Marana Gana Viji

Marana Gana Viji is a Gana singer in the south Indian music industry. His career is mainly based in North Chennai. He sings folk music and sings at funerals. He sings in various events in various themes. So far, Gana Viji is known to have sung in more than 3000 occasions. He composes his songs with his own rules. Viji has a style of his own and wears a silver skull medallion around his neck. Viji was born as an orphan. He fell prey in a liaison, with the intension to produce children for begging. As a child, his initial memories were of rag-picking on Marina beach.

He was sent for begging along with four of his friends, Peeda, Sekar, Babu, and Egmore Lakshmi. Somehow, the four of them managed to escape and was tended to by a sex worker who gave him his name 'Viji.’ Even though Viji never received schooling, he is an author of three books on his life and experiences. At the young age of seven, Viji was drawn towards death and spirituality.

He learned folk forms from Karuppu Parayanar, Kashi, in his search for truth. When he performed for the first funeral, he was paid a few rupees and a bowl of rice. He took this as a way out of his struggling life and worked hard for a living. Very soon, he was earning twenty-five thousand for each event. Now, he is the top-rated funeral singer of North Chennai. His music is of the genre 'Marana Gana.’