21 June World Music Day

                                        World Music Day!!

It won't be wrong to say that music is a phenomenon that does not discriminate--there's a note, song or tune for every shade of emotion there is.From spelling out sheer ecstasy to being the 'something concrete' of all things miserable--music is all pervasive.And marking this very universality of this phenomenon is World Music Day, celebrated today, June 21.

Music is something which requires no introduction. It is undoubtedly the best friend of each and everyone, there might be a person who has not known anything about music but there wont be any person on the Earth who has not enjoyed this wonderful thing. In the whole world there are different types  of genres, arts, forms of music, but we Indian's have a special interest towards music.

The music of India includes multiple varieties of Indian classical music,folk music, Filmi and Indian pop. India's classical music tradition, including Hindustani music and Carnatic, has a history spanning millennia and developed over several eras. Music in India began as an integral part of socio-religious life. Inspite of rich varieties of genres like classical, pop, folk, lite music etc we are much attached to filmi music, so let us discuss about the legends that India has ever produced in Indian music.

On the eve of World Music Day, I like to dedicate this article to all the musicians and music lovers all over in India and World. Let us concentrate on the national awardees in music direction, play back and lyricism in India. I may not cover everyone, but will try to bring best persons of India. This does'nt mean these persons are best and rest are kept aside, I have tried to bring out few names who are much popular but not out of my in tension.

Music Direction:

India has produced some of the best music directors that world has to know. Some of them are A.R.Rahman, Anand-Bakshi, Anand-Milind, Anu Malik,Amaal & Armaan Malik, Amit Trivedi, Anirudh, Anup Rubens, Bappi Lahari, Bhartwaj, Berny,Bhupi, Bijupal, Chakravarthy, Dakshinamoorthy, Chitragupta, Deva, Devan, Devi Sri Prasda, Dhina, Gopi Sundar, Gangai Amran, Ghantasala, Gurukiran,Haris Jayraj, Honey Singh, Ilayaraja, Imman, Jagjit Singh, Jatin-Lalit, Johnson,Jayachandran, Keeravani, Kishore Kumar, K.V.Mahadevan, Manisharma, Mickey J Meyer, Mithoon, Naushad Ali,O.P.Nayar, G.V.Prakash Kumar, S.A.Rajkumar, Raj-Koti, Vidyasagar and the list is endless. So  I have tried to feature some of them in detail.

1. Ilayaraja (1976-present):

Ilayarajaji is one of the finest music directors that India has ever produced. He is one of the rarest music directors in India who got world-wide recognition. His works are regarded as master pieces with full of intelligence. He is known as Isaignyani(The Musical Genius), aptly told right. One who hears to his works will know why is he called Isaignyani, all his success acts as the proof for the amount of perfection and dedication he has towards his work . There might be no Tamil or Telugu music lover who hates him, he is such an amazing composer. Popular world cinema portal Taste of Cinema placed Ilaiyaraja at the 9th position in its list of 25 greatest film composers in the cinema history. In a poll conducted by CNN-IBN celebrating 100 years of Indian cinema in 2013, Ilaiyaraaja was voted as the greatest music composer of India with a maximum of 49%. In 2016, Ilaiyaraaja received a Distinguished Engineer award from the Rocheston Accreditation Institute, New York. So he is definitely one of my favorite.

Ilayarajaji has been the most frequent winner of National Awards for best music direction and Background score. He has won national awards for 5 times(3 as composer and 2 as best background scorer). He has won national awards for following films:

(a) Saagara Sangamam -Telugu(1984): This film was a master piece in his career. Probably there might be no person of 80's who would dislike this amazing masterpiece of Isaignyani. Every song stands amazing and wonderful.

(b) Sindhu Bhairavi -Tamil(1986): This is yet another mile stone in his career. This Tamil musical film has been a block buster breaking all the records and getting a national wide appreciation in many aspects.

(c) Rudraveena -Telugu(1989): This film which went viral in Telugu states directed by Balchandar and starring Chiranjeevi with music of Isaignyani was another esset to the film. This film too broke the records and won national wide appreciation in many departments.

And he won awards for Pazhassi Raja a Malayalam film in 2009 which was appreciated for its background score. And one more film where he won award for background score was for a Tamil film in 2016 Tharai Thappatai.

We can go on endlessely write about him, but words and pages fall in short in praising his works. Hats off sir.

2. A.R.Rahman (1992-Present):

Does Rahmanji needs any intro, he himself is an icon off music. I need not say that he is the best music director of India, as he is popular world wide. He is the winner of 2 Academy awards and 4 National awards and infinite million hearts. He is every Indian's favorite music director, his simplicity makes him stand on sky every time. He has his own way of composing and making the music suit to the situation. He has broke all the records as a composer and has not left anything for others to break. He is the winner of International acclaims, awards and many more but he is as simple as a common human being, this character makes him very special.  So nothing is left to speak about him, as all the words ran away and fell short in praising him. Lets see some of his national acclaims as I cannot dare to put all his awards together as they sum upto 127 wins and 143 nominations!!

Rahman has won 4 national awards for best music direction. Lets see what are they:

(a) Roja -Tamil (1992): Is there any music director who won national award for his debut, probably very few and one among them is Rahman. This Indian blockbuster film Roja needs no intro, it is popular in all languages. More than the film, the music was praised for its sizzling tracks. One who is aware of this silm will know what it is to music lovers!!

(b) Minnsara Kanavu -Tamil (1996): This film was also popular national wide. This film has created a history by grabbing 3 national awards for music(1 by Rahman, other 2 by play back singers), this is for the first time that in all the categories of Music, occupied by a single film. This starred North sensation Kajol & Aravind Samy, Prabhu Deva in lead roles with Rahman's music as a major esset.

(c) Lagaan -Hindi (2001): This film was a sensation in north which won positive acclaim from reviews.For a music score, that is both regional in character and popular in appeal bringing out the ethos of Saurashtra region.

(d) Kannathil Mutthamittal -Tamil (2002): For his original musical score highlighting the cultural conflicts and personal anguish in the story.

Hatts off to you sir!!....Your contrubitions will be remembered.

Others who won national acclaim are Shankar-Ehassan-Loy(India's leading composers known for their arrangement in song), Keeravani(India's finest composer-who rose to heights in svery short time & regarded as legendary composer in Telugu), Gopi Sundar(Latest sensation from Malayalam), Johnson(Legendary composer from Kerala) & Hamsalekha(leading composer in Kannada) and many others. Hats off to you and all of them.

Playback Singers- Female

Like music directors , play back singers have eminent importance in India. We have seen so many nightingales of India and the most loved singers are Alka Yagnik, Anupama, Anuradha Paudwal, Anuradha Sriram, Asha Bhonsle, Banumathi, Bombay Jayshree,Chinmaye, Chitra Singh, Geetha Dutt, Geetha Madhuri, Harini, Hemalata,Ila Arun, Jency, Jikki,Jonita Gandhi, Kavita Subrahmaniyam, K.S.Chitra, Lata Mangeshkar, Madhushree, Malgadi Shubha,Monali Thakur,Neha Kakkar, P.Leela, P.Susheela, S.Janaki, S.P.Sailaja, sadhana Sargam, Shreya Ghoshal, Vani Jayramand the list is endless.  Hats off to all singers here in list and others. So let us honour some of them.

1. K.S.Chitra (1979-Present):

Chitraji is definitely everybody's favorite. She is the little nightingale of India, Chinna Kuyil in South India, Melody queen of Indian cinema, Piya basanti of north, Vanambadi of Kerala, Sangeeta Saraswati of AP&TN, Kannda Kogile of Karnataka. This is enough to show that she is everyone's favorite. She has created all sorts of records. We have been hearing her more then  30 years, and yet we listen to her songs in latest films. Probably she is only  singer of our recent times who can be treated as legend and has the right gesture for that word. When it comes to language barrier she has broken all the language barriers and sung in more than 16 languages with utmost perfection and won all of our hearts. She has to acclaimed as India's top most singers after lataji and Ashaji and India's no-1 when it comes to language and perfection.

The awards that she won are simply mind blowing. She is the winner of highest number of national awards-female(6), highest no.of Kerala state awards(16 & 11 awards in row), highest no,of Nandi awards (10 & 4 awards in row), and  8 other state awards. Yet the list goes on , 6 filmfares, 2 MTV international awards etc etc which may all together sum upto 172 awards and yet counting. This proves her versatility. And top of everything she is loved for her best character, very simple and down to earth.

Now lets see her national acclaims:

(a) Paadiyarien & Naan Oru Sindhu -Tamil (1986): She rose to fame from this musical blockbuster Sindhu Bhairavi composed by Ilayaraja. She has won award for her mellifous rendering of songs, both in the folk and the classical moods, bringing about a melodious synthesis between the two.

(b) Manjal Prasadavam -Malayalam (1987):For her melodious rendering of songs.

(c)Indupushpam -Malayalam (1989): For her clear and tuneful rendering of the song.

(d) Maana Madhurai -Tamil (1996): This was the song where she prove her versatility by rendering a peppy soulful Rahman's melody. This song was hit in all the languages released and she won critical acclaims.

(e) Payale Chunmun -Hindi (1997): With this song she proved that she could sing hindi too with perfect diction and slang. She won the award for her effortless and playful rendering of the song.

(f) Ovuru Pookalame -Tamil (2004): This is another milestone in her career, where she sung with utmost perfection. She won the award for expressive and soulful rendition of the song with powerful voice throw suitable to the text and the scene.

Hats Off mam!!

2. S.Janaki (1957-Present(retired)):

Sishtla Sreeramamurthy Janaki (born 23 April 1938), popularly known as S. Janaki, is an Indian playback singer and occasional music-composer from Andhra Pradesh. She is one of the best-known playback singers in South India and has recorded 48,000 songs in 17 Languages like Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Odiya, Hindi, Bengali, Tulu,Sanskrit, Sinhalese, Badaga, Punjabi, Urdu, Japanese, German, Latin and Arabic languages. Starting in 1957, her career has spanned six decades. She has recorded songs in more than 17 regional Indian languages and foreign languages. She has won four National Film Awards and 33 different State Film Awards.Her association with singer S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and composer Ilaiyaraaja is well known. In the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s her duets with P. B. Srinivas, S.P.Balasubramanyamand with Dr. Rajkumar were some of the most romantic duets in the history of Tamil and Kannada film music.

S. Janaki, who is known as "The Nightingale of the South", is a recipient of an honorary doctorate from the University of Mysore and the Kalaimamani award from Tamil Nadu State Government.

In 2013, she refused the offer of a Padma Bhushan award by theGovernment of India, saying that it had come "too late" and that South Indian artists were not given their due recognition.^[6]

A book titled Aalpanathile Thenum Vayambum, authored by Abhilash Pudukad, details the life and career of Janaki.

She is ofcourse every ones favorite with 4 wins of national awards. 

National Film Awards

• 1977 – Best Female Playback Singer – (Song: "Senthoora Poove") 16 Vayathinile, Tamil Film
• 1981 – Best Female Playback Singer – (Song: "Ettumanoorambalathil")Oppol, Malayalam Film
• 1984 – Best Female Playback Singer – (Song: "Vennello godari andham")Sitaara, Telugu Film
• 1992 – Best Female Playback Singer – (Song: "Inji Iduppazhagha") Devar Magan, Tamil Film

Hats off Amma!!

3. Shreya Ghoshal (1998-Present):

Is there any one who does'nt know or love Shreya Ghoshal?. She needs no intro. Shreya Ghoshal (born 12 March 1984) is an Indian playback singer. She has received four National Film Awards, six Filmfare Awards including five for Best Female Playback Singer, nine Filmfare Awards South for Best Female Playback Singer (two for Kannada, four for Malayalam, two for Tamil and one for Telugu), three Kerala State Film Awards and one Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. She has recorded songs for film music and albums in various Indian languages and has established herself as a leading playback singer of Indian cinema.Ghoshal aspired to become a playback singer from a young age. At the age of four, she started learning music. At the age of six, she started with her formal training in classical music. At the age of sixteen, she was noticed by film-maker Sanjay Leela Bhansali when she entered and won the television singing reality show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa. Following that, she made her Bollywood playback singing debut with Bhansali's romantic drama Devdas (2002) for which she received a National Film Award, a Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer and Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent.Apart from playback singing, Ghoshal has appeared as a judge on several television reality shows. She performs in musical concerts around the world. She has been honored by the governor of U.S. state Ohio, whereTed Strickland declared 26 June 2010 as "Shreya Ghoshal Day". In April 2013, she was awarded with the highest honour in London by the selected members of House of Commons of the United Kingdom. She was also featured five times in Forbes list of the top 100 celebrities of India. In 2017, Ghoshal became the first Indian singer to have a wax figure of her in Madame Tussauds Museum.

Ghoshal has acknowledged Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, K S Chithra, Geeta Dutt, Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumarand Mukesh as her inspirations. Ghoshal has also named Jagjit Singh as her inspiration to perform songs in the genre of Ghazal.

She has won 4 awards with national acclaim:

Year	Language	Film	Nominated Song	Result	Ref.
2002	Hindi	Devdas	"Bairi Piya"	Won	[102]
2005		Paheli	"Dheere Jalna"		[103]
2007		Jab We Met	"Yeh Ishq Haye"		[104]
2008	Bengali	Antaheen	"Pherari Mon"		[105]
	Marathi	Jogwa	"Jeev Rangala"

Male Play Back Singers:

We have enumerous play backs singers like those of females. Some of them include Md.Rafi, Ghantasala, Soundaryarajan, Balamuralikrishna, Yesudas, S.P.Balu, Unnikrishnan, Shankar Mahadevan, Arijith Singh, Mano, Amaal & Armaan Malik, S.P.Charan, Vijay Yesuads, Sonu Nigam, Kumar Sanu, Udit Narayan, KK, Hariharan, Sreeram Chandra, Revanth, Sukhwinder Singh, Daler Mehindi, Srinivas,Javid Ali, Shaan, Vijay Prakash , Tippu, Karthik and many more. Hats off to all of them.

The singer with maximum national awards is Dr.K.J.Yesudas with 7 wins followed by Dr.S.P.Balasubrahmanyam with 6 wins. These two are India's top most singers even there exsisted many others. Their versatility and range is completely different and makes them one of the finest singers of India.

Presently Arijith Singh carries that legacy, but cannot be campared to them. He rose into fame with his voice but there are yet good singers like Shankar Mahadevan, Hariharan, Udit Narayan, Sonu Nigam, Karthik ,so there cant be any other male singer in race, coz all are equal. So hats off to everyone.

Lyricists:

Lyricists cannot be categorised into anything, as there are many lyricists perfect in their own languages. So lets thank everyone of them. But some noted lyricists of India are Gulzar, Javed Aktar, Vairaimuthu, Veturi Sundaramamurthy, Seetharama Sastry, Bichu Thirumala etc.

At last wish everyone a very happy musical day. This article has honoured some great musicians on the eve of world music day, but I would like to wish every musician who make our day daily. As there wont exist any day in my life without listening to songs.