Na. Kamarasan, a pioneer of free verse, who penned some of the memorable songs for Tamil films since the days of MGR died at the age of 76, here on Wednesday. He was closely associated with the Vaanambadi poetry movement.

His poetry collection Karuppu Malargal, which refers to black people, created waves in the Tamil literary world.

“He was not keeping well for some time. He was a diabetic and it led to multiple organ failure,” said his wife Logamani.

He is survived by wife, a son and a daughter.

Poi vaa nathi alaiye in MGR’s film Pallandu Vaazhga, accompanied by the beatings of the percussion instrument dholak, continue to remain one of the popular songs in Tamil.

Kanavugaley aaiyram kanavugaley, O maaney maaney unnai thaaaney, Paadum vaanambadi, O margazhi maasamo, Vilakku vacha nerathiley maamanVanthan, Vaanile thenilaa aaduthey paduthe and Thuppakki kaiyil eduthu are some of the film songs penned by him.

“It is the lyrical quality of his songs that set him apart from other poets. MGR, who introduced a new crop of song writers such as Panchu Arunachalam, Pulamaipithan and Muthulingam also introduced Kamarasan. His first film was Neethikku Thalai Vanangu” said poet Magudeswaran, the author of Paattuthiram.

Though his songs earned a great name in the film world, he did not seem to enjoy the field. “I used to make garlands and suddenly went to cut grass,” he remarked about his experience in the film world.

Born in Meenakshipuram in Bodi, Kamarasan worked as a Tamil teacher in Madurai Thiyagaraja College. “When he taught, the class would be full as students from other classes also used to attend,” said Mr. Magudeswaran. His greatness was explained by the fact that Kannadasan came forward to write the preface for his poetry collection Suryagandhi.

“Karuppu Malargal has a poem on the life of Paliar, a tribal community and it could be considered one of the first Dalit poems,” he said.

“When India got independence I became a slave. It was on that day I was sent to school,” he wrote once.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by B. Kolappan / Chennai – May 25th, 2017