Paravoor Govindan Devarajan (1927–2006), popularly known as G. Devarajan or Devarajan master, was an Indian music composer and Carnatic singer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of Indian film music.[1] He scored music for more than three hundred Malayalam films, many dramas, and twenty Tamil and four Kannada movies. His collaborations with Vayalar Ramavarma produced the golden era of Malayalam film music and many of his compositions remain ever green classics in Malayalam. His music in the Tamil film Annai Velankanni has received many accolades. Devarajan received Kerala Government's Best Music Director award five times, among other honours.[2] In 2005, he was honoured with the J. C. Daniel Award, Kerala government's highest honour for contributions to Malayalam cinema.
Born at Paravur, near Kollam in then Travancore to mridangist and classical singer Paravur Kochu Govindan Asan and Kochukunju as their eldest son. His grandfather, Narayanan Asan, was a Kathakali artist.
His dad, though he was a mridangam vidwan and a disciple of Dakshinamurthy Pillai, primarily taught vocal to his students, and thus Devarajan learned Carnatic vocal for around 12–13 years adeptly from his own father through that. He did his intermediate college at University College in Thiruvananthapuram from 1946 to 1948 and passed with First Class. He additionally graduated with BA in Economics from Mahatma Gandhi College, Thiruvanthapuram.[3]
Devarajan, under the name of Paravur Devarajan or Paravur G. Devaraj, started his illustrious career in music as a classical singer and performed his first classical concert at the age of 17 and started to perform more concerts on AIR Tiruchi and Trivandrum. He performed a number of classical concerts from 1947 to 1967 with multiple accompanists, his usual ones being Chalakudy Narayanaswamy and Mavelikara Krishnankutty Nair. At the end of his classical concerts, he used to set tunes to the poems of Ulloor Parameswaran Iyer, Kumaranasan, Changampuzha, G. Kumarapilla, O. N. V. Kurup, P. Bhaskaran, amongst many others.[4]
He was soon attracted to the Communist movement and decided to dedicate his creative energy to popular music. He joined the once-famous drama troupe of Kerala, the Kerala People's Arts Club (KPAC). The work that brought him to the limelight was the drama song titled "Ponnarivaal ambiliyil kanneriyunnoole", written by his friend O. N. V. Kurup and composed and sung by himself. KPAC and its members had a distinctive leaning towards the communist ideology, and their dramas played a role in spreading the ideology among the Keralite masses. Through his compositions, Devarajan would cast an indelible imprint in the Malayali theatre arena, especially after the famous KPAC drama Ningalenne Communistaakki, written by Thoppil Bhasi in 1952.[5]
Film career
The first movie for which he composed music was Kaalam Maarunnu (1955).[6] He teamed up with poet-lyricist Vayalar Ramavarma in Chathurangam in 1959.[7] His third movie – and the second with Vayalar – Bharya (1962) became a huge hit and made them a popular combination.[8] His collaborations with Vayalar produced the golden era of Malayalam film music.[citation needed] Devarajan is remembered by singers in Malayalam like K. J. Yesudas and Jayachandran as their Godfather. [9]
Devarajan was known for his use of numerous raagas in Malayalam film music, using more than 100s of them in his compositions. His music embraced different styles with the Carnatic and Hindustani melody lines meeting folk idioms and Western harmony. Despite being a strong atheist, he composed devotional songs like "Harivarasanam", "Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil", "Chethi Mandaram Thulasi", and "Nithyavishudhayam Kanyamariyame", which are considered classics in that genre.[10] Also, he is particularly noted for his remarkable ability to blend the words of the lyrics with the mood of the situation in his film song compositions, exercising self-restraint while writing songs for the uninitiated audience without relinquishing the magic of his poetry. Most of his hit songs were written by Vayalar Ramavarma.[11] The Vayalar-Devarajan combine proved the most successful team till the death of Vayalar in the mid-1970s. Hundreds of songs contributed by the team are still part of Malayalis' nostalgia.[citation needed] Apart from Vayalar, he has also given tunes to lyrics by other poets and songwriters like O. N. V. Kurup, P. Bhaskaran, and Sreekumaran Thampi. [12] Devarajan was at one point in time regarded as the doyen of film music in South India. He was much feared and respected by all musicians and singers of that period, for his sound knowledge of Classical music. It might be due to this dominance he had over others that he was widely known as arrogant. But he enjoyed a royal status till his death in the music circles.[13]
A complete work of Devarajan, Devageethikal, composed by himself, has released and the book is published by Authentic books. [14]
Devarajan died of a massive heart attack at his residence in Chennai on 15 March 2006. He was 78 at the time of his death, and was survived by his wife, two children - a daughter (elder) and a son (younger) - and some grandchildren. His body was taken airway to Thiruvananthapuram, and was cremated with state honors at Nehru Park in Paravur, his hometown. [15]
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources G Devarajan news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message Paravoor Govindan Devarajan 1927 2006 popularly known as G Devarajan or Devarajan master was an Indian music composer and Carnatic singer He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of Indian film music 1 He scored music for more than three hundred Malayalam films many dramas and twenty Tamil and four Kannada movies His collaborations with Vayalar Ramavarma produced the golden era of Malayalam film music and many of his compositions remain ever green classics in Malayalam His music in the Tamil film Annai Velankanni has received many accolades Devarajan received Kerala Government s Best Music Director award five times among other honours 2 In 2005 he was honoured with the J C Daniel Award Kerala government s highest honour for contributions to Malayalam cinema G DevarajanBackground informationBorn 1927 09 27 27 September 1927Paravur Travancore present day Kollam IndiaDied14 March 2006 2006 03 14 aged 78 Chennai IndiaGenresFilm music stage play music Carnatic musicOccupation s Film composer Carnatic singerInstrument s Harmonium Mridangam VeenaYears active1948 2006LabelsHMV Odeon Angel Tharangini Records Contents 1 Early life 2 Film career 3 Filmography 4 Awards 5 References 6 External linksEarly life EditBorn at Paravur near Kollam in then Travancore to mridangist and classical singer Paravur Kochu Govindan Asan and Kochukunju as their eldest son His grandfather Narayanan Asan was a Kathakali artist His dad though he was a mridangam vidwan and a disciple of Dakshinamurthy Pillai primarily taught vocal to his students and thus Devarajan learned Carnatic vocal for around 12 13 years adeptly from his own father through that He did his intermediate college at University College in Thiruvananthapuram from 1946 to 1948 and passed with First Class He additionally graduated with BA in Economics from Mahatma Gandhi College Thiruvanthapuram 3 Devarajan under the name of Paravur Devarajan or Paravur G Devaraj started his illustrious career in music as a classical singer and performed his first classical concert at the age of 17 and started to perform more concerts on AIR Tiruchi and Trivandrum He performed a number of classical concerts from 1947 to 1967 with multiple accompanists his usual ones being Chalakudy Narayanaswamy and Mavelikara Krishnankutty Nair At the end of his classical concerts he used to set tunes to the poems of Ulloor Parameswaran Iyer Kumaranasan Changampuzha G Kumarapilla O N V Kurup P Bhaskaran amongst many others 4 He was soon attracted to the Communist movement and decided to dedicate his creative energy to popular music He joined the once famous drama troupe of Kerala the Kerala People s Arts Club KPAC The work that brought him to the limelight was the drama song titled Ponnarivaal ambiliyil kanneriyunnoole written by his friend O N V Kurup and composed and sung by himself KPAC and its members had a distinctive leaning towards the communist ideology and their dramas played a role in spreading the ideology among the Keralite masses Through his compositions Devarajan would cast an indelible imprint in the Malayali theatre arena especially after the famous KPAC drama Ningalenne Communistaakki written by Thoppil Bhasi in 1952 5 Film career EditThe first movie for which he composed music was Kaalam Maarunnu 1955 6 He teamed up with poet lyricist Vayalar Ramavarma in Chathurangam in 1959 7 His third movie and the second with Vayalar Bharya 1962 became a huge hit and made them a popular combination 8 His collaborations with Vayalar produced the golden era of Malayalam film music citation needed Devarajan is remembered by singers in Malayalam like K J Yesudas and Jayachandran as their Godfather 9 Devarajan was known for his use of numerous raagas in Malayalam film music using more than 100s of them in his compositions His music embraced different styles with the Carnatic and Hindustani melody lines meeting folk idioms and Western harmony Despite being a strong atheist he composed devotional songs like Harivarasanam Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil Chethi Mandaram Thulasi and Nithyavishudhayam Kanyamariyame which are considered classics in that genre 10 Also he is particularly noted for his remarkable ability to blend the words of the lyrics with the mood of the situation in his film song compositions exercising self restraint while writing songs for the uninitiated audience without relinquishing the magic of his poetry Most of his hit songs were written by Vayalar Ramavarma 11 The Vayalar Devarajan combine proved the most successful team till the death of Vayalar in the mid 1970s Hundreds of songs contributed by the team are still part of Malayalis nostalgia citation needed Apart from Vayalar he has also given tunes to lyrics by other poets and songwriters like O N V Kurup P Bhaskaran and Sreekumaran Thampi 12 Devarajan was at one point in time regarded as the doyen of film music in South India He was much feared and respected by all musicians and singers of that period for his sound knowledge of Classical music It might be due to this dominance he had over others that he was widely known as arrogant But he enjoyed a royal status till his death in the music circles 13 Yesudas P Madhuri P Susheela and P Jayachandran sang most of his songs He has sung with more than 130 singers M K Arjunan R K Shekhar Johnson Vidyasagar Oussepachan M Jayachandran Ilayaraja A R Rahman and many others who later became famous as music directors worked as his assistants conductors and instrumentalists A complete work of Devarajan Devageethikal composed by himself has released and the book is published by Authentic books 14 Devarajan died of a massive heart attack at his residence in Chennai on 15 March 2006 He was 78 at the time of his death and was survived by his wife two children a daughter elder and a son younger and some grandchildren His body was taken airway to Thiruvananthapuram and was cremated with state honors at Nehru Park in Paravur his hometown 15 Filmography EditMalayalamOmanakuttan 1964 Bhoomidevi Pushpiniyayi 1974 Ammini Ammavan 1976 Vishnu Vijayam 1974 Chattakari 1974 Ponni 1976 Shalini Ente Koottukari 1980 Meen 1980 Parankimala 1981 TamilKaaval Dheivam 1969 Kasturi Thilakam 1970 Annai Velankanni 1971 Paruva Kaalam 1974 Maram 1973 Andharangam 1975 Villiyanur Matha 1983 Awards EditKerala State Film Awards 1969 Best Music Director 1970 Best Music Director Thriveni 1972 Best Music Director 1985 Best Music Director 1991 Best Background Music Yamanam 1999 J C Daniel Award for Lifetime Achievement Award from the Government of KeralaKerala Film Critics Association Award 1977 Kerala Film Critics Association Award for Best Music Director 1978 Kerala Film Critics Association Award for Best Music Director 1979 Kerala Film Critics Association Award for Best Music DirectorOthers 1980 Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship 16 References Edit Parayath Prakash 14 March 2011 Devarajan the true master The New Indian Express Retrieved 8 July 2022 Kumar P k Ajith 24 September 2019 A melodious obsession The Hindu p 6 Retrieved 24 September 2019 Devageethikal Authentic Books p 15 ISBN 978 81 89125 08 0 Paravur Devarajan FAS Paravur Retrieved 9 July 2022 Perumpuzha Gopalakrishnan 2009 G Devarajan Sangeethatinte Rajashilpi Olive Publications MalayalaSangeetham Info the Comprehensive Malayalam Music and Movie Database Profile of G Devarajan Malayalam Music and Movie Encyclopedia Retrieved 9 July 2022 MalayalaSangeetham Info the Comprehensive Malayalam Music and Movie Database Paravur Devarajan FAS Paravur Retrieved 9 July 2022 Paravur Devarajan FAS Paravur Retrieved 9 July 2022 Nair N J Soaring on the wings of Poetry The Hindu Online Edition The Hindu Archived from the original on 13 November 2007 Retrieved 9 July 2022 G Devarajan M3DB Malayalam Movie and Music Database Mohaalasyam Madhuramamoru Gangasangamam 1971 Malayalam Feature Film The Southern Nightingale Devageethikal Authentic Books p 1 ISBN 978 81 89125 08 0 G Devarajan M3DB Malayalam Movie and Music Database Classical Music Department of Cultural Affairs Government of Kerala Retrieved 24 February 2023 External links EditThis article s use of external links may not follow Wikipedia s policies or guidelines Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references September 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Type a messageHindu online Soaring on the wings of poetry Hindu online Music from the heart Hindu online Ode to a legend Malayalam music orphaned Sunday Kaumudi R I P G Devarajan Master Devarajan Master G Devarajan at MSI All Malayalam Movie Songs Composed by G Devarajan at MSI All Malayalam Non Movie Songs Composed by G Devarajan at MSI An interview with Devarajan Master https www thehindu com news cities kozhikode remembering a master composer article6460893 ece Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title G Devarajan amp oldid 1141549107, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
