Soulful music

Dr. Cherian Kunianthodathu loves routine. For the last 16 years he has been waking up at 3 a.m. and writing songs.

This is the best way to start a day for him. He has 43,500 published songs of which 2,500 have been set to music, sung and recorded. They include Christian devotionals and light songs, rendered by almost all the leading singers and set to tune by some of the celebrated music directors in the language.

“It is a routine that has helped a lot, a sort of regular discipline. I find this the perfect way of starting a day and it allows me to focus on other things, my other interests. Like in previous years for this Christmas too my songs will be sung. All India Radio, Thiruvananthapuram, will broadcast some of them,” says Kunianthodathu, who is lyricist, music composer, educationalist, poet, dramatist, novelist and more.

After an illustrious career as Head of the Department of Malayalam at St. Joseph’s College, Devagiri,and vice-principal there, Kunianthodathu took up various other responsibilities entrusted to him by the CMI Order. But he is widely known for this numerous literary works and his music.

The walls of his two rooms at the Christ King Monastery in Angamaly where he is the Prior are lined by shelves crammed with books, CDs and cassettes. The main piece of furniture is the writing table that is strewn with books, papers, his writing pad and many of his own music CDs. “Books and music are my life. Writing, reading and listening to music is for me life itself.”

His doctoral thesis Malayalabhashayum Dr. Hermann Gundertum is regarded as the first comprehensive work on the linguist and his pioneering work in the field of Malayalam language, while his meticulously researched work on poet Kumaran Asan, Asanile Darsanikan (1969), was a prescribed reference text in Mahatma Gandhi, Kerala and Calicut universities for a long time. And many of his Christian devotionals are sung in churches across the State.

While studying at Dharmaram College, Bangalore, Kunianthodathu took time to learn Carnatic music. “I used to sing in the church choir in Thuruthipuram, the village where I was born and spent my school days. But it was this training that changed my outlook towards music. Later, when I began composing this helped a great deal.”

Kunianthodathu’s first music album Divya Darshanam came out in 1981.

Noted among his numerous music albums are Christmas songs in albums like Christmas Sammanam and Atmeeya Jananam , poems set to music in Kanalil Nadanna Kanyaka and Chillu and those based on Carnatic ragas in Atmeeya Tharangini and Hridaya Vandanam . “In an attempt to popularise Carnatic music I have written a book Ragamanikyam that looks at the main ragas, its use in Malayalam film music apart from many other aspects of music. Some of my albums are collections of my songs like Karakaviyum Sneham that is 110 hours of continuous hearing, Vachanopahaarm that has 600 devotionals and other hymns and Swargeeya Sammanam that has 1551 devotionals.”

Kunianthodathu’s songs were rendered in the presence of Pope John Paul II during his Kerala visit, at the Vatican during the canonisation of Fr. Kuriakose Elias Chavara and St. Alphonsa.

For nearly 30 years Kunianthodathu worked as chief editor of Kudumbadeepam . This stint helped him keep abreast with writing and reading. The notable works among his amazing literary repertoire are Oru Chippiyum Kure Muthukalum , Mulanthandu , Thejomayam , Tagore Gitanjali , Swargeeya Veenakal , Beyond Words (English), Ek Seepi Aur Kuchh Moti (Hindi) anthologies of poems, plays like Madhyanathile Kodunkattu , Akalangalil Manimuzhakkam , novels like Thanalmaram and Sethubhangam . He has also published essays, literary criticism, children’s literature and a biography. “Prof. M. Krishnan Nair, who was my teacher at Maharaja’s College has written the foreword for my poem Mulanthandu . I think it is the only one for which he has done so. Thejomayam is an epic Bible poem in the stream of consciousness technique and all my poems will be published in five volumes, the first two Kamanam and Kavadam are ready. The rest, Kadaksham , Kadaham and Kalasham will come out soon.”

Widely travelled, Kunianthodathu is a polyglot who can read, speak and write German, Latin, Greek, Suriyani Malayalam (a dialect written in a variant form of Syriac script). He has won many awards and honours like the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Gurupooja Award (2006), his works have been included in the Best Poems & Poets 2005, an anthology published by The International Library of Poetry, USA, KCBC Award (1997) and Dr. K.M. George Foundation Research Award (1999).

Source & Credit:- http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/Soulful-music/article16935666.ece

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