Known and the Unknown

The two men were seated in a first class coupe. Both were eminent personalities and were travelling by train from Madras to Delhi. Reason?

They were being conferred with the Padma awards by the Govt.of India. Yes, those days all awardees were to travel by train !

Both the gentlemen looked at each other. The face seemed familiar (that is person A’s to person B’s and vice versa) and yet each couldn’t place the other. The senior decided to break the ice and said ‘ I am Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. I am a carnatic vocalist.’. The younger one said ‘My name is Sivaji Ganesan. I am an actor’.

This happened really and I heard it from a very authentic source.

Before I comment on this, let me narrate one more real life incident and here too a musician is involved. The great legend VeeNai S. Balachander once travelled to Russia and Eastern European countries for giving concerts. His wife was playing the tanpura. At half way stage (interval), a diplomat went backstage and complained to Balachander’s wife ‘This man is playing too loud. We can’t hear you at all!’. Mrs.Shanta Balachander had to explain that her husband was the main star and that she was accompanying him . The diplomat anyway couldn’t have understood the meaning of shruti.

One can’t be faulted if one saw the humour in these incidents. In fact, it does leave us with a broad smile. But one also needs to spend some time in trying to understand what these two unconnected incidents convey. In my opinion, it shows how we make no efforts to widen our horizon and fail to notice or even show interest in what is happening around us.

The Carnatic Music legend felt that music was enough for him and in a way it is true because music is everything to people who know the real meaning and value of it. But does that preclude him from knowing what is happening in the entertainment world? It is a different issue that this legend started listening to film music and was one of the great admirers of ILaiyaraaja later on. Probably, this incident was an eye-opener!

I am still intrigued by the fact that Sivaji couldn’t recognise Semmangudi because he was known to be well versed with the world happenings and also had a good ear for music.

One can sympathise with the diplomat in the second incident since he would not have been exposed to anything called Indian Classical Music. But as a diplomat of the country which organised and invited a musician from a foreign country, should he not have done his homework in at least trying to understand the basic difference between a VeeNa and a Tanpoora? Even if this was too much for a person from a communist country, could he not have spent at least few minutes as to who has been invited and what his credentials are?

People in general are caught in the morass of ignorance and this doesn’t apply to the V.I.P s alone. I have come across people in my own state saying ‘I don’t know much about ILaiyaraaja’. These are not from the present generation but the ones who were born in the ‘60s and the ‘70s.

Then there are those who say they don’t like ILaiyaraaja’s music and when asked to list out the songs they know, they come up with a list of 10 songs. Whose fault is it? Or whose loss is it?

Forget both these categories for the time being and see the case of people who proclaim themselves to be ‘fans of Raaja sir’.  Ask them about their list and they would come out with a list which would invariably include songs from Mouna Ragam, Apoorva SagodharargaL, ThaLapathi..  Of course, I am talking about fans in general and I am also aware of fans who know many of his compositions.  Now, tell them to name a song not heard frequently and you can see a blank expression.

I am not blaming anybody nor is my intention to hurt anybody. All I am saying is ‘Keep your ears and eyes open’.  Most importantly,  ‘Keep the mind open’.

The rare gem of the day falls in the category of ‘not heard frequently’ though in my opinion it is a composition par excellence.

The beauty of ‘ Aananda Maalai ThoL SeRum Velai’ from ‘Dhoraththu Pacchai’  lies in the tune which gives a touch of poignancy almost throughout and also in the way the beats are conceived and executed. Mohanam is a raagam which is generally considered to be happy and even romantic in film songs. But replace the ga3 with the ga2 or dha2 with dha1 and one gets a very different feel It is Shivaranjani in the former case and Vaasanti in the latter.

In ‘Aananda Maalai’,  ‘dha1’ is used in many places and though this does give that poignant shade, the song overall leaves us with a romantic feel.

Let us see why and how.

Take the very beginning. The guitar sounds and the flute follows suit. It is ravishing and breathtaking. But it is not the beautiful melody alone which makes it sound great. The guitar follows a chatushram  pattern and acts like a percussion instrument as well and plays

 1- 3 -/- - 3 4/1 2 3 4/ - - 3 4/ 1 2 3 4/1 2 3 4/1 2 3 4 /- - 3 4.

If you are wondering as to what that ‘-‘ means, let me tell you that these are the silent phrases where nothing is played though the taaLa continues. In Carnatic Music parlance, this is called as ‘kaarvai’. More about this in my You Tube videos, soon!

 A host of instruments then give a sketch of the Pallavi with a kind of military precision. The felicitous ‘bending’ of the keys and the fascinating strings make it a wholesome treat.

And what to say about the end piece on the keys? It is as soft as a romantic’s heart.

The first thing one notices in the Pallavi is the rhythmic pattern. The chatushram sounds 1- 3 4/ 1 2 3 4   and it gives a tribal feel not least because of the instruments used. Next, there is that alien note right from the third phrase. This in fact warms the cockles of our heart. Without a trace of doubt, the voices of Janaki and Krishnachander add to the feeling.

The first interlude drenches us in Mohanam, albeit with a slew of alien notes here and there. The strings go around in a convoluted loop. One set of strings complementing the other is not a rarity in his songs and it happens here too but as always it makes for a unique experience. The flute shimmers in Mohanam even as it is backed by the subtle strings and the bass guitar. Of course, one cannot miss the sound of the keys playing alien notes in the background sometime in the middle of the piece. Up to this point, there is no percussion.

The percussion starts as the guitar charts its own path adding the alien note. Poignancy is beautiful too!

This continues in the CharaNams too where the lines are spun in detail making us establish an emotional connection.   

The feel changes totally in the second interlude as the effusive flute plays in a folksy style to the backing of a folk stringed instrument. A wonderful melody which takes off from Mohanam and traverses in a new and different direction. We are then engulfed by the melody from the strings which play in the higher octave, with the guitar darting now and then. 

Gripping!

The way, ‘aananda’ is rendered at the end of the first charaNam and towards the end and the humming of the male and female voices in the end when the Pallavi is rendered, make us discover more..

After all, life is full of discoveries moving away from our comfort zone.

I am sure this was understood later by the greatest actor Tamizh Cinema has ever produced and the Pitamaga of modern day Carnatic musicians. ..

And I am sure this will be understood by people who say they don’t know about ILaiyaraaja..

Check this out on Chirbit