I always admire at this man.His name brings special meaning to practically any film in Tamilnadu today. But Vairamuthu has considerable reputation outside of Tamil cinema that has earned him a distinct place in the larger arena of Tamil language and literature. He is not only a famous film song lyricist but also a great poet.
Vairamuthu was born July 13, 1953, in a farming community of Vadugapatti village, Theni District in Tamilnadu. He could compose poems even at the young age of twelve. The speeches of Periyar & Anna, the writings of Karunanidhi and the works of famous 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 poetry.
In his school final exam in Tamil, Vairamuthu stood first in the entire Madurai District. He won many prizes at the district level. After completing his school education, he joined Pachaiyappa’s college in Chennai where he was acclaimed as the best speaker and poet. In inter-college competitions. Even while a student, he had the opportunity to participate in a poetic forum chaired by Karunanidhi. 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.
He studied M.A. Tamil Literature and won a gold medal in the exam. His second work, Thiruththi Yezhudhiya Theerppugal, in pudhu kavidhai form was published in 1979. He made his film debut in the 1980 when he wrote lyrics for Bharathiraja’s Nizhalgal, .Ponmalai poluthu song, still one of the best songs ever. His compositions to date are nearing 6000.
He received the President’s award for the Best Lyricist for his compositions in Mudhal Mariyathai(1985), Roja(1993), Karuththamma, followed by Sangamam and Kannathil Muthamittal. He and Javed Akthar are the only lyricists to receive the Best Lyricist award five times at the National Film Awards.
Among Regional awards, he received one in 1981, 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. He has brought out a cassette in which he has rendered his songs under the title, Kavidhai KelungaL. .
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 Telegu, Kannada and Malayalam. The trend continues into hundreds of his film lyrics are translated into Hindi. His Chinna Chinna Aasai song from Roja fascinated a Japanese troupe touring India so much, that they broke language barriers by singing the song during their shows. He opened Tamil schools in Bangkok and Hong Kong promoting Tamil children living there to develop an interest in learning the language.
On the literature front, his notable works include Innoru Desiya Geetham, Indha Pookkal Virppanai-kkalla, Sigarangalai nOkki, Vairamuthu-vin Thiraippada Paadalgal, Villodu Vaa Nilave, Thaneer Desam and many others numbering to 28.
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.