MUSIC, SONG LYRICS, PHILOSOPHY AND HUMAN VALUES: EXPLORING POET KANNADASAN’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE TAMIL COMMUNITY WORLDWIDE
Keywords:
Song, Lyrics, Communicative, Philosophical PersonalAbstract
For thousands of years music and songs have played an important role in the Tamil community. Tamil song lyrics are mostly written for cinemas, and research reveals that Tamil cinemas in the twentieth century have formed a major part of mass communication and have also served as mass-entertainment to people mainly due to the stories and song lyrics. Among the great lyric writers of Tamil songs from 1944 to 1981 was the legendary Poet Kannadasan (1927 –1981) who was also known as Kavi Arasu or king of poets. However Poet Kannadasan’s contributions are yet to be highlighted sufficiently in media literatures. Therefore the objective of this paper is to explore Poet Kannadasan’s contribution in teaching philosophy and human values through his songs which are relevant to the Tamil community even today. This paper is considered to be the first to explore Poet Kannadasan’s philosophy and human values in an academic journal of the English language although several articles have been written in the Tamil language. In presenting this paper, hermeneutics (a qualitative research methodology) which includes content (song) analysis is used by the authors. The authors hope that this paper will provide the framework for studying Poet Kannadasan’s song lyrics in many areas apart from philosophy and human values. This paper is expected to contribute and enrich the English language literatures on Poet Kannadasan’s contributions in the Indian context.
Downloads
References
Awsnabeel .Effects of Music.http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Effects-Music/121850?read_essay, September 2007
Baskaran, S.T Music for the Masses: Film Songs of Tamil Nadu. Economic and Political Weekly Vol.26(11),pp 755-758,1991
Bharadwaj, A. S. Women's Question in the Dravidian Movement c. 1925-1948. Social Scientist. Vol.19(5), pp 24-41,1991
Brown, Steven and Ulrik Volgsten (eds).Music and Manipulation. On the Social Uses and Social Control of Music. New York, London: Berghahn Books, 2006.
Butcher, M & Brosius, C (ed.). Image Journeys: Audio-Visual Media and Cultural Change in India. New Delhi, India: Sage.1991
Ceyalaṭcumi, C.E . The History of Tamil Music. University of Madras,2003
Chatterjee, Satischandra; Datta, Dhirendramohan. An Introduction to Indian Philosophy (Eighth Reprint Edition ed.). Calcutta: University of Calcutta, 1984
Christensen, D. L. The Song of Jonah: A Metrical Analysis. Journal of Biblical Literature. Vol. 104(2),pp 217-231,1985
Crane, J. Music and Masses. Journal of Communication Inquiry. Vol.10, pp 66-70,1986
Deshpande, G.P. Dialectics of Defeat: Some Reflections on Literature, Theatre and Music in Colonial India. Economic and Political Weekly. Vol. 22(50), pp 2170-2176,1987
Dutta, A .Nation, Liberalisation and Film Songs: Technology and Hybridization in Contemporary Hindi Film Music. Wide Screen, Vol.1(1), pp 1-11, 2009
Editorial. (2008). Bountiful noise. Nature, 453, 134.
Elman, L. L. Linking Life and Lyric: The Federico García Lorca Course. Hispania. Vol.87 (1),pp 143-149, 2004
Fish, W. R. .A Method for the Objective Study of Bird Song and Its Application to the Analysis of Bewick Wren Songs. The Condor, Vol. 55(5 ), pp. 250-257,1953
Forman, M. Soundtrack to a Crisis. Television & New Media. Vol. 3(2),pp 191-204, 2002
Frawley, D (Unknown), Religion and Spiritual Practices: The Role of Compassion, available at: http://www.hindubooks.org/david_frawley/hinduism/religious_and_spiritualpractices/page14.html
Furmanek, O. The role of emotions in establishing meaning: implications for interpreting. The Journal of Specialised Translation. Issue 5. 2006. http://www.jostrans.org/issue05/art_furmanek.php
Giese, M. Community Property: Digital Music and the Economic Modalities of Transmission and Ritual Modes of Communication. Journal of Communication inquiry. Vol. 28(4),pp 342-362, 2004
Gooptu, S. An Appeal beyond Aesthetics: Exploration of the Iconicity of New Theatres. Economic and Political Weekly. Vol. 38(24), pp 2409-2416, 2003
Jeffrey, R.Tamil: 'Dominated by Cinema and Politics'. Economic and Political Weekly. Vol.32 (6),pp 254-256, 1997
Jensen, K.. The Social Semiotics of Mass Communication. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 1995
Juluri, V. Music Television and the Invention of Youth Culture in India. Television and New Media. Vol.3(4), pp 367-386, 2002
Kirtananda, B.S, Christ and Krishna: Path of Pure Devotion, Bhaktipada Books, Singapore, 1985
Kumar, S & Curtin, M. "Made in India": In Between Music Television and Patriarchy. Television and new Media. Vol. 3(4),pp 345-366, (2002)
Lakshmi, C.S. Seduction, Speeches and Lullaby: Gender and Cultural Identity in a Tamil Film. Economic and Political Weekly. Vol. 30(6), pp 309-311, (1995)
L'Armand K & L'Armand, A. One Hundred Years of Music in Madras: A Case Study in Secondary Urbanization. Ethnomusicology. Vol.27(3),pp 411-438 , (1983)
Leikin,Molly-Ann . How to Be a Hit Songwriter: Polishing and Marketing Your Lyrics and Music .Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Corporation, 2003.
Luise Eitel Peake.. "Song". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, sixth edition, 20 vols., edited by Stanley Sadie, Vol. 17: 510-523. London: Macmillan Publishers; New York: Grove's Dictionaries. 1980
Lynne,.Music and Communication: 2010 Retrived from http://www.english-magazine.org/index.php/culture/994-english-culture.html on 21 October 2010
Madabushi, S.K, Oppiliappan E-Group Discussions on the 8th June 2003, available at http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/oppiliappan/archives/jun03/msg00016.html,
Manuel, P. Popular Music in India: 1901-86. Popular Music. Vol.07(2),pp 157-176, (1988)
Martin, P.J. Sounds and Society: Themes in the Sociology of Music. Manchester: Manchester University Press, (1995)
McClary, S. Conventional Wisdom: The Content of Musical Form. Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press, (2000)
Mc Dermott, Josh. The Evolution of Music. Nature Digest 5, 7-9 ,August 2008
McLuhan, Marshal. Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. New York: McGraw Hill, 1964
McQuail, D., Blumler, J. G., & Brown, J.. The television audience: A revised perspective. In D. McQuail (Ed.), Sociology of Mass Communication (pp. 135–65). Middlesex, England: Penguin. (1972)
Muniapan, B, “The Philosophy of Bhagavad Gita and its Relevance to Human Resource Development in the 21st Century, International Conference on Cultural and Religious Mosaic of South and Southeast Asia: Conflict and Consensus through the Ages, SSEASR Conference under UNESCO, 27 – 30 January 2005, New Delhi, India.
Muniapan, B. Valmiki Ramayana and Leadership: Exploring and Explaining the Transformational Leadership Style of Sri Rama, the son of King Dasaratha, International Conference on Sanskrit: Sanskrit in Asia, Unity in Diversity organized by Sanskrit Studies Centre, Silpakorn University, Bangkok, 23 – 26 June 2005, Imperial Queen Park Hotel, Bangkok
Murthy, D. Communicative Flows between the Diaspora and ‘Homeland’: The Case of Asian Electronic Music in Delhi. Journal of Creative Communications. Vol. 2,pp 143-161, (2007)
Muthaya,B.C. Dynamics of Rural Development. In Rau.S.K (ed),Rural Development in India- Some Facets. Hydrabad: National Institute of Rural Development.
Nattiez, J.J & Ellis, J. Reflections on the Development of Semiology in Music. Music Analysis. Vol8(1),pp 21-75 , (1989)
Negus, K. Popular Music in Theory: An Introduction. Cambridge: Polity Press, (1996)
Ojha, J. M..Cultural Communication in India: Role and Impact of Phonograms. Newdelhi: Concept publishing Compay, 1992
Oland,Pamela. The Art of Writing Great Lyrics. Newyork:Allworth Communications, Inc., 2001
Pandian, M.S.S. Tamil Cultural Elites and Cinema: Outline of an Argument. Economic and Political Weekly Vol. 31(15),pp 950-955, (1996)
Perlovsky L . Music. Cognitive Function, Origin, And Evolution Of Musical Emotions . WebmedCentral PSYCHOLOGY 2011;2(2):
Perris, A. Music as Propaganda. London: Greenwood Press, (1985)
Pesch, Ludwig. South Indian Music. Available at http://www.saigan.com/heritage/music/focus1.html, (n.d)
Prabupada, B.S. Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, Los Angeles, USA. (1994)
Prof Perlovsky,Leonid . Music and Emotions: Functions, Origins, Evolution http://www.scitopics.com/Music_and_Emotions_Functions_Origins_Evolution.html, 22 September 2010
Rama, Philosophy in film songs of Kannadasan, available at: http://www.behindwoods.com/features/moviearticles/articles1/kannadasan/tamil-cinema-movies-article-kanadasan.html, (2010)
Rokeach, M. (1973). The nature of human values. New York, Free Press.
Scott,D. B. Music, culture, and society: a reader. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000
Shepherd, J & Wicke, P. Music and Cultural Theory. Cambridge: Polity Press, (1997)
Sivananda, Swami, Sure Ways for Success in Life and God Realization, The Divine Life Society, UP, India. (1990)
Sivananda, Swami, Conquest of Anger, Divine Life Society Publication, Uttar Pradesh, India, (1997)
Sri Kantha, S, , Remembering Kavi Arasu Kannadasan, available at: http://www.tamilnation.org/forum/sachisrikantha/kannadasan0.htm, (1991)
Stargazer, L. The triangle of communication through music. http://musicouch.com/musicouching/the-triangle-of-communication-through-music/ 11 may
The MGR Myth: An Appreciation. Economic and Political Weekly. Vol. 23(1),pp 23-24
Trammell, J.Y. Pop Music and the Press. Journal of Communication Inquiry. Vol.27,pp 316-319, (2003)
Wolf, R.K. Three Perspectives on Music and the Idea of Tribe in India. Asian Music. Vol 32(1),pp 5-34, (2001)
Wright, Craig. Music and Ceremony at Notre Dame of Paris, 500-1550. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008
Zak, V. Asaf'ev's Theory of Intonation and the Analysis of Popular Song. Popular Music. Vol. 2,pp 91-111, 1982
