Time!
A word used
at least in 12 different occasions each time conveying different meanings
(note that the previous sentence itself has two words- occasions and time-
denoting this word). Without this, we cease
to exist. It just moves on without waiting for anything or anybody. If one puts it to use effectively and uses it efficiently, it becomes one’s friend. I get very surprised when
people say ‘to kill the time’ or ‘time- pass’ or ‘boring’. If we want to kill
the time, it will kill us; if we
want to ‘pass’ the time, it will pass over us; if we find it ‘boring’, it will get bored of us and the result will be
there to see.
Recently, I
read that a famous personality
remarked that he found the music of the ‘70s
and the ‘80s boring and that is why he decided to ‘ bring about a change’. In
fact, about 6 years back, the same person in an interview
to an international channel said “People were bored of the same kind of
instruments like Tabla, Violin etc., and ‘I’ changed it.''
People are entitled to have their opinions and most importantly music is subjective. So, should one not leave
it at that and move on? Answer is ‘Yes’ and ‘No’. ‘Yes’, because I
agree about respecting others’ opinions
and music being subjective. ‘No’, because I felt I must voice my opinion too.
Three things are common in the two statements made by the famous
personality-‘ I’ ‘Change’ and ‘Bored’. I shall leave the ‘I’ now because there is no single person on the earth now who has shed the ‘I’. We always
feel great about ourselves and most
importantly when others heap praises
on us (only deep inside we know we don’t deserve it, but why should we accept
it..).
Let us look
at the ‘change’ aspect. Film music has changed over a period
of time and I am not an ostrich to bury my head in the sands. From the days of MKT when pure classical
music ruled, to the days of MSV
when classical music was given a lighter shade without in anyway affecting the melody(in fact, melody ruled the roost despite this). Since this is not about the history of cinema music, I am leaving
it at that.
But at the
same time, I must also write about what happened after 1976(purely
from my perspective). Until then, though the tunes were melodious,
not much attention was paid to the orchestration .It was only after May 1976 that orchestration acquired a
new meaning. I would say that the sounds heard in the preludes and interludes (did anybody know these words before 1976?), were not
heard in Indian Film Music until then. Very different
and new instruments were used (and
not just the ‘same tabla, violins and veena). New kinds of experiments
like ‘superimposing techniques’, ‘song using only the chorus voice as
instruments’, ‘using only a solo
voice in humming’. And I am not getting into the new ragas part anyway since the discussion
is on something else.
Despite all
this, if people who are into music, say that the music during those days was boring and
not accepted by the West (this is the only criteria, you
see!), then there is something wrong somewhere not the least in the thinking process of the persons concerned. That reminds me. Paul Mauriat, one of the greatest musicians of all times was spell bound after listening to ‘Edho
Mogam’ and this happened in 1983
when ‘music was boring’ here.
What is more
amusing to me is the way some people
in social media have concurred with
the ‘boring’ view and have ridiculed the music during that period. I bet that all these people have hardly listened to the gems during that era. I don’t have any problem in agreeing to disagree. At
the same time, I would like these people
to first listen to the gems and then say ‘Oh..boring’ rather than simply criticising sitting in an arm chair and in the cool confines of
the air conditioners.
The rare gem of the day is surely one such song in my opinion. ‘Nee
illaadhapodhu..’ from ‘ILamaikkolam’
(1980) is an evergreen melody. I call it evergreen
not only because it gives goose bumps and gives me nostalgia moments whenever I
think of it but also because the song is melody
personified. The entire composition is beautifully structured (done spontaneously in one go and not in ‘bits and pieces’). But
what steals the show here (too) is the way each instrument is sounded.
It has a
rather unusual start. A very special sound from the Keyboard fills the air. The sustained notes for 3 cycles and the descent for the next 1 cycle of Chatushram prepare us for an eerie song. The Strings sound sustained
notes for one cycle. We then hear
the sound of ankle-bells (only). A special sound (similar to a santoor ) from the Keyboard joins. The Guitar,
another Keyboard and the Bass Guitar enter with a brief response
from the special sounding Keyboard.
A single Violin appears and plays in
Indian classical style and this is backed by the double bass. The Keys
respond after two cycles for one cycle and this happens twice. The
group of Strings takes over and
plays for two cycles. The Keys repeat the notes of the Strings which now play subtly.
And
then.. the Pallavi starts!
So many variations in a matter of 42 seconds..
The Pallavi starts in the voice of Malaysia Vasudevan. The first phrase ‘Nee..’ itself is sustained for one full cycle. A very different
combination of swaras of ShankarabharaNam follows in the second half of the first line, ‘yengum nenjam’-(paga3 ma1ri2 ga3sa ri2ni3). The Tabla too plays the Chatushram
very differently as ‘ta ta ta ta’.
The Keys sound at the end of the second and the third lines. There is a twist
in the lines that follow. ‘ma2’
appears suddenly making it KalyaNi.
Though it does not have the ‘ni’, one
can surely feel the KalyaNi shade.
The last line reverts to the ‘ma1’.
Sujatha(her fourth song for the maestro
and her last song before she got
married) joins now and sings the first two
lines of the Pallavi.
The twists and turns continue in the CharaNams
too. The first two lines use only ‘sa ri2 ga3 pa ni3’ making it Hamsadhwani. The third line is in KalyaNi(sans ‘ga’) and the fourth line
is in Valaji scale-with ga3 pa dha2 ni2. The last line has both
the ‘ni’ s!
But these changes and variations appear and sound innocuous
to me. It must be because these were
conceived spontaneously and not over
a period of time (weeks/months).
The special sounding Keys enliven the first half of the first interlude. After playing alone for 2 cycles, it is joined by the higher octave Strings which are then joined by another set of Strings after one more cycle. The two romance very briefly to the backing of the Drums which sound just now and then and that too subtly. Another new sound from Keys and now it is the Tabla
which backs as the percussion. The
bending of the Keys continues before
the Strings take over. Do these take
over normally? No..One set of Strings race in the mid-octave while the other set goes in the higher octave. In Western Classical Music
parlance, this is ‘March music’.
In the second interlude, the Keys and the Strings combine to give a dash of poignancy perhaps to depict that
feeling of ‘missing somebody’.
The
piercing Flute brings back the
romance with the ‘santoor’ acknowledging
it. The Strings sound with a unique
emotion and play in Hamsadhwani-
exactly the same notes as the first part of the first line of the CharaNam.
The song composed 35 years back has always excited all the time. At the same time, I can’t help feeling sorry for
the people who claim Times have
changed and like ostrich bury their heads in sand. But this time I can see something smiling at
them. ..
…It is
called as the Time..
