Old Songs

We were raised in a fairly poor home, but my parents made sure we were watered, fed and clothed decently. We never had TVs or anything until long later. We had an old National radio, which was a lot like today’s TV, with news, songs, drama, and comedy – not to mention the assortment of commercials from Colgate tooth powder to Family planning. All India Radio had programs that catered to people of all class. There was “vayalum veedum” for farmers, “kambola nilavara bulletin” for Wall Street enthusiasts and copra wholesalers, “bala lokam” for kids, “yuva vaani” for youths, and “kandathum kettathum” for housewives youth and the jobless alike. My favorite was the music programs – “Chalachithra Gaanangal”. There was a one hour encore presentation every Sunday at 1 PM, called Ranjini that featured popular film songs. I associated “Ranjini” with the smell of fish curry made with sour mango, because being weekends Amma always made lunch around that time, with fish curry and sour mangos.

There are a few songs that still give me goose bumps, no matter how often I listen to them. “Innum Ente Kannu neeril…” and “Kannay Kalai Maaney…” by Yesudas are two of them. Every time I listen to these songs, my eyes tear up. The music just goes straight into my heart. I don’t know what is special about those old songs. I don’t know if it is the earthy lyrics or the simple music. But it sure sang directly to my soul.

Click the links to listen:

Innum Ente Kannu neeril

Kannay Kalai Maaney