Paravur Devarajan
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Paravoor Govindan Devarajan (1927–2006), popularly known as G. Devarajan or Devarajan master, was an Indian
music composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and defi ...
and Carnatic singer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of Indian film music. He scored music for more than three hundred
Malayalam films Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam, Malayalam language, primarily spoken in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands. It encompasses both th ...
, many dramas, and twenty
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
and four
Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...
movies. His collaborations with
Vayalar Ramavarma Vayalar Ramavarma (25 March 1928 – 27 October 1975), also known as Rama Varma Vayalar and simply Vayalar, and was an Indian poet and lyricist of Malayalam literature, Malayalam language. He was known for his poems, including ''Sargasangeetham ...
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 ''Annai Velankanni'' () is a 1971 Indian Tamil-language film directed by K. Thangappan. The film stars Gemini Ganesan, Jayalalithaa, Padmini, and K. R. Vijaya. Kamal Haasan briefly appears in an uncredited role as Jesus Christ. It comprises thr ...
'' has received many accolades. Devarajan received
Kerala Government The Government of Kerala (abbreviated as GoK), also known as the Kerala Government, is the administrative body responsible for governing the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. ...
's Best Music Director award five times, among other honours. In 1999, he was honoured with the J. C. Daniel Award,
Kerala government The Government of Kerala (abbreviated as GoK), also known as the Kerala Government, is the administrative body responsible for governing the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. ...
's highest honour for contributions to Malayalam cinema.


Early life

Devarajan was born on 27 September 1927 at Paravur, near Kollam in then
Travancore The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...
to
mridangam The ''mridangam'' is an ancient percussion instrument originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble. In Dhrupad, a modified version, the pakhawaj, is the primary percussion in ...
player and classical singer Paravur Kochu Govindan Asan and Kochukunju as their eldest son. His grandfather, Narayanan Asan, was a
Kathakali ''Kathakali'' (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: Kathakaḷi ) is a traditional form of Indian Classical Dance, and one of the most complex forms of Theatre of India, Indian theatre. It is a play of verses. These vers ...
artist. His dad, though he was a mridangam vidwan and a disciple of
Dakshinamurthy Pillai Dhakshinamoorthy Pillai (1875–1936), was a leading mridangam and kanjira artist who accompanied musicians in Carnatic music concerts from 1875 to 1925. Pillai took lessons from Pudukottai Manpundia Pillai and was influenced by the music of Tha ...
, 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 a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies f ...
in Thiruvananthapuram from 1946 to 1948 and passed with First Class. He additionally graduated with BA in Economics from
Mahatma Gandhi College Mahatma Gandhi College is a college in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. It was founded by Mannathu Padmanabhan, the founder of the Nair Service Society. The college is affiliated to University of Kerala and is managed by Nair Service Societ ...
, Thiruvananthapuram. 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 An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...
Tiruchi and Trivandrum. He performed a number of classical concerts from 1945 to 1962 with multiple accompanists, his usual ones being Chalakudy Narayanaswamy and
Mavelikara Krishnankutty Nair Mavelikkara Krishnankutty Nair (11 October 1920 – 13 January 1988) was a Carnatic Mridangam player. He received his training from Alleppey Venkappan Pillai and Veechur Krishna Iyer. He considered Palani Subramaniam Pillai as his 'Manasa G ...
. At the end of his classical concerts, he used to set tunes to the poems of Ulloor Parameswaran Iyer,
Kumaranasan Mahakavi Kumaran Asan (12 April 1871 – 16 January 1924) was a poet of Malayalam literature, Indian social reformer and a philosopher. He is known to have initiated a revolution in Malayalam poetry during the first quarter of the 20th century, ...
,
Changampuzha Changampuzha Krishna Pillai (10 October 1911 – 17 June 1948) was a celebrated Malayalam poet from Kerala, India, known for his elegy '' Ramanan'' which was written in 1936 and sold over 100,000 copies. It is a long pastoral elegy, a play wri ...
, G. Kumarapilla,
O. N. V. Kurup Ottaplakkal Neelakandan Velu Kurup (known as O. N. V. Kurup; 27 May 1931 – 13 February 2016) was a Malayalam poet and lyricist from Kerala, India, who won the Jnanpith Award, the highest literary award in India for the year 2007. He received ...
,
P. Bhaskaran Pulloottupadathu Bhaskaran alias as P. Bhaskaran (21 April 1924 – 25 February 2007), was an Indian Malayalam language poet, lyricist of Malayalam film songs, and filmmaker. He penned more than 3000 songs for about 250 films. He also directed ...
, amongst many others. He was soon attracted to the
Communist movement Communist Movement (in Spanish: ''Movimiento Comunista'', in Basque: ''Mugimendu Komunista'', in Catalan: ''Moviment Comunista'', in Galician: ''Movemento Comunista'', in Asturian: ''Movimientu Comunista'') was a political party in Spain ...
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 Kerala People's Arts Club, abbreviated as KPAC, is a theatrical movement in Kayamkulam, Kerala, India. It was formed in the 1950s by a group of individuals having close ties with the Communist Party of India in Kerala. KPAC helped popularised ...
(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 Ottaplakkal Neelakandan Velu Kurup (known as O. N. V. Kurup; 27 May 1931 – 13 February 2016) was a Malayalam poet and lyricist from Kerala, India, who won the Jnanpith Award, the highest literary award in India for the year 2007. He received ...
and composed and sung by himself. KPAC and its members had a distinctive leaning towards the communist
ideology An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...
, 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 Thoppil Bhaskara Pillai, known as Thoppil Bhasi (8 April 1924 – 8 December 1992) was an Indian Malayalam-language playwright, screenwriter, and film director. He was associated with the communist movement in Kerala and his play ''Ningalenne C ...
in 1952.


Film career

The first movie for which he composed music was '' Kaalam Maarunnu'' (1955). He teamed up with poet-lyricist
Vayalar Ramavarma Vayalar Ramavarma (25 March 1928 – 27 October 1975), also known as Rama Varma Vayalar and simply Vayalar, and was an Indian poet and lyricist of Malayalam literature, Malayalam language. He was known for his poems, including ''Sargasangeetham ...
in '' Chathurangam'' in 1959. His third movie – and the second with Vayalar – '' Bharya'' (1962) became a huge hit and made them a popular combination. His collaborations with Vayalar produced the golden era of Malayalam film music. Devarajan is remembered by singers in Malayalam like
K. J. Yesudas Kattassery Joseph Yesudas ( /jeːʃud̪aːs/; born 10 January 1940) is an Indian playback singer and musician who sings Indian classical, devotional and film songs. He is widely considered one of the greatest singers in the history of Indian m ...
and Jayachandran as their Godfather. Devarajan was known for his use of numerous
raaga A raga ( ; , ; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a melodic mode. It is central to classical Indian music. Each raga consists of an array of melodic structures with musical motifs; and, from the perspec ...
s 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 Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
, he composed devotional songs like "
Harivarasanam Harivarasanam (ഹരിവരാസനം) is a Sanskritised Malayalam ashtakam sung as a lullaby to Lord Ayyappan at the Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha Temple, situated in Kerala, India. The song became popular through the first stanza in ...
", "Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil", "Chethi Mandaram Thulasi", and "Nithyavishudhayam Kanyamariyame", which are considered classics in that genre. 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. 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. Apart from Vayalar, he has also given tunes to lyrics by other poets and songwriters like
O. N. V. Kurup Ottaplakkal Neelakandan Velu Kurup (known as O. N. V. Kurup; 27 May 1931 – 13 February 2016) was a Malayalam poet and lyricist from Kerala, India, who won the Jnanpith Award, the highest literary award in India for the year 2007. He received ...
,
P. Bhaskaran Pulloottupadathu Bhaskaran alias as P. Bhaskaran (21 April 1924 – 25 February 2007), was an Indian Malayalam language poet, lyricist of Malayalam film songs, and filmmaker. He penned more than 3000 songs for about 250 films. He also directed ...
,
Sreekumaran Thampi Sreekumaran Thampi (born 16 March 1940) is an Indian lyricist, music director, film director, director, film producer, producer and screenwriter in Malayalam cinema. He also writes poetry and is a recipient of the Vallathol Award. In 2017, he w ...
and
Bichu Thirumala Bhaskaran Sivasankaran Nair, popularly known as Bichu Thirumala (13 February 1942 – 26 November 2021), was an Indian lyricist and poet. He is known for creating the style of arranging beautiful words in Malayalam film songs. In Malayalam cinem ...
. 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.
Yesudas Kattassery Joseph Yesudas ( /jeːʃud̪aːs/; born 10 January 1940) is an Indian playback singer and musician who sings Indian classical, devotional and film songs. He is widely considered one of the greatest singers in the history of Indian m ...
, P. Madhuri, P. Susheela, and P. Jayachandran sang most of his songs. He has sung with more than 130 singers.
M. K. Arjunan Maliyekkal Kochukunju Arjunan (1 March 1936 – 6 April 2020) was an Indian film and theatre composer, known for his works in Malayalam cinema and the theatre of Kerala. He was fondly referred to as ''Arjunan Master''. Early life Arjunan was ...
, R. K. Shekhar,
Johnson Johnson may refer to: People and fictional characters *Johnson (surname), a common surname in English * Johnson (given name), a list of people * List of people with surname Johnson, including fictional characters *Johnson (composer) (1953–2011) ...
,
Vidyasagar Vidyasagar or Vidya Sagar may refer to: People *Acharya Vidyasagar (born 1946), prominent Digambar Jain Acharya (1946-) *Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820–1891), Bengali scholar *Vidyasagar (composer) (born 1963), South Indian music director * C ...
,
Ouseppachan Mechery Louis Ouseppachan (born 13 September 1955), known mononymously as Ouseppachan, is an Indian film composer and singer who primarily works in Malayalam films. He is a recipient of National Film Award, Filmfare Award and Kerala State Fil ...
, M. Jayachandran,
Ilayaraja Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, multi-instrumentalist, lyricist and playback singer popular for his works in Indian cinema, predominately in Tamil in addition to Telugu, M ...
,
A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967), also known by the initialism ARR, is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and philanthropist known for his works in Indian cinem ...
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. Devarajan died of a massive
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
at his residence in
Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
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 Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...
, and was cremated with state honors at Nehru Park in Paravur, his hometown.


Partial Filmography

;Malayalam *'' Omanakuttan ''(1964) *'' Bhoomidevi Pushpiniyayi '' (1974) *'' Ammini Ammavan''(1976) *'' Vishnu Vijayam'' (1974) *'' Chattakari'' (1974) *'' Ponni'' (1976) *''
Allauddinum Albhutha Vilakkum ''Allauddinum Albhutha Vilakkum'' () is a 1979 Indian fantasy film directed by I. V. Sasi, based on Aladdin's story from ''One Thousand and One Nights''. The film stars Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth, Jayabharathi and Sripriya, with Gemini Ganesan ...
'' (1979) *''
Shalini Ente Koottukari ''Shaalini Ente Koottukaari'' is a 1978 Indian Malayalam film, written by Padmarajan and directed by Mohan. The film is loosely based on a story of Padmarajan named "Parvathikutty". The film stars Venu Nagavally, Shobha, Jalaja and Sukumaran ...
'' (1980) *''Meen'' (1980) *'' Parankimala'' (1981) *''
Mayooranritham ''Mayooranritham'' () is a 1996 Indian Malayalam-language romantic drama film, directed by Vijayakrishnan. The film stars Mohini, Kumarakam Raghunath, Vikram, Madhupal and Beena Antony in the lead roles. The film has musical score by G. Devara ...
'' (1996) ;Tamil *'' Kaaval Dheivam'' (1969) *'' Kasturi Thilakam'' (1970) *''
Annai Velankanni ''Annai Velankanni'' () is a 1971 Indian Tamil-language film directed by K. Thangappan. The film stars Gemini Ganesan, Jayalalithaa, Padmini, and K. R. Vijaya. Kamal Haasan briefly appears in an uncredited role as Jesus Christ. It comprises thr ...
'' (1971) *''
Paruva Kaalam ''Paruva Kaalam'' () is a 1974 Indian Tamil-language film, directed by Jos A. N. Fernando, written by A. S. Prakasam, starring Srikanth, Roja Ramani, Kamal Haasan, Nagesh and Prameela. Roja Ramani paired up with Kamal Haasan for the first time. ...
'' (1974) *'' Maram'' (1973) *''
Andharangam ''Andharangam'' () is a 1975 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed by Muktha Srinivasan. The film stars Kamal Haasan, Deepa, Major Sundarrajan and Savitri. It was taken primarily in black and white, but some scenes were taken in ...
'' (1975) *'' Villiyanur Matha'' (1983) *'' Allauddinum Arputha Vilakkum'' (1979)


Awards

Kerala State Film Awards The Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards started in 1969 by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala and since 1998 the awards have been bestowed by Kerala State Cha ...
: * 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 Kerala The Government of Kerala (abbreviated as GoK), also known as the Kerala Government, is the administrative body responsible for governing the Indian States and territories of India, state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who ...
Kerala 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 Director Others *1980 -
Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship The Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship is an honour presented by the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, an autonomous organisation for the encouragement, preservation, and documentation of the performing arts of Kerala, set up by the Depar ...


References


External links

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Hindu online, Soaring on the wings of poetry

Malayalam music orphaned – (Sunday Kaumudi)

R.I.P. G. 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

Remembering a master composer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Devarajan, G 1927 births 2006 deaths Indian atheists Kerala State Film Award winners Malayalam film score composers Sree Narayana College, Kollam alumni 20th-century Indian composers Artists from Kollam Musicians from Kollam Film musicians from Kerala 21st-century Indian composers Indian male film score composers 20th-century Indian male singers 20th-century Indian singers 21st-century Indian male singers 21st-century Indian singers Tamil film score composers Male Carnatic singers Carnatic singers J. C. Daniel Award winners Recipients of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship