Vishnu Narayanan Namboothiri | When a poem becomes a musical hit
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Vishnu Narayanan Namboothiri’s Balyakala Sakhi reached out to many through G. Venugopal’s voice
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Vishnu Narayanan Namboothiri’s Balyakala Sakhi reached out to many through G. Venugopal’s voice
Purists may not agree, but poetry can also be enjoyed when it is accompanied by music. Vishnu Narayanan Namboothiri certainly enjoyed listening to one of his early poems,
Balyakala Sakhi, in G. Venugopal s gentle voice, set to lilting music by Suresh Manimala.
Venugopal included it in his first album of poems,
Kavyaragam. “I think
Balyakala Sakhi is now the most popular of all Namboothiri’s poems because so many people listened to the album, and we all know that very few actually spend time to read poetry,” he told
Singer Venugopal turned 60 yesterday
There is to G. Venugopal’s voice a rare quality that gladdens the ear and soothes the mind. That refreshingly original voice turned 60 on Thursday.
He may not be among the most prolific of our playback singers, but he has to his credit some of the sweetest melodies in Malayalam cinema of the last four decades. He had arrived at the tinsel town at a time when it was very difficult to get an opportunity for a new singer.
First hit
It certainly wasn’t easy for him, for all his talent and training, but all he needed was one big hit. He got that in 1986, with