Jayanth Kaikini - the man who gave a new lease of life to kannada music

Jayanth Kaikini's name is synonymous with lyrics which pierce your soul and keep you hooked . The man revolutionised kannada lyrical scene and brought back the glory of the golden 70s (chi. udayshankar's magic). I couldn't help myself from being enthralled with the intricate play of words and his ethereal imagination.

When I heard sonu crooning ''suriyuva soneyu sooside ninnade parimaLa'' to the lilting tunes of Mano murthy sir, I was just swept away. When Ganesh despairingly asks ''haNeyali bareyada ninna hesara hrudayadi naane korediruve, ninagunte idara kalpane?", I could feel his helplessness, the impending inevitable pain of separation. In turn when pooja tells ''baaLa haadiyali bereyaadaru chandira baruvanu namma jothe, kaaNuvenu avanali ninnane'', my heart sighed......

But, nothing can compare to the boltening of sensation when I heard ''minchagi neenu baralu'' from gaaLipata. I thought, 'wow, hats off to his imagination'. I could never have thought of ''naa ninna kanasige, chandadaaranu.....chanda baaki neeDalu bande baruvenu''. Harikrishna's amazing tune has given this song a cult status in my collection. I never fail to be mesmerized by this tune any time I hear it. It feels as though I am listening to it for the very first time. Simply magical. When Ganesh asks, ''ninna manada kavithe saala paDeda naanu saalagaara, kaNNa toredu dochikonDa nenapugaLige paaludaara'', how can people resist the wonderful vivid imagination of the lyricist?

After these movies, I actively started looking out for the lyricist's name and would immediately download songs which were penned by Kaikini. I am glad to say that I was never disappointed with any of the songs I have heard so far. Be it, ''lahari moha lahari'' from Madesha or ''maatinalli heLalaarenu'' from bombaat. After listening to the lines ''nageyallide aa bageyallide, bagehariyada aa avaloka...naDeyallide aa nuDiyallide talekeDisuva aa aamantraNa'' from the latter, woooooosh, I felt MY brain scramble (I am sure guys would identify with this, since the herione is Ramya ;-)).

The amazing picturisation contributed a lot to the overall effect of ''ee sanje yakagide'' from geLeya. However, jayanth's lyrics contributed equally too. But it was the female version which captured and held my attention. Especially the second para, ''kai hidiyutha munnaDeside savinenapina sammohini, mai managaLa aavariside ninnolavina sanjeevini...ee binnaha talupillave? novillade olavillave?''. I could imagine the actress's deep rooted faith which was slowly beginning to erode. Unfortunately the song was not picturised in the movie which probably in a way is good, since I am free to give it my own interpretation :-)

Just when I thought, he couldnt possibly get any better, I heard ''maLe ninthu hoda mele'' from milana. ''Male ninthu hoda mele, haniyondu mooDide''...wow...the poetry is so graphic that I could actually clearly visualise the droplets! apart from the symbolism. Jayanth uses a lot of imagery in his lyrics to give that feel which inturn helps the director to capture the essence of the song effectively on screen (which they are successful in doing so, most of the time atleast). The metaphor in ''edeya dooravaaNiya kareya ringaNa'' is amazing. When I think about rain, another song which immediately pops up is ''maLe baruva haagide'' from moggina manassu. I was speechless after hearing ''ninna naguvinalle nanna nasuku'' ಅಂಡ್ ''iniya namma olavu meravaNige horataagide''. It transported me to a different level altogether.

Jayanth has penned a diverse category of songs. From the simple to the flamboyant. Be it the metaphorically rich ''madhuvana karedare'' from inti ninna preetiya or the simple but soothing ''nanagu ninagu kaNNalle parichaya'' (especially note the play of words in this song). His repertoire is stunning in its range. I will conclude with this soulful tune from haage summane. ''Odi bandenu''....especially the lines ''nenapinda chaapisiruva ee manada sanchike, mukhaputavanu nee noDade mareyaade etake?" brought a tear to my eye. I could totally identify with the heroine's despair, longing and hope all brought to the fore by this moving, metaphorically rich lyrics.