An Andhra man worked behind the famous BGM before Maveli
When Onam comes, there is a tune that is full of channels, social media, greeting videos and trolls, a famous BGM that reaches Malayalam before Maveli! That BGM is from Onapat Album Tiruvonakaineetham. That tune composed 24 years ago by Vidyasagar, who was not a Malayali, is a wake-up call for Malayalis today.
As Vidyasagar once said about the birth of that song which is the nostalgia of Malayalees. “It was Dasetan who asked me if I would do an album for Tarangini Records. Lyrics written by Girish Puthanchery and sung by Yesudas, Sujatha and Vijay Yesudas. It was also the album that introduced the voice of Vijay Yesudas to Malayalis for the first time.”
Vidyasagar believes that this BGM came as a mandate to him who knew nothing about Onam or its heritage.
“I don’t know anything about Onam. Before that, I had never heard any onam songs. I just did what I felt like doing. This is what God has given for the Malayalees. I am just a tool. It happened. It is a BGM that comes according to the songs. It was done according to the appearance of those lines. I didn’t do anything specifically for that,” Vidyasagar says humbly.
Today, another lion, Vidyasagar’s Malayalam BGM is filling many people’s greeting videos and timelines. Malayalees will celebrate this Onam with Vidyasagar’s BGM, reminding them of the magic that music can create beyond language and culture.