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G. Devarajan | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | (1927-09-27)27 September 1927 Paravur,Travancore (present dayKerala), India |
| Died | 14 March 2006(2006-03-14) (aged 78) Chennai, India |
| Genres | Film music, stage play music, Carnatic music |
| Occupation(s) | Film composer, Carnatic singer |
| Instrument(s) | Harmonium,Mridangam,Veena |
| Years active | 1948–2006 |
| Labels | His Master's Voice,Odeon,Angel,Tharangini Records |
Paravoor Govindan Devarajan (1927–2006), popularly known asG. Devarajan orDevarajan master, was an Indianmusic composer andCarnatic singer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of Indian film music.[1] He scored music for more than three hundredMalayalam films, many dramas, and twentyTamil and fourKannada movies. His collaborations withVayalar Ramavarma produced the golden era of Malayalam film music and many of his compositions remain ever green classics in Malayalam. His music in the Tamil filmAnnai Velankanni has received many accolades. Devarajan receivedKerala Government'sBest Music Director award five times, among other honours.[2] In 1999, he was honoured with theJ. C. Daniel Award,Kerala government's highest honour for contributions to Malayalam cinema.
Devarajan was born on 27 September 1927 atParavur, near Kollam in thenTravancore tomridangam player and classical singer Paravur Kochu Govindan Asan and Kochukunju as their eldest son. His grandfather, Narayanan Asan, was aKathakali artist.
His dad, though he was a mridangam vidwan and a disciple ofDakshinamurthy Pillai, primarily taught vocal to his students, and thus Devarajan learned Carnatic vocal for around 12–13 years adeptly from his own father through that. He did his intermediate college atUniversity College in Thiruvananthapuram from 1946 to 1948 and passed with First Class. He additionally graduated with BA in Economics fromMahatma Gandhi College, Thiruvananthapuram.[3]
Devarajan, under the name of Paravur Devarajan or Paravur G. Devaraj, started his illustrious career in music as a classical singer and performed his firstclassical concert at the age of 17 and started to perform more concerts onAIR Tiruchi and Trivandrum. He performed a number of classical concerts from 1945 to 1962 with multiple accompanists, his usual ones being Chalakudy Narayanaswamy andMavelikara Krishnankutty Nair. At the end of his classical concerts, he used to set tunes to the poems ofUlloor Parameswaran Iyer,Kumaranasan,Changampuzha,G. Kumarapilla,O. N. V. Kurup,P. Bhaskaran, amongst many others.[4]
He was soon attracted to theCommunist movement and decided to dedicate his creative energy to popular music. He joined the once-famous drama troupe of Kerala, theKerala People's Arts Club (KPAC). The work that brought him to the limelight was the drama song titled "Ponnarivaal ambiliyil kanneriyunnoole", written by his friendO. N. V. Kurup and composed and sung by himself. KPAC and its members had a distinctive leaning towards the communistideology, and their dramas played a role in spreading the ideology among the Keralite masses. Through his compositions, Devarajan would cast an indelible imprint in the Malayali theatre arena, especially after the famous KPAC dramaNingalenne Communistaakki, written byThoppil Bhasi in 1952.[5]
The first movie for which he composed music wasKaalam Maarunnu (1955).[6] He teamed up with poet-lyricistVayalar Ramavarma inChathurangam in 1959.[7] His third movie – and the second with Vayalar –Bharya (1962) became a huge hit and made them a popular combination.[8] His collaborations with Vayalar produced the golden era of Malayalam film music.[citation needed] Devarajan is remembered by singers in Malayalam likeK. J. Yesudas andJayachandran as their Godfather.[9]
Devarajan was known for his use of numerousraagas in Malayalam film music, using more than 100s of them in his compositions. His music embraced different styles with theCarnatic andHindustani melody lines meeting folk idioms and Western harmony. Despite being a strongatheist, he composed devotional songs like "Harivarasanam", "Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil", "Chethi Mandaram Thulasi", and "Nithyavishudhayam Kanyamariyame", which are considered classics in that genre.[10] Also, he is particularly noted for his remarkable ability to blend the words of the lyrics with the mood of the situation in his film song compositions, exercising self-restraint while writing songs for the uninitiated audience without relinquishing the magic of his poetry. Most of his hit songs were written by Vayalar Ramavarma.[11] The Vayalar-Devarajan combine proved the most successful team till the death of Vayalar in the mid-1970s. Hundreds of songs contributed by the team are still part of Malayalis' nostalgia.[citation needed] Apart from Vayalar, he has also given tunes to lyrics by other poets and songwriters likeO. N. V. Kurup,P. Bhaskaran,Sreekumaran Thampi[12] andBichu Thirumala. Devarajan was at one point in time regarded as the doyen of film music in South India. He was much feared and respected by all musicians and singers of that period, for his sound knowledge of Classical music. It might be due to this dominance he had over others that he was widely known as arrogant. But he enjoyed a royal status till his death in the music circles.[13]
Yesudas,P. Madhuri,P. Susheela, andP. Jayachandran sang most of his songs. He has sung with more than 130 singers.M. K. Arjunan,R. K. Shekhar,Johnson,Vidyasagar,Ouseppachan,M. Jayachandran,Ilayaraja,A. R. Rahman and many others who later became famous as music directors worked as his assistants, conductors, and instrumentalists.
A complete work of Devarajan,Devageethikal, composed by himself, has released and the book is published by Authentic books.[14]
Devarajan died of a massiveheart attack at his residence inChennai on 15 March 2006. He was 78 at the time of his death, and was survived by his wife, two children - a daughter (elder) and a son (younger) - and some grandchildren. His body was taken airway toThiruvananthapuram, and was cremated with state honors atNehru Park inParavur, his hometown.[15][16]
Kerala Film Critics Association Award
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