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Pa.

Vijay, one of the top lyricists of Kollywood film industry is a


native of Kumbakonam but he grew up in Coimbatore. Since his
childhood he always had an interest in writing poetry. So he
decided on a literary career and to get a toehold he entered films.
He met his mentor, K. Bhagyaraj through his brother, who was a
family friend. He worked with him in films and his magazine,
Bhagya. His first film lyrics were for the film, Gyanapazhamin
1996. After about four years, he ventured out and several films
like Vanathai Pola, Nee Varuvai Ena and so on happened. He drew
the attention of the world by penning Ovvoru Pookalume… for the
film Autograph. Apart from films, he has started weekly poetry
series in four Tamil magazines and also involved in translating
great works in English into Tamil verse.

Vairamuthu, a noted Tamil poet and lyricist for tamil film industry
was born in July 13, 1953, Vadugapatti, Theni District,Tamil
Nadu.

He has been awarded the National Film Award five times in the
Best Lyrics category. His literary contributions are well-respected
by indians all around the world. He has givin Kalaimamani Award
and Tamil Nadu State Government award thrice for his
contribution.

His 1st song, `Ithu Oru Ponmalai Pozhudhu' in `Nizhalgal', was


wrote in in 1980 and since then Vairamuthu has never looked
back.

Today, he stands tall as a five-time winner of national award.

He has constantly teamed with master-composer A. R. Rahman


and ace director Mani Ratnam. The trio have delivered several
musical hits including Roja, Bombay, Alaipayuthey and Kannathil
Muthamittal.

Vairamuthu was born in a rich farming community in Theni


District near Periyakulam. His father was Ramaswamy Thevar and
mother Angammal. The ambience of the village is said to have
inspired him to write poems. Tamil and Rationalist movements of
the sixties is said to have stimulated the poetic zeal in him. The
speeches of Periyar & Anna, the writings of Karunanidhi and the
works of eminent poets like Bharathi, Bharathidasan and
Kannadasan and the life in the countryside shaped the young
poet's thinking. While he was fourteen, he acquired the ability to
write Yappu type of Venba poetry.

In his school final exam in Tamil, Vairamuthu stood first in the


entire Madurai District and won a silver cup.After completing his
school education, he joined Pachaiyappa's college in Chennai
where he was acclaimed as the best speaker and poet. When he
was in his second year of B.A. and barely nineteen years of age,
Vairamuthu published his maiden anthology, Vaigarai Megangal.

It was prescribed for study in the Women's Christian College.


Thus, he achieved the distinction of a student poet whose work
was taken into curriculum while he was still a student.

His second work, Thiruththi Yezhudhiya Theerppugal, in pudhu


kavidhai form was published in 1979. He made his film debut in
the succeeding year when he set lyrics for Bharathiraja's
Nizhalgal.

Vairamuthu is among those who take pride in the Tamil heritage


and swear by the traditional form's capacity to convey with ease
modern and even complicated ideas.

He is not, however, averse to change or modernism and he uses


with equal felicity free verse (puthu kavithai in Tamil), wherever
it suits him. For him, content is more important than the form.

With nearly 6000 songs to his credit, he has published collections


of poems for the discerning readers. His writings have also
extended to genres such as novel, essay, biography and
travelogue. In fact, three quarter of the books he has published in
the last 30 years are mainly in prose.

On the literature front, his notable works include Innoru Desiya


Geetham, Indha Pookkal Virppanai-kkalla, Sigarangalai nOkki,
Villodu Vaa Nilave and many others numbering to 30.

He has also introduced some foreign poets and their works to


Tamil in his Ella Nadhiyilum En Odum. Some of his works are
translated into Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. The trend
continues into hundreds of his film lyrics are translated into Hindi.
His Chinna Chinna Aasai fascinated a Japanese troupe touring
India so much, that they broke language barriers by singing the
song during their shows.

He received the President's award for the Best Lyricist for his
compositions in Muthal Mariyathai(1985), directed by
Bharathiraja. Second award in 1993 for Roja, directed by
Maniratnam. He was bestowed the honor of receiving this award
for the third time, for his lyrics in the film, Karuththamma,
another film directed by Bharathiraja,followed by sangamam and
Kannathil Muthamittal, directed by Maniratnam.

He remains as the only lyricist to receive this award five times at


the national level.

Among regional awards from the Tamilnadu Government, he


received one in 1981 from the then Chief Minister, M. G.
Ramachandran, a Best Architect of Films award in 1989 alongside
the prestigious Kalaimaamani award in 1990.

The Tamil Development Society of Madras conferred on him the


title of Kaviyarasu in 1986.His Kaviraajan Kavidhai narrating
Bharathi's life in Pudhu Kavidhai, was a commendable effort. It
earned him the Bharathi Literature Prize.

In 2003, Vairamuthu was awarded the Padma Shri.

He is the Tamilnadu President of Indo-Russian Friendship Society.


At the invitation of the Russian Government, Vairamuthu has
visited Russia to participate in an Indian cultural event in 1987.
In response to invitations of various Tamil groups, he visited the
U.S.A, United Kingdom, Canada, Hong Kong, China, Singapore,
Malayasia, Thailand and Sri Lanka.

His works have the underlying themes of humanism transcending


barriers of space and race. He opened Tamil schools in Bangkok,
Canada and Hong Kong promoting Tamil children living there to
develop an interest in learning the language.

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