kirukkal.com

Last night on Vijay TV, in the hot(not really) political/social show, Makkal Yaar Pakkam, there was a discussion about Love Marriages and their social impact. Dheemtharikida Gnani was trying to balance the show with some honest views. Then came a phone call from the upcoming lyricist Pa.Vijay, who said in totallity, Love isn’t an appropriate feeling and one should always go for an arranged marriage instead of a love marriage. Gnani interuppted and fired him that if he was to talk like that, he shouldn’t be writing all these romantic songs for films. Pa.Vijay in turn said that writing lyrics was his profession and he was just writing because he had to.

I was completely puzzled by Pa.Vijay’s reply for Gnani’s question. Cinema is a much bigger medium than what it is expected to be. It can work at sub-concious levels on the minds of people. And if they were write all this kadhal, kadalai, kannamuchi, figure, sight, matter, machi, kattipudi, kathrikka and then disown it, are we sub-intellectuals to listen to them. Now, I am not saying they shouldn’t be writing or talking about love or sex in cinema. They need to. But who should do that ? Someone who belives in what he does. Not someone who can’t defend why he/she did it. Poetry for that matter springs from heart. And if you write for the heck, I am sure it wouldn’t shine for good.

So if Pa.Vijay was to say Love & Love Marriages are crime, he needn’t write on love themes as lyrics. Until he is convinced with the emotion called Love, let him not write Enokkoru GirlFriend Venumada, GirlFriends Illaa Vazhkai Wasteada

Read this interview of Pa.Vijay, recorded sometime back and you would know why I said that.

Then came Tamil FM stations helping the chennaites in beating the monotonus lifestyle. And they are trying to do it 24*7*365.

I’ve been listening quite a lot to Suryan FM @93.5, coming from the Sun TV group. Suryan FM is undoubtedly reaching a vast audience and caters as an alernative to the All India Radio. Radio Mirchi on the other hand is groovy and kind of more like a drive through FM station that you would often come across in the US. The audience lie clearly divided between the two.

One of the recent hit in Suryan FM is Kittu Maama Sussi Maami that is aired from 8-9 am everyday. Kittu Maama and Susi Maami are couples who find themselves very attached amidst the chaos and the quarel they go through everyday. These are fictionary characters created and they are mimiced well. Kittu Maama talks with a brahminical accent and Susi Maami takes on a Marwari’s tamil accent. Initially this wasn’t a program of my choice for it sounded very silly and childish. Over a period, I’ve started liking this for the interesting plot/news that Kittu Maama and Susi Maami convey everday through their conversation.

Aayitha Ezhutu fame Mirchi Suchitra is still the prime time host of Radio Mirchi @98.3 FM. While Radio Mirchi hit the town, suchitra was topping the favorite host list. Not anymore. While having a great voice, Suchitra, fails to use it because of her urbanised tamil accent which is monotonous at times and the background music that keeps interuppting from listening to what the host talks. With the feel of a westernized FM station, Radio Mirchi can definetly do better if only it shuns the bad usuage of tamil. Else we will be talking about a different genre of tamizh similar to the Junoon Tamizh.

Suryan FM’s host Kanmani is still my favorite. Her program Kaalai thendral is truely a breeze that beats the chennai heat. I have gone gaga over Kanmani a few times before , so I stop here and persuade you to listen to her show, Kaalai Tendral in Suryan FM, everyday from 7-8 am. If the television had compere trend setters like Metro Priya and the-still-going-great Pepsi Uma, Kanmani is certainly a trend setter in FM radios. Hats off for the good work she does everyday.

[Pic : The Hindu]

TS Nagarajan‘s account of his acquaintance with MS Subbulakshmi, as a photographer is astounding. In yesterday’s Hindu, his column called as Portraits of a diva, he vividly captures the simplicity and the egoless behaviour of MS Subbulakshmi when he met her in her house for a picture sessions. Very interesting is when he talks about the MS blue.

But well before that, in this account of his encounters with MS directly and indirectly, he captures his childhood incident when he saw MS Subbulakshmi for the first time as actrees in the screen and how he remained unaffected by that.

Here is where I am able to connect to him. Similarly, during my childhood, when I used to wake up every morning with that Bhaja Govindam or Kausalya Supraja Rama Poorva Sandhya Pravarthathey singing, I hated it for the morning it brought with itself. I remained untouched by MS or by her god’s own voice. It lasted until I saw a performance of MS Subbulakshmi in Music Academy and was spell bound by the voice, the charm and her personality. It’s from then MS Subbulakshmi became a demi-god, for me. She doesn’t sing anymore in concerts and all that we can get to hear are her old collections/concerts. That only makes me hope that I was born some 25-30 years before to have enjoyed her music in concerts.

P.S : Yesterday’s Hindu Magazine is a collectible for column geeks, for it had some of the best columns including the above one. Suggested reading includes Shashi Tharoor‘s column on the global media called Weapons of mass distraction? and the Media Matters column by Sevanti Ninan.