Gaana

History#

The term “gaanaa” is the colloquial word in Madras for “music”, which is of Hindostani origin. In literary Tamil, the word Gaanam (கானம்) means “tune”, and in modern Hindi–Urdu gānā means “song”. Kunangudi Masthan Sahib’s songs are still sung by gaana singers today. His Gaana tunes, which ruled the Tamil cinema space, earned him the recognition as the monarch of Gaana music. His Gaana songs encompassed all dimensions of music, blending religious and humanistic touches with themes of moral values, struggles, relationships, life principles, situational emotions, and philosophies on living. Even today, his songs remain popular and serve as reference material for many new composers and singers. Other song types include those that glorify local heroes. In gaana competitions, one singer questions another with a lyric, and the other answers with a lyric of their own. There are more than 500 performers in Chennai who earn their living from these events. Though the major gaana artists are men, and gaana songs are usually written from a male viewpoint, women gaana artists are seeing increasing recognition.

Notable people#

• Thenisai Thendral Deva
• Sabesh of Sabesh-Murali Duo
• Gana Punniyar
• Gana Palani
• Gana Ulaganathan
• Gana Bala
• Gana Sudhakar
• Isaivani
• The Casteless Collective
• Gana Vinoth