Chennai: “The Jnanpith should have first gone to the great poet Bharathidasan. Unfortunately, he passed away before the award was instituted. So, Malayalam poet G Shankara Kurup got the first award in 1965. Sixty years later, as a poet, I’m proud to bring this award to Tamil,” poet and lyricist Vairamuthu told TOI on Saturday after Bharatiya Jnanpith announced that he had been chosen for the country’s premier literary honour. .“I can understand this delay in recognizing Tamil writers, because this award is being given on a rotational basis. However, the Hindi literary world has got this award 12 times, Kannada eight times, and Malayalam six times. Tamil being a classical language should have been given more attention. That is my only regret. Hope, in future more Tamil writers will receive this award,” Vairamuthu said. Born on July 13, 1953, in Mettur, Theni district, to Ramasamy and Angammal, Vairamuthu completed his schooling in Vadugapatti and later earned his master’s in Tamil from Pachaiyappa’s College, Chennai, with gold medal. At the age of 18, he published his first poetry collection ‘Vaigarai Megangal’. This work was prescribed as a textbook in one of the women’s colleges in the state, while he was still a student. After completing his education, Vairamuthu started working in the Official Language Commission of Tamil Nadu govt. In 1980, he entered the Tamil film industry as a lyricist in the film ‘Nizhalgal’, directed by Bharathiraja, his long-time friend. The song ‘Idhu oru ponmaalai pozhuthu’, with music composed by Ilayaraaja, was praised for its new imagery, unheard of until then. This knack of introducing new imagery, words, metaphors, similes, and alliterations earned Vairamuthu the title ‘Kaviperarasu’ (literally, Emperor of Poets). “I trained in writing ‘marabu kavithai’ (traditional poems). Later, I started to write ‘puthu kavithai’ (new verse). When I entered the film industry, I innovated a new form of writing songs by blending new verse with values taken from traditional poems. That became my style,” said Vairamuthu. Since the 1980s, Vairamuthu has penned more than 8,000 songs and has won seven national awards, and six state awards for his lyrics. He has a rare distinction of writings songs for three generations starting from Sivaji Ganesan to Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth to Dhanush and Vijay Sethupathi. “I wrote songs for Sivaji Ganesan, his son Prabhu, and his grandson Vikram Prabhu. I keep myself abreast of new developments in science and technology. Everyday I learn new things and update myself. That’s why I am able to work with different generations,” Vairamuthu said. Besides writing songs, Vairamuthu had also kept abreast of the modern Tamil literary world and has nearly 40 books to his credit. His works include 12 poetry collections, 10 novels, one short story collection, eight essay collections, one biography, two question and answer collections, and two travelogues. He has also written his autobiography titled ‘Idhu varai naan’ (1983). His recent publication was a commentary on Thirukkural titled ‘Valluvar Marai Vairamuthu Urai’. His novel ‘Kallikkaattu Ithihasam’ (2001) chronicles the struggles of people who migrated due to the construction of the Vaigai dam. It was for this novel that he won the Sahitya Akademi award in 2003. The novel has been translated into all the 23 other official Indian languages. Married to Dr Ponmani Vairamuthu, the poet has two sons—Madan Karky and Kabilan Vairamuthu—who are also lyricists and poets. “To me, literature should elevate humankind. I travel among their dreams and emotions. I had two wings. With this award, I feel I have two more wings. I dedicate this award with gratitude to Tamil society and its people. I continue my work with renewed vigour,” said Vairamuthu.Chief minister M K Stalin, among other political leaders, extended wishes to Vairamuthu.
