Artistry

What is creative thinking? What is inspiration? Or these two mutually exclusive or inclusive?

In Management, a creative thinker is defined as one who looks at problems or situations from a fresh perspective and suggests unorthodox solutions. Inspiration is the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.

All geniuses get inspired from others’ works. The episode involving Kamban and a farmer and the line ‘moongil ilai mele thoongum pani neere’ is well known to people who follow Tamizh Literature(people who are not aware of this need not worry.It will be part of a forthcoming post).

Some of the compositions of Raaja sir’s have been inspired from the works of some great composers. But the genius that he is, Raaja sir took just a few lines and expanded these in his own way. In all fairness to the great legends, some of the inspired pieces even sound better than the original.

In any case, this post is not about such pieces. It is about Raaja getting inspired by Raaja.

It is not uncommon for directors to quote some known popular songs and ask for the same tune(s). Here, I am talking about his own songs in other languages. A normal composer would simply give the same tune and the tracks. In fact, they would even thank the director mentally for reducing the ‘burden’. But not this genius..He sees to it that even in remakes, he adds some subtle changes. The case of ‘Lalita Priya Kamalam’ and ‘Idhazhil Kadhai Ezhuthum’ is a classic example.

I can of course quote many examples, but for now, let me focus on the song of the day. ‘Maanjolai KiLidhaano’, in my opinion is a masterpiece in Laya. I have written about the Laya aspect elaborately in my other blog (https://rajamanjari.blogspot.in/2014/07/laya-raaja-3.html)  and have also explained albeit briefly during the Laya Raaja presentation in Geetanjali-2016. I shall take this up more elaborately in the next Laya Raaja presentation.

‘Kizhakke Pogum Rail’ was remade in telugu as ‘Toorpu Velle Railu’, but the director was different. Yes, the music director was different too(SPB) and the tunes were totally different. This movie was released in 1979. Around the same time, ‘Panchabhootalu’ was released too. I am really not sure if the director of ‘Panchabhootalu’ wanted the tune or Raaja sir himself decided to use the tune(this is unlikely anyway) but the fact is ‘Kavvinche Kallalo’ was born.

While the tamizh version is a male solo, the telugu version is a duet in the voices of SPB and Suseela. But let us see how the Master has improvised his own composition.

To start with, the two are in different shrutis. Secondly, the ‘kaala pramaaNam’(aka as the tempo) is different with the tamizh one in a slightly faster tempo.

The tamizh version starts with the percussion(and what a ‘tani aavartanam’ it is..would make a carnatic percussionist proud!). ‘Kavvinche..’ starts with a very brief sitar piece followed by the sympathetic strings with the bell sounding different notes simultaneously. Suseela’s akaaram follows. SPB pitches in with his akaaram(what a beautiful and different counterpoint!). Suddha Dhanyasi sketched in a matter of seconds by the painter!

The percussion takes over. Now, it is the same laya pattern like its Tamizh original but there is a change in the instruments. In ‘Maanjolai’, the friendly banter is predominantly between the pakhawaj and the tabla. In ‘Kavvinche..’, the mugarsing(or morsing) enters the fray and plays along with the tabla to add spice. There is a subtle difference in the sound of tabla and pakhawaj too.

The subtle difference is seen in the structure of the lines in the Pallavi and even in the way the tabla sounds in the background. It is sharper and more distinct in the telugu version.

One of the most beautiful aspects of the tamizh version is the sounding of the percussion for every third beat, leaving a gap of two beats in the beginning of the first interlude. It continues in the telugu version too. What is different is the combination of the instruments which follow. If it is the veena which sounds in ‘Maanjolai’, it is the jalatarangam in ‘Kavvinche’. Moreover, the sitar follows in the latter. There is a subtle change in the flute piece too, especially in the beginning.

The first CharaNam remains almost the same except that one sees a couple of more podi sangatis in Suseela’s rendering. Of course, that beautiful ‘ta ki ta/ ta ki  ta/ ta ki  ta / ta ki  ta/ ta ka dhi mi’ in the last line is retained without any change.

What happens in the second interlude proves my strong conviction that ILaiyaraaja is the greatest composer in Indian Film Music. In the tamizh version, the raga changes to Kharaharapriya( with some magical orchestration and laya exercises) and this continues in the first half of the second CharaNam.

The Master does not change the raga in the telugu version. Instead, he uses only the vocals (chorus and Suseela) in the entire interlude. He then improvises giving a totally new melody (in the same raga) in the first half of the second CharaNam(people who know telugu can appreciate the beautiful lyrics too here!). The tune in Suddha Dhanyasi, the different backing of the pakhawaj, the rendering of SPB and Suseela and the poetic lyrics transport us to a Musical New World..

The world of creativity..

Inspiration and Creativity-are these mutually exclusive or inclusive?

The Music of the Emperor will silently answer this..

                  

                  

                   Check this out on Chirbit

         

H2O

I read something very interesting yesterday about thirst.

A recent research at California Institute of Technology has found a reason for animals and humans ‘gulping’ water-that is, drink very fast- when they are thirsty. It seems the speed at which the liquid is consumed plays a role in inhibiting the thirst neurons which get activated when we feel thirsty. Let us understand first as to why and when we feel thirsty. We feel it when there is a reduction in the volume of the blood or when the levels of Sodium and Potassium become elevated in the blood. The brain sends a signal to our throat which in turn becomes dry and starts crying for water.

Now, when the moment we find water, we tend to gulp it and that quenches the thirst instantly. However, it takes about 15 minutes for the water to get absorbed in the blood. So, shouldn’t we all be feeling thirsty during those 15 minutes despite consuming water? It is here that the neurons play a role. It commands, ‘Ok, enough!’ and the signal reaches our throat. But if we were to drink it slowly, we would still be feeling thirsty!

This might sound too basic as to drink water very fast when thirsty, is a natural process. But when we go deep into this, we will know the significance as this might help diabetics and also people with hypertension.

Having thirst is of course natural..I mean thirst for water. In a similar vein, having thirst for knowledge is natural too.

Or is it? Well, for some people it is natural while others are made to discover the thirst. But for all, the discovery of thirst happens only when one starts exploring things. Only when one gets out of the comfort zone; only when one thinks differently; only when one wishes to do things differently; only when one is a radical.

And these people invariably succeed in not only quenching their own thirsts but also in quenching the thirsts of others.

Take the song ‘Daagam Edukkura Neram’(Enakkaga Kaaththiru- 1980). The movie for which the song was composed ran for 1 week (or probably 2 weeks). Please do not compare this with the present day ‘runs’ when even a 10-day run is considered to be a Hit. Those days, a movie had to run at least for about 8 weeks (in ‘A’ ‘B’ and ‘C’ centres) to be called as ‘fairly successful’. 

Now, there is a reason for me to talk about the movie and its so called ‘success’. Nowadays, you find popular and established film music composers signing up only for projects that are huge. They may have their own reasons for that and I do not think it is necessary on my part to comment on that. However, ILaiyaraaja has never hesitated to work with debut directors and with people who make movies which would go back to the box (this is the opposite of ‘Box-Office’) in no time. But most importantly, he has created compositions which are gems. This is because to him music matters the most and it is this quest which has driven him all these 4 decades. This is precisely the reason for his compositions sounding so fresh after so many years, and after listening repeatedly.

‘Daagam Edukkura Neram’ is one of his thousands of compositions which shows his thirst. I have not bothered to watch the visuals as that would leave me disappointed. I care more for the musicality and the imagery the music creates in my mind and less for the sequence or the placement of the song in the movie. It is (probably) a romantic sequence. To me, it creates a vision of a young girl sitting at the foot of the Himalayas watching the snow-capped mountains and the clouds which hang above, and singing with innocence. It must be said that Uma RamaNan’s voice fits this song to a T.

The tune in pure Madhyamavati is alluring, no doubt but as I keep saying often it is not the raga which matters as much as the way it is used. And in this composition too, the raga assumes some special shades and colours because of the way the Pallavi and the CharaNams are structured and also by the way the instruments are used. We shall see this soon..

But before that, in my opinion, the percussion and the rhythmic patterns play a major role in making this composition an outstanding one. Let us see how.

The first line is rendered first sans percussion though one hears the strumming of the guitar in the background. The percussion starts after the first 6 phrases are rendered (which takes 8 taaLa cycles). Now, there are two sets here (like most of his compositions) with the first set playing 1 2 3 4/1 and the second set playing 3 and 4. The 2^nd micro beat is left blank. While 2 sets playing alternately or leaving a blank are not new, the first set playing the beginning of the next 4(it can be called as the 5^th micro-beat, but since the division happens distinctly, I would rather call it as the 1^st beat) is surely innovative. The different kinds of sound produced by the two sets also make this unique.

What is also unique is the silence at the end of the Pallavi(after ‘Makarandam’) which exactly lasts for one 1 2 3 4. This is slightly modified when it is rendered after the end of the first CharaNam and we shall see this later.

The first segment of the first interlude moves without percussion. The strings enter in higher octave in the following segment and the percussion enters now along with them. But now, it sounds only the 3^rd micro-beat! The brief strings section moves without percussion. So does the guitar segment which follows. But there is a difference. Even as the acoustic guitar plays a melody in Madhyamavati, yet another guitar backs it but only with one string which sounds the 1^st and the 3^rd micro-beats. In short, the second guitar acts as a percussion instrument. But this is not all. The flute plays a very brief melody and sounds 1 2 3 4 in faster mode(mel kaalam). The tuned percussion repeats this and this happens twice..

Magically Musical!

The pattern in the CharaNams is almost the same like that of the Pallavi. Well ‘almost’ because there is an addition here. The tuned percussion sounds – 2 3 4 at the end of every alternate cycle. This continues till the end of the CharaNam. Now, the silence for one entire cycle (4 beats)-which occurs at the end of the Pallavi is replaced by silence for just one beat. The next 3 beats are sounded by the tuned percussion.

The percussion takes rest during the first strings segment in the second interlude.It enters only in the middle of the segment and sounds the first micro- beat with resonance for 2 cycles. A different percussion plays the 1^st and the 2^nd micro-beats during the flute segment.

So many variations in just mater of 3 minutes..

We see the variations in the melodic instruments too.

There is that South East Asian instrument in the first interlude, followed by the higher octave strings with the keys making brief appearances.. And of course there is that acoustic guitar and followed by the flute which mimics a cuckoo call.

The beginning of the second interlude sees the strings moving like waves-highest-high-medium high-low.Then there is a special sound(probably guitar with some contraption attached to it), followed by the flute which makes us feel as if we are in the midst of a green field, and finally the keys, strings and santoor, all moving in a flash. And then there is that ubiquitous bass guitar which charts its own course.

Now, can we say that the thirst was quenched?

I would say No, because it continued after this and still continues even after 4 decades. And our thirst continues too..

The reason is simple!

The inhibitory neurons got submerged in this great ocean of divine music!

Check this out on Chirbit

Virtuous Innovation..

Raaja sir’s firm grip over the concepts of classical music is well known. But what is amazing is his innovative skill.

His compositions can be broadly classified as:

1.Compositions in pure classical ragas in classical style.

2.Compositions in pure classical ragas in a lighter style-without in anyway diluting the ragas.

3.Compositions in classical ragas but mixing alien notes.

He has excelled in all the three categories giving us many gems which cannot be forgotten for generations to come.

But as mentioned in the beginning, his innovative skill-not just in the tunes but also in the orchestration- is what bowls me over.

How he takes a very classical raga and mix alien notes without in anyway sounding jarring, remains a mystery to me.

Today’s gem is one such composition.

‘NaRumaNa malargaLin..’ from ‘URangaatha ninaivugaL’(1983) is full of innovation and improvisations .It starts with a musical question-answer session.First it is between the gorgeous violin and the mesmerising flute followed by the one between the guitar and the sitar.

The violin and the flute follow the Jog raag while the guitar and the sitar use the alien notes rather liberally.

The rhythmic cycle needs a special mention. The instruments follow the 6-beat rupaka taLam while the Tabla plays the 4-beat chatushram.


The Pallavi initially gives shades of Kedaram touching the notes of Jog in the last two lines. The sharp Tabla now follows the 6-beat cycle.What happens here is that the percussion plays 1234 thrice in the faster mode(mel kaalam) while the instruments follows 1 2 3 4 5 6.

12(fast) = 6 (slow).

The first part of the first interlude sees the romance between the lead guitar and the bass guitar.

In the second part, the silken flute oozes with melody.The Tabla follows the 4-beat cycle again.

The CharaNam is a mélange of sorts with the first 2 lines having shades of Khamaj, the 3rd line giving the contours of Jog, the 4th line Khamaj and the last line clearly establishing Jog.The improvisatory sangati after ‘oorvalamo..’ carries the stamp of the Master.

The ‘nadai’(gait) also undergoes a change here as the vocals and the percussion now follow the 3-beat Tisram.

The second interlude is imbued with energy.

The buoyant bass guitar and the enticing lead guitar jump with joy.
The flute then romances with the bass guitar albeit very briefly in the 3-beat cycle.
The breezy violin gushes on followed by the galloping guitar.

The notes alternate between Jog and Khamaj but rather than sounding cacophonic, it sounds astonishingly beautiful.

That is the power of virtuous innovation..