Vaali and Kannadasan

A great poet who prefers to be in the low profile. When he was struggling, his pal the late actor V.Gopalakrishnan proposed to Vaali to be Kannadhasan's assistant and he will see to that he becomes one. But Vaali politely declined saying that he wants to carve a name for himself by being independent. At one stage he even contemplated suicide as the odds were against him and he was practically penniless. The day he contemplated suicide V.Gopalakrishnan came to visit him and narrated the stanza 'maayakama kalakkama' written by Kannadhasan which was recorded in the studio just a few moments ago and witnessed by him. Vaali on hearing the line 'unakum keeley ullavar kodi ninaithu paarthu nimmathi naadu' was deeply impressed and motivated. It was as though Kannadhasan wrote the song for him. He changed his mind. No returning to his village or even thinking about suicide. Whether it was part of divine's plan only heaven knows because what I am going to narrate hereafter will make you ponder. Around this time K.S. Gopalakrishnan and Kannadhasan were having a great time drinking to celebrate the success of the film "Sharadha". A friendly argument took place between the two buddies. Kannadhasan was of the belief that "Sharadha" became a success because of his songs whereas KSG was adamant that it was due to a very strong storyline and theme. During this fiendly banter an impromptu decision was taken. The next film by KSG will be without Kannadhasan but with a new songwriter to see whether it will run full house. Around this time when KSG heard about the struggling Vaali he invited him to pen all four songs for the film "Karpagam". It was a god-send invitation for Vaali. He penned the songs 'pakkathu veetu paruva machan', 'mannavane azhalaama', 'athai madi methayadi' and 'aayiram iravugal varuvathondu' (the latter was a novel song as in between gaps the choice was given to listeners to fill in ). The rest is history. The film became an instant hit and Vaali became a celebrity overnight. Kannadhasan accepted his defeat to KSG and had another round of merry making with him. Typical of him! But for his subsequent films KSG used Kannadhasan. A real gentleman. When Kanndhasan first heard the line "velli nilaavil vilakaai eriyum kadalthaan engal veedu" from the songs "tharai meyl pirakka vaithan" (Padahotti)he inquired from his driver as to whether he knew who the lyricist was for this song to which the latter replied in the affirmative. He immediately asked him to drive up to Vaali's abode which was a ramshackled rented room. When Vaali opened the door he could'nt believe himself that it was his idol at the doorstep. Without mincing any words Kannadhasan took out his gold chain and put it around Vaali's neck and blessed him. The latter was dumbfounded. He once remarked that his life time achievement was the endorsement given by Kannadhasan to him as a lyricist.This is why he is not keen in any titles. Many a time his songs were mistaken to be that of Kannadhasan's like 'kan pona pokkile kaal pogalama' (Panam Padaithavan)which he was proud of for he had achieved the status of Kaviarasar.He did'nt mind being misquoted. Both of them were buddies sharing the same bottle. In an immediate tribute to Kannadhasan during the mourning period he described him as 'meesai illatha bharathi, thaadi illatha tagore'