Tamil duet songs in which humming plays a prominent role

Hummingbirds are named for the distinct humming sound produced by their wings, which flap at exceptionally high speeds, often between 40 and 80+ times per second. This rapid movement, used for hovering while feeding on nectar, creates a buzzing or humming noise, leading to their common name.

In a musical context , the literal meaning of humming goes like this :

Humming refers to the act of producing a low, continuous, droning sound or singing a tune with lips closed. It commonly describes vocalizing, i.e. singing with closed lips without articulating words.

In our film music, humming has been an integral part of many songs. There are many songs that  start off with a superb humming as a prelude, sometimes interspersed in the charanam and even towards end of the song that adds a unique charm to the song . My blog is not about such  songs that may run into thousands. It is about those songs in which one of the singers performs  a pure humming only , with no lyrical component and these are relatively less in number.

I could immediately recall ten such songs from my memory,  making me write one of my shortest blogs! In all these songs the humming forms an integral part of the song and elevates the song to a different level. Just like how our great composers used the chorus so exquisitely in many songs, pure humming by one singer adds an altogether  different dimension to the song.

I am sure readers who are going through this may recall similar songs and I would be thankful if they can mention such songs in the comments section .

Listed here are ten songs that I could think of, arranged chronologically in the order of the year of the film, with the song, film, year, music director, lyricist and singers mentioned in that order.

1. Vasantha Kalam Varumo Nilai Marumo-Marakka Mudiyuma-1966- T K Ramamoorthy- Suratha-P Susheela -Humming by K J Yesudas

This was the first film that T. K. Ramamoorthy composed independently after his separation from M S Vishwanathan. It is rare for a song to have a male singer humming accompanying  the lead female singer. This is  a forgotten gem and is truly worth mentioning. The humming of KJY enhances Susheela’s excellent rendition. One can say this was one of the best ever composition of T.K Ramamoorthy as an independent composer ( he composed just around 15 films after his split from MSV ) and sadly this song was deleted from the film after having been included  originally, after 5 days of running. This is a  mesmerizing song with a rhythm pattern that  is  very unique -really  sad that it did not get the due recognition  it richly deserved. T K Ramamoorthy’s genius was in setting the humming of Yesudas as a counter melody to Susheela’s singing

2. Velli Kinnamthaan Thanga Kaigalil-Uyarntha Manithan-1968-M S Vishwanathan-Vaali- T M Soundararajan-Humming by P Susheela

A song in which the humming by P Susheela is as important to the song as TMS’ singing. One cannot imagine this song without that superlative humming component! The musical genius of Mellisai Mannar is simply outstanding! Observe how he builds up the song from a slow pace to a brilliant tempo along with a charming variation in the tempo in between. Towards the end both TMS and PS do the humming accompanied by a beautiful saxophone piece. One would love to keep listening to this on a loop!

3. Unnai Thotta Kaatru-Navagraham-1970- V Kumar-Vaali-P Susheela -Humming by S P Balasubrahmanyam

Few years back I had written about the unsung genius V Kumar who came out with exceptional compositions, in the midst of tough competition with other legends like MSV, KVM etc. A very young SPB’s voice renders the humming component, complementing P Susheela’s main singing.

4. Thirumagal Thedi Vanthaal-Irulum Oliyum-1971-K V Mahadevan- Kannadasan-S P Balasubrahmanyam-Humming by B Vasantha

In the golden era of Tamil film music , there were two female singers who were somehow considered as specialists in humming and sadly that also restricted their career to a predominant humming role-they were B Vasantha and B S Sasirekha. In fact B Vasantha had been informally known as “humming’ Vasantha-in many songs she has done only humming.

5. Pottu Vaitha Mugamo-Sumathi En Sundari-1971- M S Vishwanathan-Kannadasan–S P Balasubrahmanyam-Humming by B Vasantha

This could be the “ top of the mind recall song” when it comes to a prominent humming. As much as the humming is popular, the same phrase played by sitar is also equally popular. When it comes to the intrinsic melody of a song , MSV was unparalleled! SPB had modulated his voice to suit Sivaji Ganesan so well that one would not miss the regular TMS voice in a Sivaji song! No wonder B Vasantha was called humming Vasantha-she does a superb humming in this song.

6. Veenai Pesum Athai Meetum-Vaazhvu En Pakkam-1976-M S Vishwanathan-Kannadasan-K J Yesudas-Humming by B S Sasirekha

True to the lyrics, Veenai literally ‘talks’ through out the song and adding to that charm is the humming employed by MSV through the vocals of B S Sasirekha. One of the early masterpieces of K J Yesudas. Please do not miss the exquisite humming by

7. Malai Rani Munthanai Sariya Sariya-Ore Vaanam Ore Bhoomi-1979-M S Vishwanathan-Vani Jayaram-Humming by Jolly Abraham

Jolly Abraham was a singer mainly in the Malayalam films and in Tamil film music he is prominently known for the uniqu humming in this song that was picturized on an American in the Tamil movie Ore Vanam Ore Bhoomi. Songs that have a male singer doing only a humming are relatively rare and this is one of the most popular ones in that category.

8. Metti Oli Kaatrodu En Nenjai-Metti-1982-Ilayaraja-Gangai Amaran-Ilayaraja -Humming by S Janaki

Ilayaraja is well known for numerous innovations in his compositions and I conclude my short blog with three of his great songs that have memorable humming component, As I have mentioned in my introduction , this list is just an indicative one and I may come out with “ sequels” to this as and when I keep remembering or discovering many songs in future. The song starts with the exquisite humming by both S Janaki and Ilayaraja, with the low notes of IR complementing the superb humming by SJ at higher notes. And what to say about IR’s orchestration that is always keep taking their trademark twists and turns.

9. Idayam Oru Kovil -Idaya Kovil-1985-Composed, written and  sung  by Ilayaraja-Humming by S Janaki

This song was rendered by both SPB and IR. Though  my personal favorite is the one rendered by SPB, the version sung by IR has more humming part by SJ and so I have listed that here. This is also one of the rare songs that is composed , written and sung  by Ilayaraja.

10. Kavithai Kelungal Karuvil Piranthathu-Punnagai Mannan-1986-Ilayaraja-Vairamuthu-Vani Jayaram-Humming by P Jayachandran

One of IR’s brilliant orchestration that has classical, western, and folk styles all beautifully synchronized together , sung excellently by Vani Jayaram with P Jayachandaran providing that memorable humming component.

I conclude this blog with a promise that I will try to come out similar ‘humming birds’ in future. Would really appreciate if readers can contribute by mentioning their favorite humming songs that have one singer exclusively acting as humming bird!

Acknowledgement & Disclaimer 

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

1. You Tube
2. Wikipedia

Acknowledgements and Disclaimer:
The songs mentioned are from the popular, public domain and have been mentioned and embedded here   only for the listening pleasure of the music lovers. This blog does not claim any copyright over them, which rests with the respective owners of the rights.