The saying goes..."Its like finishing a fulfilling dinner with "Cognac". Well..... I am referring to a masterpiece of composer G Ramanathan which is faded past into our memories. Its not the compelling music of GR that elevates the song, but, its the always dutiful and mesmerising voice of PS. T M Sounderajan also plays a secondary role in this creative attempt lending a hand to GR thereby creating a tranquil soundscape.

"Mohana Punnagai" from the movie "Vanangamudi", a highly colorful and aromatic piece suited to popular taste of that time. Not a single bar of music is borrowed. Its a priceless heritage of GR and PS. If one is destined to devote most of one's life to playback singing, one can start in no better way than by being born with the beautiful voice of "P Susheela", with her clear connotations of singing.

To me this is a dialogue song of the responsorial type, like "Bailero", a french folk song of Marie-Joseph Canteloube. In the early era of film making, no one has cared so passionately than GR in infusing classical raw material into his orchestral works. That's his genius. His melodies (to name a few...Kanvazhi Pugundhu, Ulavum Thendral Katrinilae, Thensuvai Mevum [a piano interlude in between], Ullam Rendum Ondru, Manamohana) cannot be quantified by complex metrics, but rather they are contemporary fluid pieces with strong regular rhythmic patterns. How did he do that? Enough now of GR's musical achievements.

In this song, GR, PS & TMS establish a great rapport. PS with a natural temperament in her voice takes on the enormous responsibility of carrying this timeless masterpiece on her vocal chords. Did GR envision this act of betrayal? May be he did...and became a silent spectator witnessing an emerging skill of PS's absorption of music like the grandiose great operas and a southern passion for naturalness. It was a strange relationship indeed which lasted over a period of seven years. PS was a valuable help to his music. PS got trained in GR's works as it was as spontaneous and vivacious as any other composition of its period.

Scored with a perfect traditional balance of woodwind and percussion and with slowest tempo, PS in GR's mentioned compostion employs a equal harmonic restraint and conveys a mood of joyful insouciance. However, the middle section of the music is kept quite simple. GR's playful woodwind exoticism also has a conservative touch, not to parallel his earlier masterpieces since 1940's.

PS made conscious efforts and moved away from established patterns, quite significant for that era. If a emerging playback singer like PS receives an offer with all the riches and promises, one does'nt ignore it. Its an opportunity which paid off..for which she will remain thankful.

PS's cooler rusticity only emerges later. With astonishing alacrity, PS created her own opportunity. She did make a favorable impression as a versatile playback singer on GR and which won her a lasting reputation. GR's copious compositions and PS's rendering have survived the test of time.

For a listener, "Mohana Punnagai" implies an ancient song of rustic character and its accompanying dance. But for a devoted pupil, it was a vital art-music based on nationalist sources. PS's voice supplants the percussion with its dynamic range and acquiring overriding importance as the only playback artiste in that masterpiece song. Listen to it.....Once there, we hear no lyrical themes as such, only the brilliant hymn of P Susheela.