Obverse

A couple of nights ago, when I was surfing the channels on TV, I found a channel playing ‘Raaja songs’. I clicked ‘Ok’ on my remote just to check the kind of songs that were being played. I must admit though that I have not had a great experience with such programmes in the past because of varied reasons, four of these being-1. Same songs played repeatedly, 2.Only ‘popular’ songs played, 3.Non-Raaja songs played, 4.Pathetic picturisation.

While (1.) and (2.) are ok and acceptable to a certain extent, as his songs can be listened to repeatedly without feeling tired or bored-though my first preference is always for his ‘lesser known’ songs- (3.) is irritatingly amusing(once they even played a song from ‘Kizhakku Cheemiyile’!. Wonder how they missed out ‘Roja’ J). It is (4.) which gives me mix of all negative feelings because apart from the fact that no film maker can do full justice to his music, my mental vision of many of his songs are different and I wouldn’t let anything disturb that vision. That is why, I have still not watched the visuals of most of his ‘70s songs-songs which are very close to my heart(this includes ‘MalargaLile Aaradhanai’, ‘Devathai Oru Devathai’ and many other songs).

Going back to that night, a song was just ending and the next one was about to start. Since my ears and the heart are trained to listen to his music and can easily make out any of his songs in a split-second, the moment the prelude started, I could sense that it was one of my evergreen favourites. Though I have listened to the song innumerable times, little had I realised(that is until that moment) that it was a song composed for a film in which an actor known for his ‘flamboyant’ dress sense played the lead role. Nor had I realised that his pair(female lead) was an actor in whose lexicon ‘graceful dance’ never existed.

Added to this were the gaudy setting and inaesthetic lighting. My dismay and discomfiture cannot be put in words now.  But what can be put in words are my feelings about the composition.

‘Arumbagi Mottaagi Poovagi’ from ‘Enga Ooru Kaavalkaran’(1988) has never failed to excite me and calm my senses at the same time. If this sounds like an oxymoron, so be it. As I always keep saying, it is the element of contrast which makes a poem or a musical piece beautiful.

And there are many contrasting beauties in this composition.

Listen to the bass guitar and the special bells sound which back the piercing flute in the beginning. And the two sets of bells which follow one after the other in different octaves..And ah , yes, the two sets of strings in two different octaves playing together. How contrasting each one sounds!

The percussion-which is totally silent in the prelude, making an entry only after one and half cycles in the Pallavi- plays rather gently for 3 beats and resoundingly in the 4^th beat. Do I have to say that ‘C’ word again here?

In any case, I must mention about yet another ‘C’ word- Charukesi- the raga on which this composition is based. This raga is eternally pleasing. What is also eternally pleasing is the sound of the flute and in the hands of the Master it sounds even more pleasing. The prelude piece and the one in the beginning of the first interlude are classic examples.

What about the twin-flute which appears in the first and last segments of this interlude? It is no doubt pleasing but the ‘C’ element appears here too, with each flute playing in two different octaves, though the notes are the same. In fact, this happens in the second interlude too and the sound from the twin-flute in two different octaves surrounds us like a friendly bee (bees can be friendly too, anyway!).

The two sets of strings in the first interlude which follow the flute and romances with it though briefly, offer pleasing contrast too. So does the special sound which intercepts the higher-octave strings in the second interlude, moving from left to right!

The guitar is a loner(in the first interlude) but being alone when preceded and followed by a group of intense instruments itself is a contrast.

I see the contrast even in the way the Pallavi and the CharaNams are structured. The Pallavi is in ‘ateeta eduppu’, with the taaLa cycle starting after the vocals while the CharaNams are in ‘anaagata eduppu’ with the vocals starting after the beginning of the cycle. And see how the Pallavi is rendered only by the male singer and the CharaNams both by the male and female.

This might sound outlandish but somehow I feel Deepan Chakravarthy’s voice  sounding soft while Suseela’s voice being more aggressive.

Coming to think of it, isn’t there contrast between the audio and video , with the former pleasant, aesthetic and fulfilling and the latter ..........(fill up the blanks)!

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