Sempiternal

A couple of years ago, the refrigerator at home started misbehaving. I called the Service Department who first asked me the model number. I went near the fridge, bent my neck, strained my back, noted down the number and read it out on the phone. The Engineer at the other end said ‘ Sir, this is 10 years old and therefore we don’t have the spare part. In fact, we stopped manufacturing the spares for this 5 years back’. I was flabbergasted and asked him the way out. His reply was simple. ‘It will work on its own if it is switched off for some time.’  What if it doesn’t? A giggle from that side which meant ‘You idiot. Go in for a new one’.

Which in effect means that the product was made to last just for 5 years and not a single day more. If it did last, we should thank our stars.

Does this apply just to one product? Look at the new versions of smart phones that come out in the market almost every month.  Look at the new editions of cars. Look at the TVs. Look at the computer system. Look at any consumer product you have at home. When was the last time you bought that and when do you think you will get a ‘new version’ or a ‘new edition’?

Contrast this with the things you had at home during your childhood and in your teens. How many times were new ones acquired in lieu of the old ones?

 Hardly a few…

Hope you all remember the Ambassador- the ubiquitous car seen on the road at least until 2014- which lasted 20,30,40 or even 50 years.

In fact, very recently I saw a 48 year old Premier Padmini in Chennai and was amazed at the way it was moving on the road.

It is as simple as this- Those days, products were made to last longer. 

Nowadays, they are made so that new versions can be brought out soon. Consumers are encouraged to change their ‘editions’ and exchange the old ones with the new ones. I remember seeing an ad for a mobile handset where a gentleman is chided by his friend for possessing a two-year old phone.

‘Outdated’- Isn’t this a very common phrase nowadays?

Well, I am not a person who hates technology or one who clings on to things which are obsolete. New Editions are always welcome provided these come out naturally as per the needs and demands. But this maddening pace where the shelf life is getting shortened by the day, in my opinion is not a healthy trend. There does not seem to be value for any product or for that matter respect for anything.

This indeed is a gross misinterpretation of Bharati’s verse. When the Mahakavi sang ‘Pazhaiyana Kazhidalum Pudhiyana Pugudhalum’(let old ones give way to the new ones), he meant ‘thinking’ and ‘ideas’ and not things which are materialistic..

To a great extent, this reflects our Life and the way we live. All we want is instant gratification. We want fast foods. We want Breaking news (in a way, all news is ‘breaking’ because we end up breaking our heads). We want to make a fast buck. We want everything which is new. In short, we have lost that virtue called patience.

We don’t have the patience to watch the Sunrise and the Sunset. We don’t have the patience to look at the Stars. We don’t have the patience to see the flight of a bird. We don’t have the patience to listen to the song of the  bird. We don’t have the patience to feel the sound of the breeze.

 We don’t have the patience to be one with Nature.

However, this happens at least in the Song of the Day. Two people dance in the rain with gay abandon. Forget that it is just a movie and forget about the sequence or about the actors.. The music makes me feel the joy and the romance and that is what matters to me.

Apart from creating that Rain mood, Poththukkittu Ooththdhadi Vaanam’ from  Paayum Puli (1980) , is musically very sound. It follows two different ragas in both Pallavi/ CharaNams and in the interludes, but the change is so smooth and seamless that one even hardly notices it (anyway, does one need to notice at all?).

It starts with the thundering sound of the rain. The differently sounding keys show the rain drops and Malaysia Vasudevan sings the first line even as the rain continues to pour with the Bass Guitar enjoying the atmosphere. The Keys sound like bubbles and the ever-enthusiastic strings shower us with melody. No percussion until now. But as the shehnai appears playing a melody in Mohanam( scale related to ShankarabharaNam with five common notes), two mridangams dance, with the first one playing ‘ta ka dhi mi’ and the other one playing only the ‘ta’ and ‘dhi’. Subtle bells and the keys are sounded in the background to enhance the experience.

The first line of the Pallavi is in ShankarabharaNam though the ‘ri’ and the ‘ga’ are absent. The following two lines are in Charukesi with the flute that appears at the end of each line too playing that raga. The last line has the common notes (ga ma pa ga ri sa) but one can clearly feel the Charukesi flavour in this and in the santoor which follows.

The first three lines of the CharaNams are in ShankarabharaNam while the last two lines are in Charukesi. The last two phrases in the last line have the podi sangatis as well and one sees the beautiful slide as the notes go on the descent. 

The change in percussion -from mridangam to Tabla/Dolak, the subtle change in the chatushram beats from the third line, and the bass guitar that sounds along with the percussion show the composer’s tendency to innovate and keep innovating.

A special mention must also be made of Suseela’s voice which touches the higher- octave from the mid-octave with consummate ease.

 ILaiyaraaja must have taken a Time-Machine and travelled to his childhood days in PaNNaippuram . This is what one feels while listening to the interludes..

In the first interlude, the two sets of strings pour water on each other-one in higher-octave and the other in mid-octave. In the same playful mood, the one in the higher –octave, provokes the flute which responds coyly. The santoor enters and does a graceful rain dance to give some respite to the strings. The strings then move ebulliently with the bass guitar applauding it.

The second interlude is even more colourful. With the thundering rain in the background, the bass guitar first plays without a raincoat on. The shehnai comes jumping, moving and fluttering like a bird. The santoor and the strings move in a circle. The flute does a contemporary western dance with the strings swaying from one side to another.

So, what if many things are transient now? This music is eternal and everlasting..

….like the Rain!

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