Three persons from the backward Theni district with varying backgrounds – music director Ilayaraja, director Bharathiraja and poet Vairamuthu — rose to become a formidable trio in Tamil cinema, which was looking to newer creative avenues in the late 1970s.
Call it sheer talent or quirk of fate, Vairamuthu’s song Ithu Our Pon Maalai Pozhuthu in Nizhalga l heralded the arrival of a new lyricist.
“But long before my entry into the film world, when I was just 19, I had a poetry collection Vaikarai Megangal to my credit. It was followed by Thiruthi Ezhuthiya Theerpukal in 1979. Even then, I was aware that pursuing a full-time literary career would not help me make a living,” said Mr. Vairamuthu, whose latest novel Moondram Ulaga Por , has been chosen as the best literary work in Tamil by the Malaysian Linguistic and Literary Foundation named after Tan Sri Dato K.R. Soma. He will receive the award at Kuala Lumpur on September 5. As many as 198 literary works across the globe were in the fray for the award and a five-member jury selected Moondram Ulaga Por as “it was a work without any precedent and with a global theme.”
Vairamuthu, a student of Tamil literature, struck a balance between the film and literary spheres. Speaking to The Hindu here, he said the fact the he had won five national awards for his film songs, two Padma awards for his literary contribution and the coveted Sahitya Akademi prize in 2003 for his work Kallikaatu Ithikasam stood testimony to it.
Now Moondram Ulaga Por , a poignant portrayal of the crisis faced by agriculture in the country following globalisation and global warming, has secured him the latest award. The novel, written in poetic prose, delved into the psyche of the farmers who are in straits. “Now, we are talking about providing latrine to all. But where will you go for the water to flush them,” he asked.
Mr. Vairamuthu, who recently turned 60 and was an employee of the Tamil Nadu State Official Language Commission before he entered the film world, said he had infused his literary quality into the film lyrics.
‘No story now’He regretted that the Tamil film world, while catching up with the global cinema in technology, was unable to offer any story now that would make the world sit up and take notice.
“Gone are the days when there were directors who made films with strong stories and music directors who scored music based on classical ragas. Today, they are very few,” said Mr. Vairamurthu. Such directors gave him space to emerge.
