Rarely does a light song become as popular and enduring as a film song. But, that is what happened with Ghanashyama sandhya… The melody sung by K.J. Yesudas, for the Thiruvananthapuram station of All India Radio some three decades ago, remains one of the most popular light songs in Malayalam.
If there is another light song that could compete with it in popularity, that would be Odakkuzhal vili… , sung by Sujatha. Both those songs were composed by M.G. Radhakrishnan and written by Kavalam Narayana Panicker, who died on Sunday.
His fame as a lyricist does not rest just on those two songs. He had written many great melodies for films, too. But, people tend to overlook that fact, because his contribution to theatre was so overwhelming.
Still, we would not be doing justice to his memory if we do not pause to rewind some of the beautiful songs he wrote over a career spanning five decades. He had made an impression with his very first release, Rathinirvedam , which had three melodies composed by G. Devarajan – Thiruthirumaarankaavil …, Kalam kunjumanassil … and S hyaama nandanavaniyil …
That film was in 1978, in which he also wrote lyrics for Vadakaykkoru Hrudayam ( Poovamkuzhalippenninundoru ...) and Thampu ( Kaanaka pennu …).
He may not have been among the most prolific lyricists of his generation, but many of his songs were among the most popular of his time.
His lines could also extract the best out of a composition, as songs like Pularithoomanju… (Devarajan), Gopike nin viral… (Johnson), Kathirippoo… and Moodal manjin moovanthi … (Shyam), Nirangale paadoo… (Raveendran), Mukkutti thiruthali… (M.G. Radhakrishnan), Aalolam… (Ilayaraja), and Kaantha mrudula smera… (M.B. Sreenivasan).
Tributes paid
Kavalam Narayana Panicker’s body was kept at Sopanam, the theatre arena he set up at Thrikkannapuram in Thiruvananthapuram, for the public to pay homage to the departed soul on Monday.
Hundreds of people from all walks of life paid their last respects to the theatre doyen.
Among those who paid their last respects were Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan; Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala; veteran Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader V.S. Achuthanandan; Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan; Ministers A.K. Balan, C. Raveendranath, and V.S. Sunil Kumar; former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy; Shashi Tharoor, MP; poet Madhusoodhanan Nair; actors Nedumudi Venu, Mukesh, and Suresh Gopi; lyricist Sreekumaran Thampi; film-makers Shaji N. Karun and Lenin Rajendran; singer M.G. Sreekumar, besides those who had been associated with his theatre movement for years, and school students.
Cremation today
Kavalam’s body will be taken from his residence at Thrikkannapuram at 3 a.m. on Tuesday to his ancestral home ‘Chalayil’ at Kavalam. Public will be able to pay homage to his mortal remains from 7 a.m.
In the afternoon, the body will be taken to his residence ‘Sreehari’ on the banks of the Kavalam river. The cremation will be held by 4 p.m.
