Philosophy
is an interesting subject.
I
know by making this statement I would earn the wrath and ire of a majority. Some
would look at me with a sardonic smile. Some would even call me as a person out
of his mind. And some would look at me as if they were looking at an alien.
But
in spite of all these, I prefer to stick to my statement.
It
is often said and believed that people take recourse to philosophy only when
they are at their wits end and then people become philosophical when they have
no other options left in life. That is, philosophy is considered to be an
escapist route. People who take to philosophy are even branded as pessimists.
But
unlike popular perception, it is philosophy which shows us a path and gives us
a purpose for everything. A simple definition of Philosophy in a dictionary
suggests that it is the study of
fundamental knowledge, reality and existence and an attitude that acts as a
guiding principle for behaviour.
People
who consider philosophy as being complex must listen to/read this line by KaNNadasan:
தத்துவத்தில் என்றும் இல்லை தகராறு- Philosophy is indisputable.
A poet known for his phenomenal work on philosophy
in film songs and who wrote simple words like வாழ்க்கை என்பது வியாபாரம், வரும் ஜனனம் என்பது வரவாகும், அதில் மரணம் என்பது செலவாகும்- Life is just a business,
with birth being the income and death being the expense-
surely knows what philosophy means, better than most of us.
பிறந்தன இறக்கும், இறந்தன பிறக்கும்;
தோன்றின மறையும், மறைந்தன தோன்றும்;
பெருத்தன சிறுக்கும், சிறுத்தன பெருக்கும்;
உணர்ந்தன மறக்கும், மறந்தன உணரும்.
புணர்ந்தன பிரியும், பிரிந்தன புணரும்.
What
is born, will die; what is dead will be born;
What
is seen, will vanish; what vanishes will be seen again;
Big
will become small; small will become big;
What
is felt, will be forgotten; what is forgotten will be felt;
United
will separate; separated will unite.
Well, this was not by KaNNadasan but by Pattinaththar,
considered to be Siddhar in the Tamizh land.
The verse, though seeming to be simple, has layers
and layers to it. It, in a way defines philosophy itself.
If I say ILaiyaraaja
is philosophical, I will be stating the obvious. Well, I mean not only him as a
person but also him as a musician. And this surely gets reflected in his works.
Who can compose Nila Kayudhu in the same breath as Janani Janani unless he
has a philosophical outlook to everything including music?
The composition being taken up today is steeped in
philosophy and this does not have to with the lyrics alone which of course are
philosophical (penned by him).
Kaali Perungaaya Dabba from Mandira Punnagai(1986), rendered by the
Master himself smiles at us with
simplicity. However, what make it more philosophical is the raga and the way it has been used.
Rishabhapriya
is a melakarta(62nd) and despite being
the prati madhyama counterpart of a
very popular ragam called Charukesi, it is not as popular as its
counterpart. In Carnatic music, there
are only a handful of kritis in this ragam and needless to say this ragam was never used in film music until
the gentleman from an obscure village near Kambam
in Tamizh Nadu decided to use it. In
fact, even after this, there have been no compositions based on this ragam in film music.
The name of the ragam
itself is unique. Rishabham means a
Bull.. As per Hindu mythology, it is the Vaahana
of Lord Shiva. So, it could mean that
‘the one liked by Shiva’. Rishabh also means one who has an aura
like a sage. Moreover, Nandi, Shiva’s
Vaahana is considered to be a person full of wisdom.
By saying all these, I am not trying say that ILaiyaraaja must have thought of all
these before tuning the song in this ragam.
At the same time, I am also not ruling the possibility of this happening. Does
he not think at the speed of light?
The scale Rishabhapriya
is unique for one more reason too. If one drops the swara pa from the scale, it becomes a raga called Gopriya( note that Go in Sanskrit means the
cow, the feminine form of Rishabh)
and the notes are equally separated
in frequency, which in Western Classical
parlance is called as a Whole Tone scale.
I do not want to go beyond this now and would
rather prefer to focus on the composition for obvious reasons.
The composition starts without a prelude with the Master singing the first line sans percussion. The Pallavi
is in fact crafted brilliantly with the first four lines totally avoiding the swara ma. As mentioned earlier, it is
the variant of ma which distinguishes
Rishabhapriya from Charukesi.The swara ma occurs in the last line whose construction is brilliant
again with the grouping of similar swaras-papapapapa mamamamama gagagagaga.
The mandolin
and the keys, which occur after the
first line is rendered in the beginning, sound with a sense of purpose.
The mandolin
and the saxophone have a friendly
banter in the first interlude with
the former dancing with joy in the beginning and the latter giving a heightened
response. The mandolin then responds
with sobriety as if to provide a contrast.
What is philosophy without contrasting elements?
The lines in the CharaNams follow a pattern. The first four lines start with pa dha while the last line starts with ga dha. At the same time, there are some
random combinations as well.
Is there a pattern in our life or is there
randomness or is it a combination of both?
The flute
which is interposed between the lines evokes sensibility.
The keys
in the beginning of the second interlude
sound with a sense of poignancy which transmogrifies as a sense of happiness
and then even humour as a funny sound is added. The saxophone takes some silky glides with the flute responding
piquantly. The mandolin-guitar
combination moves with unobtrusive energy. The bass strings of the guitar
resonate in the end with the bells giving a divine spiritual shade.
Philosophy of Life!
The xylophone
in the third interlude sounds with
vigour and yet with an inherent calmness with the long flute replying briefly. The single violin then moves with finesse. Is it glum? Or is it calm?
The xylophone enters again after the
violin traverses a circle. The flute responds. Is it plaintive? Or is
it meditative?
Is it simple or is it labyrinthine?
Or is it just stating the obvious?
Philosophy is a question as well as an answer!
High Quality Version:
Check this out on Chirbit
Check this out on Chirbit
