Obituary

What a really sad news. One of the most creative lyric writers passed away. May his soul rest in peace. :-(

காவியக்கவிஞர் வாலி அவர்களின் மறைவு அதிர்ச்சியளிக்கிறது. நடிகர்திலகத்தின் 83 படங்களுக்கும் மக்கள்திலகத்தின் 58 படங்களுக்கும் மற்றும் ஏராளமான படங்களுக்கும் அருமையான பாடல்களை எழுதிய சிறந்த கவிஞரை தமிழ்த்திரையுலகம் இழந்து விட்டது.

அவரை இழந்து வாடும் குடும்பத்தினருக்கும், அவர்பால் அன்பு கொண்டவர்களுக்கும் ஆழ்ந்த இரங்கல்கள்...

Very hard to digest this news.....

One of the last pillars of the Tamil film music industry has left us for good. Perhaps, it was premonition of his impending death that prompted him to share memories of his career almost simultaneously in 'Ananda Vikatan' and 'Thuglak' weeklies recently. Both the series enjoyed immense popularity and many still marveled at the poet's powerful memory power. He had written like there was no tomorrow. He was also answering questions fielded by readers in the Anandha Vikatan weekly for a prolonged period. He candidly shared his views, beliefs and relationships on all things under the sun. The substances in these series were rare additional information not covered in his biography which was published a few years earlier.

Also recently he was writing a series of nostalgia pieces in Kumudham weekly which were done in his usual signature prose and style. At that time of writing this series the untimely deaths of PB Sreenivos, TK Ramamurthy and TM Soundrarajan occurred. He wrote special tributes to these demised legends who were once his close colleagues in that column in Kumudham. These three departed souls were lucky enough to be eulogised by none other than the prolific Vaali himself and that too in the prominent Kumudham weekly. With no contemporaries left, I mean poets of his time, wonder who will be writing an eulogy for him so eloquently like how he did for others, Kannadhasan included. Vaali has indeed left a vacuum in the context of eulogy-writing.

Vaali's demise is different from others, for sure. If it is true that he was occupationally busy with AR Rahman just before he was rushed to the hospital then he has lived fully the all-too common tag line 'until my last breath I must be in show business'.

When a once long- reigning legend dies the obituary will usually carry the lines 'his death is a big loss to the Tamil film industry' or words to that effect. These legends would have voluntarily or statutorily retired and at the time of death they would have been almost forgotten. They would have been out of job at the time of death. So, actually there is no loss due to the death. But for formality's sake and as a matter of respect these words are used in civility.

In Vaali's case, however, it is true to its form. Even, prior to this last admission to the hospital he was in the midst of writing lyrics for films in production and that too for top guns of the industry like Kamalhassan and AR Rahman. Amid those new generation songwriters, Vaali was still a force to be reckoned with even after crossing the eighties' age bar. He dutifully carried the honorific nomenclature 'youth poet' faithfully until his last breath. Whoever bestowed this title (youth poet) must have been a seer.

To think that the man had to while away his time and bask in poverty during his early days in Kodambakkam - but at the time of his final alive days top industry players actually awaited him in the hospital so that they could complete their projects! That itself speaks of his popularity.

The first half of 2013 has seen a list of prominent deaths in the Tamil film industry like PB Sreenivos, TK Ramamurthy, TM Soundrarajan, Lalgudi Jayaraman and Aathmanathan (the latter just a couple of days ago). Just as we were taking a breather suddenly came this shocking news that the latest in the bucket list is Vaali.

That made me wonder whether did anyone play the all-time Vaali's song 'Iraivaa Un Maaligayil Ethanoya' (Oli Vilakku) in places of worship just like how they did during MGR's life and death situation in 1984? That is, over the last one month when Vaali was warded in the hospital? Or perhaps, like all poets the works are only meant for others' well-being and not for the self? His mentor, MGR, survived but not the protege who wrote that timeless song.

In his eulogy to Kannadhasan, Vaali described the latter as 'the Tagore without the beard and Bharathi minus the moustache'. But during his final days and until he breathed his last he looked every inch resembling Rabindranath Tagore and a bit of Subramania Bharathi in essence and appearance.

May His Soul Rest In Peace!

"தாயாலே வந்தது... தீயாலே வெந்தது... மெய்யென்று மேனியை யார் சொன்னது" - .. சென்று வாருங்கள் கவிஞரே! உனது தமிழ் வரிகள் மெய்யென மனதில் நிலைத்து நிற்கும்.

:(

rip!

I am very saddened by this news :( Finding difficult to come to terms. Death is inevitable but when it comes to certain individuals we take that they would live forever. Vaali was one of those. Rest in Peace Sir !

Fascination to lyrics of Tamil movie songs was one of the initial reasons for my interest in the Tamil language. I had a collection of songs those days, and used to listen to them just to enjoy the rhyming, rhythmic and poetic lines. Based on what a friend had told me earlier, I presumed that most, if not all, of those great lines were written by Kavignar Kannadasan. I was pleasantly surprised in later years to find out that Vaali had indeed written a lot of my favorite songs.

I thank the legend Vaali for enriching my life with some of the most melodious and imaginative lines written in any language.

RIP...

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During his younger days...


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Kaalathal aliyatha en kaaviya thalaivan vaali ayya!!unakku maraive illa thalaiva..sendru vaa!!!