ILaiyaraaja - Musician with a Poise

What makes a work of art immortal?

It should be attractive, catchy, beautiful, graceful, elegant and have a sense of balance and purpose. It should give us an aesthetic experience. It should pierce our heart and touch the soul.

Let us look at this Poem:

குவளை நாறும் குவை இரும் கூந்தல்
ஆம்பல் நாறும் தேம் பொதி துவர் வாய்க்
குண்டு நீர்த் தாமரைக் கொங்கின் அன்ன
நுண் பல் தித்தி மாஅயோயே
நீயே அஞ்சல் என்ற என் சொல் அஞ்சலையே
யானே குறுங்கால் அன்னம் குவவு மணல் சேக்கும்
கடல் சூழ் மண்டிலம் பெறினும்
விடல் சூழல் நான் நின்னுடை நட்பே.

This is addressed by a man to his beloved. Sensing her fear that he might desert her, he says,
‘Oh dear, do not fear!’

But how does he say this?

He first starts with describing her beauty- ‘Oh the dark girl whose hair smells of blue water lily blossoms, whose honey filled mouth has the fragrance of white water lilies and whose face has some beautiful tiny spots like the pollens of lotus flowers which grows in deep ponds!’

Next, ‘Even when I say don’t fear, you are scared’.

Finally he assures her,. ‘Even if this land which is surrounded by the big ponds and the ocean on whose shores the short-legged swans live, is offered to me, I will not abandon you’.

Note that there are three parts in the poem.

Describing and praising the woman for her beauty (isn’t this what men do to impress a woman first?).

Lest she feels he is flattering her just to escape from the situation, he makes the next statement.

But still this can be considered to be a false promise and perhaps not too convincing. So he says, ‘Let the world be offered to me. I won’t leave you’.

Psychology at its best!

The similes are used with a purpose. A swan is supposed to possess the quality of separating milk from water. Lotus is a flower with a sense of balance.
By using these two, the poet conveys that the Lover (man) is genuine.

Isn’t it a beautiful poem about true love?

This poem-written by a poet called ‘SiRaikkudu Aandhiyaar’ is taken from ‘KuRunthogai’, which is part of the 2500 year old Sangam Literature. If we quote and discuss about this after so many centuries it is because of the inherent grace, elegance and a sense of balance.

I am sure the works of ILaiyaraaja will continue to be discussed like this for the same reason.

The song of the day is special.

The fascination of his compositions is contained not so much in the way he sheds light on its beauty as on how aesthetic beauty evolves in his hands. This fact is fully evident in this song.

‘Muththamizh Kaviye Varuga’ from ‘Dharmaththin Thalaivan’(1988) in my opinion is one of the greatest love duets in Tamizh Film Music. It is soft and yet goes deep into our system kindling all subtle emotions hidden inside us. This composition is also an example of how he strikes a balance between classical and light and how he improvises his deep knowledge of the ragas/taaLas.

For starters, this composition is based on Gowrimanohari and is set to Chatushra Eka taaLam.

The Maestro touches some of the niceties of the ragam, and adds an alien note very sparingly to give it a different complexion. But two things make the composition unique and beautiful:

1. Chatushram beats used as the leitmotif
2. Silence.   
  
Please recall that in ‘Solaippovil maalai thendRal’(incidentally based on the same raga), a pattern where the taaLa was divided into 16-maatras appeared as the leitmotif. Let us see what happens in ‘Muththamizh Kaviye’.

The composition starts with the stringed instrument playing with a unique suppleness for two Aavartanaas(cycles) of chatushram sans percussion. The Chorus starts the humming in Gowrimanohari with the percussion playing ‘ta – dhi -/ta ka dhi mi’- stress on the first and the third syllables the first time and all the four syllables the next time. It is sedate and classy.

This continues for four cycles after which the Chorus sings only for one beat during the samam (beginning of the taaLa) sounding ‘ta- dhi –‘ in melodic form. The keys respond for the next 3 beats of the TaaLam. This happens for four full cycles.

This pattern is the leitmotif and in fact defines the entire composition.

To start with, the first two lines in the Pallavi- in the beautiful voice of Chitra- go plain without any backing of percussion with the drums sounding only at the beginning of the cycle. After 2 cycles, the TaaLa pattern appears and backs the vocals till the last line of the Pallavi.

The Pallavi starts with the ‘sa’, touches the mandara ‘ni’and goes on the ascending in the first two lines. The alien swara ‘ni2’ peeps in very briefly in the following two lines. The second part of the last line goes descending (Sa ni dha pa ma) and ends with a beautiful podi sangati (maga marisa). Yesudass’ voice is as soft as ever.

The Composition starts in samam. The first two lines have the vocals only in the first 3 beats of the TaaLa with the last beat being played only by the percussion. While the gap is for 4 maatras before the second line, it is for 6 maatras before the third line as the line ‘Kaadalenum’ starts after the samam. Isn’t silence beautiful?

The first interlude is replete with reposeful ingredients. Yesudass’ voice from the Pallavi merges with the flute in the beginning. The Flute-backed by the folksy string- goes on its own trip. It is joyous; it is tantalizing; it is magical. The entire piece which runs for 8 cycles, becomes more meaningful with the absence of the percussion. The drums sound once at the end of odd cycle and twice at the end of even cycle.

The wondrous piece ends, the leitmotif appears for two cycles and guides to the CharaNam. Here again, the third rendering merges with the beginning of the CharaNam.

The CharaNams reveal the musical sensitivity and the sensibility of the composer. If the  recurring ‘ma pa pa’ phrase is exquisite, the use of upper ‘Sa’ and ‘Ri’ in the following lines are emotive.

The penultimate line and the last line are classically brilliant. The penultimate line goes on the descending first and then cheekily adds the alien swara ‘ni2’ while the last line has the ‘podi’ sangatis and finally the akaaram that first ascends (ri ga ma pa dha ni Sa Ri), then sandwiches ‘ni’ between the two upper ‘Sa’s and finally descends (pa ga ri).

The second interlude has a stupendous appeal. Peppered by the stringed instrument, the Flute which plays with an unmatched passion is interlaced with two more flutes playing in different octaves. The leitmotif appears again for the next six cycles.

Elegant..Graceful..Balanced..
..like the Lotus Flower and the Swan!

ILaiyaraaja- Conventionally Unconventional

“Only those who have the patience to do simple things accurately, acquire the skill to do different things correctly''.

When I came across this quote very recently, I started wondering as to how true it is.  As a corollary, I framed this - ‘’What distinguishes an extra ordinary from the ordinary is the ability to not just do different things but also do things differently’’.

So the key words from both the statements are – simple things, accurate, different things, correctly, doing things differently.

Essentially,

1. The basics matter first. The building crumbles if the foundation is shaky..

2. Variety adds beauty to any work.

3. Laying a new path and treading on it with courage of conviction.

See this verse:

அகரமும் ஆகி அதிபனும் ஆகி அதிகமும் ஆகி அகமாகி

அயனென வாகி அரியென வாகி அரனென வாகி அவர் மேலாய்

இகரமும் ஆகி எவைகளும் ஆகி இனிமையும் ஆகி வருவோனே

இருநில மீதில் எளியனும் வாழ எனதுமுன் ஓடி வரவேணும்

மகபதி ஆகி மருவும் வலாரி மகிழ் களி கூரும் வடிவோனே

வனமுறை வேடன் அருளிய பூஜை மகிழ் கதிர்காமம் உடையோனே

செககண சேகு தகுதிமி தோதி திமி என ஆடு மயிலோனே

திருமலிவான பழமுதிர்ச்சோலை மலை மிசை மேவு பெருமாளே.

‘Being the first letter, Being the leader, Being the greatest,

Being the Creator, Being the Protector, Being the Destroyer, Being someone who is above all,

Being everything, Being the embodiment of sweetness,

Come rushing to me to protect me,

Oh the one whose beauty is admired by Indra

Oh the One who was worshipped by the Hunter at Kadirkaamam

Oh the one whose peacock dances gracefully as per taaLa,

Oh the one who lives on the rich Hillock Pazhamudircholai’.

This is one of the many Thiruppugazhs of AruNagirinatar.

A typical Thiruppugazh has eight lines, has an inherent laya, makes a lot of descriptions, liberally uses Sanskrit words, tells stories and ends with ‘PerumaaLe’.

If having 8 lines, telling stories and making beautiful descriptions were not new in the 16^th Century, composing in taaLas which were unheard of, using words from Sanskrit and most importantly addressing Muruga as ‘perumaaLe’ were path breaking.

AruNagirinaatar was adept in music and had a very good understanding of ragas and taaLas. He improvised the TaaLAs, resulting in what is now called as ‘Chanda taaLAs’. It is a well known fact that ‘perumaaL’ refers to Lord VishNu only. However, by addressing Lord Muruga as ‘PerumaaL’, he achieved twin purpose of praising VishNu and also making Muruga as One who is superior - பெரும் ஆள் (‘perum aaL’). At a time when Sanskrit was considered as an anathema in the South, he liberally used these to add beauty to the verses.

The aforementioned verse  starts with the ‘agaram’, goes to ‘igaram’, makes the Divine ‘simple and sweet’ after making it sound complex, concisely and poetically describes the dance of peacock and also tells the story of Brahma, who because of his ego gets cursed by Muruga to be born as a hunter ‘Andhimaan’ and worships Him in Kadirgaamam to attain salvation.

This of course is just a sample of thousands of great verses composed by AruNagirinatar, one who respected tradition at the same time charteringa new path.

The gentleman who has stolen millions of hearts with his thousands of compositions too has a very strong base in classical music. Keeping this as the ‘aadhara’, he used (and continues to use) classical ragas and taaLas, innovated in orchestration, used modern and new instruments along with the traditional instruments, and structured each composition differently.

Today’s song is just another sample/example.

‘SiRiya PaRavai SiRagai Virikka ThudikkiRadhe’ from ‘Anda Oru Nimidam’(1985) is purely in Charukesi. This is not new as there have been film songs before this in Charukesi. But what are new and different are the way the Pallavi is structured, the way the  three interludes are conceived-with each in one major form of Music, giving us genuine ‘International Music’-, and innovatively using the beats and the percussion.

First, Chatushram( 4 beat-cycle) is broken into 16 maatraas(sub-divisions) as

 ‘ta ki ta/ ta ki  ta/ta ka dhi mi’.

Then, the melodic instruments sound these beats without percussion.

Let us see how.

The exquisite Special Stringed instrument play twice with the charmingly subtle Bass guitar joining in the ‘ta ka dhi mi’ portion. The sublime Guitar joins with very mildly sounding Strings which in fact joins with full force in the next cycle breathing graciousness and charm. The higher-octave Strings then sound one note for the entire cycle after which the profoundly pleasant Brass Flute joins with the keys playing the avarohaNa swaras in the same pattern of the division of 16.

The Pallavi starts with the first line following the same pattern-

Siriya ( ta ki ta) PaRavai (ta ki ta) SiRagai ( ta ki ta) Virikka (ta ki ta) ThudikkiRade(ta ka dhi mi).

Note that there is no percussion until then and that the percussion starts-in the same pattern- from the sangati of ThudikkiRade. Also to be noted is the fact that mainly the mandra stayee swaras(dha. and ni.) are used till ‘Thudi’ and that towards the end in the last line, it goes on the ascending finally touching the upper ‘Sa’.

Divine Lady from Arabia with a beautiful hair. That is how one can call the first interlude. The nipping Arabic instruments smile for one cycle and the percussion takes over playing ‘dhi mi’ thrice and ‘ta- dhi mi’ once with the robust Bass Guitar intervening now and then. Yet another Arabic instrument plays delightfully with two sets of Strings romancing with glee.  Amazed at this spectacle, the Bass Guitar dances and applauds.  With a sense of purpose the two sets of Strings move taking us to an ethereal world.

The first CharaNam has the mandra stayee swaras again but this time in the mid-segment. The lines end like the Pallavi, going on the ascent- pa pa dha ni dha dha ni Sa. The backing of the Strings in the last segment is another beauty.

The Classical Indian Beauty is in full view in the second interlude. Starting with the akaaram of the chorus, Charukesi dances with the luminous Jalatarangam and the elegant VeeNa with the Swara segment showing the many facets and the Flute showing the grace and the grandeur. The Mridangam plays many patterns of Chatushram in a matter of few minutes.

The same Mridangam plays with intensity in the second charaNam-which is different from the first charaNam. All the lines in the first half start with the Panchamam while all the lines in the second half start with the Shadjamam(upper and the aadhara).  For a change (again) the last line is ‘pa dha dha ni dha  ni ni Sa’.

Charukesi wears a white gown and dances like an angel in the third interlude which gives dollops of Western Classical Music with the higher octave Strings and the Saxophone indulging in Call and Response, the Strings moving deftly and the Guitar dazzling with emotional richness.

Embodiment of sweetness..                     

..Traditionally Modern..

..Being Everything..