ILaiyaraaja - The Illusionist

Either Black or White?

Either Left of Right?

There is Something Called Grey

Which is the Middle Way.

This ‘poem’(that is if you can call it that way) was written by me some time ago. Whether one can call this a poem or not may not be relevant here, though what may be relevant is the thought I have tried to convey through this. In a world where binaries have become the norm, space for other numbers(read as ‘thoughts’ and ‘opinions’) is getting reduced by the day. The fact that there could be something ‘in between’is not understood or appreciated by many. But even for argument sake, if  we assume that there can only be ‘either this or that’, is not possible for ‘this’ to become ‘that’ and vice versa?

Far from making you confused, my intention is to make you think.

Now, look at this verse:

புகழ்வோம் பழிப்போம்; புகழோம் பழியோம்;

இகழ்வோம் மதிப்போம்; மதியோம், இகழோம்; மற்று

எங்கள் மால்! செங்கண் மால்! சீறல் நீ, தீவினையோம்

எங்கள் மால் கண்டாய் இவை.

Written by the great Tamizh poet Nammaazhwar, this verse is full of contradictions. Or is it?

Let us see what he says:

Addressing the Lord- who he calls as the One who loves us all- the Aazhawar first says – ‘I shall praise You’ and immediately follows it up with ‘I shall despise You’. In the same line, he says, ‘I shall not praise You, nor shall I despise You’. If this is not confounding enough, he continues in the next line- ‘I shall insult You, I shall respect You’ and ‘I shall not respect You nor shall I insult You’. Probably realizing that the Lord himself will be confused now, he says,’ Oh, don’t be angry now’ and finally says ‘All this because of the extreme affection I-who is a sinner- have for You’.

Note that the genius poet that he is, Nammazhwar says ‘You have extreme affection for me. So do I’. But let us see the inherent ‘contradictions’. If the first two phrases are contrasts, the phrases that follow are neutral. Same is the case with the second line. 

But why does he say ‘I won’t praise you’? It is because ‘if I praise You, it means I am praising the One who is beyond all praise and by doing this am I not insulting You? So if I don’t praise You, doesn’t it mean I am not despising You? But if I don’t praise you, wouldn’t it mean I am insulting You? And this duality is because of my extreme Love for you’.

Well, I know it is laced with spirituality with a dash of philosophy, but aren’t these two the sides of the same coin? Or are they different?

Even as we keep thinking about this, let us understand that there can be no life without the concept of duality. And that is the most beautiful aspect of life.

It is of course the beautiful aspect of music too. And without a doubt, this gets reflected in the works of genius music composers.

As I keep saying in my posts, there is poetry in everything. And what we see in ILaiyaraaja’s music is poetry at its best. Let us now see a classic example of duality in his music.

‘Vaanile Thaenila’ from ‘Kaakki Sattai’(1985) may not sound like a song based purely on a classical raga as it is a romantic duet in a tricky situation which is laced with the villain chasing the duo. But not only does the composer follow a classical raga to a T, but also he applies a classical technique in between. And he does this without not many noticing it and without not many being  even aware of it.

But isn’t it true that beauty lies in the unspoken?

The composition is based on Chakravaagam, a raga known for its melancholic touches. So, by saying that the composer used a technique, did I mean this- that is using a melancholic raga for a romantic duet?

Not at all, because if you know ILaiyaraaja well and if you have been following the posts here, you know that he is known for giving us such surprises without in anyway spoiling the grammar of the raga(s).

What then is that technique?

Let us see the composition from the beginning as the surprise happens somewhere in the middle.

The distortion guitar and the electric guitar vie with each other to produce a rather funny sound. If these smirk and then smile, the keys that follow with the guitar(s) in the background produce an impromptu sound which no doubt is pleasing and fragrant. It is then the turn of the saxophone and the strings to romance together by playing two separate melodies evoking some unknown emotions and feelings inside us. The bass guitar combines with the bells and how beautiful does it sound!

The Pallavi in the voices of SPB and Janaki, with the bass guitars in the background and the percussion sounding 4 ‘ta ki ta’s with the last ‘ta ki ta’ alone sounding sharp, is a compendium of melody to say the least.

The higher - octave strings sing like a cuckoo while the saxophone responds like a new unknown species of birds, in the first interlude. The second time this happens, the flute enters, slides and glides. The strings continue the journey with the dulcet flute following them with its unique sound. The guitar makes the atmosphere livelier with its resonance and the strings acknowledge this. The two different flutes- Indian and Western- show unity in diversity and prove that after all , it is music which can unite everyone.

Now, there is a twist. And if you recall my earlier introduction, this is the twist I was talking about. Keeping the swara ‘ma’ of Chakravaagam as the base (sa), the composer changes the raga to Sarasangi. People who follow the posts here closely , know that this technique is called as Graha Bhedam and that ILaiyaraaja is the only film music composer to have used this technique extensively and prolifically in film music.

So the first four lines follow Sarassangi while the last two lines revert to Chakravaagam. If this is not depicting Duality, what else is?

And the fact that this happens in a trice, speaks volumes of the genius of the composer.

The lines in the CharaNams have that touch of poignancy which makes it all the more enjoyable.

Poignant glides are seen in the second interlude as well when the strings move like a stream towards the end. But before this, we see the harmony between the male and the female voices with the former humming a melody in the mid-octave and the latter a different melody-albeit in the same raga- in the higher octave. And in the first segment of the interlude, we have the joyful saxophone combining with the grim faced bass guitar and the neutral bells with the drums playing in mel-kaalam.

Black, White, Grey..

Praise, Despise, Neutral..

Life…Music..

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