ADVANTAGE 60s

I feel very happy, privileged and lucky to have been born in the early 1960s. I really enjoy listening to film music both Tamil and Hindi.

When I was a small boy the popular singers in Tamil were T.M.Soundararajan, P.B.Srinivas, Yesudas, S.P.Balasubramaniam, P.Susheela, L.R.Eswari and S.Janaki. When I grew up a little we had the likes of Chitra, Malaysia Vasudevan and Mano joining the bandwagon.

In Hindi Films it was Kishore Kumar, Mohamed Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bonsle.  As a youngster I enjoyed listening to Music and at that stage old songs were those from films in the 1940 – 1960s. I used to listen to Radio and enjoy hearing both old songs as well as new songs.

In 1980s with the emergence of TV I had the opportunity to listen to more songs and we

graduated to Very Old Songs, Old Songs and New Songs. I liked listening to an old M.K.Thiagaraja Bhagavadar song or an old T.R.Mahalingam Song and with the same enthusiasm.  I used to enjoy the S.P.Balasubramaniam songs in M.S.Viswanathan or Ilayaraja’s music.

Now in 2010 when I look back I am able to appreciate and enjoy the songs from 1940s right upto 2010.

My parents who are born in the 1920s and 1930s definitely enjoy the Film Songs from 1940 to 1970 but they are very reluctant to adjust to a Ilayaraja music leave and hence no question of talks about Yuvan Shankar Raja and the rest.

My Children who are born in 1990 enjoy Film Music from mid 1980s to 2010. They just cannot stand the music of 1940s to 1970. They do not know who is M.K.Thiagaraja Bhagavadar or P.U.Chinappa or Manna Dey or Mahendra Kapoor. They do not appreciate the intricacies involved in songs of L.R.Eswari (pattathu raani paarkkum paarvai vetrikkuthan ena enna vendum or Elanda payam elanda payam).

In direct contrast to my Parents (or my previous generation in general) and my Children (or my next generation) I love the Film Songs. I enjoy the old Kishore Kumar or T.M.Soundararajan songs and with the same ease and enthusiasm I enjoy the songs of Vijay Antony – Naan adicha thaanga matte naalu maasam thoonga matte.

I was born when the Films were evolving and maturing. I have passed through the several evolutionary changes and trends and thus widened my listening power. This is what is making me feel happy and comfortable with both a Sivaji Ganesan song (Enge Nimmadhi) and a Vijay Song (Puli urumudhu).  It is very soothing to my ears when I hear Jikki (chithirai poo pole sidharum mathappu, thee edum ellamal vedithidum cape) or S.Janaki (singaara velane deva) and the same soothing effect and happiness is there when I listen to recent breed of singers like Mahathi or Anuradha or Shreya Goshal.

I attended a recent concert in Chennai “Tribute to Sivaji Ganesan” which was compered by Y.G.Mahendra. It was a treat to hear the old Sivaji Ganesan songs. The very next day I watched Vijay film “Vettaikaran” and enjoyed listening to those songs. This is what I call as “Advantage 60s”. This is a very unique advantage and a really good feeling. I am sure people who are born in the 1960s would agree with me and subscribe to my views.

- T.P.Anand

August 2010

Sigarangalin Sangamam

True to its name the function "Sigarangalin Sangamam" was a congregation of great personalities who are each a Sigaram in their own way. On stage we had P.Suseela, T.M.Soundararajan, P.B.Srinivas, K.J.Yesudas, Balamurali Krishna, Vani Jayaram, L.R.Eswari, A.L.Raghavan, Chitra, Mano and Hariharan. RMKV organised this programme in Nehru Indoor Stadium on Sunday, 14th November 2010.

P.Suseela Music Trust honoured three legends - TMS, PBS and Yesudas.

P.Suseela started the show with her old song "Unnai kaanadha kannum kannalla". It was very soothing to listen to that song after a long time. This was followed by another P.Suseela hit "Unnai ondru kaetten unmai solla vendum" rendered by the great Chinna Kuyil Chitra. L.R.Eswari rendered one of her all time super hit songs "Kaathodu thaan naan paaduven". While the pallavi was sung well she found it hard to sing the rest of the song due to her old age.

Unni Menon sang with P.Suseela "Kaalidasan Kannadasan kavidai nee nerungi vaa padikkalam". P.Suseela's daughter-in-law Sandya then sang "kaalai thendral paadi varum raagam oru raagam". I am listening to Sandya for the first time and she has a very good voice.

Hariharan sang two songs "Ennai thaalatta varuvaala" and "Aayiram Nilavae vaa".
Hari did not practice this SPB hit and could not render justice to the song. Mano came on stage to sing the great TMS song "Ado anda paravai pola vaazha vendum". While he was struggling to reach the high pitch notes the audience was recalling the TMS original in their minds.

TMS, PBS attempted to sing and could not succeed in singing well due to advanced age. They have given such great numbers and the audience enjoyed their presence on stage. When they were singing the great old numbers the entire audience would have rolled back a few decades into the real time when those songs hit the big screen.

A.L.Raghavan surprised everyone by singing the song "Enginrunthaalum Vaazhgha" and it was a treat to listen to him. He sang with ease and voice was excellent despite his age.

Vani Jayaram also sang very well the great P.Suseela number "Aalaya maniyin osaiyai naan kaetten".

Balamurali Krishna sang very well despite his advanced age. He sang the song "Thanga Ratham Vandadu veediyile" with P.Suseela. It was a fantastic presentation by both of them. Balamurali's singing was the highlight of the evening - what a fantastic performer.

Harish Raghavendra got a chance to sing with P.Suseela "thuyilaatha pen ondru kanden". It is a great honour and chance for this young budding singer to perform with the legend in front of other legends. The joy, pride and happiness was all over the faces of his parents.

Yesudas came as the last performer and stole the show with with two great hits "vizhiye kadai yezhudu" and "poove senpoove un vaasal varum".

Staying in Dubai has its own advantages but nothing to beat the advantage of staying in Chennai where one gets to attend these musical nights and other programmes at regular intervals.... I do not miss any of these programmes whenever i am in Chennai.