Chemmozhi Thamizh Mozhi – The Kollywood ConnectionIndiaGlitz [Wednesday, June 09, 2010]
Although languages such as Greek, Latin and Sanskrit enjoy the status of classical language in the academic world thanks to their antiquity and rich literary heritage, Tamil is the first living language to be given the official status of a classical language. For more than 150 years, Tamil scholars and those conscious of their Tamil heritage have been demanding that the classical character of Tamil be recognised. Dr. Robert Caldwell (1814-1891) a Colonial Era Evangelist Missionary established beyond an iota of doubt the authenticity of the Dravidian family of languages and the high antiquity of Tamil. According to Caldwell, Tamil is the most highly cultivated of all Dravidian idioms; it can dispense with its Sanskrit altogether, if need be, and not only stand alone but also flourish without its aid. Such a language is honoured at the Thamizh Chemmozhi Maanadu in June and the Tamil film industry also has done its bit to be a part if the ceremony. The theme song for the conference was written by Kalaignar Karunanidhi and was set to tune by Oscar and Grammy winner A.R. Rahman. The song was visualized on screen by director Gautham Menon. The video starts with TM Soundarrajan singing “pirapokkum ella uyirkkum” which means all living humans are equal by birth and then A R Rahman takes over singing “yaathum oore yaavarum kelir” which means “all the world is my place and all the people are my family.” The conference logo signifies the ideal of the mankind. The image of Thiruvalluvar's statue in Kanyakumari, being lashed by waves caused by the Tsunami saying Kural withstands any calamity the statue is encircled by seven icons from the Indus Valley Civilisation. The Indus Valley Civilisation icons, found in the logo, symbolise the Dravidian civilisation, which is regarded as the most ancient civilisation of the world. The number of icons stresses the importance of ‘seven' in the lives of Tamils. The audio of the theme song was released on May 15. The song as said before illustrates the glory of different classical works written in various periods ranging from the Sangam era to the post-Sangam period, including those of Kamban and Kalamegam. ARR has kept the instruments to a minimum so that the words are clear. The traditional Tamil nadhaswaram and thavil blend melodiously with the guitar and drums, even as the carnatic notes wind seamlessly with the rap. It took two to two-and-a-half months to make the song for ARR with a large crew of almost 70 singers. The song features singers who have distinguished themselves in different genres of music such as Carnatic (Aruna Sayeeram, Bombay Jaishree, Nithyashree and Sowmya), folk, Sufi (M.Y.Abdul Ghani, Khajamoideen, S.Sabumoideen), and even rap (Blaaze). It also took the services of singers belonging to different generations such as T.M. Soundararajan, P. Suseela, Aruna Sairam, Shruti Haasan and Srinivas. A.R.Rahman, Yuvan Shankar Raja, T.M.Soundararajan, P.Suseela, Aruna Sairam, Bombay Jayshree, Karthik, Harini, Chinmayi, Hariharan, Swetha Mohan, G.V.Prakash, Benny Dayal, Srinivas, Vijay Yesudas, T.L.Magarajan, Nithyashree, Sowmya, M.Y.Abdul Gani, M.Kaja Moideen, S.Sabu Moideen, P.L.Krishnan, Naresh Iyer, Gunasekar, Sruthi Haasan, Chinna Ponnu, Susila Raman, Blaaze, Kash n Krizzy, Raihana they all have contributed to the anthem. The video of the theme song of World Tamil Classical Conference was launched on May 29. The video was a perfect union three generation of singers from TMS-Suseela to Blazze-Shruthi for the video. The video captures the eternity of the language which has lived for thousands of years. The great work of ARR Rahman and Gautham are the prides of Kollywood. http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/tamil/article/57679.html -- - Regards ~ ~ A.R.Rajib ~ ~
