Music Composer Ilaiyaraaja criticised new-gen lyricists at an event recently. The composer spoke at length about the rich work of poets such as Kamban, Thiruvalluvar, and lyricists like Vaali and Kannadasan. “In the land that fostered such great talents, it is disheartening to see people get away with crass writing in the name of poetry,” he said.
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“Kamban says that poets should be and behave like the jewels of the nation. These past few years, are our poets and lyricists behaving in keeping with Kamban’s ideals? That is the big question. Everybody who holds a pen these days is a poet. Some exceptions are there, but they are not as popular. Only the bad ones are popular now,” Ilaiyaraaja commented.
He further went on to contrast the work of Kamban, with the kind of writing that passes off as poetry these days. Ilaiyaraaja also said that he was ‘disheartened’ by the current state of affairs. “I can only hope that better writers start coming to the fore soon one of these days,” he said.