SISTER Sarah Navaroji (aka Saral Navaroji in Tamil), the woman who penned countless Christian songs praising the virtues of Lord Jesus Christ, entered heavenly rest today (July 22). She was 76.
Born as the youngest child to her parents, Sarah learned Carnatic music from her father Solomon Asirvadham, who himself was a violinist and Carnatic music exponent. Identifying her love for music at a young age, her father gave her a surname ‘Navaroji’ instead of his own name. Navaroj is a raga in Carnatic music.
In 1960, when she was 21 she penned a Christian lyric ‘Ennai marava Yesu nadha’. It went on to become so famous that the song is sung in all Tamil churches across the world to this day. She wrote the lyrics of the song when she was awaiting her mother’s arrival at the Danushkodi railway station to see her off to a missions trip to Sri Lanka. Although time ticked on, her mother did not turn up. It was then that she wrote the now immortal lines praising the love of Jesus Christ based on Isaiah 49:15, ‘Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!
She quit her job at the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board after she saw a vision and realized the calling of God upon her life. From then on, she served the Lord full-time as an evangelist and Gospel singer. A stickler for rules of syntax and metre in lyrics, her songs were appreciated for the depth of meaning and quality of music. HMV, a big name in the music industry, cut some of her earlier albums.
She had written over 365 songs in the last 50 years. She remained a spinster until her death.
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