Aayirathil Oruvan

M G R - the name itself has got some charisma there. Even after many years of his death his legacy lives and rules. Okay, happy being an MGR fan but at the same time very much frustrated when everyone uses his name as their self-rewarded 'adaimozhi'. In Mylapore, i see the walls near RK Mutt painted a picture of some moron with the letters "Chinna MGR". And near Royapettah - a 10 min drive from Mylapore, I see a famous actor-turned-politician being called as Vaazhum Karuppu MGR (Enna kodumai sir idhu!).

It all started with Bhagyaraj being proclaimed as MGR's filmdom heir (God knows on what basis!). Can any of these guys compete with MGR in beauty, talent, statecraft, screen presence and mass appeal. I know, some sick perverts will tend to see only his affinity, at a later stage of his career, towards his heroines. Leave that. Compare that "bewitched, enigmatic" (as described by ex-DGP Mohnadas in his book MGR-nijamum nizhalum), bunny-teethed smile with the 'asadu vazhiyum' sirippu of these guys. Look at the mass appeal the man had and still has! Still his re-released films run to packed houses and he still lives in many huts.

Even in statecraft he is second to none. He efficiently tackled the Naxals issue in Dharmapuri during the 80s (to tell in his 'dosth' MK's tone - andai maanilangalana Andhravai paarungal, pongu maangkadal ulla vangathai paarungal, oyindhu poi vitta orissavai parungal :-P ). and when the teachers threatened to go on strike demanding salary hike (as always) during the public exam time, he handled with great ease and put them in place. He has never acted in smoking/drinking scenes barring Thirudathey and Oli Vilakku.

PS: For these morons, one small piece of advice - y stop wid Chinna mgr or karuppu mgr? Go on, silly fellas - kutty mgr, kuttiyoondu mgr, dhammathoondu mgr, ithunoondu mgr, thakkanoondu mgr.......

Bharathi en kaadhalan

Being an ardent fan of Shri Krishna (mind, not a devotee) and an amateur singer, I like Oothukaadu Venkata Subbaiyer & Subramanya Bharathi for their wonderful compositions on Lord Krishna. While the former envisions the Lord as 'Vishamakkara kannan' with a 'paal vadiyum mugam', as his lover, as the powerful Creator the latter envisions Him as his lover and even his servant (Kannan en sevakan). And on Ganesha Chaturthi when I was doing pooja & singing some songs in praise of Ganapathi, I sang Bharathi's 'enakku vendum varangalai'. And when I was towards the last line (Ganakkum Selvam nooru vayadhu ivaiyum thara nee kadavaye), my eyes welled up with tears over the fact that the composer didn't get any of the boons he asked for (in fact, the great poet led his life in poverty and died at an young age)... And suddenly, after completing the song, in a fit of anger I was shouting to our clay Vinayakar - "Andha nalla manushan kettadhe tharalai; nan kekaradha thaana nee tharapora?" People @ home were surprised -"just now u did all the poojais & kozhukattais and in a jiffy u have put on an atheist role". I dinna bother. Yes, I was a little bit angry over the muzhu-mudhal kadavul for not granting Bharathi with his boons.
A revolutionary poet he was, he saw beauty everywhere; in each of his creations. "Ethanai kodi inbam veiththaai iraiva". And he even sees beauty in the striking contrast of God's creations thus: "Chiththinai Achiththu udan Inaiththai Anghu Serum Aymbhoodathin Viyanulagu amaiththai" (You have created knowledge and ignorance together ; in that creation you have set the beauty in the 5 elements of Nature). A good musician by himself, he composed several classical songs and set them to tune in various ragas. He originally set his famous "Chinnanchiru kiliye kannamma" in Bhairavi raga but that was popularised in Ragamalika and in his work Bharatha Deviyin Dasagam he has composed hymns in 10 (Dasa - 10) different ragas! His words "Aayudham seivom, kaagidham seivom" have become true now.
And for such a visionary national poet, what has the Nation done? The Govt woke up from its woodchuck-ish slumber only in 1993 and brought his Triplicane home from a marwari (who had already embellished the house with granites/marbles like garnishing their ghee-laden sweets with pista/cashew gratings :-P) and then "renovated" (?!) it. Fie!

Enakku Vendum Varangalai Isaipen Nee Kelayi Ganapathi
Manadhil Sanchalam Illamal En Mathiyil Iruley Thondramal
Naan Ninaikkum Pozhudhu Nin Mouna Nilai Vandhida Nee Seyal Vendum
Ganakkum Selvam , Nooru Vayathu , Ivaiyum Thara Nee Kadavaye

( Oh Ganapathi ! Will you listen to my Boons; Without any anxieties and without darkness in my mind; Whenever I desire you shall give me your state of silence; Till then its your duty to bestow me with heavy wealth to survive in this material world and a 100 years of life)