Tamil Thai Vaazhthu: a prefatory song of Tamil verse-drama Manonmaneeyam became State anthem

The song had lines depicting Sanskrit in bad light, highlighting that Sanskrit or ‘Aryam’ had lost currency, while Tamil remains eternally young. Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi decided to make it a Tamil invocation song and deleted these lines to avoid controversies. The Government Order was issued on June 17, 1970 to make it a prayer song

Updated - October 30, 2024 02:48 pm IST

 A bust of Manonmaniam Sundaram Pillai in Tirunelveli. He is considered one of the first proponents of Dravidian ideology.

 A bust of Manonmaniam Sundaram Pillai in Tirunelveli. He is considered one of the first proponents of Dravidian ideology. | Photo Credit: The Hindu Archives

Tamil Nadu recently saw an unsavoury episode involving Governor R.N. Ravi and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin after a controversy over an incomplete rendition of the Tamil Nadu State anthem at an official event. However, it has provided an opportunity to highlight the interesting history of how a set of literary verses became the Tamil invocation song-turned-State anthem (Tamil Thai Vaazhthu), beginning with Neeradum Kadaludutha. The omission of the words, Draavida Nal Thirunadum, while it was rendered at a Prasar Bharathi event, attended by Mr, Ravi, paved the way for another round of war of words between the Governor and Mr. Stalin.

Charges and counter-charges

The Chief Minister wondered whether Mr. Ravi was a Governor or an “Aryan” and sought to know whether the Governor, “who suffers from Dravidian allergy”, would propose the deletion of the term, ‘Dravida’, from the national anthem. Mr. Ravi alleged that the Chief Minister’s remarks smacked of racism.

The prefatory song (paayiram) to the verse-drama ‘Manonmaniam’, originally titled ‘Manonmaneeyam’, actually had a line depicting Sanskrit in bad light. Making a comparison between Tamil and Sanskrit, P. Sundaram Pillai, the author of the work, says that while Sanskrit, referred to as ‘Aryam’, had lost currency, Tamil remains eternally young (Sithaiya yun seer ilamai).

Uniformity was the aim

It was former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi who decided to make it a Tamil invocation song and deleted the lines to avoid controversies. The Government Order was issued by Chief Secretary E.P. Royappa on June 17, 1970. “It is observed by the Government that many prayer songs are being sung at the commencement of functions organised by the government or attended by Ministers. In order to ensure uniformity in the singing of prayer songs, the Government have been for some time considering whether a theme might be chosen for being rendered as a prayer song, which will have no religious or sectarian association,” says the order.

Six lines chosen

“After careful consideration, the Government have decided that the piece containing six lines from Thiru Sundaram Pillai’s Manonmaneeyam, which is an invocation of the Goddesses of Tamil, would be an appropriate theme for being rendered as a prayer song,” says the order issued by Royappa. The order directed government departments, local bodies, and educational institutions to sing the song at the commencement of functions. But it made it clear that no other song than Jana Gana Mana should be sung or played on the announcement of the National Anthem.

Viswanathan composed the music

K. Thirunavukkarasu, historian of the Dravidian Movement, said that before Neeradum Kadaludtha was made the invocation song, national poet Subramania Bharathiyar’s Vaazhga Nirantharam Vaazhga Tamil Mozhi Vaazhiya Vaazhiyavey was rendered at many functions.

He said that the then Chief Minister, M. Karunanidhi, wanted to record the song in the voice of M.S. Subbulakshmi. “But she did not come forward to do it for reasons known to her. Then the task was given to music director M.S. Viswanathan, who recorded the song in the voice of playback singer T.M. Soundararajan and P. Susheela.”

There was also a plan to record it in the voice of a group of singers, including Sirkazhi Govindarajan, as a virutham. But it also failed to materialise.

“Sundaram Pillai was a professor of philosophy at Maharaja’s College in Thiruvananthapuram for over 15 years, and the work was dedicated to Robert Harvey, Professor and Head of the Department of Philosophy of the college”A.K. PerumalAuthor of Manonmaniam Sundaranarin Innorupakkam

In the order issued by the government, the line, “Thekkanamum Athil Sirantha Dravida Nal Thirunadum”, comes only after “Thakkasiru Pirainuthalam Tharithanarum Thilagamume”. But during the recording, the order was changed, and the line, “Thekkanamum Athil Sirantha Dravida Nal Thirunadum”, was rendered first. In 2021, the government issued an order for vocally rendering the song instead of playing the recorded version.

Writer Perumalmurugan said that in the editions published by Vaiyapuri Pillai, Saiva Siddantha Noorpathippu Kazhagam, and Mayilai Seeni Venkatasami, the word, ‘Draavida’, has been spelt as ‘Dravida’.

Dedicated to Robert Harvey

A.K. Perumal, the author of Manonmaniam Sundaranarin Innorupakkam (‘The other side Manonmaniam Sundaranar’), said the original text, published in 1892, had the word ‘Dravida’ and not ‘Draavida’. “Sundaram Pillai was a professor of philosophy at Maharaja’s College in Thiruvananthapuram for over 15 years and the work was dedicated to Robert Harvey, Professor and Head of the Department of Philosophy of the college,” he said.

Though a Tamil drama in verse form, ‘Manonmaneeyam’ has its roots in Lord Lytton’s The Secret Way, which was part of the collection of The Lost Tales of Miletus. It was made into a film by Modern Theatres in 1942. Sundaram Pillai had also met Swami Vivekananda when he visited Thiruvananthapuram. During a conversation, he argued that as a Dravidian, he considered himself entirely outside of the Hindu polity. He is considered one of the first proponents of Dravidian ideology. There is a university in Tirunelveli in his name. It is called Manonmaniam Sundaranar University and not Manonmaneeyam.

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