PALAKKAD: Nanjiamma, the tribal woman from Attappadi, whose song — she also wrote the lyrics — in Sachy's Ayyapanum Koshiyum went viral, was overcome with emotion when she saw the body of the writer-filmmaker who had pitchforked her into limelight overnight. "I travelled all the way from Attappadi to Ernakulam for the purpose. When I saw the body, tears welled up in my eyes and I cried," she said.
"I wanted to go in the night itself to see the body of Sachy sir... But to get a vehicle from Nakkupathy Pirivu ooru where I live is not easy. I waited till 2am. But S Pazhaniswamy, a tribal forest watcher in Attappadi, said there may be wild elephants on the route and therefore we will go in the morning. My sister Varuthi, Pazhaniswamy and I set out for Ernakulam at 6 am," she said.
"I planned to visit him in the hospital, but postponed the trip. He is ‘God’ to me. Because of Sachy, many people know me now,” said Nanjiamma, who sang Kalakkatha sandana maram vegu vega poothirikka...poo parikka pokilamo vimanathe paakkilamo..," she added. (The sandalwood tree in the east has bloomed, shall we go to pluck the flowers and see the aircraft) which had been passed down the generations in her family and is sung when a woman feeds child.
Sachy sir was good at heart, says Nanjiamma
"Sachy sir was good at heart. Since Pazhaniswamy and I were part of the Azad Kalasangam in Attappadi, he recommended my name. I went ahead and sang the song. He immediately liked the lines which had been passed down the ages. He also asked me to sing another tribal song for the film," said the grief-stricken woman.
Nanjiamma, who belongs to the Irula tribe, said that Sachy along with his family wanted to visit her in Attappadi. "I had told him that I live in a small house, but you are always welcome. Sachy had camped at Attappadi for 66 days for the film and I was taken to Chennai for recording the songs," she said.
After the release of 'Ayyapanum Koshiyum', Nanjiamma had become a celebrity, travelling to many places and giving dozens of interviews. “She has now sung a song in the film ‘Station 5’ . Discussions are also on for recording a song for a Tamil and a Malayalam movie,” according to Pazhaniswamy, who did a cameo role in 'Ayyapanum Koshiyum'.