Divine Dream..

The Tamizh month of Maargzhi(Mid Dec-Mid Jan) is very special.

Lord Krishna refers to this month in Gita.

Astronomically, the Sun turns towards the north at the end of this month.

Scientifically, the ozone layer is very close to the earth during this month especially early in the morning.

For people living in Chennai, it is a real bonus since the entire city reverberates with music during this month.A host of other activities also take place this month-like the Book Fair, Circus,Trade Fair etc.,

But there is one thing that is an intrinsic part of Maargazhi.That is ‘Tiruppavai’.

In my post on ‘Sundari Kannal..’ in my other blog 'Ragaranjani', I had described about AandaL , her Thiruppavai and Naachiyaar Thirumozhi.

Each day of the month is identified with one Thiruppavai finally climaxing with two Thiruppavais on the last day(there are only 29 days in Maargazhi).

AandaL followed a very unique concept called ‘Paavai Nonbu’ where she along with her friends take a vow on the second day where she says

‘Eschew all carnal and even worldly desires like eating
ghee,drinking milk etc.
Bathe early in the morning.Don't adorn your eyes with
collyrium,or your hair with flowers till the completion
of the vow’.

After 26 days, she ends the vow with the Paasuram ‘Koodarai Vellum’(the one who wins over his enemies).Sri Vaishnavas celebrate the 27th day(which is today) as a day to make friends with enemies.

Apart from the 30 Thiruppavais, AandaL is known for her 143 verses called as Naachchiyaar Thirumozhi.Though all the verses are special, the verses 61-71 are very very special because she dreams of becoming His bride and shares this dream with her friends.

This set of 10 verses is more popularly called as ‘VaaraNam Aayiram’.

While reading the verses or even listening to these, one clearly visualizes the entire wedding as it unfolds scene by scene.

That is the beauty of AandaL’s imagination and her mastery over the language.

The Maestro brilliantly used some of these verses in ‘KeLadi KaNmaNi’(1990).

There are two versions in the album-one sung by Janaki and the other by SPB.The Janaki version is Raagamaalika while the SPB one follows one Raaga.

The film has the former version only.

The song starts with Mohanam(at times it sounds like Mohana Kalyani too to me!) as she says ‘With one thousand mighty tuskers arrayed, the Lord gracefully comes in procession. The Town is adorned with beauteous festoons and welcomes the groom with gold vessels.’

The Tavil gives the wedding ambience as the Raaga seamlessly changes to Nayaki-a very special Raga not used by any film music composer.

She sings,’All the celestials including Indra, the king of Devas assemble and speak to my parents as my sister-in law, Parvati adorns me with flowers and the wedding saree.’

The flute piece after ‘Devar Kuzhamellam’ is heavenly.

The Raaga now changes to Kapi and she says’As learned Pundits chant the Mantras and spread out the Holy grass laying twigs encompassing the sacred fire, He-Lord Krishna-comes like a raging tusker circumambulating the fire holding my hand-fast in hand!’

Unfortunately, the song has only these three verses.

The SPB version follows Kalyani ragam throughout.

My Divine Dream is to listen to all the verses tuned by the Maestro!

1.Janaki's version:



2.SPB:

Musical Angel-She came , She saw , She conquered!

Music gives us Power..
gives us Energy..
gives us Strength..

Just imagine..

If music took the form of an angel and came in front of us, what would we do?
Dance?
Sing?
Or just watch with amazement?

The Film ‘Pattakkaththi Bhairvan’(1979) was a remake of a telugu movie. A very ordinary story of an orphan (certainly not Oliver Twist!) who turns ‘anti social’.

At times I wonder as to how somebody could score great music for movies that are below par.It needs that ‘attached detachment’ defined by Krishna in the Gita.
In fact, Kedaram Raga was used by him for the first time in this movie.
While reviewing this film, the Tamizh magazine ‘Aananda Vikatan’ said that ‘the Director has succeeded in caging a lion called Sivaji Ganesan and tried to cage a tiger called ILaiyaraaja.But this tiger growls and we get at least two great songs!’

One song is of course very well known to the people familiar with my other Blog-Ragaranjani-and ‘yours sincerely’ because that happens to be his most favourite composition.

For the benefit of newcomers , let me tell you that the song starts with the lines ‘Engengo Sellum En EnnangaL’whose description can be found in 'Ragaranjani' under the caption 'ILaiyaraaja-The Wonder'.

The other duet in the film is great as well..

Of course, I am not talking about the ‘Kedaram’ song-which will be taken up later.

I am referring to a song ‘Devathai.. Oru Devathai’.

Generally, I avoid talking about the technical details of a composition in this blog.

But at times a brief mention is required.

The Ragam of ‘Devathai’ is subject to dispute.Some of the sites mention this as ‘Sudhdha Saveri’ while some others say it is SankarabharaNam.

Yes…Swaras of Sudhdha Saveri are used but in Madhyama Sruti(shall explain this concept in detail in the other thread soon..).The Raga we get is Pahaadi.

He has done wonders using this concept in many of his compositions.

As Bharati says in Paanchaali Sabatham

‘ each moment is different.. different from the previous moment.. full of surprises!’(KaNam thoRum maaRi maaRi oradimatroradiyoloththalandri..), Raaja sir’s music is full of surprises and full of beauty!

Let us look at the Flute piece that appears throughout the composition. It is in fact the ‘theme music’ of the song..

The Violin piece in the second interlude.. purely in western classical style but without deviating from the tune..

The percussion in the third interlude that makes us sway.. And the flute bit that follows ..

The way each instrument speak with one another in the first interlude..

Similar kind of syllables appearing one after the other in the CharaNams(ex-‘Swargaththin pakkaththil vetkaththai vaiththuk koNdaaL’, ‘Aaramba maagattum Kaveri Koodattum Inge’)

The lilting tune..

Yes..As the greatest poet Kannadaasan says ‘The Angel came (flying), saw and conquered’ (a la Caesar?),

‘This Emperor came, composed and conquered millions of Hearts!’

A Thought Runs in My Mind..forever!

The husband takes his wife out. There is nothing new in this. But if the husband takes her out cunningly with the idea of pushing her down the hill??

Scary?

Well, we could say one of the many weird imaginations of Tamizh cinema...

And they go atop the Hill singing a duet.
At the end of the song, there is a twist..

This sequence appeared in the 1949 movie ‘Mandiri Kumari’.

The song ‘Vaarai Nee Vaarai’ rendered by the inimitable Trichy Loganathan and Jikki became an instant hit.

This song based on Raag Bhimplaas was composed by the great G Ramanathan.

An almost similar sequence appeared in a 1981 tamizh film ‘Vidiyum Varai Kaathiru’.

With K. Bhagyaraj and Sathyakala in the lead, the song is yet another gem from the Maestro.

The first thing that strikes us is the tune itself.

The Master chose to use Kalyani ragam for the song.

Strange? Weird?

But I find it to be amazing…

Just goes to show how things can look different in the hands of the magician.

The next thing is the orchestration (of course!).

The prelude is just one note from guitar.

The Flute and the strings in the pallavi in the gap between the male and female voices carry lot of meanings. The Flute represents the innocent loyal wife while the strings represent the cunning criminal husband.

Throughout the composition one can see the juxtaposition of contrasting elements.

Take the first interlude where the flute plays a big role.One almost hears a plaintive cry when the notes are repeated and before we realise that the violin orchestra starts in western style(with Indian flavour!).

The second interlude is another beauty and we can easily visualize the husband’s futile attempts to murder his wife with her wife being totally oblivious to it.
The Bass Guitar says it all…

Added attraction - Malaysia Vasudevan and Janaki.

Further attraction-The Lyrics(Vaali) that depict the character of the two.

Yes, there is always a thought running in my mind.

I wish to keep listening to music-Maestro’s music in particular-forever...

http://music.cooltoad.com/music/song.php?id=171465

Musical Snowfall..

It is indeed amazing to note how Raaja creates a particular mood, and transports us to another place with just a simple combination of notes..

Not just the notes but also the pattern..

Not just the notes, the pattern but also the instruments..

Not just the notes, pattern, instruments but also the construction of the pallavi and the chranams..

Examples galore and I can quote N number of songs.

The song I am taking up today takes us all to the snow capped mountains.
We see the snowfall.

We feel the snowfall.

We get drenched in the snowfall, a musical snowfall.

It is ‘Pani Mazhai Vizhum’ from ‘Enakkaga Kaaththiru’(1980).

Raaja has always been fascinated with the Mohana Ragam.So fascinated that he also takes lot of liberties with the Raga. When he mixes the alien notes(mianly the 'dha' making it sound like Vaasanti), it only adds to the beauty.

‘Pani Mazhai Vizhum’ starts with a beautiful tribal instrument. We see the sherpas moving with glee but with military precision.

The interludes are illuminated by brilliant flashes- at times rollicking, at times reposeful. The Shehanai and the Flute are sedate while a different instrument and the Bass Guitar move quickly like a stream on the mountain. The stream becomes a water fall .A Musical Water Fall..

The Question and Answer session between the Shehanai and the Flute is an aural treat.

The Pallavi is designed cohesively while the Charanam moves decorously.

The instruments echo the voice in the first two lines in the charanam while the following two lines throb vibrantly.

The voices of Deepan Chakravarthy and Shailaja are intoxicating..

The Snow Capped Mountain is dizzyingly beautiful…like his Music!

Music and Poetry-Spark or Fire?

Once I had written that poets and music have a lot of things in common.
When we read a great poetic work, we say it is musical.
When we listen to great music, we say it is poetically beautiful.

Are all musicians poets?
Or are all poets musicians?

Not really!

There are exceptions though..

It is a well-known fact that the gentleman who is the raison d’etre of this community is not only a great musician but a good poet as well.

But not many know that one of the greatest poets in tamizh-whose 126th birthday is being celebrated today-was a good musician too.

Yes..I am referring to Subramaniya Bharathiyar!

Subbiah alias Subramanian was born in a place called Ettayapuram in Titunelveli district.

He learnt music at a very young age and was invited to the court of the King of Ettayapuram when he was just around 11.

Scholars ‘tested’ him in the courtand he was able to compose poems and music spontaneously.

Amazed at the talent of the young boy, the court conferred him the title ‘Bharati’(meaning Saraswati, the Hindu Goddess of Knowledge).
This name would remain forever and we all now know only Bharati and not Subramanian or Subbiah!

The turning point in his life was his meeting with Sister Nivedita-spiritual daughter of Swami Vivekananda- at VaraNaasi in the year 1905.

The meeting transformed him as a person.

Bharati was a multi dimensional person and a poet.

He sang on Nationalism, Tamizh language, Philosophy, Bhakti, Emancipation of women..

He took lot of liberty with Kannan and ‘made’ him his servant,master,disciple,teacher,lover(in masculine form as feminine form-the feminine form of Kannan being Kannamma).

He also authored three major texts in poetic form-Kuyil Paattu, Paanchaali Sabatham, and Suya Sarithai(autobiography).

In 'Paanchaali Sabatham', he symbolised Paanchali(draupathi) as Bharat Mata herself and her vow was to extricate herself from the clutches of British Raj(Dharmaththin Vaazvuthanai Soodhu Kavvum, Dharmam maRupadi Vellum)!

Of course, there are lot of similarities between Bharatiyar and Raaja sir and I had also compared the two in some of the posts in the ‘Ragaranjani' blog.

Let us now move on to today’s Rare Gem.

Talking about Bharati’s philosophical works, there is one poem of his that is often quoted by many.

What makes this poem unique and beautiful?

It is short, sounds very simple, follows a rhythmic pattern and most importantly conveys a lot of meanings.

He also coined a new word-Aggini Kunju(very difficult to translate this into English.Maybe one could say ‘fiery fledgling’).

He says,’I found a fiery fledgling and placed it in a forest hollow. The Forest was burnt (and cooled down).Is age a factor in valour or fieriness?’
(a very loose translation as it is very difficult to depict the feel of this poem in any other language).

It can be interpreted in many ways.

Positive- A small spark will destroy all bad, unwanted thoughts.Discover that spark!
Negative-Any misdeed(small or big) can destroy us!
There is also a school of thought that says that he meant Abhimanyu,the son of Arjuna since he says ‘is age a factor in valour or fieriness?’

I welcome members of this community to give their own interpretations.

This poem is also one of my most favourite Bharati’s poems.

While reciting this poem, I had often wondered as to how it would sound if it was set to music.

I had also thought that it would spoil the essence of the poem.

This was until the year 2000.

When I listened to the song from the tamizh movie Bharati, I was stunned.
A very simple tune, a very soft voice, a very great composer..

Poetically Musical..Musically Poetic..

Two great legends..Two Geniuses..

Spark in their thoughts, Spark in their action, Spark in their eyes..

And that is Agginikkunju!

http://music.cooltoad.com/music/song.php?id=396920

Lullaby of the Breeze!

Tamizh Cinema Music has seen very different male voices.

Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, Chinnappa,Dandapani Desigar,Gantasala,Trichy Loganathan,T M Soundararajan, Seergazhi Govindarajan,S P Balasubramaniam,Yesudass,Jeyachandran, Malaysia Vasudevan....It is a huge list.

One of the most unique voices was that of Chidambaram S.Jayaraman's. Not only was the voice very deep and resonant but also that it was melodious.It also has the rare distinction of Sivaji Ganesan's 'First Voice' in films.

A little known fact is that C.S.Jayaraman was a very close relative of the present Chief Minister of Tamizh Nadu.

Now let us look at a very contrasting voice. This voice was not 'pure' in the classical sense and had its own weaknesses. But the best part was that the singer knew his strengths and his weaknesses and added beauty to the compositions of Raja right from the beginning until the mid '80s.

An interesting fact is that his voice was found suitable for Sivaji later on and he lent his voice for some of the super hits in the Sivaji-Raja combination.

'Muthal Mariyathai' is a classic example.

Yes..I am referring to Malaysia Vasudevan.

Now why am I comparing the two?

It is because Malaysia Vasu has rendered a wonderful song imitating C S Jayaraman.

This song is one of my personal favourites.

It is 'Aananda Thaen Kaatru Thaalaatuthe..' from 'Manipur Maamiyaar'(1980).

‘Manipur Maamiyaar?’ Yes..Don’t know if it had to do anything with the N.E. issues now because this film was never released.

In fact the comedy song ‘Samayal Paadame’(the original of ‘Enna Samayalo’) is also from the same movie.

‘Aananda Thaen Kaatru’ is based on Hindolam and starts with a lovely humming of Shailaja. The Violin Orchestra takes over and the Flute bits at the end are enchanting.

Guitar, Flute and the Violins are in full form in the first interlude but my most favourite bit here is the end(is it piano?)..

The variations of Tisram beats sound wonderful in the Charanams.

Listen to the Bass notes in the second interlude and the modulation towards the end where the Raga changes.

Truly Amazing!

Yes, it is the lullaby of the Breeze!!

http://music.cooltoad.com/music/song.php?id=296916

Hindi in Tamizh!

Tamizh novelist Sivasankari can be called as the Arthur Hailey of Tamizh Nadu.
Before writing on any topic, she would spend months studying the subject.

She covered a wide range of topics which included alcoholism and drug addiction .,

While the former was filmed, the latter came out as a weekly serial(not a mega)on Doordarshan in late '80s.

In mid '70s she wrote a novel on cancer- aptly named as 'Nandu'.How this dreadful disease affects a peaceful family was the theme of the story.

A South Indian girl from a conservative family falls in love with a North Indian and they get married after the usual protests from both the families.

The couple manage to fight this cancer but not the one that attacked them.
First it is the husband who falls the victim.

Then it is the turn of the wife who fights it out bravely.. A gripping story indeed!

This story was adapted by the 'Uthirippookal' fame Mahendran.
One had great expectations..But can Tamizh cinema ever change?

The Ladies' sentiment played a big role and the movie ended with the death of the husband and the wife kicking herself and shedding tears (so much that the teardrops fromed a riverr.In fact the tears were also 'brilliantly' used to wipe her 'Sindoor' off.Wow! Ladies' sentiment at its best!).

Whatever be the quality of the movie, it gave us some excellent music.Two pure Hindi songs and two Tamizh songs.

We shall see the Hindi Songs today.

In fact, two songs were recorded by Raja but Mahendran was not too happy with the songs.

It was fresh composing again.

The linguist who also has a very sweet voice Shri.P B Shrinivas wrote the songs.

The duet was sung by the ghazal singer Bhoopender- himself a fan of Raja- and Janaki.

'Kaise Kahoon' is a wonderful melody with lovely beats.One cannot miss the meloncholy touch in this duet.

'Hum hai akhele' is a Qawali type song rendered by Janaki.Takes us to the old hindi songs era.

Listen to these and enjoy:

A Beautiful Sketch-Young,Melodious and Novel!

Experiment is a very interesting word.

Yes, I have been a science student and have had lab sessions in my school and college. What I achieved there is a question only my old teachers and Professors can answer..

But I am not talking about Experiment in that context. Coming to thing of it, this is a word used ad nauseam by many without really understanding the true import. Many feel if they do anything new(or assume it is new), then it is ‘Experimental’.

We have Experimental Theatre, Experimental Cinema, Experimental Dance, Experimental Music.. But I generally observe that nothing happens after this ‘Experimental phase’.

Maybe they involve themselves in new experiments happily..

In Tamizh Cinema, lot of ‘experiments’ have taken place.

One such experiment was having five Music Directors for a single movie. Thankfully, it is not the story of ‘Five Blind men and the elephant’ because each composer was asked to score music for one song individually.

The movie was ‘Kannil Theriyum KathaigaL’(1979) and the Director(s) Devaraj-Mohan.

The Music Directors were KV Mahadevan, G K Venkatesh, T R Paappa, Shankar-Ganesh and ILaiyaraaja.

Going by the songs, I think it was a Triangular Love Story(why don’t we have a Square or a Rectangular Love Stories? Point to ponder..).

Now let us see the song scored by Raaja sir in this movie.

Based on his most favourite Raga Mohanam, the song is yet another gem in his crown.

The opening itself is beautiful..

We see the ‘Laya Raja’ as the instruments follow a particular rhythmic pattern(I am not getting into too much of technical details here and I shall do the analysis in my other blog Ragaranjani when I discuss this song!).

The voices of SPB, Suseela, and Janaki add to the sweetness.

The first interlude sparkles with Veena, Flute, Jalatharangam and a very differently sounding instrument.

The Violin orchestra and the chorus voices in the second interlude make us to meditate.

The seamless transition to Kalyani in ‘Thana Thirana..’in the third interlude is the masterstroke.

The words ‘Ilamai, Inimai , Puthumai’(Youthful, Melodious, Novel)are rendered repeatedly in the song..

Does it not sum up the music of the Maestro?