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V K K Menon of Chittoor, who was a teacher in Ernakulam, was so passionate a lover of music that he wanted his wife Meenakshi and three daughters - Sharada, Bhanumathi and Leela - to be singers. Menon's robust faith in Leela's voice made him resign his job to help her continue learning music under Vadakkancheri Rama Bhagavatar, who had left Ernakulam to settle in Chennai. The father and his 10-year-old daughter stayed with Bhagavatar. There was no excuse; the father was very particular that Leela should do sadhaka early in the morning. He saw to it that her sole interest was music and so he let her know no worry.
Leela gave her first concert in the Andhra Mahila Samajam in 1946. She keeps up this Andhra connection, which has been strengthened by her Telugu film songs like 'Emito Ee Maya' (Missamma), 'Sree Tulasi Jaya' (Gunasundarikatha) and 'Rama Kadhanu' (with P Suseela in Lavkusa). "Andhra people like me very much. They don't consider me a Malayalee, but as one among them," Leela, who occasionally visits Andhra Pradesh to give concerts and devotional songs, says.
Leela's voice immortalised songs like 'Ujayiniyile' (Kadalppalam) 'Periyare' (with A M Raja in 'Bharya') 'Panchamiyo' (Ezhurathrikal) 'Neeye Gathi' (Annayin Aanai), 'Kannum Kannum Kalandhu' (with Jikki in 'Vanjikottai Valiban')… Leela's last playback song was a keerthan for Fazil's 'Ente Surya Puthrikku' ('Karppoora Mullai' in Tamil), which was released more than a decade ago. Leela, who stays with her eldest sister and family in Defence Colony at Nandambakkam, does not have any complaint for not getting chances now. "I don't think, 'Why do others get a chance and not me?' I think everybody should sing." "My father always asked me to pray for others - pray for 'Loka Samastha Sukino Bhavantu'," she says.
Leela is very happy that she can still sing many devotional songs, including 'Narayaneeyam', 'Harinamakeerthanam' and 'Gnanappana'. What Leela cherishes most in her '70s is a pilgrimage she undertook 10 years ago to Sabarimala. "I easily climbed the hill, prayed at the Sannidhanam and sang there for two hours." While we cherish many of her songs, Leela seems to have forgotten them. It is natural that the feeling of 'mine' vanishes when everything is submitted to the divine leela.
Salil Jose Readers' response/inputs can be e-mailed to salil@chennaionline.com.
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Behind the success story of every person is another whose ambition and deeds play a crucial role. In the case of 'Ujayiniyile' singer P Leela, it was her father who was the 'another': "My father was solely responsible for making me a singer."
P Leela says when they came to Chennai in 1944, what benefited her most was the concerts of legendary singers like Ariyakkudi Ramanujam, S Ramanathan, GNB, Chembai and others. This 'kelvi gnanam' went a long way in moulding the singer in her.
Leela sang her first playback song 'Sree Vara Lakshmi' in 1947 for the Tamil film 'Kankanam'. The next year she sang 'Paaduka Poonkuyile' for 'Nirmala', which introduced the playback system in Malayalam.
"We must do only good deeds. Don't hurt anybody. Do our work. He will give us what we need," she said pointing to Lord Krishna's idol that stood amidst a number of shields and citations that she has won.
