- N. C. Vasanthakokilam
-
Nagapattinam Chandrashekhara Vasanthakokilam 
Vasanthakokilam in the 1944 blockbuster HaridasBorn Kamakshi
1919
Irinjalakuda, Cochin State, British IndiaDied November 7, 1951 (aged 32)
Gopalapuram, Madras State, IndiaSpouse none Children none Nagapattinam Chandrashekhara Vasanthakokilam (Tamil: நாகப்பட்டினம் சந்திரசேகர வசந்தகோகிலம்; 1919 – November 7, 1951) was a carnatic singer and actress. Her works included the performances of kritis by Tyagaraja and Muthuswami Dikshitar. She popularised many of Suddhananda Bharathi's songs in the years after Indian independence. She died of tuberculosis in 1951.[1]
Contents
Early life
NCV was born as Kamakshi in Irinjalakkuda, Cochin State of British India, the present Kerala. Her family then shifted to Nagapattinam. Her father, Chadrashekhara Iyer send her under the tutelage of Nagapattinam 'Jalra' Gopala Iyer, an accompanist in Harikatha performances. In 1936, the family moved to Madras, where she started giving concerts. She won the first prize in vocal music at the Madras Music Academy annual conference of 1938, which was presided over by Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar and declared open by the Yuvaraja of Mysore.
Her Music
Her voice was melodious with perfect intonation, sruti, emotion, high-pitched and clear pronunciation of words. Her rendering of higher octaves and sruti were remarkably with effortless ease to bring off brigas. She sang plenty of Tamil songs. She was a regular performer at the festivals of the Tamil Isai Sangam in Madras and Nellai Sangeetha Sabha in Thirunelveli. She also perform for the Tyagaraja Aradhana each year between 1942 and 1951. NCV ranked among the top performers of the classical singer of that time and many records were released containing her classical/ semi-classical songs. The famous Carnatic music vocalist Tiger Varadachariar had bestowed the title Madhuragita Vani. Her songs are:
- yen paLLi koNdeer ayyaa
- thanthai thaai irundhaal umakkindha
- nitiraiyil vandhu nenjil idam
- mahalakshmi jaganmatha
- aanandha nadanam aadinAL
- aasai koNdEn vaNdE
- thithikkum senthamizhaal dEsaabhimaanam enum
- andha naaL ini varumO
- varuvaanO vanakkuyilE
- aadu raattE
- saarasa dala nayana
- indha varam tharuvaan
- needayarada
Film Songs
She also sang the following songs for Kollywood (a word which didn't exist in her time) which became very popular. The Tamil film songs are :
Year Film Song Music Production Company 1940 Venuganan punniya dhinamindre srikannan pirandha punniya dhinam T. Govindarajulu Naidu Jewel Pictures 1940 Venuganan eppO varuvaaro endhan kali theerae T. Govindarajulu Naidu Jewel Pictures 1940 Venuganan inbam inbam jagamengum T. Govindarajulu Naidu Jewel Pictures 1942 Gangavathar paanganachOlai alankaram Sundaram Sound Studios 1942 Gangavathar kalaivaaNi aruL purivaai Sundaram Sound Studios 1942 Gangavathar anandam aLavilla miga anandam Sundaram Sound Studios 1942 Gangavathar idhuvenna vEdhanai, Sundaram Sound Studios 1942 Gangavathar ananda maya vaanulageedhE Sundaram Sound Studios 1942 Gangavathar kaavin manOhara kaatchiyin maanbe Sundaram Sound Studios 1944 Haridas ‘kathiravan udhayam kaNdu kamalangaL mugam malarum G. Ramanathan Royal Talkie Distributors 1944 Haridas kaNNa vaa maNivaNNa vaa G. Ramanathan Royal Talkie Distributors 1944 Haridas enathu manam thuLLi viLayaadudhE G. Ramanathan Royal Talkie Distributors 1944 Haridas enathu uyir naathan hrudayam nondhE ennai pirindhaan G. Ramanathan Royal Talkie Distributors 1944 Haridas thottadhaRkkellaam thappeduthaal (with M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar) G. Ramanathan Royal Talkie Distributors 1946 Valmiki sundarananda vaikuntha hare mukuntha Papanasam Sivan Central Studios 1946 Valmiki puvi meedhu thava gnaniye uyar pugazh mevum periyor thanpaal Papanasam Sivan Central Studios 1946 Valmiki jaya jaya bhuvanapathae paalaya jaya karunajalathe Papanasam Sivan Central Studios 1946 Valmiki poithavazhum mayappuvi vaazhvu Papanasam Sivan Central Studios 1950 Krishna Vijayam navaneetha kaNNanae radhamOha S. M. Subbaiah Naidu Jupiter Pictures 1950 Krishna Vijayam karuNanidhE madhava nithya kalyaNa guNa madhava S. M. Subbaiah Naidu Jupiter Pictures 1950 Krishna Vijayam porumai kadalaagiya bhoomadEvi S. M. Subbaiah Naidu Jupiter Pictures - pozhudhu pularnthadhu yAm seidha thavathAl
- kuzhalOsai kEtkudhammA gOplakrishnan
- thanthai thaai irundhaal umakkindha
- nitiraiyil vandhu nenjil idam
Acting career
Besides being a singer par excellence, NCV acted in movies. She started with Chandra Gupta Chanakya playing the role of the princess Chaaya directed by C. K. Saachi in 1940. Followed by Venuganam (1940), Gangavathar (1942), Haridas (1944), Valmiki (1946), Kundalakesi (1946) and Krishna Vijayam (1950). Today, not many of her Carnatic renditions are available as CDs or audio recordings and those which are available contain both cinema and carnatic compositions which were concert pieces.
Personal life
Her personal life was an unhappy one. Her marriage had been a failure as her husband had not inclined to encourage her music pursuits. In later years, she found a life-partner in a lawyer turned film-maker, C. K. Sathasivan (known as C. K. Saachi) till her last days. She fell victim to a severe attack of tuberculosis, and died in 1951 at her residence in Gopalapuram, Madras when she was just thirty-two years old.
Notes
References
- Sriram Venkatakrishnan (November 28, 2008). "Flight of a nightingale". The Hindu. http://www.hindu.com/fr/2008/11/28/stories/2008112850600300.htm.
Categories:- Carnatic singers
- Performers of Hindu music
- Indian female singers
- Indian playback singers
- Kollywood playback singers
- Tamil playback singers
- Tamil singers
- 1919 births
- 1951 deaths
- Deaths from tuberculosis
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