Ponniyin Selvan Varalaatru Peravai

Once of the concepts highlighted in the book but totally missed out in the movie is something called Thiruvaarur Paari Naayanam

In olden days many variations of a given instrument were available – no standardization. This allowed musicians to produce different genre of same music. For example, the veena types were too many until thanjai ragunatha nayak standardized the present veena

This paari nayanam is much longer than the usual one. Mohana actually challenges shanmukam to play with this particular nayanam because she belongs to the dancing class of thiruvaarur

So shanmukam comes and had to undertake rigorous practice & invent his own methodology to produce sound with that nayanam

And of course there is only one reluctant guru who knows how to play this instrument !

How exactly shanmukam practices and how he plays this instrument should not be explained here in plain english. It should rather be read and enjoyed in the language of Kalaimani.

Gokul.S

I got it from Chemmozhi manadu book fair. Palaniappa Bros publication

It would have been a gargantuan task to translate totally the written narrative
splendour to film. So for me, the movie was a good extraction of most of the
elements that would be acceptable to the movie going masses then. And the book
is a masterpiece by itself.

If it was a trend then, maybe AP Nagarajan could / would have considered
producing a two-parter.

I thoroughly enjoyed the train travel sequences in the movie and I am sure APN
would have handled the ship travel sequences well too.

PS. In a later mail,thereis mention that Thillana Mohanambal is available from
Palaniappa Bros Publications. Is this a new edition?
Regards.

Dear Mr.Gokul,

Your note,
though brif has , has thrown open a fresh light on ‘Nyanam’ as a musical
instrument. I am totally ignorant and cannot speak on this subject. But I am
forwarding your post to a frtend of mine, who is a coloumn writer on Carnatic
music and culture. H e could ellobarate on this topic of “Pari Nayanam
parampariyam.

You have
mentioed ‘Kalaimamani’ as the author of “Thillana
Mohanambal”/ I hope you are aware that it is a pen-name under whuch
Koththamangalam Subbu wrote this novel as a serial in Anandavikatan.

Koththamangalam
subbu was very humble. Many common people who were his contemporaries did not
know that he was on the story-board for many years in leading cinema makers ‘
Geministudio’. Box office hits like Chandraleka, Avvaiyar,
Apurvasahothararkal, and Miss Malin. The last one was entirely a show by
Koththamangalam Subbu, including script writing.

Few words
about Apurva sahothararkal may not be out of place here. It was an
inspiration from ‘Corsican brothers’ , a Novel written by Alexander Dumas about
a princely Assamese twins, who were separated
by surgery and compelled to live without knowing each other. the second born
twin brother can feel all emotionswhatever the first suffers, pleasant or
unpleasant.

KoththamangalamSubbu
,touched by Gandiji’sassassination, wrote his biography in
‘Nattuppadal style’ in Tamil and conduct on stage Harikatha Kalahepam, a two
hour long session. It was very popular alll over Tamilnadu.

The cinema is
very obviopd;y an apolgy of the original novel.

Thank you.

V.Kothanda Ramn