All those songs have the touch of Kuttanadan wind singing poetry. Biyar Prasad took us by the hand and took us to the green of the song by pouring out songs as sweet as ripe mangoes to the Malayali people through the country roads with raindrops. There we were welcomed by Keraniram, Ponnankili Ponnankili and Monjathi by Kasavin. Wrote songs for us that are golden and burn like manchuna. Beyar Prasad’s songs compete with the audience without knowing which one is their favourite, just as the rivers compete to sprinkle the water like flowers.
His father Balakrishna Panicker, an instrumentalist from Mankombi, instilled his sense of rhythm in his son at an early age. When Beyar was three years old, his mother Kalyanikuttyamma was sent by his father to study Malayalam Vidwan. He accompanied his son to classes most days with his mother. With that came the love of literature in childhood. It helped me get into reading quickly. He was an active theater worker in his youth. From acting to directing and writing plays. Then came poetry and songwriting. He became a Malayalam teacher in a tutorial college during his college studies.
Entering cinema is between moving into writing and acting. It was ten years later that Biyar Prasad became the lyricist, although he composed the music for the 1993 film Johnny. Biyar Prasad, who was supposed to be known as a screenwriter, is more familiar to film lovers today as a lyricist. The meeting with Priyadarshan leads to film songwriting. By Biyar Prasad, a story set in the Devadasi system, was once published in a magazine. Goodnight Mohan, the producer, sees the story and calls. ‘What if we make this story into a movie with Priyadarshan?’ Beyar agreed to his question. Although he met Priyadarshan and discussed the story, his opinion was that it should be done in Hindi or English on a large canvas. After the story discussion Beyar and Priyadarshan started talking about literature. Vayalar and P. Poems of Bhaskaran and ONV became the subject. Priyadarshan was also surprised when Biyar recited their poems in numbers. Priyadarshan, who understood that songwriting is also an aspect, said that he would have called you to write songs in my next film, but Beyar saw it as just a rumor.
However, Priyadarshan was not a comedy like his films. He kept his word. One day after six months, Priyadarshan called, ‘My new film is starting. Beyar needs to write songs.’
After knowing that the songs in the film are based on Muslim background, he found Muslim books and Mappilapattu and started familiarizing himself with the vocabulary. Biyar traveled to Chennai to write songs for the film Priyadarshan after reading books on Islamic philosophy.
Priyadarshan asked Beyar to write a song expressing love in a Muslim context to see if he could write songs. He wrote a song in a moment, laying out the vocabulary he had learned. Priyadarshan listens to the song and is completely disappointed. ‘Oh, we don’t need such thick Arabic words, just something with some charm or love.’ Bear was also relieved with that. That’s what gives him more.
Ponnankili ponnankili vannamkili on flour
When you want to bring a second parrot
The third tick, the fourth tick, countless more ticks
You’re going to be doing it….
This song, composed by Vidyasagar in ‘Kilichundan Mambazham’, makes Beyar a favorite among fans. Seeing that he is a new lyricist, Vidyasagar has doubts. Priyadarshan himself gave a guarantee when asked if it would be okay. Vidyasagar hums the tune of the first cricket. Biyar Prasad had heard it like honey and thorns. No clue where to hold it. Such a fast tune. I only got ‘Kilichundan Mambazhame’ to add in one part. Then he got into it and grabbed it. By the time it was written, countless more crickets had flown through the song.
A wife who does not give in to her husband even after marriage. She still has an old boyfriend on her mind. She was waiting for him, as beautiful as a ripe mango. She is the honey fruit that no bird has carved till date. Many parrots came to carve the mango that would be her, but her favorite was the first parrot who became her old lover. That is Ponnankili. After that, I saw the second bird, but I didn’t get it because I wanted it. Countless parrots, including the third parrot and the fourth parrot, lusted after her. They all carved each other and not only carved on the mango tree. After writing the lyrics, Priyadarshan also got what he expected. Vidyasagar, on the other hand, had faith in Beyar.
Kasavin’s thump and silver lining
A necklace with a gold collar
Kunthalipuzha is a huge…
It was through this song that the voice of singer Vineeth Srinivasan was first heard by the Malayalis. Even when the title song of ‘Kilichundan Mambazha’ is noticed, everyone’s doubt is where is this ‘Kunthalipuzha’. ‘The story takes place in a fictional village. I made it up in my imagination. There will be a river there, named ‘Kunthalipuzha’. This is how Biyar Prasad later told the story of the discovery of Koonthalipuzha. Later, the name Koonthalipuzha also appeared in the movie.
Raindrops fall on the country road
The day you came under the wet roof
Let your gray hair join me, Melakave
Did you go shoulder to shoulder on a long dirt road…
This song must have hurt so many hearts like tears of love. If you listen to this song, you may wish that love had rained down like a torrential rain. One of the standout songs from ‘Vetta’ was ‘Rastholii too’, featuring the music of Bernie Ignatius. ‘We want to tell a story through this song, and the lyrics should be very simple.’ After Priyadarshan told the story, Biyar traveled through country roads where the raindrops of the song fell.
Beyar Prasad returned to his home with a tune given by Bernie Ignatius. Bear felt hit as soon as he heard a sickening sound. On a rainy day, I came across those lines while traveling through the country roads of Mankombi. The next day, these lines were sent to M over the phone. G. He told Sreekumar.
The scene leading up to the song was one of the best moments in ‘Vetta’ after the song was ready. It was through the lyrics of this song that even the lead character Gopalakrishnan, played by Dileep, reached the dialogue that he is the one who ran under my umbrella during a rain on the way.
I saw an earring…
Did you also see that Thiruthali was placed?
Let’s laugh, don’t you remember?
During the discussion of the songs in Vettam, Biyar Prasad sings Priyadarshan his Ona song ‘Oru Kathilola Manam Kandila Tiruthali Vechtum Kandila’. M. G. Sreekumar composed the music for this song. After hearing the song, Priyadarshan said that he wanted these lyrics. Even though Beyar told him to write another song, Priyadarshan did not change his love for those lyrics. “Anyway, I want the beginning,” he said. Later Beyar made only minor changes in those lines.
‘Keranirakalad is a green beach
Riverside weed festival Kavita sings shore’
Biyar performed Kuttanad through this song in ‘Jalotsava’ which told the story of Kuttanad, but it was Kerala that was filled. The music composed by Alphonse was accompanied by the smell of Kuttanadan cher and the pleasure of treading on that soil. ‘We need a song about Kuttanad. My hope is that it will be the best when the Kuttanatukara writes it’ was all Kuttanatukara told Beyar at Sibimala. But isn’t there a little irritation in that? Bear felt the same. He started writing by bringing to his mind the nature of Kuttanad, the soil, the wind and the gold colored Ponnaryan stone.
Does it smell like dirt and dust?
Does a woman smell like sweat or honey?
Nhatola Pachavala Pinnatheli Kolus
The girl will turn the weed into a weed…
Black and beautiful girl. She would come running to class with her hands full of bangles and jingling kolus. If someone asks him to sing, he jumps up first. Biyar Prasad had her as one of his favorite students at Parallel College.
Time and circumstances changed her too. Gurunatha saw his beloved disciple after many years at a harvest time. That beautiful lady who comes after working in the field today has no bracelets on her hands and no colus on her feet. The dirty smile started to fade. She was upset and drunk as a teardrop inside Beyar. While writing the song ‘Keranirakaladtum’, Beyar’s face was the first to come to mind among the Kuttanadan beauties. Does not her sweat, which smells like earth, smell like honey? Why is there no golden bracelet or green bracelet on the leg? Does not the soil of Kuttanad satisfy the Kolusas for gold? Even when weeding, she is the same weeder. Byar introduced her dear disciple, that Kuttanatukari, to us through song.
Other important songs include Sita Kalyanam in Srinivas’s music, Sarath’s Talsayam Eru Nagarika (”Ponnado Poovai,” ‘O Thinkalpakshi’) and Muthumani Radhe in Thattumpurut Achyuthan with Deepankur.
English Summary: Superhit songs of lyricist Beeyar Prasad