Review of "Ennodu Paattu Paadungal" by Thuglak

Dear SPB Fans,

This week’s edition, dated 21-2-2007, of the Tamil Weekly “Thuglak” carries an article on one of the episodes of the Jaya TV program - SPB’s “Ennodu Paattu Paadungal” (on Page 33) which has been reprodiced below as a scanned document

Our Mr.Venkat informed me about this Tamil article and initiated me in translating this Tamil article into English for the benefit of all SPB fans. Please find below, the translated one. I have tried my best to stick to the spirit and structure of the Tamil version. Hope I have not distorted it. It is really heartening to know that our SPB is discussed very frequently in many forums.

Article ......

Jaya TV’s “Ennodu Paattu Paadungal”, if not for anything else, should be viewed for the sake of enjoying the bubbling enthusiasm of SPB. Due to his participation in different public programs, his uninterrupted spoken Tamil, like a grand car traveling on a grand highway, flows out from him like a waterfall.

The program is just proceeding on and on with first round, second round and so on. The participating young boys & girls are assigned marks, with some of them being eliminated diligently. Some of them wear the garland of victory and become eligible for the next round. After each participant’s performance, SPB lauds them abundantly for their positives and concisely points out their shortcoming too.

All being popular songs, he explains about the unique traits of singers like Swarnalatha, Malaysia Vasudevan etc…. who had originally rendered the songs. He also highlights those portions of the songs, where music directors like Harris Jayaraj, A.R.Rehman & IlayaRaja have composed elevating music, by singing them himself. Well done is better than well said. (this highlighted English phrase alone appears as it is, in the Tamil version also, and has been just reproduced and not translated)

All these are not big. Choosing a particular portion of the background music of a song, singing the tune and then testing the participants to identify the song, is simply superb. If sung well, apart from appreciating and applauding them enthusiastically, he also sings along with the participant. At that moment, to see the happiness lighting up his face, one needs a dozen eyes and to hear his “out of the world” voice, two dozen ears.

In his concluding speech, he insists that “one should never sing in a false voice”. “Sruthi, Pronounciation and Bhavam – these three are very important” he says. After everything is over, he has made it a habit to talk a few words about any one of the public issues. On that day, he talked about the mistake that the car & two wheeler motorists commit, by overtaking unnecessarily.

Finally, when you glance at your watch at the end of the program, you wonder “Oh! has one hour passed?!!!”