From: kat@doe.carleton.ca (Kathiravan Krishnamurthi)
Subject: Re: kaNNadhaasan and sangam poetry. 
Organization: Dept. of Electronics, Carleton University
Date: Sun, 8 Nov 1992 00:23:11 GMT

In <45440@ogicse.ogi.edu> krashok@mse.cse.ogi.edu (Ashok Krishnamurthy) writes:

>From Ashok Krishnamurthy:

>create a new raga by various combinations of the basic notes),probably no count
>exists reg. Kannadasn's songs.  My hunch(has no scientific basis) was around
>8000 songs.


   kaNNadhaasan has written a lot of poems apart from the film songs. Most
of the film songs were set to tunes. But his other poems are metrical
and lovely. 
          I shall post some of them later. 
>The main attraction his songs hold for me r his deep philosphical insight that
>is made intelligible to even the common man(for example(though slightly morbid
>but nonetheless true) his song:Veeduvarai uravu,veethivarai manaivi,kaaduvarai
>pillai,kadaisivarai yaaro) and the excellent music of Viswnathan-Ramamoorthy
>(mainly). His poetic imagination is another strong point(for example:Malar
>galai poll thangai urangugiraal....The comparison is superb- just as a flower
>probably the sunflower,which goes to sleep at sunset(!) & in Malarnthu malaraa
>-tha.... the lines "nadiyil vilayaadi kodiyil thalai seevi...." reg. the ilan
>thendral are just wonderful).

>Another one of his concerns was for environment as reflected in "Vandanaal
>muthal inda naalvarai vaanam maaravillai...."in which man is living today:
>divided by caste and various other barriers all of which are self-made. The
>comparison between Nature which has not changed in its basic nature and the
>changed man of today is beyond compare.  He just pooh-poohs the scientific
>advancements of man("Paravaiyai kandaan vimanam padaithaan...."etc.)as they
>do not seem to have contributed to any mental development of the right kind
>in proportion.
                       Ashok has put kaNNadhaasan's best songs in a nutshell.
Good work. I would like to point out another aspect of kaNNadhaasan's songs.
Influence of sangam poetry can be found in kaNNadhaasan's songs. He has read
widely and puts the words in simple tamizh. I quote a poem from kuRunthokai

"naLLen nanRE yaamam sollavinthu
inithu adangkinarE maakaL munivinRu
nanainthalai ulagamum thunjum
Or yaan manRa thunjaa thEnE"

                   - patumaNaar. 
   This poem talks about sleeplessness of a girl in love.
The verses as told by her in english:

"The still drone the time past midnight.
All words put out,
men are sunk into the sweetness
of sleep. Even the far flung world has
put its rages for sleep.
Only I am awake" -Raamanujan

  Look how kaNNadhaasan says the same sleeplessness simply and
elegantly.

  The girl looks at the moon and says:
(ahRinai poruLidam kavalaiyai solvathu tamizh kavithai maRupu. It is common practice
in classical tamizh poetry to involve moon, thendRal as messngers and friends of
lovers. ) 
"poo uRanguthu pozhuthum uRanguthu
 nee uRangavillai- nilavE
 kaanuRanguthu kaaRRum uRanguthu
 naanuRangka villai"
                       -kaNNadhaasan

    There are a number of places even in film songs the sentiments expressed closely
follow old tamizh poetry. maRapaith thazhuvi ezhuthyathil kaNNadhaasanaip pOl intha
nooRaandil evarum seithathillai.
Films songs written by others like vaali, gangai amaran etc don't have the same effect
and influence of old poetry and its sentiments.
Kathiravan.

 
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