Melody tops a multifaceted career

A 1,000-odd songs have put Sreekumaran Thampi on the pantheon of accomplished lyricists. He turns 80 today

Sreekumaran Thampi turns 80 on Monday. The songs he has written – more than a thousand of them – will never age.

He is not just one of our most prolific lyricists but one of the finest as well.

To write more than a thousand songs is one thing, but to write those songs so well that they could be treated as poetry is quite another.

Thampi is more than a lyricist. He has also been a prolific director, scriptwriter and producer, but in those roles he has been surpassed by many. When it comes to writing songs, however, he has very few peers — Vayalar Ramavarma, P. Bhaskaran, and O.N.V. Kurup.

Those three legends are no more, but Thampi continues to write, though these aren’t exactly great times for songs in Malayalam cinema. He had debuted as a lyricist at a time when Vayalar and Bhaskaran were writing most of the songs, but the confident young civil engineer from Haripad was determined to seek his own place in showbiz.

After beginning his career with Kattumallika, in 1966, Chithramela announced his arrival, with songs like ‘Madam potti chirikkunna’… and ‘Akashadeepame.’ Devarajan had tuned those hits, but he told the young writer that he would rather continue working with Vayalar, with whom he had established one of the most melodious collaborations in Indian film music.

Thampi wasn’t deterred. He worked with composers like V. Dakshinamoorthy, M.K. Arjunan and M.S. Viswanathan and came up with one brilliant melody after another. Before long, Devarajan also resumed composing his lines.

Love and philosophy

When it comes to writing lines that speak so meaningfully of love and philosophy, Thampi has few equals.

And he has a knack to use the prettiest of words in Malayalam. Little wonder, we never get tired of his songs. Happy Birthday, Mr. Thampi!

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