Invoking Cupid

A band of youngsters are all set to usher in Cupid by singing love songs on the occasion of Valentine’s day. They will be singing in Kannada the newly-penned verses of the well-known Kannada poet B R Lakshman Rao. His poetry has been set to music by Upasana Mohan. “Love is not just physical attraction. It has great value in life. It is about caring and sharing. Karnataka has the tradition of romantic poetry consolidated by the likes of KS Narasimha Swamy, known for his romantic poetry,” says Lakshman Rao, also known for romanticism in his poetry.

His ten new poems, set to music, to be released on Valentine’s Day, plumb the depths of love in all its manifestations. ‘Yarivali beladingalu’ (Who is this full moon?) says one poem. It is about a girl, who has come unexpectedly in the life of a young man. Taken by surprise and entranced by her beauty, he is prompted to ask — “Who is this full moon?”

Another love song expresses the gratitude of a husband to his wife, who has been his anchor; a love song of separation. In another poem, a poet says that his beloved is the inspiration behind his poetry. Yet in another poem a girl narrates her experience of the love of her beloved which has made her a peacock, while in another poem a boy asks a girl to shed her mask and stop pretending.

Romanticism is the forte of Lakshman Rao as also humour. In his younger days, while studying for his master’s in English literature, he was deeply influenced by the English poets John Keats and TS Eliot. His widely popular poem ‘Gopi matthu gaandalina’ portrays an innocent boy’s plight in a dance bar. He has several anthologies of poems to his credit. Many renowned singers including Dr Rajkumar, SP Balasubramaniam, Ratnamala Prakash, Sonu Nigam, Mysore Ananthaswamy and MD Pallavi have lent their voices to his lyrics. Noted ‘sugama sangeeth’ (light music) composer and singer C Ashwath has also brought out several music albums based on his poetry.

The album is titled ‘Yarivali beladingalu’ (‘Who is this full moon?’). It has been sung by popular ‘sugama sangeeth’ singers Meghana Bhat, Vishwas Vasistha, Upasana Mohan, MD Pallavi, Varsha Suresh and Vikas Vasistha. They will perform on Valentine’s Day at Bangalore Gayana Samaj. A CD of the songs will also be released on the occasion.