S V Venugopalan
IT was an yet another morning for me on a Sunday during my college days in the late 1970s till I accidentally heard a very popular song by Mahakavi Subramanya Bharathi, 'Odi Vilayaadu pappa' (Keep running and playing, my little kid!) sung in a totally different manner by a mesmerising chorus of children, flowing out of a transistor at our house, broadcast by the Madras station of the AIR. It was so endearing to the heart that my quest yielded a host of other songs, interestingly, in multiple languages. The conductor of this unique choir was none other than the great musician M B Srinivasan (MBS), a freedom fighter, a communist functionary and a celebrated music director in the Cine world who also pioneered the founding of trade unions for artists and technicians of different categories in the film world. His birth centenary was celebrated by the Central Chennai District unit of the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artists Association (TNPWAA) as a part of its Second Conference on October 13, in an extraordinary manner at Chennai.
A COMMITTED COMMUNIST CADRE
Delivering the valedictory address, Aadhavan Dheekshanya, General Secretary of TNPWAA, paid glowing tributes to the legendary musician MBS, pointing to the fact that being a communist, he proved to be a committed functionary in the music field and the cine world. The creation of a choir group broke all the social barriers and brought a oneness among the participants upholding the concept that music is for all, shattering the age-old social discriminations, he said. He assured the house that the TNPWAA would carry forward the choir songs composed by MBS and congratulated Iqbal Ahmad for bringing out a comprehensive book on the life and work of M B Srinivasan.
Noted playwright and theatre activist Pralyan, in his presidential address, drew the attention of the audience to the formation of the Indian Peoples' Theatre Association (IPTA) during the freedom struggle and said that M B Srinivasan's name is found in the 'song squad' of the Tamil Nadu unit. Emerging from an upper caste family that had an interesting background of both, anti-colonial and progressive traditions, MBS was part of the freedom movement even as a student to the extent of braving a lathi charge along with Com P Ramachandran (former member of the polit bureau of the CPI-M) during a protest march in Chennai in 1946 against the British oppression of the naval mutiny in Bombay. His contributions in the music world are amazing, he said.
CHAMPION OF THE CAUSE OF CINE WORKERS
Dhina, a music composer and the Vice President of Film Employees Federation of South India (FEFSI) explained passionately as to how MBS responded to the outcry of musicians deprived of their wages even after completion of a film all set to be released on the Deepavali festival, and his determined negotiations settled the issue. This prompted him to think of a trade union for the musicians that ultimately paved the way for the formation of category wise trade unions in the film industry. MBS was one of the founders of FEFSI, the federation of all unions in the film industry. MBS is still the most revered name in the film world, he stated.
COMPOSING FOR OVER 60 YEARS
Speaking on the occasion, writer Shaji said his childhood was filled with the songs of MBS who had composed music for over 80 films in Malayalam. He said it was a thing of wonder that a song from his first movie Snegadeepam made in 1962 sung by a child artist was now going viral (Onnam tharam baloon tharaan) in reels seen by lakhs of people. His knowledge of Carnatic, Hindustani and Western music was profound and he was the definite choice of directors like Adoor Gopalakrishnan who were known to produce alternate movies. It was MBS who gave a break for K J Yesudas, famous singer who till date holds him close to his heart, and the noted singer S Janaki got her first award for the song composed by MBS.
Writer Sukumaran said the music composed by MBS for the Tamil film 'Paathai theriyuthu paar’ (1960) was path breaking. MBS was like a saint who never aspired to make money or fame but committed himself to greater ideals in his musical journey. His talents were not utilised by the Tamil film industry much where he composed music for 8 films only, and he moved to Malayalam cinema which suited him the best because of his roots in the Leftist ideology. Greece had the chorus music form and MBS chose that form as he always wanted to hold the human values high through music. He believed that music was a part of the larger human psyche.
SOCIO POLITICAL WORK IN THE FIELD OF MUSIC
Prof Prabhakar said MBS wanted to prove to the world that anyone longing to sing can sing and he broke all the myths around music, including its divinity. The four part singing he deployed in choir singing facilitated singers of different vocal ranges to fit in comfortably and creditably. "I thought at first that MBS was experimenting with music but later realised that it was a socio-political work that MBS was consciously engaged in," he said.
Prof Balasubramanian introduced the book on MBS penned by Iqbal Ahmad and hailed the labour of research done by the author. Iqbal Ahamd gave credit to D Ramachandran, Secretary, Madras Youth Choir (MYC) and Mrs Jayanthi, sister of MBS and also a former member of the MYC who gave a lot of inputs and insights into the life of MBS. Siva Senthilnathan of Parisal Pathipagam was honoured for publishing the book.
Mrs Jayanthi read out the greeting message sent by popular playback singer Usha Uthup praising the works of MBS and her proud association with him and recorded the greatness of MBS in not just teaching music, but also imparting high human values to the members of the MYC.
D Ramachandran, Secretary of MYC turned emotional while recalling the days he spent with the great musician who prioritised duty first. MBS was categorical in his music classes that the singers should pronounce words of songs of different languages properly, which meant respecting them all.
ENGULFING MUSIC
The centenary celebrations opened up with choir music by BEAT (Bank Employees Art Troupe) choir group conducted by Mrs Rajarajeswari, the celebrated student of MBS and concluded with choir music by the MYC conducted by Mrs Malathi, again a student of MBS. The songs were from Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam languages. The songs spoke of national integration and unity of people. For instance, the Telugu song written by the great poet Dasarathi, ‘Pillallaara Pappallaara’ was amazing in its content, composition, rhythm and rendering. It addresses the children as an eye of an apple and exhorts them to look at the country from Himalayas to Kanyakumari, understanding the plurality and oneness. The list of songs was outstanding and mesmerising. The final song written by poet Parinaman at the demise of the eminent Communist leader Ho Chi Minh of Vietnam that narrated the sadness engulfing people across the globe on the loss of a veteran revolutionary leader ended with a message of confidence that future would be pregnant with more such personalities. The powerfully charged gathering rose to its feet to give a standing ovation in chorus as a tribute and salutations to the great genius, M B Srinivasan.
N Balakrishnan, Secretary of the Central Chennai District of the TNPWAA earlier rendered the welcome address and at the end of the meeting, Ravindra Bharathi proposed a vote of thanks.
