At that time, he was about three years old. With teardrops rolling down his cheeks, he was blabbering something. The elders in the house were trying to give him food but the kid refused to eat anything and kept uttering “Dhomtha Lakka Ghum” in a crying tone. They tried to console him by making funny faces, teasing him, cajoling him, and pleading with him, but the child was adamant and kept on prattling ” Dhomtha Lakka Ghum”.

After several failed attempts, the people around him didn’t know how to stop the kid from crying. Suddenly, they heard a creaking sound from outside. The noise was from the shutter doors that were opened at the small mom-and-pop outlet called “Aiya Kadai” on the opposite side. The shop, with a bare minimum inventory, was selling essential groceries to the neighborhood sufficiently.

It was owned by a gentleman fondly called “Perumal Aiya” and the only attractive item in the shop was an old gramophone playing LP records of Tamil film songs. The kid used to spend most of the time in the shop listening to music being played. At times, with full trust, Aiya would ask the kid to look after the shop whenever he had to be away for his errands. Before Aiya would leave, he would play some LP records on the gramophone. The kid would then assume the owner’s responsibility with full pride, prohibiting anyone who came to the shop to touch any item in the shop, while cheerfully listening to the song being played.

Aiya and the kid had a  rapport with each other, and probably that made Aiya guess the reason, why the kid was crying. So, after opening his shop for the day, he carried the kid on his shoulders to his shop.  In order to pacify the sad kid, he started to play the LP records on his old key-winding manual gramophone player. As each LP record played, Perumal Aiya would ask the kid “idhu vaa?”  (this one ?) to which, the kid hurriedly shook his head in disapproval. After several tries, Perumal Aiya finally played the song “Dharmam Thalai kaakkum”.

At that moment,  the kid immediately stopped crying and started singing (saying) “Dhomtha Lakka Ghum” joyfully along with the original singer’s voice which was sweetly pouring from the giant horn speaker attached to the player. The elders sighed in relief as they now realized that the kid was asking for this song in his babble. 

The singer of that song was none other than the legendary T.M.Soundarrajan, popularly known as TMS. If there is a voice that is pleasing to anyone regardless of their age, then to my knowledge, it is his voice!

In one of his songs “Isai Kettaal Puvi Asaindhadum” (Thavapudhalvan), there is a beautiful line “En paadal Sei ketkkum virundhagalam” (my song may be a feast to a toddler) which is befitting to the above true incident that occurred in my childhood.   

^{Isai Kaettal}

Since 1946, TMS had been recording and singing until his nineties, when he passed away. He sang film songs, Carnatic, and devotional songs, composed songs, and performed numerous stage shows across the globe. He had sung over 10000 film songs, and 3000 devotional songs. 

Before the arrival of TMS, Thyagaraja Bhagavathar and others (whose names suffixed with “appa”) such as Chinnappa, Kittappa, and Mariyappa were ruling the Tamil Film industry as singer cum actors. Those days it was a mandatory requirement that actors should be well-versed in singing. The singing style of those people was monotonous and cliché’ as the time passed. By then World war II ended, the technology revolution spread all over the world and new technics in movie-making got introduced.

Around that time, playback singing was introduced in Tamil cinemas. The actor that appeared on the screen was different from the singer who was singing for the actor. As there was no similarity between the voice of the actor and the voice of the singer, this resulted in a mismatch. This lack of harmony between the two voices resulted in a lack of coherence making the listener distorted.  It is evident when you listen to C.S. Jayaraman or Sirkazhi Govindarajan singing for the actors like Sivaji Ganesan, MGR, etc. No doubt they were the best singers, but their voices did not suit. Female voices might not show the difference distinctly, but in male playback singing, the distinction was apparent.

TMS in his early times, before the 1950s, got very few songs to sing, and he was singing like Thygaraja Bhagavathar in high pitch. It was probably due to the pressure put forth by the then producers/directors to sing like Bhagavathar to help achieve rapid audio sales. So, TMS had to oblige and never had a chance to exhibit his creativity during that era.

Later, Tamil films on ancient tales and traditional history were diminishing, and new-wave movies were emerging which required a change in song rendition style. The new wave movies had spoken Tamil in the dialogs as opposed to classic Tamil. Also the number of songs in those movies was considerably low. As opposed to 27 or more songs in each movie in those times, the new-wave movies had less than 10 songs. The stories were reflecting social life and the actors were delivering their dialogs in spoken Tamil. Sivaji Ganesan, M.G.Ramachandran (MGR), S.S.Rajendran, Gemini Ganesan, Kannamba, Bhanumathi, Anjali Devi, Padmini, et al were to name a few for their exemplary acting, dancing, dialog delivery skills.

“Malai Kallan”, MGR’s film, and Sivaji’s “Thooku Thooki”, were released around the same time in 1954.  In both films, after much hesitation from the two actors, T.M.S. was reluctantly allowed to sing. He sang those songs close to the actor’s voice and it appeared on screen as if the singing was done by the actor. TMS clearly conveyed the voice modulation for the respective actors in those songs.  The songs “Sundari Soundhari Nirandhariye” for Sivaji, and “Eththanai Kalam than Emaattruvaar” for MGR in those films were roaring hits. Since then, TMS became a permanent playback singer for these two megastars, and the fame of T.M.S. began to spread in all directions and continued for every song he sang.

^{Sundari Soundari}

^{Ethathani Kalam}

Few other playback singers were introduced during that time, but our TMS took the lead position to sing for the then superstars MGR and Sivaji in almost all their movies. These two actors ruled the Tamil Film Industry for almost 3 decades and there was a big fan group following for each one. The two fan fraternities (one for Sivaji, one for MGR) would fight each other by comparing every movie of their hero to assess which one did better. But if at all the two types of fans came together and admired one person, then it was TMS only.

TMS sang like MGR in MGR movies and Sivaji in Sivaji movies. He clearly brought out the distinction in his voice when singing for these two heroes. Later, he liberally extended and brilliantly applied that skill when he sang for other upcoming heroes namely Jaishankar, Muthuraman, Ravichandran, et al. One doesn’t have to watch the movie to find out who the actor was, but just by listening to TMS’s songs, one can easily guess who would have been the hero in the movie almost certainly.

Even if the music composer creates an excellent tune and orchestration arrangement and the lyricists provide appropriate lyrics for the song situation, it takes a skilled singer to bring them to life on screen for the actors who perform to the character nuances. TMS was the one who excelled in this art of singing and made a mark with his unique style that showcased his vocal range and versatility. 

There was a popular “yaar antha nilavu” song shooting episode, by now all of you would have heard about.  The legendary actor Sivaji Ganesan after listening to the recorded song was completely baffled and he took a few days off and delayed the shooting schedule in order to plan a new style of acting for that beautiful song. 

^{Yaar Andha} And

Was TMS just mimicking the actor’s voice? Nah !! As I read in a few interviews and articles, TMS had an inherent acting skill, and he had correctly assessed how a particular actor would perform on the screen, and he brought out that actor’s styles and mannerisms in his singing. He also mentioned that when singing for Sivaji, he had to bring out the voice from his abdomen, for MGR from his chest/throat, and for Jaishankar from his throat/nasal. He was brilliant enough to make his own technique to bring out the desired effect in his voice to match the actor and song situation.

An interesting episode happened during the recording of the song, “Andha Naal, Gnyabaagam” for the movie “Uyarndha Manidhan”.  A few minutes before the actual song recording, TMS did a speed run around the recording studio to get the correct panting sound effect to be embedded in the song.  He had that kind of incomparable commitment and dedication to establish a precise definition for playback singing.

^{Andha Naal}An

There were movies, where the same actor would appear in multiple roles. In such situations, TMS would change his voice to match the different characters played by the same actor. “Enga veetu pillai” (MGR in a dual role), “Kudiyiruntha Koil” (MGR in a dual role), “Deivamagan” (Sivaji in a triple role), “Gauravam” (Sivaji in a dual role) are some of the examples to appreciate his style of singing for different roles. He used his voice differently in the songs, “Deivame Deivame” (for younger Sivaji with delight and distress expression), and “Kadhal Malar Kootam ondru” (for the youngest Sivaji with romantic expression) in the same movie “Deivamagan”.  TMS skillfully rendered those songs in a suitable voice for the characters. 

^DeivameA

^{Kadhal Malar}A

Not only did he show the different tones in his singing, but his versatility is evident in many other songs. “Bhansayee Kadhal Paravaikal” is one such song from the movie “Ulagam Suttrum Valiban”. He sings “valarum inba sugam”,  and when listening to the word “SUGAM” in vibrato style in his voice, the emotion and enthusiasm in the rendition cannot be contained in words. 

^BhansayeeA

“Muthu kulikka Vaarehala” in the movie “Anubhavi Raja Anubhavi” is set in the Thoothukkudi dialect, and TMS had sung it so easily as if he was from that area. Brahminical dialect songs “Palakkattu Pakkathile”, and “Aduthathu Ambujam” were so natural. When listening to “Adaludan Padalai Kettu”, a trilling melody, the listener’s heart would thrill with joy. 

^{Muthu Kulika}A

^PalakkattuA

^AduthathuA

^AdaludanA

Few songs have to be quoted as a proof of his soulful rendition to understand and appreciate TMS’s greatness. “Madhavi Pon Mayilal”, “Nadhaswara Osaiyile”, “Ennadi Rakkamma”, “Azhagiya tamil magal ival”, “Pon magal vandhal”, “Amaithiyaana nathiyinile”, “Chithiram pesudhadi”, ”, “Chinnanchiriya Vannaparavai”, “Kadhalin pon veedhiyil”, “Kadhal rajiyam enathu”, “Iravukkum pakalukkum ini enna velai”, “Adho andha paravai pola”, “Ninaithen vanthaai”, “Mullai malar mele”, “Yaardi nee Mohini”, “Naan malarodu thaniyaka”, “Naan anuppuvathu kaditham alla”, “Chandrodhayum oru pen aanatho”…..

^MadhaviA
^{Nadahswara
Adi Ennadi Rakkamma}A
^{Azhagiya Tamill Magal
Ponmagal
Amaidiyana}A
^ChithiramA
^{Chinnanchiriya}A
^{Kadhalin Pon
Kadhal Rajiyam}A
^IravukkumA
^{Adho Andha}A
^NinaithenA
^{Mullai Malar}A
^YaaradiA
^{Naan Malarodu}A
^{Naan Anuppuvathu}A
^ChandrodayamA

The list is endless, and it’s difficult to comprehend his singing prowess with available adjectives.

In singing, bringing out the proper emotion (bhava) is paramount. Raga (tune), and Thala (rhythm) follow thereafter. Muthuswami Dikshitar, one of the trinity of Carnatic music composers, has emphasized this order. Recall the line “bhava raaga thala vishwasini” in the song “Panchashat Peeta Rupini”.  The same is mentioned in the song “Ragam Thanam Pallavi” from the movie “Sankararabharanam”, where the line goes “Bhavala, Ragala, Thalala Theli”.  Hence “Bhava” (emotion) is the essential key element in any song – be it Carnatic, devotional, film, rap, or any other new age song. 

TMS gave supreme importance to Bhava (emotion) in his renditions and gave full justice to perfect pitch, tone, raga, rhythm, and diction. He made sure every word in the song was audible with his excellent enunciation skill.

Last but not the least, his devotional albums are equally popular. The set of songs he composed and sang on Lord Muruga is ever admirable. His popular melody “Ullam uruguthaiya”,  on Lord Muruga, would melt the heart in devotion. How can one forget his wonderful rendition of “Karpaga valli nin porpathangal pidithen” in a suitable ragamalika (garland of multiple ragas)? He would lure the listener of this song to the eternal beauty of divinity.

^{Ullam Urugu}

^Karpagavalli

In every song, the way he conveys the essence of the song, the creativity he exhibits in his voice, and the way he penetrates the listener’s soul are all his own signature. Thus he established himself as a father of perfect playback singing.

One of his popular songs is “paattum naane bhavamum naane” from the movie Thiruvilayadal:

^{Paattum Naane}

If anyone ever asks me the meaning of the line “paattum naane bhavamum naane”, then with an astonishing tone, I would confidently reply “Don’t you know? It means TMS !!”.

(Humble Tribute to TMS’s 100^th birthday on March 24, 2023)