Elementary..

‘It is elementary Watson’ is one of the most popular quotes in English. Though this quote itself would sound elementary to some, I feel it conveys a lot to us. In fact, it guides me to do things in a better and efficient way.


To solve anything, one needs to understand the basics. Even the most complex things in this world are simple if we make it simpler.

The song I am going to take up today ‘En KalayaaNa Vaibhogam Unnoduthaan’ from ‘Azhage unnai aaradhikkiRen’(1979) in my all-time favourite list simply because it is a very simple song. Simple in terms of the way it sounds. But there are of course a lot of intricacies and nuanced beauties in the composition and I would prefer to mention these later..

When I was a school-going boy, one of the most fascinating things for me was the sound coming out of that instrument called Flute. I was so mesmerized by this instrument that when any flute concert was played on the radio, I would listen to the entire concert despite the fact that I was not a great lover of classical music then. It did not matter to me whether I knew the name of the ragam or if the composition was by Tyagaraja or by Dikshithar.

Therefore, any film song with a flute piece was my favourite. That Raaja sir gave a new dimension to flute is a well-known fact. Most of his compositions during his early years had a flute bit.

Is it then a surprise that ‘En KalyaNa’ with the rather elaborate Flute piece in the first interlude, the lucid bit in the second interlude (though I would have given a blank expression if somebody had mentioned these terms word to me then) and the sizzling piece after the first line in the CharaNam(s) instantly attracted me?

Next is the beginning of the song. The first line is sung straight without any prelude (again a term which I learnt much later) and the next line is sung after a host of instruments play the ‘welcome notes’..

VaNi Jayaram’s honey-soaked voice with clear diction was another reason for me to rush to the radio whenever the song was played.

Then, the tune. ‘How simple it sounds’, I used to wonder.


Is the composition that simple?

It is based on Madhyamavati, a very deep and classical ragam. It is set in Misram, the 7-beat cycle. It has the ateeta eduppu with the taLa cycle starting before the Pallavi

In the first interlude during the flute bit, the Misram beats ‘ta ki ta ta’ is played by one instrument, there is a gap for one beat and then the ‘dhi mi’ is palyed by another percussion instrument. No percussion is used in the piece before this or after this. In the one that follows this piece, the strings show the western contours of Madhyamavati with the guitar in the background. The very brief solo violin piece in the end draws a beautiful sketch of the raga.
The strings and the sitar, and the strings and the flute play with each other in the second interlude while the gleeful keys play the same set of notes twice- after the first flute piece and then just before the end of interlude.

The CharaNam ends in ‘Sa ni pa’ with the Pallavi starting with ‘pa Sa’ adhering to the concept of ‘poruththam’ in Carnatic music.

The meaningful lyrics that typify the thoughts of a young girl in love, too need a special mention- ‘Malar kooottam edhir paarkkum iLavenil kaalam, poovaiyum oru poovinam adhai naan sollavo’ , uRangaamal nenjam uruvaakkum ragam unakkallavo ketpayo maattayo’.

Now these 5 paragraphs that have gone some what into the depth of the composition would not have been possible without what I have described in the paragraphs before that.

As a boy, I was not interested in any of the technical details. I liked the song because it sounded good to me. As simple as that.. When I started exploring more, I started understanding the details.

I don’t want to get into the debate of which is better. All I can say is that I have always been like Watson trying to understand the mysteries while Raaja sir- the Sherlock Holmes- smiles and says ‘It is elementary Watson. Can’t you understand even this?”

Oh..Love..We worship you!

Episode No.1:

The young Music Director who took the Tamizh Film world by storm was in the recording studio when he was told that the veteran Film Director wanted to see him to book for his next project.He was astonished.

The astonishment was because the Film Director had until then worked with a very senior music director for many movies.

Episode No.2:

The same Music Director-after having worked with the Film Maker for one movie that was a smash hit- gets a call from the Film maker .This time the Film maker wants a song( that the music director had composed and recorded for some other Director) to be given to him.

Episode No.3:

The Film maker-Music Director combo has worked very well for two movies(both silver jubilee hits in 3 languages!).The Film maker wants to book him for third movie but the Music Director now politely refuses.

No prizes for guessing the Music Director.

But if you are wondering who the Film maker was, let me tell you that it was none other than the great Sridhar!

The song he wanted(episode 2) was ‘ManjaL Nilavukku Indru Ore Sugam’ from the movie ‘Mudhal iravu’-the speciality being the train background throughout the song. Of course , he could not get that song since it was already given to somebody else.

After the polite refusal(episode no.3), the pair went on to work for many more movies and almost all the songs are great.

Coming to think of it, I have discussed 4 songs from this combo(a ‘privilege’ not enjoyed by any other film maker!)in my other blog Ragaranjani(rajamanjari.blogspot.com)

Sridhar ‘s first film was ‘KalyaNa Parisu’ in late ‘50s.

What was unique was the way he conceived the shots. His different camera angles won him accolades.

Never averse to new techniques, this gentleman also introduced new faces.Some of his introductions include Muthuraman, Jayalalitha, VenniRa Aadai Nirmala, Vennira Aadai Moorthy-just to name a few.

His themes were bold and though they bordered on ‘sentiments’(one of the many banes of tamizh cinema!), his presentation and the treatment were different.

His ‘Nenjil Oru Aalayam’ was shot in a single set. The movie also had a O’Henry type ending.

His ‘Kaadalikka Neramillai’ is still considered to be one of the best comedies ever made in tamizh cinema.

His ‘Sivantha ManN’ was the first ever tamizh movie to be shot in foreign locations.

There are many things one could write about this legend but three things need special mention.

One- his sense of aesthetics.
Two- his taste for music.
Three-His Love for 'Love'

In short, he was a Romantic who enjoyed life to the brim.

Therefore, I have decided to dedicate this Feb14th post to this great legend.


As already mentioned,he had a very good ear and music in his movies would always be great.

It is not surprising that he was a great fan of the Maestro's and the association that started with ‘ILamai OonjalaadugiRathu’(1978) lasted till his last movie ‘Thanthu Vitten Ennai’(1992).

The song that I present today epitomises and symbolises the gentleman himself.


It is ‘Azhage Unnai Aaradanai SeigiRen’(from ‘Azhage Unnai AaradikkiRen’-1979).

The song lasts just a little above 2 min.Is it not a fact that all beautiful things lasts only a little while?

It starts with the Bell sound followed by the beautiful guitar.

The melodious voice of Jayachandran takes over and we are transported to a different world.

The interlude has the western flute and whistle(!).

It is simple and at the same time dexterous.

It is piercingly sharp and at the same time velvety.

It is mesmerising and intoxicating.

It radiates soothing light!

Beauty at its best..
Beauty that is to be appreciated and worshipped.

And this what the late Sridhar was doing throughout his life.
And this is what the emperor of music has been doing in the last 35 years..

Oh..Beautiful Music..we worship you!!
Oh..Beautiful Love.. we worship you!!

Darkness follows Light..and Light follows Darkness..

I have often wondered at the beauty of the Raga system.A simple permutation and combination of same set of swaras give us what is called as Raga.This set pattern gives us various patterns and the probability of the same pattern getting repeated is very low.

Let us take just three compositions of Saint Thyagaraja- ‘Amma Raavamma’, ‘Nidhi Chaala Sukhama’, ‘Ethaa Unaraa’.All these are in Kalyani but still each one evokes a different kind of emotion.

‘Amma Raavamma’ extols Tulasi,’Nidhi Chaala Sukhama’ridicules the materialistic world and ‘Ethaa Unaraa’has philosophical contours.

While it is a fact that each Raga is unique, the mood of the raga also depends on how the composer conceives the composition and importantly how successful he is in terms of communicating this to the listener.

Hindustani music is very strict in even the time of a raga.For example, a Raag like Yaman(Kalyani in Carnatic music) can be sung only in the night while a Raag like Bhairav(Mayamalawagowla in CM) must be sung in the morning only. It is considered sacrilegious if these rules are broken. This is because it is believed that certain ragas evoke certain emotions and these are directly related to our biorhythms.

Carnatic Music does not have such strict rules though it does have morning ragas(Bhoopalam, Bowli, Bilahari), afternoon ragas(Madhyamavathi,Sriragam,Manirangu),evening Ragas(Vasanta, Lalita).There are also ragas for each rasa.

But the greatness of Carnatic music lies in its ability to be flexible and at the same time adhering to the rules.

That is why great composers like Thyagaraja, Dikshithar, and Shyama Sastry have been very successful in bringing out the emotions so subtly.

Long back, the great G.Ramanathan broke a rule.Mukhari, a raga considered to bring tears in our eyes was used by him in a romantic duet in a movie called Ambikapathi.Of course, there was a reason behind this as well.The movie was based on a (supposed)romance between Kamban’s son Ambikapathi and the King’s daughter Amaravathi with the Hero meeting a tragic end. GR sir brilliantly used Mukhari to foretell what was to come later.

Musicians are great indeed!

The Genius whose other name is ILaiyaraaja has used ragas so differently that at times it is difficult to believe that such ragas are also capable of evoking such emotions.

Mohanam was used in a pathos song-Oru Raagam Paadalodu Kaadhil Kettatho.
Kalyani in ‘Alai meethu Thadumaaruthe siru odam’.

Subhapantuvarali in a humourous song-‘Kandu Pidichchen’
Chakravaagam in a love duet-‘Nee Paathi Naan paathi’
VakulabharaNam as a philosopher-‘Aarum Athu Aaazham illai’.

These are just some examples.More examples will be shown in my 'Ragaranjani' Blog.

But I have always been intrigued by his use of one particular raga. Not a single human emotion has he left out using this raga. Not a single facet of this raga has he left uncovered in this raga.

In ‘Madha Un Kovilil’, the raga prays.

In ‘Mani Osai Kettu Ezhunthu’, the raga cries with the lover.

In ‘Shenbagame’, it waits patiently for her husband.

In ‘Enna Saththam intha neram’,it cries,laughs,dances,walks,runs,sits,meditates.

In ‘Enna solli naan ezhutha’, it writes a letter.

In ‘Aaatama Therottama’,it is a cabaret dancer.

In ‘Aasai Adhikam Vaichchu’, it is a tribal dancer.

In ‘Poongaatru Puthithaanathu’, the raga jumps with joy totally oblivious to the uncertain future.

In ‘VaLai Osai ‘, it is the naughty love.

In ‘Muththu Mani Maalai’ it is the newly married couple.

One can go on and on…

The rare gem of today is also based on the same raga.

It is ‘Hey Masthana..’ from ‘Azhage Unnai Aaradhikkiren’(1979).

The sequence is somewhat interesting.Two young lovers travel to Goa and dance with the hippies in the evening.The girl’s aunt- ditched by a man(villain!)-and a man totally devoted to this lady accompany the couple.

Listen to the prelude.The long flute slowly takes us away from the hustle-bustle of city life while the guitar and the chorus leave us in the midst of hippies.
A short interlude with the strings and the trumpet and we start dancing to the voices of Jayachandran and Jency.

The next interlude is what shows us the genius.

The western fast –paced beats suddenly give way to the violin evoking a totally different and contrasting emotion.

The next CharaNam is slow in keeping with the mental state of the senior couple.Vani Jayaram and SPB do full justice to the situation.

As the CharaNam ends, we start jumping with joy with the young lovers.

We continue to dance in the next interlude as the Shehnai and the other instruments stare at us with glee.

This continues in the CharaNam as well.

Now comes the beauty.
The flute and the violin making us close our eyes and just relax.
We become sober in the following CharaNam.

Contrasting emotions depicted so musically.

Well..after all what is life?
Darkness after light..and Light after Darkness..

Just like the Ragam-Sindhu Bhairavi!

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