Speakers at the ‘Kaviyarasar Kannadasan Vizha’ held on Saturday said that the 15-minute duration was too short for them to share their experiences and thoughts on the legendary writer, poet and lyricist. Organised by the Kannadasan Viswanathan Trust to remember the poet on his 32nd death anniversary on October 17, the evening saw praises heaped on Kaviyarasar.
Justice V Ramasubramanian, an ardent lover of Tamil language, said Kannadasan’s film songs are just the shorter versions of his original works. “The original versions will be deeper in meaning with minute details and with all its emotions,” he said.
Another speaker, Pandithurai from Malaysia, said Kannadasan’s songs helped Tamils living abroad learn the language easily. “We are the fourth generation in Malaysia and no Tamil scholars accompanied us when we emigrated from India. But if we could still speak the language, it’s because of Kannadasan,” he said.
Author and publisher Lena Tamizhvanan said he grew up at Kannadasan’s house.
“I never realised the stature of Kannadasan until I started reading Tamil,” he said.
The evening also marked the bestowing of the Kannadasan Award on Saraswathi Ramanathan, who did her PhD on Kannadasan, and noted painter-writer Amudha Bharathi alias Amudhon, whose paintings have adorned the covers of many of Kannadasan’s books.