Being a wo(man)

‘’Is God a man or a woman?’’

When a little kid asked me this question, I did not know how to react. I was shocked too. Somehow, I got reminded of the dialogue from one of the most popular Tamizh films- ‘Are you a good person or a bad person?’. Like the protagonist in that movie, I too replied ‘I don’t know’, though not in his tone.  Sadly enough,I did not have the backing of the leitmotif of the Maestro.

But jokes apart, the question made me think. ‘Why should a 10 year old girl worry about the gender of God? What would have made her do this?’

I asked her the reason. She said ‘’ I am sure it is He. Otherwise why do only girls have some problems? If it was a She, this wouldn’t happen’’.

The reply left me dumbfounded. She was of course talking of physiological problems unique to women. Nowadays, schools educate the children about many things and this includes certain things considered as taboo traditionally. Forward thinking people should definitely welcome this. Therefore, I had no qualms about her getting to know about some details regarding the anatomy and physiology. But what troubled me is the way a girl perceives her being a girl. Is it a healthy trend or not?

Is it a fact that women undergo a lot of hardships in the world when compared to men? Is it then a sin to be born as a girl? Then why did the Mahakavi sing ‘Mangaiyaraai piRappadhaRkku maathavam seithida veNdumamma’?(it needs a lot of penance indeed to be born as a girl). This is a very vast subject and requires reams of pages to discuss. Therefore, let me try and touch some pertinent points here.

The main point in my opinion is not so much the physiological problems as the emotional and the mental trauma. By this I mean the way the society looks at and treats women. The term society has a larger connotation and without any doubt, includes women too. We Indians have a confused mind when it comes to women. I am not exaggerating when I say that we are a bundle of contradictions. At one end of a spectrum, we put a woman on a pedestal, make her an epitome of patience, tolerance, love, compassion and shower encomiums on her. At the other end, we look down upon her giving some stereotyped roles and go to the extent of saying ‘Being a woman, you can’t and shouldn’t do this’. 

It is in this band of spectrum that we see her as a glamourous creature created for men and to satisfy men in all aspects. We expect women to act as per the whims and fancies of men. No, not just ‘of men’ but also ‘of women’ who carry the tag of ‘mother’ by law (or is it in-law?).

Both the ends of the spectrum are dangerous. We deify women so that they remain on the pedestal like statues without any emotions. ‘Oh , how many sacrifices a woman makes!’ we shed crocodile tears. We trample them at the other end, first by branding them as symbols of beauty and then setting rules. How confused we are!

Isn’t there a disconnect between the two ends here? Yes and no. ‘Yes’ because the two are contradictory. ‘No’ because the other is responsible for the one.

No, I am not contradicting here. We put women on the pedestal because we know that if we do that, we can get away with everything. ‘God created mother because He can’t be present all the time’, we say (here itself there is a contradiction anyway as God is supposed to be omnipresent). After saying this, we go ahead and disrobe women (literally and figuratively).

That is why, we have men who say ‘If a diamond is displayed on the road, dogs will surely take it’, ‘ It is the girl who invites the boys with ‘inappropriate dress’’, ‘ There is nothing wrong in a rape. Boys just want to have fun’.

Mind you, these were said by men who are supposed to be ‘leaders’.

But when we have the leader of the country himself saying ‘Depite being a woman…’, can’t we understand the kind of stereotyped images we all have in our mind?

So, where are we now?

‘ Durga’ to ‘Maa / behenji’ to ‘kya maal hai yaar’ to ‘girls should not wear jeans’!!

If this is not a bundle of contradictions, what else is?

However, the solution lies within us. Let us stop deifying women. Let us stop denigrating women. Let us understand and appreciate the problems of women, respect them in the real sense and treat them as fellow human beings without any set of written or unwritten rules.

The rare gem of the day ‘PaavaiyargaL Maan Pole..’ from ‘Ore Muththam’(1980)  precisely talks about this but in a slightly different way.

The brilliantly written song by Kaviyarasar puts across both the viewpoints- the ‘traditional typecasting’ and the modern one. Needless to say that the former is by a man (brilliant rendition as usual by SPB) and the latter by a woman (again a beautiful rendition by Janaki).

What is most striking is the way the composition traverses through two totally different genres, qawwali and modern pop. Brilliantly symbolic!

Qawwali, a genre which was ubiquitous in the old Hindi songs(till late ‘70s) has appeared in some old Tamizh songs too. But here it is very special because of the seamless transition. The Maestro has also tuned it in Mishra Khamaj, a Hindustani raag used prolifically in qawwalis.

The song starts with the harmonium playing with sensitivity and making some smooth glides. It plays without percussion for 3 cycles of chatushra ekam and then moves along spreading warmth for the next 10 cycles.

The pallavi is in anaagata eduppu and the male sings ‘ Women are like the deer; like the Cauvery river; If only they tread the path laid for them and live accordingly, they are angels. Why this modernity?’

The first interlude gives the quintessential flavour of a qawwali with the shehnai, the clapping and the harmonium. It is simple and at the same time zestful.

The first charaNam talks about having beautiful plait decorated with flowers and at the same time says ‘ Jewellery and dress don’t make you beautiful. Sport a smile and walk with a proper gait.Read Tamizh’.

 Let it be understood here that ‘reading tamizh’ is used as a euphemism here for ‘following tradition’.

Musically, the stanza is marvellous with the akaaram after ‘choodungaL’ shining like gems on a nose ring.

There is a sudden shift in the interlude which follows. The electric guitar appears with a grin and moves along dancing. The saxophone follows and traverses upwards. 

The healthy competition between the two is amazing!

The female now sings, ‘ A good woman can live anywhere. I know what I am doing and let there be no barriers . I am like the pure Ganges’.

The TaaLa pattern now changes to tisram as the saxophone again goes on a melodious spree. After a brief intervention by electric guitar, the male sings ‘Wear a silk saree and you are protected. God comes rushing to you when you wear  bindi and flowers’

(Doesn’t this contradiction between the first charaNam and this charaNam typify the mentality of the society?).

The female replies that even if God comes here now, He will accept me as times are changing.

Now, it is the shehnai that follows and moves with a verve.

The stanza that follows has the male sarcastically refer to the smile of a woman.

‘Those days, women would walk with their heads bowed down. And now you all smile directly looking at our faces.’ The old adage about a lady’s laughter being very dangerous, used even in Mahabharata, is used after this.

The saxophone follows with unobtrusive energy.

‘Ok, now let us come to an agreement. Point out if I make a mistake.  And I shall point out your mistakes. After all, are’nt women and men equal?’

This is a beautiful line and one sees Bharati in KaNNadasan.

The last part is rendered by both the male and the female saying ‘Let us be friends. There is good and evil in everything. Let us unite’.

The inherent message is obvious.

So, will we all follow this as well?

And by the way, is God a man or a woman?

Well..Only God Knows!

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Linear and Sinuous

What makes the Sea look so beautiful?

Is it that azure blue colour?

Or is it that grey and green shade?

Or is it that reflection of the sun rays during the day and reflection of the moon in the night?

Is it that sunrise or is it that sunset?

Is it that boat/catamaran/ship floating at a distance?

Yes, all these are beautiful and no doubt embellish the sea but in my opinion, there are two more things which combine to make the sea an eternal beauty.

One is the Horizon and the other is the Wave.

The former is considered to be an imaginary line but whenever I see the sea, I am flummoxed and astounded by the straightness of this line. Whoever has drawn it is the best artistic engineer ever. How can somebody be so perfect?

Talking about the waves, these are formed as a result of the wind blowing over the surface. This is what science says and I would like to be less of a scientist (anyway I know very little of science) and more of an artist(this too, I know I am not but who can stop me from imagining?). When I look at the waves, I look at the zig zag pattern and the way these approach the land, fade away and then come again. What an amount of energy these have! Don’t these tire at all?

When I look at the sea, I don’t look at the horizon first and the waves next(or the other way around) but look at both together. And whenever I do this-looking at the sea from a distance and then looking at the horizon and the waves at the same time- I can’t help marveling at the beauty of this sight. This is a perfect example of contrast. At a far distance, there is that perfect straight line and closer to us is this zig zag curve. Isn’t this poetic and musical?

People familiar with my posts know how much I love the contrasts in poetry and in life. If poetry and life combine together, don’t we get that ‘M’ word without which I cannot breathe?

Contrast in music is a very wide topic and it would serve little purpose if I were to take up that topic- which is full of technical details- here. However, this C word is also so simple that all it need are the ears, a little observation and focus.

What adds beauty to Raaja sir’s music is this C (oh, doesn’t it rhyme with ‘sea’?). People who attended Geetanjali-2014 , I am sure remember my presentation on ‘Contrasts in his music’.

Today, I am taking up a song which typifies the word ‘Contrast’. In my opinion, ‘Kaalaipaniyil aadum malargaL’ from Gayathri(1977) should rank as one of the best compositions in the world.

Let me first mention what all I find to be unique in this composition and then move on to describe some of these. I say ‘some of these’ because certain things don’t need descriptions and this applies as much to music as to life.

First is the tune. Generally, an Indian film song follows a particular raga(not talking about exceptions-which are in fact too many now- which have only ‘rogaa’) or a scale. This topic too is huge and beyond the scope of this post. However, let me say that a composer composes the song in a particular scale which has a repetition of some particular notes while ascending and descending. This particular pattern can be said to follow a raga, but most of the composers take liberty with this and add alien notes.

Raaja sir is known for using some beautiful known, rare and unknown ragas in his compositions with or without alien notes. At the same time, he has also composed tunes which cannot be termed as falling under the classification of any raga. ‘Sendhoorappoove’ and ‘ILamai enum poongaatRu’ are just some examples of this. ‘Kaalaipaniyil’ too falls in this category.

The Pallavi has notes of Kharaharapriya while the CharaNams have the other ‘ga’(ga3) and also the other dha(dha1). What is amazing is the fact that in some phrases, both the ‘ga’ s and both the ‘dha’ s appear one after the other giving that chromatic effect. For example, in ‘kalaigaL aayiram’(first charaNam), the ‘dha’ s appear one after the other and in the third and in the sixth phrases of the humming at the end of the CharaNam, we see both the ‘ga’ s.

There is also change in the shruti in the first segment of the second interlude.

But what is wondrous is the ‘usi’ in the humming at the end of each CharaNam. The concept of ‘usi’ in a taaLa has been explained by me in some of the posts here and also during Geetanjali-2015. Wait for more detailed explanation in this year’s Geetanjali.

‘Usi’ is a speciality of Carnatic Music and we see the pattern is in usi when the stress is on the even count(2,4,6..). ‘Kaalaipaniyil’ is set in the 3-beat cycle tisram or one can even say in the 6-beat rupakam depending on the way we look at it. I know I am getting too technical but certain things surely need explanation so that the brilliance of the composition (and therefore of the composer) can be appreciated more. The pattern changes to the 4-beat cycle chatushram during the humming part towards the end of each CharaNam. Not only does 3 change to 4, but also the stress (percussion) is on the even beats.

Usi at its uchcham (best).

Now, count the contrasting elements-

1. two variants of two swaras occurring one after the other

2.tisram to chatushram

3.usi

4.change of shruti in the beginning of the second interlude.

There is one more (the fifth one) about which I shall explain soon.

So, does it mean that the composition has only the contrasts?

No..

It has a beautiful straight line called as ‘melody’.

One feels the evanescence of the morning mist while listening to the song.

The initial bell sound reminds one of the dew drops falling off the petals of the flowers while the humming of Sujatha(her second Tamizh song after ‘Kaadal oviyam’ from ‘Kavikkuyil’) is like the morning breeze. The santoor depicts the swaying of the branches.

The Pallavi is a blend of intuition and expression with the sangati after ‘maayam’ shining with a special radiance.

I mentioned about a ‘fifth contrast’ while listing out the C, didn’t I?

This occurs at the beginning of the first interlude. The sitar follows tisram while the rhythm guitar which backs it follows the chatushram.

 Cross-rhythm!

Crossing others’ path is not good manners generally but if the rhythm crosses like this, isn’t it lovable?

The violins and santoor-to the backing of the tabla in tisram - guide us to the first CharaNam.

This Laya Raaja can never rest. Or at least he will not let us rest. He loves to play with the TaaLa and he does it in the CharaNams too. The tisram  which goes as ‘1 2 3’ on the tabla in the first part of the first line(paarvaiyodu paarvai seRum ) changes as ‘1 2 3 4/1 2 3 4/ 1 2 3 4’ in the next half(bhavam mudhalil and siRu naaNam manadhil).

And ah yes..that wonderful humming where the notes go in pairs with the percussion in usi.

The second interlude is more powerful than the first with the santoor sounding like a bird in the beginning and the violins moving ardently. But the piece I love is the one by the violins after the sitar- which sounds with sobriety. There is a very brief classical touch in that piece of violins which always touches a chord in my heart. 

The brief rendezvous between the  sitar and the keys in the end, is musically romantic.

In fact, everything in this world is romantic- sky, sea, horizon, waves, music.. and.. ..contrasts.

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Regal

Can romance ever be Majestic?

It is a question difficult to answer and not so difficult to answer. But rather than trying to find an answer, let us first listen to this song from ‘Aayiram Vaasal Idayam’(1980), a song which I have listened to ‘pallaayiram’ (several thousand) times and would like to continue listening to for ‘pallaayiram’ years( I am sure I will have that many births J).

What amazes me the most in ‘MaharaNi Unai Thedi..’ is the beginning. It is not uncommon for his songs to start with an akaaram. But this opening akaaram is very different. A mix of swaras is followed by a single sustained swara. Now, there is a pause between the two sections. And it is this silence which is very intriguing (silence is always intriguing anyway!).

Remember that this was recorded in 1980(or probably end of 1979) when the ‘punching’ system was unheard of in India.. The way Janaki adjusts her voice to the two different sections speaks volumes of her versatility. It speaks volumes of the brilliance of the composer too. Though the sustained akaaram almost sounds the same, the ones which precede it, sound different each time. After 4 sets, the higher octave notes are touched, sustained and then podi sangatis sung. . At least I have not come across any song opening like this and in case you have, please feel free to enlighten me.

The strings start gradually now to the backing of bass guitar, and reach a crescendo. 

The special keys sound takes over and the percussion joins now in tisram. Earlier the strings too play to the count of 3 but without percussion.

The flute responds to the keys in its style. The strings now play the first line of the Pallavi with a very subtle set of strings backing these. Another sound from the keyboard signals to the other instruments and finally the Pallavi arrives.

Grand prelude!

The Pallavi in the voice of Jayachandran sounds as melodious as ever. The violins peep in after each line. The lover of variety uses two different sets of percussion with each one sounding ‘ta ka dhi mi/ta ka’ one after the other.

I am reminded of a taanam of  a carnatic vidwan’s when I listen to the strings in the beginning of the first interlude. A taanam is built step-by-step and it follows logic. The strings too build the melody step-by-step here though it is brief. In between, there is that sound from the special keys and also the subtly powerful bass guitar. The flute takes over and levitates. The brief interception of the strings is more to appreciate that flute magic and less to show their prowess.

The guitar enters now and combines with the special keys and of course the bass guitar, to produce a rocking melodic piece. The strings in higher octave complete the experience with the ‘bang’ sound in the beginning giving the impetus.

The CharaNams are in three segments with the first segment going higher, the second one flowing like a calm stream and the third one oozing with romance. Note that unlike the Pallavi, it is the tabla which provides the rhythm, playing ‘ta ka dhi i/ta ka’ in 3 different ways in the 3 segments. The backing of the strings and the bass guitar-which sounds sharper in the third segment- add a special colour to the lines.

How he conceives his orchestration has always baffled me. The second interlude starts with a set of strings. After 1 ¾ tisrams, the second set of strings join. After another 1 ¾  tisrams, the third set joins. A different relay race indeed!

The romance between two different key sounds follows, but it is the flute which steals the heart again. With the strings responding after 4 tisrams initially and after 2 tisrams later on, it traverses a path which is curvilinear and then linear.

Can romance be Majestic?

Why not, if the person who kindles it is Majestic?

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Vision

What is beauty?

No, I am not here to find a definition for beauty nor am I willing to sit as a judge in a Beauty contest (that I will never be invited to be a judge, is a different story!).

The reason for my asking that question-and the reason for that question popping up in my mind- had to do with an incident which happened 2 days ago.

It was around 6.45 pm and I was driving on the Adyar Bridge. People from South East Chennai(and people who pass by S.E.Chennai frequently) know how that Bridge would be around that time on a working day. It was chock-a-block with vehicles romancing with each other. This romance did not sound or look exciting for people sitting behind the wheels. Yours truly was struggling hard to see to it that the bumper of his car did not touch the bumper of the one in front so that the expression ‘bumper-to bumper traffic’could be avoided and was trying to stay calm with ‘Thaen Poove Poove Vaa’ pouring out like honey from the car music system. That is when something happened.

By the side of the car was a bike driven by a gentleman. What was very clear and perceptible (apart from his shining head) was the movement of his lips. At first glance, it appeared as though the man was uttering something. This sparked a kind of irritation inside me as I thought he was saying something to me, probably to give him way. But a closer observation suggested that he was singing. The vehicle in front of me moved now and therefore I had to move mine albeit, just a few metres. Because of this, I missed the ‘bike-man’ for some time. I then turned around and spotted him. He came closer again and this time I could hear his voice too and could also catch some words though it was not clear. However, it was apparent that he was singing a classical song.

I became very curious and even switched off my music system sacrificing my pleasure of listening to my evergreen favourite song. ‘That song anyway can be listened to again-for the millionth time- but can one afford to miss this?,’ I thought and tried to figure out what exactly he was singing. But to my dismay, I could not get the tune or the wordings though I found his voice to be soft and melodious.

The traffic cleared and the bike overtook me and I lost him. So, my desire remains unfulfilled.

But what I found the most amazing in this episode was the way the person was singing unmindful of the vehicles around him and totally oblivious to the chaos on Thiru-Vi-Ka Bridge on a Wednesday evening.

And I found this to be beautiful!

What this shows is the fact that if music is with you, you can conquer any situation. Music gives calmness. Music gives energy. Music gives solutions to problems. What this also shows is that beauty is omnipresent. It is up to us to recognise this.

In fact, that is what the song of the day conveys too. The beauty in ‘Azhagu Aayiram’ from ‘Ullasa ParavaigaL’(1980) is that not only does it talk about beauty, but it also shimmers with beauty.

If I was asked to name just one differentiator which makes his orchestration stand apart, I would say ‘variety’ without batting an eyelid. ‘Azhagu Aayiram’ is just another example of his craftsmanship in orchestration.

Take the prelude first. It starts with a kind of whirring sound (reminding one of a bee) which gathers intensity. As if to provide a contrast, the soft keys of the piano susurrate. After a while, the resonating sound of the percussion adds majesty. The electric guitar enters even as the resonant percussion continues in chatushram(1 2 3 4). In fact, the electric guitar plays the tune of the first line-which we would get to know later- while the strings reply with the descending notes of ShankarabharaNam(this occurs in the Pallavi  too with the vocals singing ‘maa maa miya maa maa miya..’). The strings pick up momentum and casually reach the higher octave with the single key of the piano and the whirring sound backing them.

We are welcomed by an yet another funny sound in the beginning of the first interlude. The strings show their faces briefly for a single cycle of chatushram  sounding during every beat of the cycle. Another set of strings enters now playing in the higher octave with the bass guitar responding now and then. The funny sound appears again and this time the flute decides intervene just towards the end of the piece. Suddenly the vocals appear.

Is it uncommon for Raaja sir to introduce humming in an interlude? People who follow his music know that the answer is ‘No’. He has experimented this umpteen times. What happens after this is what makes him a genius. As Janaki renders ‘paa..pa pa pa pa pa..’, there is no backing of any instrument-including percussion- for a full cycle. The synth enters and plays along with the humming. What follow then are the sound of the synth and the strumming of the guitar in ‘usi’! As explained many times, ‘usi’ is a technique in which the stress is on the even beats. Here, it lasts for 6 cycles and doesn’t it give a very special effect and doesn’t it leave us with a very special feeling?

In between-even as the beats are in usi- Janaki continues to hum with the funny sound entering again and the vocals imitating the funny sound as ‘uvaang uvaang’(whatever that means!).

It is the majestic piano which dominates the next segment with its unique melody with the strings appearing rather ebulliently in the beginning.

The piano has more role to play in the second interlude where it first romances with the strings after shifting to the minor scale and then goes on a melodic spree as if there is no tomorrow!

But before this, there is an interesting spectacle of distortion guitar, acoustic guitar and the bass guitar dancing and prancing with unbounded joy. The strings take over and move with insouciant grace before its romance with the piano starts. It is Laya Raaja again towards the end when the drums play ‘ta ka dhi mi’ 16 times per cycle in ‘ati mel kaalam’ when the piano keys sound as soft as ever.

This kind of beautiful variety does not take the credit away from the Pallavi and the CharaNams which have the variegated patterns too.

The first line gives an illusion of Mohanam with ‘ri ri ri pa ri ga ri’. The ‘maa maa miya’ pulls us back with the descending notes of ShankarabharaNam. The last line(maa maa miya) is a marvel with just a single note(ri) appearing almost till the end with the ‘pa’ appearing just once in the end.

The CharaNams start with the humming of Janaki which extends for one full cycle. Here too, we see the Master mind use only ‘Sa’, ‘ni’, ‘pa’ and ‘ga’ in the first two lines, giving a feel of Hamsadhwani. The innovator then makes the other dha appear along with the dha of ShankarabharaNam in the middle segment (4^th and 5^th line) giving a chromatic effect.

Beauty and Music, are in fact the play of light, dark and many other shades and appear in the way we perceive it to be.

Ask the man in the bike who found beauty in music, in the midst of mad traffic.

Or, ask the man who considered this spectacle as beautiful and musical.

Or, simply listen to this song..

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Attribute

One of the topics which I have discussed quite a number of times in various forums (here, in Orkut Community, and during Geetanjali)- and the one I wouldn’t mind discussing repeatedly- is Ragas and Moods. Indian Classical Music is unique and distinct because of the raga system. There are of course many other features too like the gamaka, sangati, briga, akaaram etc., but all these revolve around ragas.

Talking about the ragas, it is said that each raga evokes a certain kind of emotion. In fact, there is a song from the old film ‘SampoorNa RamayaNam’ in which RaavaNa is asked by his sons, brothers and his wife about the moods of various ragas and he answers the questions musically-singing and playing the veeNa(exquisite rendering by Shri.C.S.Jaraman!).

The Hindustani system of music goes a step further and even classifies each raga as suitable for singing only during a certain time (day or night).

My intention is not to question this or even say that it is all a myth- though I can’t agree with the belief that Mukhari is melancholic or that if one sings Aahiri in the morning, they will starve throughout that day. At the same time, I feel that by restricting the ragas to just some emotions, we are imprisoning not only the ragas but our free thinking.

Our mind always believes what we want to believe and refuses to believe what we do not want to believe.  It always helps to question beliefs. In fact, that is how rationalists came into existence in the world- though this is a different issue and a different topic. In any case, I am not advocating anything here and not for a moment am I saying that all traditional practices must be changed. However, it is better to be convinced about anything after questioning rather than accepting things as they are just because those are part of tradition. This also helps our thinking and also activates our brain.

Apart from this, there is one more angle too. There is a special beauty if one goes off the beaten track and this can only be experienced and can hardly be explained. ‘Being different’ is different and beautiful though one need not be different just for the sake of being different.

As mentioned in many of my posts and also during the Geetanjali Events, ILaiyaraaja , who has a great respect for tradition has time and again challenged some widely held beliefs about the moods of ragas. Not as a rebel but as a true musician. For, there is no trace of arrogance in the deed. On the other hand, it leaves connoisseurs awe stuck and one is left wondering if a particular raga can be used this way too.

He has composed humorous and romantic songs in ‘pathos-evoking’ ragas and melancholic songs in ragas considered to be ‘happy’. In ‘Kotha pittaro koko’ from Detective Narada (1993), he has done the former.

Chakravakam is considered to be a raga for poignant mood even by film music composers. In fact, it sounds more sorrowful in film music than when sung in classical style. However, ‘Kotha pittaro..’ sounds romantic and even erotic. How and why he chooses a particular raga is a question even he will not be able to answer because to him these are spontaneous occurrences.  And anything which has that spontaneity has an unmatched beauty- the ‘aalapanas’ and ’kalpana swaras’ sung in a classical music concert being live examples. So how will ‘Kotha Pittaro’ not sound nice?

It has an unusual start with the sound of cockfight. What follows is a piece on the Sax which sketches a beautiful melody with the flute pitching in now and then and the group of percussion backing with chatushram beats.

It is not the prelude which is different. The structure of Pallavi is different too. The female (Janaki yet again!) sings a line and the male (yes, of course the inimitable SPB) responds in a very different way. Janaki sings for a period of two and half beats (in keezh kaalam) and SPB’s repartee is for one and half beats. And what a repartee it is! 3 ta ka dhi mi s in mel kaalam speaking technically but each line(there are 7 in total) and the reply are different and have their own charm. The 8^th line is only in akaaram (and that too in avarohaNam). If we assume that the Pallavi ends there, it means we do not know ILaiyaraaja enough. It is now the turn of SPB to sing and the turn of Janaki to respond. Finally, it ends with the akaaram of Janaki which gives the essence of Chakravakam.

Can any Pallavi be more beautiful than this? Yes, if it is composed by the Master (read this line in mel kaala chatushram ).

The banter continues in the first interlude too with the wind instruments like the sax and trumpets intercepted by the keys/flute in the first segment and the guitar being ‘replied to’ by the flute in the second segment. Note that this is almost similar to the Pallavi-not in terms of the tune or notes but in terms of the repartee. Playfully playful! In the third segment, the two guitars move with sobriety and play different sets of notes taking us to the first charaNam.

The lines in the CharaNam ooze with melody though there is no ‘repartee’ here. One also sees the different shades of Chakravaham .

The second interlude is another marvel. The sax group plays a melody and it is a different kind of repartee from the group of flutes with the latter playing the same notes as reply. Beyond a point, the Sax& co. starts playing those repetitive notes as if to teach a lesson to the flutes. It can even be taken in a positive sense- the sax decided to join hands with the flute! What happens after this is what makes ILaiyaraaja a composer par excellence. He stops the percussion and as he has done quite a number of times, decides to use the voice of Janaki as a lead instrument. She hums in Chakravakam-though in a different style- and the keys and a host of bass instruments back her gently. This goes on for 6 cycles and indeed takes us to empyrean heights!

How to describe this mood now?

Surely words cannot explain that. Because, after all moods ‘happen’ and are not created..

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