Somehow as soon as Daniel landed in London, it wasn’t Annie who
occupied his mind, all he could think of about were about his friends and mates
from The Loyola College , Chennai - Lucy, Jennifer and Sharon – great people,
he even had a face book update from them informing about their retrospective of
the Tamil Poet Vaali. Annie was not even in the background.
At least not immediately. As soon as he landed.
Strange is the way that mind works.
Really.
He was waiting for his fragile baggage at the Heathrow. Despite
all the care and precaution Lufthansa had broken the view finder glass of his
Nikon. And he was not very happy about that.
But his thoughts simultaneously went into thinking about the Sangama Thamizhan poet Vaali.
Daniel spoke the language, an ancient classical language that pre dated Latin and Greek.
Danny’s mind threw up a quick poem, one of his favourite,
from the vast ‘Vaali’ anthology
Thithikkum paal eduthu
Dheyvathodu koluvirindhu
Muthupol vazhvadharka
Maali sudum
manavirindhu
Ponnai pol nal irundhu
Annampola nadai
nadandhu
Unniathan madiirundhu
Alli vaaypaay then
virunthu.
The imagery, the grace, the translation of a mundane action
into sublime metaphors, the sheer magnification of a simple emotion was always
the hallmark of the poet. He was the poet of the young and the rebellious. Daniel
made a mental note that he should try and one song dedicated to Vaali one of
these days and upload it onto his blog,
He tried humming an old song written by Vaali.
Back in India
a poet had to adapt to the needs and vagaries of the Film industry in order to survive
but that also meant that a poet had to pen words according to the demands of a “situation”
a mere event, under the patronage of the
films Music Director, whose vision it was to translate a Film Director’s Visual
communication into a musical adverb. Often inn India, the Music Director could
make or break a film’s success.
And a music Director’s fate was in the hands of the Lyricist.
A.K.A the poet.
“Kannaivittu ponalum
Karuthai Vittu poga
villai
Mannai Vittu Ponalum
Unnai Vitu Poga Villai
Inno Oruthi Udal
eduthu iruppavalum
Naanallovo?”
The above lines formed a part of film by name Karpagam, an
old Black & White film that yet had Daniel’s admiration.
Vaali was a versatile genius, and a great admirer of Bharatiar.
The Prometheus of Tamil literature.
Daniel’s mind somehow continued to think about Vaali.
He was a romantic , Daniel thought, as his mind analysed
some of Vaali’s songs written for a number of Tamil films, he could match a Wordsworth
and then have the remorse of Keats, he could then build strands of Satire like Alexander
Pope and then elevate things like Shelley, even when one looks at more
contemporary poets like Donne , Yeats, Elliot or Hughes or even Octavio Paz- poets
like Vaali could pen a Poem , a song, to match a “Situation”.
Vaali’s stamp of one’s identity in the midst of names like Kannadasan,
Karunanidhi, Vairamuthu and Pulamai Pithan ( and yet walk with a stamp of
authority ) had a truly Johnsonian proportion to it.
“ Potri padadi ponney
Thevar kaaladi manney
Thekkudisai aanda
mannar ilamdhan hoi…
…munnorukku munnor ellam
innarunu kandu kola
edu eduthu ezhithi solla
onnu rendu moonu alla”
ding dangu dangu ding dangu hoi.
Daniel hummed softly as he checked his guitar at the
Heathrow.
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