Is ‘Obsession’ a bad word?
A reliable dictionary defines ‘obsession’ as ‘an idea or thought that continually
preoccupies or intrudes on a person’s mind’. So, if a person is said to be
obsessed with something, it is generally considered to be a negative trait. In
psychological terms, it is even a disorder.
That being the case, if I said that I am obsessed with his music, would it
mean that I am suffering from a disorder?
But didn’t this obsession also play a big rule in my getting into music, beginning
to like it, beginning to love it, trying to learn to appreciate it, trying to
know more about it, trying understand the intricacies and nuances, trying to
express what I observe and trying to share it with people?
If I were to describe in just a few words about the
impact he and his music have had on me, I would say ‘I saw a rainbow on the horizon/I fell in love with it/It entered my
Life/It became one with my soul and has become inseparable’.
Do these lines ring a bell somewhere? Probably yes,
to people who have been following his music with passion. It is a take-off from
one of his ‘Early Years’’ song, a
beautiful gem.
‘Oru Vaanavil Pole En Vaazvile Vandaai’
from ‘KaatRinile Varum Geetam’(1978)
is very close to my heart not just because of the lines in the Pallavi but also because of many
reasons.
See the way Guitar
has been used in the composition. In fact, the song starts with the guitar melody which repeats itself
albeit with subtle variations. It is surely not an exaggeration to say that
this piece sets the tone.
The same guitar
sounds slightly different in the first
interlude with two strings
played together. And how does it sound in the second interlude? Isn’t the melody soaked in romance?
Three
different guitar melodies and each
one sounding different and romantic..
This is the case with the flute as well. A close observation suggests that the flute follows the guitar(all the 3 times!). In the prelude, it enters after the guitar
melody and continues to play even as the guitar is still on. It plays a kind of folksy melody with the guitar backing it playing a repeat
melody. The melody in the first
interlude air lifts us to green paddy fields while the one in the second interlude makes us see a wild
forest!
The strings
play a huge role too and sound in higher-octave
in many places. There is an alluring quality to the strings when these play in higher
octave. There are 2 sets in the prelude with one set in the higher octave and the other one in the mid-octave. The strings play briefly in the beginning of the first interlude and yet attract us with the sinuous pattern. But
these simply excel in the third segment
(after the flute) as these start in higher-octave
and move on to the mid-octave and
indulge in a very short ‘call and response’ with the flute.
The strings play
a supporting role too in the second
interlude as these act as a bridge between the guitar and the flute,
then join with the santoor towards
the end gliding down and leading to the second
CharaNam.
If the voices of Jayachandran and Janaki enhance
our experience, the bass guitar
which accompanies the vocals in the Pallavi and which is substituted by the
vocals when the Pallavi is rendered the last time in the end-with the male humming
when the female sings and vice-versa- the structuring of the Pallavi (eschewing ‘ni’, a key note in the KalyaNi scale), the chromaticism in the CharNams(two
variants of ‘dha’ occurring together)
and the introduction of another alien note ‘ni2’
make this composition simply a beautiful one!
So, now tell me if it is wrong to be obsessed or if I am suffering from a disorder?
If the answer is ‘No’, I am happy.
If the answer is ‘Yes’, I am happy.
..because this is a disorder which makes me and
others happy!
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