Courtship

Cochabamba!

No, I am not using any swear word here (and why would I especially in a blog dedicated to my mentor and guiding force?). Let me fist ask you how that word sounds to you. Does it sound like ‘Kochukittu pona paamba’(the snake which left with anger)? It did to me till I read about this place in a recent article.

It is a city in Bolivia and it seems there is a National History Museum there. And there exists a frog (ah, we got the snake connectionJ) whose name is ‘Romeo’. This frog is considered to be the world’s loneliest frog. Lonely, because it belongs to a species called Sehuencas and he is the last known frog of this kind. Sehuencas frogs are water frogs, by the way.

What makes the story of Romeo interesting is the fact that he has remained a bachelor all through and the Global Wildlife Conservation is collaborating with the dating website (yes , you read it right!) Match to raise money for Romeo’s romance. That is, look for Juliet in the rivers in Bolivia. But what makes this more interesting is that a Match profile has been created for Romeo with a video in which he is seen doing a lot of swimming ‘stunts’. There is a voice over too in which Romeo introduces himself. Finally, ‘he’ says, ‘I am here to find my match, just like you.Except, my situation is a bit more urgent’.

Whether Romeo understands all these are not is anybody’s guess. But the fact remains that he started to ‘call’ for a mate a year after he made Cochabamba History Museum his home. But now it seems the intensity of the calls has slowed down considerably.

This real life story conveys a lot to us, though I am not going to list out what it conveys. It is left to your own interpretations. But the most significant thing is that Love is common among all beings. Now, don’t tell me that the calls of Romeo cannot be interpreted as someone yearning for love. Can a call to mate be classified as love? Why not? Who knows what is running in the mind of the frog?

In a way, it is tough to define Love, though one can describe it. But of late, this word is being abused and misused. I would say that even putting up Romeo’s profile in a Dating site is a kind of abuse. In a way, this is just a reflection of what love means in 21^st century. No doubt, movies play a major role in shaping our thought process though there is a danger of my being branded as a conservative for making this statement. In any case, I am not here to dissect ‘Love in movies’..

Let me talk something positive and turn my attention to a song which I feel is ‘Innocent Beautiful Love’ personified. And this has more to do with the music and lyrics and less to do with the film per se.

In my opinion, ‘Kovil MaNi Osai’ from ‘Kizhakke Pogum Rail’(1978) is one of the most beautiful romantic songs in the history of film music simply because of its simplicity.

ILaiyaraaja and KaNNadasan worked just for about 5 years but a majority of the songs in their combination are gems (many people-especially those who are born after 1980-may not be aware of this fact). ‘Kovil MaNi Osai’ is no exception.  What makes the lyrics very special is the assertiveness of the lady. It almost borders on sarcasm a la a Sangam poem. Look at the second CharaNam where the lady says ‘Am I the chosen one for your ‘concert’?/ You sing and continue to sing till you can..and.. You listen to it all by yourself!’

And in the third CharaNam where the man proposes subtly saying ‘My heart is a lotus, Yours is a Jasmine bud’(note that a bud has to bloom to become a flower), she replies , ‘Is there not a good suitable woman in this village?Go find and tell me’. I see the power of womanhood here!

The Temple Bell is used as metaphor in the song. Look at the Pallavi. He starts saying ‘Who listened to the chiming of the bell and came here?/ Did the poor koel’s song and its melody mingle with the breeze and become a messenger/’

The ‘poor koel’ here is the man himself because as per the story, he is a poet who is not recognised by anybody. In fact, he expresses this in the first CharaNam where he says,’ I composed millions of song/Nobody had the knowledge to appreciate/You came as a beautiful parrot/And made my day!’

Very simple words but as powerful as the breeze in the village during the month of ‘Aadi’..

But all these would have been rendered meaningless if not for the tune and the orchestration..

To tune a song which depicts village romance in a pure classical raga calls for gumption.  But the genius that he is, Raaja sir decided to set the tune in ‘Suddha Saveri’, a raga known for its simplicity and classicism. Of course, he wouldn’t have spent much time in ‘choosing’ the raga and it would have automatically come to him. But more than this, what is of more significance is the way the raga has been used.

This song too starts with the vocals singing the first few phrAses of the Pallavi -with the parrot answering the questions- but the Master gives a Master Stroke here itself. The moment the parrot recites the name of the man, the bell sounds the ascending notes of the raga, starting with ‘ma’ and going up to the upper ‘Sa’ at an interval of two tisram cycles.

We shall see the prelude soon again but before that let us see how the CharaNams are constructed. As was the norm those days, there are three CharaNams(and three interludes with each one different from the other two!), but it should be noted here that the entire first CharaNam  is rendered by the male voice, the entire second CharaNam by the female voice and the two join together in the third one with the male voice rendering the first half and the female rendering the second half. There were of course some songs in this format those days, but I feel this aspect gives a kind of ‘special effect’ in ‘Kovil MaNi Osai..’.

In terms of the swara structure(though my intention is not to sound too technical in this blog), the sudden jump to the higher octave notes towards the end of the third line(for example, ‘AasaikiLiye Vandhaaye, PaNNodu) and the dominant use of higher octave notes in the next two lines, are things that make one call a genius par excellence.

Janaki and Malaysia Vasudevan make the song more beautiful with their rendering-with the former sounding ‘classically folksy’ and the latter sounding ‘folkishly classical’.

And now for the orchestration and arrangement..

Raaja sir experimented with new sounds with known instruments and unknown instruments right from his first movie. Now listen to the sound which backs the bell sound I spoke about earlier. Probably it is a new instrument or probably it is from the keys but the sound produced is amazing. And this despite the fact that it plays only the repetitive notes.. The flute which follows is backed by the ankle bells and also a host of instruments, which includes a ‘one-stringed’ instrument. The violins round it off with a ‘rounded Suddha Saveri’.

The subtle bell sound in the Pallavi is one thing which should never be missed as it speaks volumes about the composer’s creativity and innovativeness.

The ankle bells follow in the first part of the interlude as well as these occur along with the two sets of strings-one a group of violins and the other the cello. The keys-which almost sound like a harmonium-move with a purpose with the sharp sound of the tabla backing it along with some subtly sounding instruments. The flute is as melodious as ever and even jumping towards the end. The santoor takes the cue and jumps like a deer. But the jewel in the crown is the sound from the strings in the end, the sound which makes us sway and move our head front and back.

The beginning of the second interlude sounds folksy to start with. But one sees shades of western classical soon, with the flute being involved in both. What steals the show is however another new sound which follows the flute. I am sure this sound was unheard of until then in Indian Film Music. The backing of the strings and the single stringed instrument here, makes this even mystical. Note the total absence of the percussion in this interlude.

But the percussion-Tabla to be precise- jumps with joy in the third interlude in which the strings, the santoor and other subtle instruments celebrate music.

Celebration of Music, Celebration of Innocence, Celebration of Love!

I am sure if only this song is played on the banks of the rivers and streams in Cochabamba, a female Sehuencas frog will appear from nowhere , will keep jumping and dancing and move towards Romeo and say –sorry sing- ‘I am your Juliet!

                  

                  

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