KOCHI: As soon as he picked up the call, R K Damodaran shared with me some great news. He is the recipient of this year’s Ivor Madam Madhava Warrier award constituted by Thiruvilwamala Venkichan Swamy study centre, for his documentation of traditional percussion instruments (Chenda Vadyam). Celebrating his 67th Malayalam star birthday on August 9, this wizard of words has spent over four decades in pursuit of music, poetry and art.
Damodaran started writing lyrics for movies quite accidentally, while still a graduate student at Maharajas College, Ernakulam. He articulated the emotions of a Ravi Varma painting for the movie ‘Raju Rahim’ in 1977. Apart from over 150 songs he has written for Malayalam movies, Damodaran was also part of the first song A R Rahman worked for soon after the death of his father R K Shekhar. Rahman was still a beginner then.
Damodaran’s passion for music and poetry is a vast ocean, and cinema is merely the tip of an iceberg. If I could spell out some of his accomplishments in the article, most of us would realise that we owe him our memories and beloved nostalgia. The popular jingle from the kid’s series ‘Kaattile kannan’, the earworm ‘pennayal ponnuvenam’ from a jewellery brand advertisement, Damodaran has left behind many such subtle footprints in every Malayali.
“If you ask me, cinema music is popular, because the medium has a mass appeal. But art is not limited to cinema. Music is not limited to cinema. I write songs for the All India Radio. The “goal goal” jingle for the Santhosh Trophy. I write for ads, I have been teaching children light music for college festivals for almost three decades now. A song is a song, and I don’t want to limit myself to being a cinema song maker,” he says.
However, his interaction with college students has a deeper implication too. “Why is it our first instinct to sing a little song and dance when we celebrate? Why do we not run to find a book written by Shakespeare? Because music represents happiness and well-being. Our hearts beat 72 times in a second. That is the rhythm that sustains us. That is how important art and creation is,” he adds.
According to him, the fact that students these days are brought up with more intellectual abilities than emotional or creative thrust is throwing us off this equilibrium. “I wouldn’t say they are not reading. Have you seen the medical and engineering textbooks?! They are reading alright, but for the mind. Not for the heart,” he says. The question of deteriorating mental health, especially during the pandemic, is a manifestation of our distance from what makes us human, he adds.
Apart from devotional and political songs, Damodaran also writes environmental poems for a magazine. He has published two collections of poetry (Kavitha Samaharam), namely ‘Arjunadhanam’ and ‘Kathaamaneeyam’. His love for history and research reflects through ‘Thrissur pooram’, a book that narrates the beginning of the legendary festival. In 2013, he was awarded the Sangeetha Nadaka Academy Award for his contributions to literature.
He has also received 17 awards so far for his critique and observations on traditional percussion. He is currently compiling all his songs into a book, named ‘Njanenna Ganam’ (The song that is me). “Like I said before, this rhythm is in me. And that is the only way to summarise my lifetime,” he concludes.