBs poikkaal kuthirai. The voice that accompanies Malaysia Vasudevan is that of Udhayanan, who had also written the lyrics. Udhayanan was a lyricist who became MSVs protégé in the early 80s, and he also lent his voice to some of his own lyrics. Though big time success eluded him, Udhayanan proved his bona fides in the few songs that came his way. Besides vaai vittu siricha, other songs written by Udhayanan that I recall are aththiyum poothathu (manmatha rathangaL/PS/ KVM), pachchai moLagaa (nandRi meeNdum varuga/ Udhayanan & Kausalya/ Shyam), naanthaandi naanthaandi (dEvi darisanam/ PS & Renuka/ MSV), maambalathu poosaari dabaaikiRaanya (aasaikku vayasillai/ Udhayanan & Manorama / MSV) and Otta paanaila naNdai vittaa (mun oru kaalathil/ PS / MSV) Who was this Srikumar, whose entry into tfm and exit from there went wholly unnoticed? tfm often poses such questions whose answers we would probably never know. Yet in the one album that could attain, Srikumar has left behind some lingering memories. While the stylish JC-PS duet Odum nadhigaLil aadum malargaLil unadhu mugam would strike a chord in many, creating an appealing tune is perhaps the easy part of the assignment; arranging an unobtrusive, apposite orchestration as a charming trellis around the lyrics is a daunting challenge for a debutant. But Srikumar comes out in flying colours. And SPB, of course, has to go all out to unleash his magic and honour a humble composer. Right from the opening humming, he makes the song his, and fills it with his finesse. With an amused indulgence that is so becoming, SPB captures the romantic flights of fancy of a love-struck man, singing of his beloved in a tranquil moonlit night. Simply elegant. Elegantly simple Jayachandran likes to sing Tamil songs. He comments' "The natural flow of the Tamil language gives a musical touch to Tamil which makes its songs much more musical". Jayachandran has sung songs for many megahit Tamil films. Some of the most popular songs are; Thirumurugan Ariginile Vallikurathi..", "Palabhikesham Cheyyavo" "Kannanin Sannithiyil" " Aazhagi oruthi illanni vikhara colombo Veeitiyille ", "Kannalille meen vettai", "Kavithai arangerum neram..", "Nan Thaiyumanaannan". Issaikkavu" etc. Jayachandran's first song, sung in Tamil was "Thankachimizhu Pol" for the film "Manipayal", His first hit in Tamil was "Ponnenna Poovenna Kanne" for the film "Alaigal". The all time favourite and a very beautiful Tamil song that cannot be passed without a notice is the mega hit "Rasaathi Unne Kanathe Nenjum", for the film "Vaidehi Kaathirundhal. Apart from Malalayam and Tamil, Jayachandran has sung songs in Kannada and Telugu films too. Jayachandran does not think that the age of melody is over. He says melody and melodious songs will always remain close to the hearts of people