From “dhool.com” ( 3rd Oct-2003)

Song of the Day: aththaan en aththaan from paava mannippu.

MSV's comment on the song: http://www.tfmpage.com/cgi-bin/stream.pl?url=http://www.dhool.com/sotd/aththaanmsv.rm

- One of my favorite P.Suseela songs. Music by MSV-TKR. Written by Kannadasan.

- PS has rendered this slow song in the most beautiful manner. The pregnant pause before "eppadi solvEnadi", the background strings, short stanzas all enrich this song. I somehow feel that Kannadasan hasn't done full justice to this song. He has played with words ending in "aththaan", but further clever wordplay seems to be missing. In the pallavi, he uses "avar", but later uses "azhaiththaan siriththaan aNaiththaan" etc. Probably could have used "avan ennaiththaan" in the pallavi, instead of avar.

- Listen to the rare clip of MSV commenting on the song. It is pretty interesting. He mentions that Kannadasan had written this song, approached several MDs, who couldn't do justice to the lyrics. He then came to MSV and asked him to compose a tune for that song: "kenjinaar saar!". MSV too mentions that the pauses between the words came naturally (AvM chettiyar said "veththalaip paakku madichchup pOdara nEram irukku!"). MSV says that the gap showed the vetkam of the heroine, the viraga dhaabam. Thanks to SK for this rare clip and the song.
- As MSV says, the song has enchanted people all over the world, for generations

1.a From Raj:
bb: Nice song . It reminds me of my days in IISc. I saw this movie in Bangalore when I was a student there. Unfortunately, this movie and songs always remind me of the anti-Tamil protests in Bangalore those days. The protesters demanded that the theatres screen a Kannada movie for every Tamil movie. But, the problem was that they produced less than 15 Kannada movies a year against 70 + movies in Tamil. Looks like things have not changed very much in 50 years.
You can find inconsistency in movie lyrics by any lyricist. Kannadasan is no exception!
Thanks for the song and the memories it brings back
1.b. ( from Udhaya)
Aththaan is a telling example of what Ramamurthy brings to a song's composition. Focus on the majestic yet subtle string arrangement, it's magnificent; even more so when you realize that it enhances such a tender intimate emotion
1.c
• From: RJD (@ 63.251.157.162) on: Fri Oct 3 04:45:35 EDT 2003

I just love this song. It is so melodious! No jarring background music and it portrays so beautifully the natural shyness of women ...

I also have an anecdote:

My parents had an intercaste love marriage 42 years ago ... (1961 Dad in Madras Medical College & mom in law college - Brahmin - Gounder )

Thru' major opposition from both families their friends got them married at Vadapalani temple.

Next day they had a small party with all friends and everyone requested my mom to sing a song (she used to sing beautifully). "Athaan en athaan" was the hit song of the season and my mom started singing it. When she came to "Avar ennai thaan" and paused ... my dad spontaneously interjected "Nethu Raathiri thaan" ... making a reference to their first night ;-)

Friends were all laughing and my mom turned beet red ... My dad always used to tease her about it. They continued their romance till they both passed away in 1994 ... a few months apart ... but memories of their romance lives on.

This song has a very special place in my heart

• 1.d From: sriram (@ 163.181.251.10) on: Fri Oct 3 11:51:12 EDT 2003

one of my most favourite songs. the strings intro is very similar to another favourite of mine - ponnondru kaNdEn, but in this case, it is more subdued to match the mood of the rest of the song.

this song is the poster child, the most quoted stereotypical example of a slow-paced "old" song recounted in countless patti mandrams that endlessly compare the old "naadhaa.... enna naadhi?..." to the new internet/email kAdhal.

thanks bb for posting this on Friday so that we can savour it over the weekend.

• 1.e From: S Ramaswamy (@ 203.94.226.70) on: Fri Oct 3 13:09:59 EDT 2003

Hi all,

What a song! MSV had written somewhere that he was opposed to the lyric saying 'enna kavignare athan pothan enru', but the simplicity of the song and its bgm, so soothing, and PS voice lift this one to Hinmalayan heights. As sriram has written yes the prelude is somewhat similar to 'Pon Ondru Kanden, Penn angu Illai' that unforgetttable TMS-PBS duet in 'Padithal Mattum Podhuma', but subtler in style. And the film 'Paavamannippu' is the one in which VR duo's use of the mouth organ has come to the fore. Simple instrument, but how well it has been put into use! So different to the modern day noise!

• 1.f From: MS (@ 129.252.26.224) on: Fri Oct 3 14:17:32 EDT 2003

Prabhu:

Aptly put. This thread is one which seems to invoke all the niceties of the participating DFers and make them share their cherished moments associated with the song. Great going !

On the technical side, if we look at the sandham of this song:

thaa naa
than nan naa
thana than nan naa
than nan nan naa naa na naa

Looks like a pascal's pyramid :-) One of the most unconventional sandhams ever conceived IMO. Is there a need for me iterate / echo that MSV was a master in sandham ?

1.g Reporter (@ 219.65.136.231) on: Sun Oct 5 01:11:44 EDT 2003
My pick in this movie is ‘vandha nAL mudhal’ by TMS with that superb whistling, though I do not shove aside AththAn song. Chinna asaivu koduththu kondE pAttai rasikkalAm :-O) Savthri-in kaNgaLil appadi oru kuLumai irukkum… koodavE dEvikA very simple steps-udan….

I had a wonderful opportunity of listening to SOFri sung by the same Susila on stage; wedding reception of AVM Kumaran’s son. SG conducted the light-music programme. Susila instantly stopped after that ‘eppadi solvEnadi’ in the pallavi with her left hand pointing to the garlanded girl. All the eyes were turned to the maNa peN…. Oh…that vetkam on her face is sill persistent in my reminiscence :-O)

aththaan en aththaan – ‘Adavarukkum vetkkam varum’

• 1.g From: vijay (@ 68.16.25.50) on: Mon Oct 6 15:48:30 EDT 2003

MS, I think you probably missed bb's writeup 2 pages back and MSV's clip explaining this song. Here it is:

"Listen to the rare clip of MSV commenting on the song. It is pretty interesting. He mentions that Kannadasan had written this song, approached several MDs, who couldn't do justice to the lyrics. He then came to MSV and asked him to compose a tune for that song: "kenjinaar saar!". MSV too mentions that the pauses between the words came naturally (AvM chettiyar said "veththalaip paakku madichchup pOdara nEram irukku!"). MSV says that the gap showed the vetkam of the heroine, the viraga dhaabam. Thanks to SK for this rare clip and the song"

MSV explaining this song:
http://www.tfmpage.com/cgi-bin/stream.pl?url=http://www.dhool.com/sotd/aththaanmsv.rm

(To me, I think it would have been more surprising if the MD had thought of this chandam/structure first, although MSV is quite capable of doing it. Because when you think of a tune on your own that stretching of "Aththaaaaan".. and a pause afterwards would be a little difficult to conceive, IMO)

I believe he has tuned quite a few songs first for which lyrics were written later. Examples include "aagaya pandhalile", "ponnenben siru poovenben" etc. from what I remember.