Kavignar Subbu Arumugam, who popularised villupaattu, a folk art of southern districts, across Tamil Nadu, died on Sunday night. He was 95, and is survived by his wife Mahalakshmi, son Gandhi and daughter Bharathi Thirumagan, both of who accompanied him during performances, and another daughter Subbulakshmi.
While villupaatu is performed in the temples of folk deities such as Sudalai Madan, Esakki Amman, and Mutharamman during kodai — festival during summer — Subbu Arumugam modernised the singing methods, the texts and introduced stories with social themes. References to villupaatu can be found in minor literary works such as Mukkudapallu and Viralividu Thoothu.
Padma Shri awardee Subbu Arumugam’s art showcased a perfect blend of Tamil and folk form. Innumerable villupaatu artistes lived and continue to live in Kanniyakumari, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Virudhunagar districts and perform in temples of folk deities. His knowledge of the Tamil language and literature and his exposure to folk art forms drew him towards villupaatu.
In an interview to The Hindu in 2010, Subbu Arumugam, a native of Tirunelveli, said he was brought to Chennai by the late comedian N.S. Krishnan to popularise Gandhiji’s life story, using Kalki’s Maandharul Oru Deivam, based on My Experiments with Truth. The show premiered in Carnatic vocalist M.S. Subbulakshmi’s house in Kilpauk.
“N.S .Krishnan was impressed with his singing skills and ability to write poetry when he first listened to him at a school function. He obtained permission from his mother and brought to Chennai,” said Bharathi Thirumagan, who would accompany her father in the performances.
In Chennai, he wrote comedy tracks for the films of N.S. Krishnan, worked on the films starring Sivaji Ganesan and Nagesh. Chinnanchiru Ulagam, a film directed by K.S. Gopalakrishnan with Nagesh in the lead role, is the story of Subbu Arumugam.
It is a memorable experience to listen to Subbu Arumugam, with his perfect pronunciation with a tinge of Tirunelveli dialects, quick mind, pun, and the great gift of repartee. The way he narrates the story with the accompaniment of bow (villu), udukku, harmonium and tabla, would create a theatrical effect.
In the Valli Thirumanam story, he would employ puns when Lord Muruga makes a proposal to his consort, Valli arguing that he was well qualified. Subbu Arumugam would deploy puns to say: “ Veedu Irukkuthu (It means Arupadai Veedu and a house to reside in) Vela Irukkuthu (means the spear and a job).”
Actor Kamal Haasan was of the more famous fans of Subbu Arumugam and introduced him in the film Uthama Villain, in which he performs the villupaattu. “Kamal Haasan cherished the lines Arasiyalvathi avan unmaiayai sonnal pol athisayam naanum kanden (It is a wonder that a politician speaks truth). He also liked the speed with which he produced lines for the song,” said director Suka.
Awards
Subbu Arumugam was conferred with Padma Shri — India’s fourth highest civilian award, by the Centre in 2021. Earlier, he was presented the Sangeetha Natak Akademi Award by the President of India. He was also honoured with Kalaimamani Award and Bharathi Award by the Tamil Nadu Government in 1975 and 2017 respectively.
