Sreekumaran Thampi may have penned those songs decades ago, but they have not lost any of its charms. Some of those songs were presented at a function organised to honour the gifted lyricist, who has completed five decades in cinema this year.
The programme, organised by Bankmen’s Club, featured Thampi’s most popular songs like Chandrikayilaliyunna... (Bharyamar Sookshikkuka), Malayala bhasha than... (Prethangalude Thazhvara), Chembaka thaikal pootha... (Kathirunna Nimisham), Aa nimishathinte... (Chandrakantham) and Thiruvonappulari than... (Thiruvonam).
Among the singers of the night, Satheesh Babu stood out easily. Expectedly so. K.K. Nishad, Roshini Menon, Gopika Menon, Nidheesh, Keerthana and V.S. Remya were the other singers.
Earlier, in his speech, Thampi recalled the few years of his youth that he spent in Kozhikode, first as a teacher and then as an assistant town planner. “It was here that I took the decision to quit my job as assistant town planner, as the government was not willing to give permission to continue writing songs for films,” he said. “It was not at all difficult for me to take that decision.”
Short-story writer V.R. Sudheesh, while talking about Thampi’s songs, said no other lyrist could have written about love the way he wrote. “You could not expect the kind of lines Thampi wrote from today’s lyricists,” said Sudheesh, who has written books about the rich tradition of Malayalam film songs.
Lyricist Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri and Mayor Thottathil Raveendran also spoke.
There was a full house at the Tagore Hall, but with air-conditioner not working and poor ventilation, it was tough for the music lovers.
