ILaiyaraaja's Music-Nectarine Flow..

How sweet is nectar?

How sweet will nectar be?

The first question can be answered only by immortals or people who have seen the nectar in one form or the other. Coming to think of it, is there anything called nectar at all? Is it defined by the taste alone or is it by its so called property of giving immortality? Before we get into this, let us see what AruNagirinaadar, one of the greatest tamizh poets says:

‘My senses cease to exist. Through my lotus-like intellect I see the sacred vision of the 6 faces and the 12 shoulders and there I see and feel the sweet nectar that flows transcending the shores of all the worlds. I dissolve myself in the ultimate ocean.’

பத்தித் திருமுகம் ஆறுடன் பன்னிரு தோள்களுமாய்த்
தித்தித்து இருக்கும் அமுது கண்டேன் செயல் மாண்டு அடங்கப்
புத்திக் கமலத்து உருகிப் பெருகிப் புவனம் எற்றித்
தத்திக் கரைபுரளும் பரம ஆனந்த சாகரத்தே.

The devotee of Shanmukha feels the nectar when he has the vision of his favourite God.

This verse is mystic and esoteric too. It is said that the life force called ‘KuNdalini’ resides inside all human beings and when activated, it flows upwards through the seven chakras finally culminating in the head with the Intellect opening like the lotus flower. This is considered to be the ultimate ecstasy. But for this to happen, one must lose the senses, and therefore the self.

Let us now look at another poem by yet another poet.

‘Monkeys jump from branch to branch even as the devotees pluck flowers for Him in Thiruvengadam. Draped in dusk red, He reclines on the serpent with the beautiful lotus-shaped navel that gave birth to Brahmma the creator. Is this not the pleasing soul that resides in my heart!’ 

‘மந்தி பாய் வட வேங்கட மா மலை வானவர்கள்

சந்தி செய்ய நின்றான் அரங்கத்து அணையான்

அந்தி போல் நிறத்து ஆடையும் அதன்மேல் அயனைப் படைத்தது ஓர் எழில்

உந்தி மேல் அது அன்றோ!அடியேன் உள்ளத்து இன்னுயிரே!’

This was sung by the Vaishnavaite saint ThiruppaaNaazhwar.

I find a lot of parallels between the two verses though they sound different.

Monkey is a metaphor for the mind while flower is a metaphor for good thoughts. Serpent is symbolic of the kuNdalini and here too we see the lotus which is a metaphor for the Intellect.

Two different poets in two different eras singing about two different Gods.  The common thread? Ultimate ecstasy also called as the nectar.

Let us now go back to the two questions asked in the beginning. The answer to the first question can be given only by people like AruNagirinathar and ThiruppaaNaazhwar.

However, the second question can be answered by mortals like us because it is easy to go on a fantasy trip and imagine things which exist and which don’t. But fantasy trips can be dangerous too since there are more chances of tripping and crash landing which in effect would prove to be detrimental.

We surely need not be a saint or a siddha purusha to discover the nectar. In my last year’s special post, I mentioned about divinity and said that if at all there is one thing in the world that unites atheists, agnostics and believers, it is music. I had also said that some great souls have made us realise the divine through their immortal compositions. If the poets discovered and enjoyed the nectar, great musicians make us discover and enjoy the nectar.

ILaiyaraaja is the greatest living example. His compositions make us realise many things that we would not have realised all along. It gives us feelings that are hard to describe. Like the works of the immortal poets that have esoteric meanings, his compositions too have very deep meanings and value. The music awakens the Shakti hidden inside us that travels upwards and culminates in our experiencing the blossoming of the lotus and our seeing and feeling the nectarine flow.

Since his creativity is backed by a very sound classical knowledge, the way he uses the ragas are mind boggling and his approach is wondrous.

Take the ragam Shanmukhapriya for example. This 56^th melakarta raga is steeped in classicism and has a beauty of its own. ILaiyaraaja has made us look at some unknown dimensions of this raga. ‘PoNNu paakka ’, ‘Ammaadi Chinna paappa’ ‘Abhisheka neraththil’,  ‘Vettu vedippom’, ‘Vengaaya saambaarum’ and ‘Kaadal kasukkudaiah’ smile at us with gay abandon. If he had the audacity to compose such humorous song in this classical raga- without in anyway diluting the raga-, he also had the confidence and knowledge to compose ‘Tam tananam’, ‘Ta ki ta ta dhimi’ and ‘Sollayo vaai thiRandhu’, compositions that radiate classicism in the same raga.

The song of the day ‘Nenjam inikkiRadhu’ from ‘ThenpaaNdi Singam’(1988) too effuse  beauty , resonate with melody and is full of virtuosity.

It starts with a flourish. Mridangam reverberates with a string of syllables in chatushram. In fact, in just a matter of two cycles, it plays a very brief Tani avartanam with intricate laya patterns. The soft textured Veena follows and shows eloquent vignettes of Shanmukhapriya. It also draws a beautiful sketch of the ragam with typical prayogas like ‘pa dha ni’, ‘dha ni sa’ ‘Sa ni dha pa ma’.

Pallavi starts lucidly. There are four different sangatis for ‘Nenjam’ alone. This coupled with the akaaram makes it a complete classical experience with the interspersed Veena heightening the effect.

The composition is in the 8-beat adi taaLam. However, the vocals in the last line of the Pallavi completes only half a cycle. The Veena completes the next half and seamlessly the composition moves on to the first interlude. Mesmerisingly innovative!

The Veena and the flute that coalesces with it now, travel with unbridled enthusiasm. It is like swift paced ripples that show us the contours of the ragam with dexterity. In the last two avartanams, Laya raga raaja is in full flow as the swaras go in pairs of two, three and four.

The first CharaNam is soaked in beauty. The first line itself has two variations with the phrase ‘anjuvar’ touching the tara staayi swaras the second time it is rendered. The following line too has special sangatis in ‘Vaazhthadhu kettu’.

The Pallavi when rendered again with the akaaram, is left with half avartanam and the VeeNa takes over yet again. The subtle flute joins and what follows is a question- answer session. The Veena and Flute play a set of notes with lightning repartees from the percussion. After two avartanams, the percussion and the melodic instruments merge together signifying the union.

With poise, the Veena now flows like a stream touching all dimensions of the raga. We get to see the six faces and the twelve shoulders glistening with beauty.

The second charaNam is different from the first charaNam showing us the versatility of the composer . The first line which is rendered thrice is succinct, with the lilting Veena making it more fascinating. The phrase ‘uyir ondRuthaan’ in the following line itself gives the essence of the raga. Laya Raaja comes to the fore again in the following line ‘adhai ninaiththaale’. The percussion which follows the chatushram pattern the first time,  shifts to the 3-beat cycle Tisram. After 4 tisrams, it again subdivides into 6 maatraas ( taa ta ri ki ta)  –  and from then on, it alternates between 3 and 6 making it a wholesome experience.

And we are soaked in the nectar. Why wouldn’t we be?

The previous post in Tamizh and this post were read out to an invited audience in Chennai on the 15th of Sep 2013 as part of Geetanjali Event.

http://www.divshare.com/download/24520147-507