‘How did the lightning turn into a beautiful
girl?’, wondered Rama.
‘But can a lightning have a face? Or can a
lightning last more than a fraction of a second? And can it have such a glow
and beauty? Impossible!’ He continues.
’ I keep
seeing that image with my eyes as well as in my mind.. ‘ said Rama to himself
as he was lost in the thoughts of the girl he saw that evening.
விண்ணின்
நீங்கிய
மின்னுரு,
இம்முறை
பெண்ணின்
நன்னலம்
பெற்றதுண்டேகொலாம்?
எண்ணின்
ஈது, அலது, என்றறியேன்,
இரு
கண்ணினுள்ளும்
கருத்துள்ளும்
காண்பனால்.
Kamban-
the Master of poetic descriptions, the Master of Psychology, and the Master of
Love- succinctly describes what would be
running in a man’s mind after having seen his Lady love(remember this is divine
love at first sight). But what sets apart this poet is his ability to bring out
the emotions in a subtle way. The viraha
element that runs as an undercurrent cannot be missed if one looks at the poem
very carefully. The last line ‘I am
seeing her through my eyes and through my mind’s eye’ says it all..
Viraha
is an intrinsic part of love and great poets like Kamban have brought this out so beautifully. But the greatness of
this verse is that it does not show the ‘pains of separation’. Rather, it seems
like a celebration of viraha.
Viraha
sounds
beautiful in one of the compositions of ILaiyaraaja’s
too.. ‘ILanjolai pooththadho’ from Unakkaaga VaazhgiRen (1986),
viraha runs as an undercurrent and this makes it a composition par
excellence.
The composer’s natural ability to set the apt raga
to suit a particular situation is well known. Madhuvanti is a raga which evokes nostalgia, love, happiness,
melancholy and of course Viraha. ILaiyaraaja uses this raag in ‘ILanjolai..’ making it
sound emotional and at the same time leaving us serene .
The composition starts with the ‘akaaram’ in the imperial voice of SPB.
The quaint flute follows. The akaaram gathers
momentum now and flows like a cascade and this time, it is the turn of the
resonant sitar to echo the akaaram.
With artistic finesse, the ankle bells join and the Flute and the Sitar
alternate finally coalescing together. Exhilarating prelude hinting us as to
what is in store.
‘ILanjolai’ starts with a reposeful spontaneity.
It is in ‘ateeta eduppu’ with the
taLa cycle starting from ‘jo’. The ‘mapa mapa’ ‘gama pama’ and the ‘sagasa’ phrases give a clear sketch of
the raag. The variation in percussion and in the chatushram pattern when the first line is repeated in the end, adds
a new shade to the Pallavi.
With consummate dazzle, the violins dance without
the backing of the percussion in the beginning of the first interlude. The next
set of violins takes over with verve and elegance even as the Tabla and the ankle bells join. The
euphonic flute now plays with expressional smoothness with the mridangam that
plays just the ‘ta’ and ‘dhi’ leaving ‘ka’ ‘mi’ blank. The resonant melodic stringed instrument responds
with vigour. The sitar finally leads us to the CharaNam.
The lines in the CharaNams are intricately
patterned.
If the first two lines have the ‘niSaSa’ and ‘niSanipa’ phrases, the following two lines have the podi sangatis-after ‘sugandham’ and mayangum- with the swaras first going on a descent(Sanidhapa) and then with stress on the
‘ma’. The lines that follow have the higher octave notes.
The subtle change in the gait after the second
line, the ‘Taam taam tarikita thaam’
in mridangam between the 3rd and the fourth line and the mridangam
for almost half avartanam at the end,
show the TaaLa Raaja in full flow.
The musical instruments in the second interlude
seem to revel in the sharp beauty of each swara and each rhythmic syllable. To
start with, we have the virtuous violins and the mridangam. The myriad combination of notes and the
repartee from the mridangam sends us to raptures. The Sitar and the Flute then
define the warps and woofs of the raga vividly painting the beauty of love. The
Flute goes on its own raveling a whole coil of swaras with the violins and bass
instruments interjecting.
It is
tranquil and titillating..
