KOCHI: The musical saga of Raveendran Master has left an indelible mark on the minds of all music lovers. Even four years after his unexpected demise, thousands of his admirers still cherish the heavenly music scored by him. If Baburaj was remembered for the haunting Hindustani touch in his songs and Devarajan for incorporating carnatic elements in a simple but stylised manner to the lyrics of Vayalar Rama Varma, MBS unveiled the tonal beauty of legendary singer K J Yesudas. Raveendran Master tried to redefine the thread that links the three qualities of the maestros which turned to be a blessing for music buffs in Kerala. Raveendran Master, who started his musical voyage from the song ‘Thaarake’(Choola), went on to create magic for music lovers in the state.
His debut itself gave clear indications of the birth of an unmatched composer. He suceeded in scoring music for many popular lyricists like P Bhaskaran, Bichu Thirumala, Kaithrapram Damodaran Namboothiri and Gireesh Puthencheri. In the film ‘Oru Maymasapulariyil’, without losing the poetic beauty of the song ‘pularkala sundara swapnathil,’ sung by K S Chithra, Raveendran gave a magical twist to it. Through this he also exposed the mesmerising power of the sensitive raga malaya marutham. Raveendran scored music for the movie Thenum Vayambum (1981) which helped in tapping the voice quality of S Janaki. Slowly Malayalis learnt to identify his imprints in songs like ‘Ezhuswarangalum’ (Chiriyo Chiri), ‘Ragangale mohangale’(Tharaattu) and ‘Ponpularoli poovithariya’ (Ithiripoove Chuvannapoove).
Yesudas, who introduced this talented composer to Malayalis, made use of his melodies for many of his own albums which were lapped up by the music lovers of Kerala. Some of the hits were ‘mamankam palakuri’, ‘valampiri shankhil’, ‘arayanneme’, ‘aruviyalakal pudava njoriyum’ and ‘kalam oru pularkalam’ from the album ‘Vasantha Geethangal’ released in the mid 80s. It was Raveendran who gave us nostalgic tunes like ‘Uthraada Poonilave Vaa’, ‘Oru Nullu Kakkapoo’ and ‘Paayipattattile Vallamkali.’ And he soon became a trend setter through the famous song ‘pramadha vanam veendum’(His Highness Abdulla) which led to his lasting bond with lyricist Kaithapram. Some of the hit songs of the duo are ‘premodaranaay’( Kamaladalam) ‘ramakatha gaanarasam’ (Bharatham) and ‘azhake nin mizhineermani’ (Amaram).
There were many films which became popular only because of the scores of the Master. He gave an unparallel beauty to semi classical songs in hits like ‘Ponpularoli’, ‘Harimuraleeravam’ (Aramthampuran) and his last work ‘Gange’ (Vadakkumnathan). His ability to merge with the lyrical beauty of a song is evident in songs like ‘Enthe Mulle Pookkathu’ (Panchaloham), ‘Varmazhaville’ (Mizhi Randilum) and ‘Vaarmukile’ (Mazha).
The beauty of certain carnatic ragas like hindolam and kharaharapriya was a highlight of his composition. The romantic mood created by his songs like ‘Parayaatha mozhikal’ than (Ente Hrudayathinte Udama) and ‘Innumente Kannu Neeril’ (Yuvajanolsavam) always enthral music lovers. His compositions in the bhajan style like ‘Makarasamkrama Sooryodhayam’ (Tharattu) and ‘Dheenadhayalo Rama’ (Arayannangalude Veedu) virtually communicate with the inner soul of the listener. While scoring music for ‘Mouliyil Mayilpeeli Charthi’ for the film Nandanam Raveendran did not hesitat to adopt a popular nostalgic tune -Kani Kaanum Neram Kamala Nethrante-which highlighted the beauty of this film. No wonder Raveendran Master still remains an immortal presence in the minds of music lovers in the state.
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