Ever since literature and art flourished, much has been heard of thefts in that field. Disputes and claims over literary plagiarism have gained a lot of news. The stories of impersonations also sometimes create a stir in the literary field. One such experience comes to mind. This is the story of another person who was a teacher in some parallel educational institutions in Thiruvananthapuram a decade and a half ago. The other also appeared in the institution where this writer was teaching.
Devdas, who had been visiting tutorial colleges for a few years by deceiving fellow teachers and many students, grabbed the respect of the students by mistaking him as film lyricist Devdas. Moreover, those songs were also sung on the stage for the parallel college’s anniversary celebrations. Even though there is no melody and sound, ‘Kattukurinjiippuum Chuthi Syaikkandumayangumpenn’ came before us many times. Students and teachers praise Gurunath with applause. He humbly accepts it all. This writer proudly shares with many people the joy of meeting the man who wrote the songs that he had listened to and loved on the radio since he was a school student.
Manmizhiyal stole his heart, Kannipumanam, Nanam ninkangil.., You are full of life, but these are imperfect, but they flowed out of him in the office room and other places like humming songs at intervals. Friendly co-workers hummed and hawed as they listened to the backstories behind each song. This writer, who is a lover of music, became more friendly with him. Many have been eager to know about the birth of many songs. The geek in me got curious when he also described the experience of writing for some untitled films. He was happy to find a good victim and was describing his own writing world. This writer was thrilled by his short discourse on the sentimentality of the songs, their aesthetics and how they influenced the poet’s imagination. But in the meantime, when he could not face further investigations and began to evade with lame excuses and knee-jerk reactions, he smelled some inconsistencies somewhere.
Meanwhile, many people who actually knew Devdas began to know the antics of the said other. By that time, the fake songwriter was enjoying a lot of fans through small venues. Lyricist Devdas, who is naturally averse to appearing in public and in the media, heard the news about the fake! He heard with curiosity about the man who could take advantage of his name and become idolized at least among a few. He did not take any action on it, despite what many people, including those in the film industry, said. He continued to write songs for some films and albums with a nonchalant attitude that nothing he heard affected him.
Years later, Lekha, an artiste of Aakashvani, met Devdas, a man from Haripad Chingoli, who had come to perform there. It was also an opportunity to know the vision of that mature mind. No matter who we pretend to be, we are not who we are. Therefore, such immature minds should be ignored with the seriousness they deserve. It is enough to see their actions as child’s play. He added that. If there was no Krishnaswamy Redyar in Kollam, my katukurinji would not have blossomed. He was the producer of the film Radha, for which Devdas wrote the first song. Reddyar insisted that director Balachandra Menon, who had asked another lyricist for the song, should write the song with a young man named Devdas. The song from forty-three years ago is still regarded by the fans as one of the most memorable songs of Bhavagayaan Jayachandran.
The impostor in the above experience may have reveled in impersonation in many places. A few people may be stuck forever. But you can’t stick to everyone forever. Those who achieve self-help in many ways are trying to make fools of the deserving ones by robbing them of the success and fame they should get during that journey. Not realizing that they are fooling themselves. It is an eternal truth that the poet once sang about those who pretend to be learned without knowing what they need to know.