ILaiyaraaja - The Thought-provoking Musician..

Is illusion good or bad?

Spiritualists and Philosophers generally consider anything which is deceptive as not good not trustworthy. Of course, it doesn’t need a philosopher to tell us this as we as human beings have an innate wisdom that makes us not to fall into the trap of falsities.

But aren’t illusions enjoyable too?

See this poem:

தேனுகர் வண்டு மதுதனை உண்டு தியங்கியே கிடந்ததைக் கண்டு 

தானதைச் சம்புவின் கனியென்று தடங்கையிலெடுத்து முன் பார்த்தாள்

வானுறு மதியம் வந்ததென்றெண்ணி மலர்க்கரங்குவியம் என்றஞ்சிப்

போனது வண்டோ பறந்ததோ பழந்தான் புதுமையோ விதுமெனப் புகன்றாள்.

Drunk with the taste of honey, the bee lies on the ground. An young girl mistakes it to be the ‘Naval’ fruit(a native fruit, an equivalent of the English fruit Blue berry) and takes it in her hands. The bee wakes up. Her face looks like the moon and her palm looks like the lotus flower. Fearing that the ‘lotus’ would close its ‘petals’ in the night-when the moon raises in the sky- the bee flies away.. ‘Can a fruit fly?’ asks the girl in bewilderment!

That poem is part of ‘Viveka ChintamaNi’, a collection of poems composed by various poets in that beautiful language called Tamizh.

We see two different illusions in the poem-bee’s and the girl’s. And how poetic these illusions turn out to be! In a matter of four lines, the poet describes the beauty of the girl, the beauty of the bee and the law of nature.

Aren’t illusions beautiful and enjoyable too?

In the poem, the bee was in an inebriated state. Or should I say, ‘a kind of inebriated state?’

Nearly 3 decades ago, a classical musician was in that state. And he goes to the concert in that state-not to listen but to perform. How would he sing? Or rather what would he sing?

ILaiyaraaja was given this situation by the director. And thus was born the song, ‘Poomaalai Vaangi Vandhaan’(Sindhu Bhairavi/ 1985).

But what I find amazing in this song is not just the choice of the raga Kaanada and its beautiful usage but also the fact that delusion and illusion run as undercurrents in the composition.

Let us start with the choice of the raga. ‘Kaanada’ is a vakra raga which surely has the capacity to take a listener to a different level and state. So, it is not without any reason that the composer chose this raga(though if asked about this, he would say, ‘it just happened!’ with a broad smile).

Secondly, such kind of ragas which go more by the ‘pidis’(signature phrases) and less by the aroh/avaroh structure are relatively easier to handle in an elaborate carnatic concert than in a film composition. To bring out the essence of such ragas calls for a profound understanding of theory and practicals.. Needless to say Raaja sir came up trumps in this aspect.

Let us now see the composition from the beginning to appreciate it better.

Clothed in musical sensitivity and sounding eloquent and gentle, the composition starts with the aalaap in the mesmerising voice of Yesudass and I must say that there are touches of Darbari in this. Probably, this too was intentionally done keeping ‘illusion’ in mind!

The Pallavi starts after a very brief sally in mridangam which plays the tisram beats, ta ri ki ta thom/ ta- tom . Interestingly enough, the very first two phrases- niSa nipapa ma gama- give the outline of the Kaanada in a trice. The brilliant composer that he is, he goes to the mandra staayi ni(lower octave ni) in the last phrase and then climbs up-ni.saripa maga ma ri -yet again using the prayogas of the raga. Isn’t it a complete Kaanada now?

Yes, here there is no illusion!

What matter in a composition are not just the swaras and the raga but the way these are used. Note how the lines sound with a twinge of pathos. Goes to show that music is beyond swaras and ragas..

After a delicate and a light stroke of melody on the keys lasting 4 tisrams, the violin dazzles in the first interlude. Illusion yet again! This dazzling violin plays Kaanada in pure Carnatic style even as the subtle violins back it in western style. The group of violins follow with aesthetic grace and elegance. The veeNa and the veNu repeat this melody with verve while the guitar gives a diffused glow of light.

Composed with fecund imagination, the lines in the CharaNam elucidate the raga. If the repetitive ‘dhanidhanidha’ phrase in the beginning is enticing, the repetition of ‘pa’ is inebriating. Of course, upper madhyama(Ma) in the penultimate line and in the last line takes us to empyrean heights. We are grounded again towards the end when it glides to the mid octave ‘ma’. Instance of illusion yet again!

The second interlude sees an uninterrupted flow of mellifluence. First, the flute sparkles with a blend of charm and poignancy. Couched in winsome melodic language, it produces sheaves of melody with only one-string backing it. The veeNa replies with its unique tenderness. It seems as if the veNu and the veeNa are involved in an exercise of gradually discovering the hidden aura. The keys seem to make some tender overtures to the violins which play subtly first and then vividly, sketching the raga beautifully in the process.

Splendour of expressiveness!

Aren’t illusions poetic and musical?

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ILaiyaraaja - The Rapturous Musician

Revelry is one thing which all of us love.

When we celebrate something, adrenalin rushes in, endorphins run around, serotonin jumps, dopamine dances and oxytocin smiles. The positives far outweigh the negatives and probably this is one of the major reasons for the existence of so many festivals in India-especially in South India.

What happens when we celebrate art forms and poetry? Wouldn’t this result in our aesthetic sense getting fine tuned?

But then, are celebrations and aesthetics mutually inclusive or exclusive?

This is not an easy question to answer. Celebrations can be gaudy, displeasing and distasteful. It can also be artistic, beautiful and creative.

Let us see how a great poet celebrates a very important and a significant occasion.

Rama and Sita get married at Mythila. Kavi Chakravarthy describes this Event with panache. Though there are many verses, let me just take 3 of these now.

First, the sun rise:

அஞ்சனம் ஒளியானும் அலர்மிசை உறைவாளும்,

எஞ்சலில் மணம் நாளைப் புரிகுவர் எனலோடும்,

செஞ்சுடர் இருள் கீறித் தினகரன் ஒருதேர் மேல்,

மஞ்சனை அணிகோலம் காணிய என வந்தான்.

It seems spreading it beautiful rays, the sun rises to witness the wedding of Rama and Sita.

Then, he describes the city and the people of the city.

அன்னமென் நடையாரும், மழவிடை  அனையாரும்,

கன்னி நன்னகர் வாழை கமுகொடு நடுவாரும்,

பன்னரு திரைமுத்தம் பரியென தெரிவாரும்,

பொன்னணி அணிவாரும், மணியணி புனைவாரும்.

Young girls and men adorn themselves with priceless pearls and jewels and the city is full of the auspicious plantain trees.

And finally, the wedding:

ஆர்த்தன பேரிகள், ஆர்த்தன சங்கம்;

ஆர்த்தன நான்மறை, ஆர்த்தனர் வானோர்;

ஆர்த்தன பல்கலை, ஆர்த்தன பல்லாண்டு;

ஆர்த்தன வண்டினம், ஆர்த்தன வேலை.

The drums reverberate. The conch reverberates. The veda mantram reverberates. The bees buzz. The ocean thunders. All these say, ‘Long live the divine couple!’

As I said there are more verses, but I have chosen just 3. Look at the contrasts in the first and the second verse. The first one describes Rama as ‘dark-hued’ and Sita as the one who lives on the lotus flower. The second one has the swan (girls’ gait) and the bull (men’s gait). The last one ‘sounds’ the percussion and the melodic conch. It also talks about the ‘bee’(which goes in search of honey) and the ocean(water)- symbolizing living and non-living things.

To imagine that even the bees and the ocean celebrated Rama’s wedding, calls for a profound aesthetic sense. And that is why, we celebrate Kamban.

If this was a poet’s celebration and the celebration of a poet, what we are going to see now is a musician’s celebration. In the former, Kavi Chakravarty celebrated his Hero’s wedding. In the latter, Isai Chakravarty celebrates his hero’s wedding-his hero (or should we say heroine?) being music.

Through almost all his compositions ILaiyaraaja celebrates music and this is reflected in the output. So, what would have happened when he was asked to compose a song for a wedding sequence- a tribal wedding sequence at that. Wouldn’t that have made his creative juices flow and even overflow?

That oozing resulted in ‘Kanni PoNNu Kai Mela’ (Ninaivellam Nitya-1982).

The rhythm, the pattern, the use of apt instruments and a very special raga make us imagine the ecstatic state the composer would have been in, while composing this song.

To start with (and I am going in reverse), let us look at the raga. Theoretically speaking, SaarangatharangiNi is a simple scale. It is a shadava raga with 6 swaras in ascending and descending. The great carnatic music legend Shri.G.N.Balasubramanian, a musician known for many experimentations, once thought of adding a swara (dha) to a very popular raga Hamsanadam. The new raga was christened SaarangatharangiNi. Though it does sound like a Hindustani raag(a lot of resemblance to Shuddh Sarang and not without reasons), it has a unique charm.

ILaiyaraaja used it for the first time in this song(and some more times later on).

Shehani, an instrument (wrongly) associated with melancholy alone, has been used prolifically by ILaiyaraaja in very happy situations. This instrument is ubiquitous in this song (note that it is played in North Indian weddings).

ILaiyaraaja is known to for using very different instruments. In this song, he uses tribal percussion which plays the tribal beats.

And of course there is his most favourite instrument which is called as ‘silence’.

Let us now celebrate the song looking at the nuances.

It starts with the tribal percussion sounding ‘ta ka dhi mi/ta ka dhi mi/ta ka dhi mi’ for 2 aavartanas(taaLa cycles). The chorus hums now and isn’t this enticing? The dynamic melody matches the rhythmic intensity. It is the marriage between raga and taaLa!

As the chorus continues, we see the resplendent shades of the raga. It continues for 11 aavartanas with a special sound occurring at the end of every second aavartana till the 8^th and then at the end of every aavartana. This special sound which lasts for just one beat, shows how a subtle improvisation can enhance the mood of a composition.

The chorus touches the higher octave and twin-shehnai decides it is time to jump into the fray. It plays the first line of the Pallavi and then goes on. The bass guitar joins the percussion which by now gathers more momentum and intensity, giving a resonant beat at the third microbeat of the fourth ‘ta ka dhi mi’.

The subtle flute joins the shehnai for the last two aavartanas to play a part in the celebrations.

Suseela starts the Pallavi in higher octave. Not many songs have a start like this. There is pause after ‘kai mele’ with only the special sound appearing there. Malaysia Vasudevan repeats the first line and the chorus appears again after the second line, humming in a typical tribal style for one aavartana. And then there is silence for 3 beats after ‘KalyaNam’. Does this signify something?

As if to show the contrast, the male voice, the female voice and the chorus sing the next line boisterously!

With a willowy grace, the shehnai moves in the first interlude. But before that, the resonant percussion sounds ‘ta’ with yet another tribal percussion sounding ‘ka dhi mi’ rather gently. And this goes on for 2 aavartanas. But the beats continue in the same pattern in the background throughout the interlude- when the chorus sings ‘tam tam tam ki ta’ followed by a brief akaaram and then ‘tam tam tam ki ta tam tam tam tam’ for 4 aavartanas, when the flute plays a piece couched in winsome melodic language for 4 aavartanas and when a tribal melodic instrument joins hands with the keys mimicking the humming of the chorus.

The lines in the CharaNams are eloquent with silence playing a role here too. There is silence for a full aavartana after the first and the third line. The vocals(female in the first charaNam and male in the second charaNam) give a repartee in the second and the fourth line. The chorus joins after the fifth line, repeating the min singer’s lines. The last line rolls with musical intensity.

The second interlude is vivacious. For starters, the tribal instrument gives a gripping melody. The strings respond intensely with the percussion-which is intense as well- backing these, playing ‘ta – dhi mi/ta ka dhi mi’. After two rounds, the shehnai wallows in and moves with exhilaration. A host of shehnais and a couple of other instruments join now and then. As if smitten by this, the chorus sings with ecstasy. It is contrast again with the keys sounding with suppleness. The tribal/keys melody appears again and this time the chorus joins in giving the repartee.

Sheaves of melody!

Sun rays, priceless pearls, jewels, buzzing bees, thundering ocean..

Artistic, Beautiful and Creative..

 It is the Celebration of Life!

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