1^st March 1910-1^st  November  1959

Around a year back, I had written about the legendary music director G Ramanathan and also on the journey of Tamil film music over last 50 years in this blogsite. For a greater part of my life , I  had not listened much to old Tamil songs even from  the years 1950-60’s leave alone from the previous vintage era of 1930-40’s. So it was only  during the last few years when I started my blogs , I started listening to them and now-a-days I spend more time hooked to Tamils film songs. For me both Hindi and Tamil golden era songs are equally great , but heart goes more towards one’s mother tongue ! And the more I listened to Tamil songs, I find they were comparatively more rooted in classical base , with the 30’s and 40’s being almost equivalent to a Carnatic classical music concert, albeit encapsuled in 3- 4 minutes!

Ever since I listened to the song Bhoomiyil Maanida Janmam from the film Ashok Kumar that was sung by the first superstar of Tamil cinema , also known as Ezhisai Mannan ( the king of seven notes) Mayavaram Krishnasamy Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar, popularly known as MKT,  I  was completely fascinated by his singing! One may not believe if say that I literally  listened to that song at least 15-20 times the day I first came across that song! The lyrics, tune and singing made a great impact on me. MKT was someone I had heard long back and would have hardly listened to just two or three of his songs. It was even a surprise to me when I thought of writing about this singer.

Later on I listened to his immortal Vadaname Chandra Bimbamo, Manmatha Leelaiyai Vendrar Undo, Amba Manam Kaninthu etc and even created a personal playlist for me in YouTube and started listening to many of his songs often during my  morning walks. There was a magnetic attraction to his voice , that people used to say resembled a musical instrument in its tonal quality. A human voice that was absolutely without any flaw and pitch-perfect. A lesser talked about aspect about him is that he was an equally accomplished Carnatic classical music exponent , but only due to the unfortunate fact that his concerts were never recorded into exclusive gramophone records, this aspect remained  unrecognised  and people know him only as an actor-singer in films.

Born on 1^st March 1910 to Krishnaswamy Aachari and Manikathammal in Thanjavur , his  family later moved and settled in Tiruchirapalli. They were  traditional goldsmiths, but the young MKT was neither interested in academics, nor in the family business. From a young age he was attracted to music and used to listen to the Thevaram and Thiruvasagam sung in temples and later on the songs in stage plays of the well-renowned S.G. Kittappa, who was to some extent his inspiration. Like any father of those days, Krishnaswamy Achari  was against the young MKT getting attracted to music .There is an anecdote that one day he ran away from home and was later traced through some friends in Kadapa, a town in Andhra Pradesh, singing devotional songs . Seeing many people listening to his son, his father later brough him back to Trichy and reluctantly agreed to his interests.

MKT started singing  bhajans  organised by the temples and sabhas and slowly his fame as a musical prodigy spread everywhere. His talent was spotted by one F.G. Natesa Iyer, a railway employee, who was running a drama troupe in Trichy by the name of  Rasika Ranjani Sabha. Mr.Iyer, in fact, was on the lookout for a boy to act in his drama ‘Harischandra’ as Lohidasan. He approached MKT’S father , Krishnamurthy and got his approval after much persuasion to take him in his drama troupe.  Having made an impact at that young age , he later on honed his singing skills by learning from many veteran theatre performers and one Madurai Ponnu Iyengar, a renowned violinist. He had also learnt music from the Alathur brothers ( Srinivasa Iyer and Sivasubramania Iyer -were not real brothers but were called by that name as they were disciples to one Alathur Venkatesa Iyer , father of Sivasubramania Iyer).

In the year 1934, he got his first assignment to act in a movie “ Pavalakkodi that was made by Lakshmana Chettiar and directed by K Subramanyam. This film had a whopping 50 songs of which 22 were sung by MKT! Those days it was normal for films to run only through songs and dialogues were minimal. Also the songs used to be recorded as and when the filming was done. Pavalakkodi is supposed to have been the first commercially successful Tamil film , and ran for around 9 months.

From then the career of MKT rose meteorically and many super hit films followed like Naveena Sarangadara, Sathyaseelan, Chintamani, Ambikapathy, Thiruneelakantar, Ashok Kumar, Sivakavi, Haridas. The film Haridas had the unique distinction of running for almost three years at a theatre in Madras , now Chennai.

Like many other actor-singers of that era, both in Tamil and Hindi films, acting was not a major skill  required . Singing ability alone made stars out of the artists. And in that aspect , MKT scored very well with his majestic pitch-perfect singing, strong classical base, and an extraordinary ability to glide through the high notes . The ten odd films that he acted in a period of same number of years made him the first superstar , with a fan following that even today’s top actors or singers could envy. He was mobbed in the train stations when he travelled, sometimes , his fans allowing the train to pass only after he obliged by coming out and waving to them and singing few lines. He was a trend setter when it came to hair style, with his trademark “ Bhagawathar Crop” !

But then, life always throws something unexpected. In his own words , he had once said: Ennai pol vaazhnthavarum illai, thaazhnthavarum illai-“ No one had lived liked me and no one had fallen like me”! His meteoric rise to a  stardom was followed by an unexpected sad turn of events that shattered his life.

In the year 1944, MKT , along with the well-known comedian N S Krishnan and studio owner Sriramulu Naidu were arrested for an alleged conspiracy in the infamous “ Lakshmikanthan murder case”. I would not like to elaborate much on that unfortunate incident in  his life , for which there are umpteen articles in the Internet. The victim was a notorious blackmailer , who used to write scandalous stories about celebrities in his magazine and extort money to buy his silence. The attack was carried out by a group of assailants and a case was made out that these three were the alleged conspirators.  Despite a battery of well-known lawyers defending them , MKT and NSK had to undergo around two  years of jail ( Sriramulu Naidu was however acquitted). Only after the Privy Council in London ( it was still British rule at that time)  intervened and instructed the Madras High Court for a re-assessment of the case , they were acquitted.  Noted lawyer of that time , V.L Ethiraj fought his case and got the acquittal and  those who live in Chennai may know him as the founder of the famous Ethiraj College. To this day , the case is unresolved as to who were the actual conspirators.

By the time MKT became free in April 1947, the film making trend had changed towards more social themes with  less importance to songs. Although he even produced and acted in Raja Mukthi (1948), Amarakavi ( 1952), Shyamala ( 1952) and Pudhu Vazhvu ( 1957), all the films failed . Coupled with this setback, he suffered from high blood pressure, diabetes and even partially lost his eyesight and passed away on 1^st Nov 1959.  Though some say he passed away in penury, there are reports to the contrary , that mention that he might not have had the earlier luxury, but still had a decent life thanks to some benefactors. That brings me to one important caveat for this blog-I had to rely on what material I could go through in the Internet and many anecdotes, stories on him can be unverified. I would focus only in his music and leave the rest to one’s own interpretation.

To be honest , I never thought I would write about the legendary M.K Thyagaraja Bhagavathar in my blog , mainly due to the fact that I had not listened to many of his songs and it was from a bygone era that I was not much familiar. Many , even in my age-group  may not be fascinated by these songs ,  but as I had discovered , once we listen to them , we can find  a unique charm  and at least for posterity, I wanted to include them in my blogsite as a tribute to this legendary singer.

I should add one special note on Papnasam Sivan, the noted composer and lyricist who had composed most of MKT;s songs and he was later ably assisted by the veteran G Ramanathan who used to arrange and orchestrate his compositions.

I have tried to compile few of his best songs . These are sequenced in chronological order of the film’s release , with song-film-year-music director-lyricist  mentioned in that order. To the best of my ability, I have tried to mention the raagam that the song is based on.  Readers may be surprised to see two different links embedded for many songs. I have intentionally done that as one is the film version and the other a gramophone record version. Former has the typical vintage feel and the latter , slightly better acoustic & orchestration effects. Enjoy both the versions!

1. Pavazha maal varayil-Tiruneelakantar-1939-T N Rajaratinam Pillai-Thiruvaliyamuthanar ( Tiruvisaippa-a devotional poetry on Lord Shiva from Tirumurai) ; Raagam- Bhairavi and Kalyani

There is an interesting anecdote behind this exceptional Virutham . A virutham is a  devotional verse sung in Carnatic music concerts. Viruttams do not possess a set tala and are solely improvised using one or more ragams. It is one of many forms of manodharma-spontaneous improvisations-in Carnatic music. Based on information passed on  hearsay, the noted Nadaswara vidwan T.N Rajaratnam Pillai had  tuned this Virutham in Bhairavi and Kalyani and asked MKT to render this as it would be played in Nadaswaram . That is why , although this film’s music is officially credited to Papanasam Sivan, this particular segment is supposed to be based on the  TNR’s sangathis.

One can just immerse into this exceptional rendering by MKT that exactly sounds as how it would have been played in a Nadaswaram!

2. Deenakarunakarane Nataraja-Thiruneelakantar-1939-Papanasam Sivan-Papanasam Sivan; Raagam: Yamuna Kalyani

This song, unlike the earlier one I posted from the same film, is more popular .

3. Bhoomiyil Manida Janmam-Ashok Kumar-1941-Alathur V Subrahmanyam-Papanasam Sivan; Raagam-Sindhu Bhairavi

This is the song that inspired  me  to listen to  this great singer and explore his other songs and ultimately made me write about him in my blogsite. This is one of the rare MKT films in which music is scored by someone other than the veteran Papanasam Sivan. Alathur brothers, as mentioned by me in the intro, were mentors of MKT and this tune is a mesmerizing one. Lyrics by Papansam Sivan is one more feather in the cap.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJps4O6DBL8

4. Satvaguna Bodhan -Ashok Kumar-1941-Alathur V Subrahmanyam-Papanasam Sivan; Raagam-Saramati-Jonpuri?

An interesting feature of this film is that Puratchi Thalaivar MGR acted in a small role in this film. You can see him in the first link below! I think he was credited simply as Ramchandar in the titles.

5. Unnai Kandu Mayangatha- Ashok Kumar-1941-Alathur V Subrahmanyam-Papanasam Sivan; Raagam-Bhairavi

A pleasing song set in Bhairavai raagam, with that typical MKT’s ease of gliding through the high octaves fully evident.

6. Maname Nee Eesan- Ashok Kumar-1941-Alathur V Subrahmanyam-Papanasam Sivan ; Raagam Kunthalavarali

I am an ignoramus when it comes to knowledge about classical raagas. Based on what I could ascertain from the Internet, the raagam Kunthalavarali is a lighter Carnatic raagam and maybe that is why I could feel the song is so melodious and if I may use the word , “ breezy” to hear.

7. Vadaname Chandra Bimbamo-Sivakavi-1943-Papanasam Sivan –(G Ramanathan-orchestration)-Papanasam Sivan; Raagam-Sindhu Bhairavi

There is an interesting anecdote about this song. Originally Papanasam Sivan had written the Pallavi as “ Mugam Adu Chandra Bimbamo” ..when MKT heard and practised this, he felt it sounded like Muhammad and requested Papanasam Sivan to change and he obliged by changing it to Vadaname . One of the very popular songs of MKT, this has a modern and fresh feel even when we hear it after some 82 years! Wonder if any of the film  songs composed now-a-days will be remembered even after few weeks or months!

8. Vallalai Paadum Vaayal- Sivakavi-1943-Papanasam Sivan –(G Ramanathan-orchestration)-Papanasam Sivan; Raagam- Senchuruti

Superbly written and composed by Papanasam Sivan, the film revolves around a poet Poyamozhi Pulavar , who was a great devotee of Lord Shiva and refused to sing about Shanmukha , his son. Later , Lord Shiva himself showed to him the unity of the forms of both the deities and then he started singing in praise of Shanmukha also. In this song one can appreciate the subtle way in which Siva Kavi puts forth his views why he cannot sing in praise of the son , when he is devoted to the father!

9. Swapana Vaazhvil Magizhnthu- Sivakavi-1943-Papanasam Sivan –(G Ramanathan-orchestration)-Papanasam Sivan ; Raagam- Vijayanagari

I do not know much about the story of this movie apart from what  I had written earlier. From the lyrics it appears the poet had strayed away from the path of devotion and got carried away into a materialistic life , ignoring all the virtues. This song must be a repentance after he realizes his folly. 

10. Amba Manam Kaninthu Unathu- Sivakavi-1943-Papanasam Sivan –(G Ramanathan-orchestration)-Papanasam Sivan; Raagam-Panthuvarali

The 40’s films had very strong classical and devotional elements and this is a classic devotional song , composed in Panthuvarali raagam.

This raagam conveys  pathos, intense yearning, and  a pleading quality.

11. Manmatha Leelaiyai Vendraar Undo-Haridas-1944- Papanasam Sivan (with orchestration by G Ramanathan)-Papnasam Sivan-Co-singer-T.R. Rajakumari; Raagam-Charukesi

If there is a single iconic song of MKT , it is this! Popular to this day,  the orchestration by G Ramanathan way back in 1944 is something truly trend-setting.

12. Krishna Mukuntha Murare- Haridas-1944- Papanasam Sivan (with orchestration by G Ramanathan)-Papnasam Sivan; Raagam-Navaroj

No doubt Haridas ran for three years , with evergreen songs like this, set in a relatively rare raagam, called Navaroj.

13. Ammaiyappa Ungal Anbai-Haridas-1944-Papanasam Sivan (with orchestration by G Ramanathan)-Papnasam Sivan; Raagam-Raagamalika-Kanada-Atana-Jonpuri

Once I started listening to MKT’s songs I realised why, despite having poor recording facilities, orchestration etc, these linger in our minds. The answer must lie in their strong classical base that is eternal.This raagamalika is a best example.

14. Vaazhvil Or Thirunaal-Haridas-1944- Papanasam Sivan (with orchestration by G Ramanathan)-Papnasam Sivan

Among the songs that I have listed so far, this could be the only one to be called a  light music. I think the opening lines might have been inspired from a Hindi song Loot Liyo Mana Dheer , sung by Kanan Devi and composed by R.C. Bohral for the film Jawani Ki Reet made in 1939.

The white horse that MKT rides in this song is his own. The film starts with this song and  one can see the early signs of a “ superstar” entry that was adopted by his successors!

15. Rajan Maharajan-Shyamala-1952-G Ramanathan-T.V Rajee-S.B Dinakar Rao-Kambadasan; Raagam-Huseni

I conclude my limited selection of the golden hits of MKT with this superb song that appeared in one of his four films that were made after his release and though all the films flopped, this song is nothing short of a masterpiece. Unlike the short 3-minute songs in most films, this is a full six minute long , but MKT keeps you totally immersed , with his exceptional , intricate alaapanais. I am not sure who had actually composed the music as this film credits three music directors!

I have not been able to listen to the duets of MKT and hence my selection has been only solo songs. That may require more digging into the great legacy he had left behind so that I can come back with a sequel!

As a bonus , I am providing the link to a tribute paid by the well-known Seerkazhi Govindarajan that he had composed & sung immediately after MKT had passed away. The song includes phrases from some of MKT’s popular songs and is a rich tribute to the legendary actor-singer.

Acknowledgement & Disclaimer 

I sincerely thank the publishers of following blogsites & Internet sources for the information that I could gather for this article:

1. You Tube
2. Wikipedia
3. https://www.karnatik.com thanks to this site for information on raagam base for many songs of MKT.

The songs mentioned are from the popular, public domain and have been embedded here   only for the listening pleasure of the music lovers. The photograph is taken from the internet, duly recognizing the full copyrights for the same to the  original creator or the site where they were originally displayed .This blog does not claim any copyright over them, which rests with the respective owners of the rights.