Song: Poo Pookum Maasam
Film: Varusham Pathinaaru
Composer: Ilaiyaraaja
Lyrics: Vaali
Singer: P Susheela
Cast: Karthik, Khushboo
Today is an important, auspicious day for Tamil people anywhere in the world. It’s the birth of a new month – Thai, a month traditionally believed to usher in new things, new beginnings, new hopes and new work. It is the end of the coldest period in Tamil land, and the start of the warmth, marking as it does the northern journey of the Sun after the winter solstice. It is also the day of Pongal – the Tamil harvest festival. A day to say thanks to the land and to its tillers, to the people who give us our food. It’s the day to hope for the best, and to celebrate plenty. May today overflow with happiness, and may every day be as today.
And so, here’s a special song of the day. From the film Varusham Pathinaaru. ‘Poo Pookum Maasam’. Featuring Khushboo in her debut – and Karthik. What truly makes this song is Ilaiyaraaja’s music – featuring his classic layered compositions and brilliant lyrics by Vaali: Let the fields, the farms and the orchards, the land and the gods be on our side, as we celebrate the month in which flowers blossom. What more can you ask of your first love?