 A poet remembered
 The late film lyricist Kannadasan was remembered at the South India Heritage lecture last Sunday at TAG Centre, Chennai, in an eloquent and often poetic tribute by Vamanan, journalist, author and lyricist himself. Starting his career after graduating from Loyola College, Madras, Vamanan - Krishnamurthy was his given name - started as an English language journalist with 'The Hindu' and later moved to Tamil journalism via the 'Indian Express'. After working for newspapers for over a decade, Vamanan turned freelance a few years ago. Among the many books written by him are a biographical work on the film vocalist T M Soundararajan, books on meditation, a book on film music and musicians, and a variety of other topics. His knowledge of Kannadasan the lyricist and Kannadasan the man seems to be deep and personal, as his moving tribute to him suggested.
Vamanan emphasised Kannadasan's sterling qualities of the
heart, his genuine humility and deep concern for the human predicament. Melancholy and nostalgia are the dominant themes of his vast oeuvre of songs, many of them carrying profound philosophical truths in the simplest language. Kannadasan did not hesitate to taste the forbidden fruit in his eventful life but he was not a sinful man. He suffered from the eternal conflict of balancing the intention for right conduct and the desire for excitement. Vamanan would rather dwell on the wonderful creative spirit of the man, his inward looking search for the meaning of human existence and his discovery of spirituality through his beloved
Kannan.
Fifty years old, Vamanan is sparsely built and of medium height. Clad in a kurta outfit of simple elegance, longhaired and balding,
he gave the appearance of a spiritual guru. As his lecture progressed, he confirmed that initial impression with his sonorous recitations of verses from the Tamil saints and the Sanskrit classics. He also exemplified the catholic spirit he found in Kannadasan that respected other languages while loving Tamil, in the joy with which he switched from poetry in one language to another throughout his lecture. His great respect for eminent artistes and statesmen of the country regardless of their caste, creed or language, also shone through when he spoke of the life, times and beliefs of such
diverse personages as Rajaji, M S Subbulakshmi and
Aurobindo.
Both Vamanan and Randor Guy - he anchored the interactive session and hogged the mike, though entertainingly and informatively - gave the audience glimpses into the creative process that resulted in the successful collaborations between Kannadasan and music directors like
Viswanathan-Ramamurthy and K V Mahadevan, the mutual admiration between
Sivaji Ganesan or MGR and the poet; even the circumstances leading to the composition of some hit songs. The lingering impression after the lecture was that Kannadasan's place in the history of Tamil film music is assured but whether he will be accepted as a poet for all seasons is in doubt. What Vamanan largely succeeded in doing was to shame the majority of the audience into realising the impact of our English education that tends to underrate the accomplishments of native geniuses like Kannadasan.
V Ramnarayan
vramnarayan@gmail.com
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