The 27th of March , 2011. It was a Sunday with a difference for an incredible
number of Mumbai Mallus like me when they got the opportunity to spend the whole day with Jnananpeeth awardee, PadmaVibhushan ,Ottaplakkal /plavil Nambiadikkal Neelakandan Velu Kurup. I ferreted out this full name of our beloved poet from the Net. Mea culpa ! Strange that I didn’t know it before nor felt the need to know , considering that O.N.V. has been so much a part of my consciousness , growing up as I did to the echoing music of his KPAC songs & film lyrics .
Perhaps it isn’t so strange after all, as I had got to know them all mainly through oral tradition. ‘Ponnarivalambiliyilu kanneriyunnole …….’ is the earliest memory. My father would sing it and explain the metaphor not only for us in the family but also the workers on our land.
What I realize now is that all these heard melodies are only the tip of the iceberg. They are what make him a cult figure of popular culture, a poet of the masses. Those unheard or less heard ones , the more meaning-laden poems of oceanic depth & cosmic breadth which form the iceberg are what make him a true successor to his illustrious predecessors in Malayalam poetry. A poet of the classes, too,in other words, though he might not like this sort of differentiation of people into masses and classes.
The Keraleeya Kendra Sanghatana , Bombay or Maha – Keraleeyam had organized this grand meet at the Manav Seva Sangh Hall in King Circle. The event had 2 parts. The morning was for the celebration and the felicitation. The afternoon’s highlight was a Multilingual Seminar. Maha Keraleeyam, by the way, stands for Maharashtra Keraleeyam. So local MLA, Eknath Gaekwad was the VIP guest. Well he was bowled over when he heard himself
being welcomed in chaste Marathi by the Malayali hostess. Gaekwad was all praise for the Mumbai Malayalis who try to preserve not only the Malayali culture but are also thoughtful about furthering the cause of Maharashtrian culture.
Then it was a rain of roses for O.N.V , roses from various organizations and individuals….The flowers were followed by something even more amazing - a musical rendering of three of his poems, ‘ Pengal’, ‘ Sooryageetham’ and ‘ Amma Vilikkunnu’ by three Mumbai youngsters of the school-college age group… I shall be reverting to this beautiful experience later .
The most memorable part of the forenoon was , of course, O.N.V’s speech, his response to all the affection and adulation showered on him by Mumbai Malayalees. “Amidst all the difficulties and sorrows which beset all of us nearly always , there are certain moments when we feel that it is nice to be alive. This is one such moment for me. ”, he began thus, in typical style , establishing rapport with common humanity instantaneously and covered a lot of ground in a brief while. He spoke of his intimate connection with the city, the innumerable visits after that first visit to Mumbai in the company of P.B. Sreenivas & Devarajan in 1952 when they were received at the station by the Titans of the Indian People’s Theatre Association , K.A.Abbas & Balraj Sahni.
He touched upon the current crazes and curses. Jeremiah-like, he cautioned us, his people against the false gods of big money and material wealth , against the arrogance of tall towers and big structures which belittle the human being. He had an answer , a concrete answer to the age old question – (as old as Plato !) : Of what use is poetry ?. English poets Sir Philip Sidney and P.B. Shelley had answered this question in their own ways.
O.N.V.’s answer is “ Go and see the Silent Valley National Park. That is the monument to the power of poetry.” The voices of a handful of poets like
Sugatha Kumari, Ayyappa Panicker, Kadamanitta and O.N.V . were heard and listened to in Delhi and this treasure house of nature was saved.
Time flew as we sat enjoying the poetic meal for the soul. Soon it was time for the sadya for the stomach. And it was, indeed, a lavish feast !
Published in City journal on 4th April, 2011
A Day With O.N.V.
[ Part I ]
By Lakshmi Padmanabhan
The 27th of March , 2011. It was a Sunday with a difference for an incredible
number of Mumbai Mallus like me when they got the opportunity to spend the whole day with Jnananpeeth awardee, PadmaVibhushan ,Ottaplakkal /plavil Nambiadikkal Neelakandan Velu Kurup. I ferreted out this full name of our beloved poet from the Net. Mea culpa ! Strange that I didn’t know it before nor felt the need to know , considering that O.N.V. has been so much a part of my consciousness , growing up as I did to the echoing music of his KPAC songs & film lyrics .
Perhaps it isn’t so strange after all, as I had got to know them all mainly through oral tradition. ‘Ponnarivalambiliyilu kanneriyunnole …….’ is the earliest memory. My father would sing it and explain the metaphor not only for us in the family but also the workers on our land.
What I realize now is that all these heard melodies are only the tip of the iceberg. They are what make him a cult figure of popular culture, a poet of the masses. Those unheard or less heard ones , the more meaning-laden poems of oceanic depth & cosmic breadth which form the iceberg are what make him a true successor to his illustrious predecessors in Malayalam poetry. A poet of the classes, too,in other words, though he might not like this sort of differentiation of people into masses and classes.
The Keraleeya Kendra Sanghatana , Bombay or Maha – Keraleeyam had organized this grand meet at the Manav Seva Sangh Hall in King Circle. The event had 2 parts. The morning was for the celebration and the felicitation. The afternoon’s highlight was a Multilingual Seminar. Maha Keraleeyam, by the way, stands for Maharashtra Keraleeyam. So local MLA, Eknath Gaekwad was the VIP guest. Well he was bowled over when he heard himself
being welcomed in chaste Marathi by the Malayali hostess. Gaekwad was all praise for the Mumbai Malayalis who try to preserve not only the Malayali culture but are also thoughtful about furthering the cause of Maharashtrian culture.
Then it was a rain of roses for O.N.V , roses from various organizations and individuals….The flowers were followed by something even more amazing - a musical rendering of three of his poems, ‘ Pengal’, ‘ Sooryageetham’ and ‘ Amma Vilikkunnu’ by three Mumbai youngsters of the school-college age group… I shall be reverting to this beautiful experience later .
The most memorable part of the forenoon was , of course, O.N.V’s speech, his response to all the affection and adulation showered on him by Mumbai Malayalees. “Amidst all the difficulties and sorrows which beset all of us nearly always , there are certain moments when we feel that it is nice to be alive. This is one such moment for me. ”, he began thus, in typical style , establishing rapport with common humanity instantaneously and covered a lot of ground in a brief while. He spoke of his intimate connection with the city, the innumerable visits after that first visit to Mumbai in the company of P.B. Sreenivas & Devarajan in 1952 when they were received at the station by the Titans of the Indian People’s Theatre Association , K.A.Abbas & Balraj Sahni.
He touched upon the current crazes and curses. Jeremiah-like, he cautioned us, his people against the false gods of big money and material wealth , against the arrogance of tall towers and big structures which belittle the human being. He had an answer , a concrete answer to the age old question – (as old as Plato !) : Of what use is poetry ?. English poets Sir Philip Sidney and P.B. Shelley had answered this question in their own ways.
O.N.V.’s answer is “ Go and see the Silent Valley National Park. That is the monument to the power of poetry.” The voices of a handful of poets like
Sugatha Kumari, Ayyappa Panicker, Kadamanitta and O.N.V . were heard and listened to in Delhi and this treasure house of nature was saved.
Time flew as we sat enjoying the poetic meal for the soul. Soon it was time for the sadya for the stomach. And it was, indeed, a lavish feast !
---------------------------------------------------------------------
A Day With O.N.V.
[ Part I ]
By Lakshmi Padmanabhan
The 27th of March , 2011. It was a Sunday with a difference for an incredible
number of Mumbai Mallus like me when they got the opportunity to spend the whole day with Jnananpeeth awardee, PadmaVibhushan ,Ottaplakkal /plavil Nambiadikkal Neelakandan Velu Kurup. I ferreted out this full name of our beloved poet from the Net. Mea culpa ! Strange that I didn’t know it before nor felt the need to know , considering that O.N.V. has been so much a part of my consciousness , growing up as I did to the echoing music of his KPAC songs & film lyrics .
Perhaps it isn’t so strange after all, as I had got to know them all mainly through oral tradition. ‘Ponnarivalambiliyilu kanneriyunnole …….’ is the earliest memory. My father would sing it and explain the metaphor not only for us in the family but also the workers on our land.
What I realize now is that all these heard melodies are only the tip of the iceberg. They are what make him a cult figure of popular culture, a poet of the masses. Those unheard or less heard ones , the more meaning-laden poems of oceanic depth & cosmic breadth which form the iceberg are what make him a true successor to his illustrious predecessors in Malayalam poetry. A poet of the classes, too,in other words, though he might not like this sort of differentiation of people into masses and classes.
The Keraleeya Kendra Sanghatana , Bombay or Maha – Keraleeyam had organized this grand meet at the Manav Seva Sangh Hall in King Circle. The event had 2 parts. The morning was for the celebration and the felicitation. The afternoon’s highlight was a Multilingual Seminar. Maha Keraleeyam, by the way, stands for Maharashtra Keraleeyam. So local MLA, Eknath Gaekwad was the VIP guest. Well he was bowled over when he heard himself
being welcomed in chaste Marathi by the Malayali hostess. Gaekwad was all praise for the Mumbai Malayalis who try to preserve not only the Malayali culture but are also thoughtful about furthering the cause of Maharashtrian culture.
Then it was a rain of roses for O.N.V , roses from various organizations and individuals….The flowers were followed by something even more amazing - a musical rendering of three of his poems, ‘ Pengal’, ‘ Sooryageetham’ and ‘ Amma Vilikkunnu’ by three Mumbai youngsters of the school-college age group… I shall be reverting to this beautiful experience later .
The most memorable part of the forenoon was , of course, O.N.V’s speech, his response to all the affection and adulation showered on him by Mumbai Malayalees. “Amidst all the difficulties and sorrows which beset all of us nearly always , there are certain moments when we feel that it is nice to be alive. This is one such moment for me. ”, he began thus, in typical style , establishing rapport with common humanity instantaneously and covered a lot of ground in a brief while. He spoke of his intimate connection with the city, the innumerable visits after that first visit to Mumbai in the company of P.B. Sreenivas & Devarajan in 1952 when they were received at the station by the Titans of the Indian People’s Theatre Association , K.A.Abbas & Balraj Sahni.
He touched upon the current crazes and curses. Jeremiah-like, he cautioned us, his people against the false gods of big money and material wealth , against the arrogance of tall towers and big structures which belittle the human being. He had an answer , a concrete answer to the age old question – (as old as Plato !) : Of what use is poetry ?. English poets Sir Philip Sidney and P.B. Shelley had answered this question in their own ways.
O.N.V.’s answer is “ Go and see the Silent Valley National Park. That is the monument to the power of poetry.” The voices of a handful of poets like
Sugatha Kumari, Ayyappa Panicker, Kadamanitta and O.N.V . were heard and listened to in Delhi and this treasure house of nature was saved.
Time flew as we sat enjoying the poetic meal for the soul. Soon it was time for the sadya for the stomach. And it was, indeed, a lavish feast !
---------------------------------------------------------------------
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