ILaiyaraaja- The Inspiring Musician

Nothing can be more comforting than the thought of being in a comfort zone.

Well, that applies to people who are happy and content with what they do; for people who do not get disturbed -or rather do not want to get disturbed - by the status quo; for people to whom the word ‘challenge’ is an anathema; for people who do the same things again and again in the same way always.

But people who love the word ‘challenges’, are different. They love being challenged and if nobody challenges them, they challenge themselves. They look at the same things differently. They look for inner meanings in almost everything. The word ‘superficial’ does not find an entry in their dictionary, while the word ‘deep’ is found in block letters.

           KaaLidasa was one such poet. One day, he was challenged by somebody, not for debating but for composing a poem with the letters- tha tham tha tham tham

tha tha  tham tha tham tha(note that it is the fourth ‘tha’(ठ).

He came up with this:

रामाभिषेके जलमाहरन्त्याः
हस्ताच्च्युतो हेमघटो युवत्याः
सोपानमार्गेण करोति शब्दम्
ठ ठं ठ ठं ठं ठ ठ ठं ठ ठं ठः

Ramabhisheke Jalamahrantya

Hastaachyuto hemaghato yuvatya

SopaanamaargaN karoti shabdam

Tha tham tha tham tham tha tha tham tha tham tham.

During the coronation of  Rama at Ayodhya, women with golden vessel went to

fetch water. One vessel slipped out of the hand of the maiden and it tumbled

down the steps making the sound- Tha tham tha tham tham tha tha tham tha

tham tham.

          This goes to show that sky is the limit for the creativity of a genius and that the best comes out of them, when challenged. That is why, a true genius loves challenges not just because they are challenged but also because they consider challenges as not challenging. On the contrary, they consider it as an opportunity.

          Once ILaiyaraaja faced a very challenging situation.. After composing a song and writing notes for the orchestra, he found that musicians who played the strings (violin, viola, cello) were not available on the day of the recording as they had already committed playing elsewhere. So, he replaced the string section with mandolin section. He called different mandolin players (14, if I am not wrong) and made them play.

           And the output was incredible.

          ‘Pudiya Poovidu’ from ‘ThendRale Ennai Thodu’(1985) has many more highlights, but this is the topmost highlight, something like the ‘Headlines’in a newspaper. Based on Suddha Dhanyasi, the composition has that romantic slant not least because of the beats, about which we shall see soon.

          The beginning is like a glacier. The guitar strums gradually with just the percussion sounding the tisram beats- ta ki ta- in the faster mode. The second guitar starts strumming now and the duo moves with an insouciant grace. Enter the heroes now. The different mandolins vivisected by the bass guitar, bristle with melody and make an organic progression.

          The flute and the keys-which sound like flute and yet sound differently- make it more soft and sensitive while the mandolins follow with a determined countenance and play ‘ta ka dhi mi ta ka’- tisram broken down into 6 micro beats- even as the piquant percussion continues to play ‘ta ki ta’ in its own inimitable style.

          The Pallavi in the voice of SPB and Janaki is multi layered. First we have the mid-octave swaras ,pa ni sa. The mandra swaras(lower octave notes) ni. and pa. combine to give a different feel. The janta swaras (2 together) mapa gama pani complete the experience..well almost, because with this composer, nothing can end so easily. Here it is he echo- effect and the pause which give a feeling which is indescribable.

          And this is just one layer. If you remember, I mentioned about the beats in the beginning. The tabla plays the tisram beats in a unique way. 3 is divided into 12 micro-beats here and the stress is given only on the 6^th, 7^th and the 10^th beats.

          The piquant percussion meanwhile continues playing ‘ta ki ta’ with the bass guitar playing with a sense of equanimity while the mandolin group moves up like the waves in the sea.

         All these combine to make it a spectacular sight. Who said music is just aural anyway?

         Laya Raaja enters again in the first interlude making the tabla tarang (tuned tabla) dance gracefully in Suddha Dhanyasi with the mandolins nodding in appreciation. The latter take over splitting into two sets and playing two different sets of notes. This is just like how he makes two different sets of strings overlap each other. But see how a small change in instruments makes a difference to everything-from sound to feeling.

         The tabla-with its unique beats- the other percussion and the bass guitar continue to back the two sets of mandolins until the mandolins give way to the guitar and the flute. Now only the piquant percussion and the bass guitar back these two which of course play two different notes, at times even an alien note or two which make it more attractive.

          The jump from pa to the upper Sa followed by a glide in the first two lines, the sudden lower octave ni. in the third line(mayakkamallavo), the sudden appearance and disappearance of the alien note (ga3) in the following line and the echo effect in the last line, give the CharaNams, depth, resonance and most importantly an unmatched elegance.

          We involuntarily begin to sway in the beginning of the second interlude when the guitar plays softly with the percussion backing it. The mandolins are at work again. I can even call it as ‘Mandarin’ as one sees the contours of South East Asian Music here. One set of mandolins moves lugubriously giving ornate images. The other set sounds now and then with an energetic swirl.

          The tabla now joins playing those unique beats even as the mandolins romance with the keys with flourish and buoyancy. It even seems as if the instruments are giving a mystical smile..

           ...like the golden vessel which made a musical sound when it tumbled down the stairs!

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