KOCHI: ‘While the golden rays of sun adorn the sky, the lush green landscape below adds beauty to Kerala’s art forms. The land is blessed with the sacred charm of glorious Kathakali’ writes renowned poet and lyricist Vayalar Sarath Chandra Varma, expounding the rich heritage and breathtaking charm of Kerala. His verses, set to tune by Oman-based engineer and music composer Midhun Narayanan, were released as a music video on YouTube on Thursday evoking deep pride and a sense of nostalgia in every Malayali.
Titled Keralam - The Signature of God (Surya Kunkumam), the song is a pleasing melody with a harmonious blend of classical Indian instruments including the flute, mridangam and veena rendered by maestros D A Srinivas, Punya Srinivas, Naveen, Veda and Napier Naveen Kumar while the sonorous voice of singer Sreeraj Sahajan aided by Ashitha Ajit grounds the entire composition. The track which was the brainchild of Midhun delves into almost every aspect of its art forms, celebrations, traditions, customs, vistas and its social milieu of communal togetherness that sets an example for the entire country.
Midhun’s composition is the very anthem ‘god’s own country’ deserves. “I have always been inspired by the beauty of Kerala. Being an NRI, I miss my homeland. In 2017, I visited Vayalar Sarath Chandra’s house. We discussed writing a few songs on Kerala. So the genesis of the projects happened over three years ago but I only found time to compose the song last February. All the components came together after the pandemic outbreak and we coordinated everything virtually. Sreeraj recorded the song in Chennai while orchestra manager K D Vincent brought together all the instrumental musicians,” says Midhun who has previously worked on three independent projects including one involving Grammy Award winner Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt.
With prominent musicians lending their expertise to the composition, the visualisation of the accompanying music video needed to be as rousing as the audio. Midhun enlisted the help of acclaimed filmmaker Thomas K Sebastian to forge a stunning visual tableau of Kerala to aid Surya Kunkumam’s sensorial experience. “Thomas came up with a concept that was very close to what I had in mind while composing the song. We tried to cover the entire length of Kerala in the video montage. You can see glimpses of art forms like tholpavakoothu as well as famed indigenous crafts like the Aranmula mirror,” adds Midhun.
With over 70,000 views in less than 24 hours, the song has garnered accolades from celebrities from various walks of life. “The number of views is not important, how the audience feels after listening to it is what matters. I am also extremely happy to have associated with Saregama India for the release.”
Watch the music video on YouTube @Saregama South