G. Devarajan: Difference between revisions

| origin          =  

| instrument      = [[Pump organ|Harmonium]], [[Mridangam]], [[Veena]]

| occupation      = [[Film composer]], Carnatic singer

| label          = [[HMV]], [[Odeon Records|Odeon]], [[Angel Records|Angel]], [[Tharangini Records]]

'''Paravoor Govindan Devarajan''' (1927-2006), popularly known as '''G. Devarajan''' or '''Devarajan master''', was an Indian [[music composer]] and Carnatic singer. He scored music for more than three hundred [[Malayalam cinema|Malayalam films]], many dramas, and twenty [[Tamil language|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 [[Government of Kerala|Kerala Government]]'s [[Kerala State Film Award for Best Music Director|Best Music Director award]] five times, among other honours.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kozhikode/a-melodious-obsession/article29493758.ece |title=A melodious obsession |page=6 |work=The Hindu |date=2019-09-24 |access-date=2019-09-24|last1=Kumar |first1=P. k Ajith }}</ref> In 2005, he was honoured with the [[J. C. Daniel Award]], [[Government of Kerala|Kerala government]]'s highest honour for contributions to Malayalam cinema.

Born at [[Paravur, Kollam|Paravur]], Kollam district in [[Kerala]] 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 additionally graduated with BA in Economics from [[University College, Thiruvanthapuram]].

 

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 [[Indian classical music|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.

 

He was soon attracted to the [[communism|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.

The first movie for which he composed music was ''Kaalam Maarunnu'' (1955).{{citation needed|date=July 2021}} He teamed up with poet-lyricist [[Vayalar Ramavarma]] in ''Chathurangam'' in 1959.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}} His third movie – and the second with Vayalar – ''Bharya'' (1962) became a huge hit and made them a popular combination.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://msidb.org/processSearch.php?db=moviesongs&musician=G%20Devarajan&lyricist=Vayalar|title = MalayalaSangeetham.Info - the Comprehensive Malayalam Music and Movie Database}}</ref> His collaborations with Vayalar produced the golden era of Malayalam film music.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}} Devarajan is remembered by singers in Malayalam like [[K. J. Yesudas]] and [[P. Jayachandran|Jayachandran]] as their Godfather.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

Devarajan was known for his use of [[raaga]]s in Malayalam film music. His music embraced different styles with the [[Carnatic music|Carnatic]] and [[Hindustani classical music|Hindustani]] melody lines meeting folk idioms and Western harmony.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}} Despite being a strong [[atheism|atheist]], he composed devotional songs like "[[Harivarasanam]]", "[[Guruvayoor Temple|Guruvayoor]] Ambalanadayil", "Chethi Mandaram Thulasi", and "Nithyavishudhayam Kanyamariyame", which are considered classics in that genre.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}} 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. Most of his hit songs were written by Vayalar Ramavarma.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}} 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|reason=This is a sweeping generalization that would be difficult to prove; surely there are plenty of Malayalis who don't like his music, or who don't like film music in general.|date=January 2016}} 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]].{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

A complete work of Devarajan, ''Devageethikal'', composed by himself, has released and the book is published by Authentic books.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

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, Paravur|Nehru Park]] in [[Paravur, Kollam|Paravur]], his hometown.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

[[Category:20th-century Indian male singers]]

[[Category:21st-century Indian male singers]]