Most of them were in the midlands with the parents of the students engaged in agriculture and labour. The schools, all of them Government schools were located in the suburbs of Thiruvananthapuram, the farthest being 25 kms from the city. The Oriya Song Ee deso with its peppy tune was an all time favourite from the start because it described the abundance and beauty of hills, valleys, oceans and skies. The Kannada son Oh Cheluvina soon became a much loved one with its reference to children as blooming flowers in every garden. The children enjoyed the fast tune of the song. The Hindi song Hind Desh Ke Nivasi by Vinay Chandra Maudgalya described the need to forget differences and live in harmony. The difficult words of the Marathi song Atha Udavu written by Sane Guruji became easy to learn once they understood the meaning of the song that portrays the courage with which peasants and farmers uphold the National flag to win freedom. Kurup reached the minds of the students as it was in their own mother tongue. The details of the Malayalam song by Jnanapit award winner O.N.V. The intonations about play and music in between the song excited the students more when they learnt that it is composed by none other than M.B.Sreenivasan. The song Odi Vilayadu Pappa by Tamil poet Subrahmania Bharathi inspired the children to spit in the face of evil. The songs gave the groups in 17 schools the courage to identify evil forces and stand strong and straight in the face of wrong deeds and cruel people. The children were shocked to know more about the ways in which peace,love, harmony and cooperation can be broken in the name of politics and wealth.

They understood that all forces of caste, religion, color and creed that are used to divide human beings is evil and wrong. They imbibed the strength and beauty of the country in which they are living, the most important thing being the adherence to democracy and justice. The meanings of the songs in different Indian languages from Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, Marathi, Kannada and Oriya touched a chord in the minds of these growing children. But within a month, the group understood the inner strength of learning these songs.

The initial classes did not inspire the children who were used to the fast beats of songs that fill their ears. It seemed strange to some of them that this group has been functioning for the past 30 years without making profit, united by the desire to sing songs that carry messages of hope, love and trust. From some of the songs they learnt that were composed by him, they also came to know that he had a lot of feeling for freedom, justice, equity, environment and homeland. From the trainers who came from the MBS Youth Choir, the children came to know that the 3 letters stood for a music composer much dear to South India known as M.B.Sreenivasan.

They were boys and girls of the age 10-14. They were carrying in their minds the tunes and words of 6 songs in different Indian languages that they had learned in the past year from members of the MBS Youth Choir. On a day when the skies had opened up in Thiruvanathapuram on the eve of the beginning of the crucial month of Vrischikam, along the outskirts of the urban world, 500 children from different schools were preparing to travel into the city. Share on WhatsApp Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Telegram Share on Reddit Share on Email

Odi vilayadu pappa