What is Happiness?
Is it hidden
anywhere or is it there everywhere?
As per
psychologists, Happiness in an increased activity in a brain centre that
inhabits negative feelings and fosters an increase in available energy and a
quieting of those that generate worrisome thoughts.
But this is just
theory.
Let us see what a
poet whose verses are not just spiritual, not just philosophical, not just
poetic but are also down to earth, says:
வானோ? புனல் பார் கனல் மாருதமோ?
ஞானோதயமோ? நவில்
நான் மறையோ?
யானோ? மனமோ? எனை ஆண்ட இடம்
தானோ? பொருளாவது சண்முகனே.
Well,
here that great poet called AruNagirinathar raises many questions as
always. Is it the sky? Is it the water? Is it the earth? Is it the fire? Is it
the air? Is it perceivable by one’s wisdom? Is it me? Is it my mind? Is it the
one which conquered me?
It is
an indisputable fact that poems and verses are subject to many interpretations.
Here, though the poet from ThiruvaNNamalai talks about the Divine, I see
it as questions related to Happiness. Happiness is Divine and Divine is
Happiness.
Happiness
is something which cannot be explained. Have you ever seen anybody explain
their state of Happiness? It just stops with their saying ‘I am Happy’. Why and
How lose their meanings here.
There
is an inextricable link between Music and Happiness. Both are
mutually inclusive. On the face of it, this may appear to be a sweeping
statement. ‘What about music which makes me cry,’ is a logical question.
When we cry while listening to great music, is it out of sadness or is it out
of extreme happiness?
On this
special day, let us look at a song which according to me, is an epitome of Happiness.
What
makes ‘Andaalalo aho mahodayam’ from the telugu film ‘Jagadeka
Veerudu Ati Loka Sundari’(1990) special is the way it makes us
happy irrespective of the state we are in. Based on Pahaadi raga, the
composition smiles at us with a divine countenance and it is impossible for us
to not to smile back.
The prelude
itself is rich, imaginative and is inundated with innovative ideas. Two sets of
strings sound simultaneously, with each playing different sets of notes.
The two merge and as if waiting for this to happen, the flute plays
pellucidly. The strings which play along, reach a crescendo. The chorus
starts humming now with the strings sliding and gliding in the
background.
With
the soft keys backing them, Janaki and SPB start humming
and we feel the incipient musicality. A seamless start makes the Pallavi
beautiful. What also makes it beautiful is the rhythm. As mentioned and
explained in many of my posts, the rhythm which is the backbone of any
composition, is distinct in this composer’s music. The composition is in Chatushra
eka taaLam, that is 4 beats per cycle. Here there are 3
different sets of percussion. While the first one, the rhythm pad, plays
the first and the third syllables constantly, the second one- the
drums- sound only the third syllable for every alternate ta ka
dhi mi. However, it is the third set which is very special. It appears at
the end of the line sung respectively by Janaki and SPB and sounds ta ka dhi
mi/ta ka aa - rather sharply. We
see this pattern in the CharaNams as well. But, what cannot escape the
listener’s attention is the fact that the percussion instruments sound very
soft like rose petals, in keeping with the complexion of the song.
The keys
pulsate with the short flute responding with poetic intensity. These
caressing overtones lead to a flowery musical expression with the strings
and flute combining together and moving with panache. The brush like
sound acts as percussion, and plays ‘ta’once ‘ka’ once
‘dhi mi’ and this subtle pattern itself is enough to make the strings
joyful as these glide and slide , fondly extricating themselves from the flute.
Not the one to complain, the flute appears towards the end playing some notes
in staccato.
Note that during the strings section, the percussion
sounds just twice so as to not disturb the happiness of the strings.
The
lines in the CharaNams have powerful phrasings with the first two lines
moving like a steady stream playing dha pa dha pa, the following lines
gliding down to touch some lower octave swaras of Pahaadi and the
last two lines touching the higher octave swaras going up and then
coming down as Sa ni dha pa ma.
The
perspicacity of the composer comes to the fore in the second interlude. The
strings move with facility exuding radiance. The second set enters now
and move with disciplined smoothness. It takes glides and glissandos while the
first set moves enticingly sparkling, with a plethora of patterns. It is
transcendence going beyond limitations of time and space.
After
all, is that not what Happiness is all about?
PS: This post was read out last evening(2nd June) to an invited audience in a virtual session.
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