ILaiyaraaja – The Raconteur

 

Story telling is an art. All of us can tell stories. But not many can tell interesting stories; not many can make stories interesting; not many can interestingly narrate an interesting story with the reader or the listener not even aware that a story is being narrated. The story, the narrator and the listener become one.

Let me repeat- Story telling is an art!

Take Kamban. Yes, he did write that magnum opus called Ramayana. But my focus is more into the kind of stories he weaved in just a couple of lines in his verses, which if interpreted would take reams to explain. Let me just quote three examples from the verses I have already quoted in some of my earlier posts.

எடுத்தது கண்டனர். இட்டது கேட்டார்.

மையோ மரகதமோ மழைமுகிலோ ஐயோ இவன் வடிவு.

எழுந்திராய் எழுந்திராய் கறங்கு போல வில் பிடித்த கால தூதர் கையிலே உறங்குவாய் உறங்குவாய் இனிக்கிடந்து உறங்குவாய்.

The first one refers to the swayamvara where he breaks the bow. The audience see him take the bow… And hear the sound.

The second one talks about Rama leaving the Kingdom along with his brother and his wife. Is He the kaajal? Is He the Emerald? Is He the Ocean? Or is He the Rain clouds? Oh, no, leave me now.

The third one is about the effort to wake KumbakarNa up. Wake up now. You are anyway going to sleep forever.

What I have given are just literal translations. But as mentioned earlier, each and every line can be expanded to tell us stories and stories within stories. That ‘aiyyo’ alone is enough to make us all shout with excitement.

Let us now see a complete verse. It is the night before the wedding. Rama and Sita are in their respective chambers. Needless to say, sleep eludes them. And the night never seems to end.

கழியா உயிர் உந்திய காரிகை தன்

விழி போல வளர்ந்தது வீகிலதால்

அழிபோர் இறைவன் பட அஞ்சியவன்

பழி போல வளர்ந்தது பாயிருளே.

Here, he compares the night and the darkness to two totally different things. First, it is like the eyes of that girl who has stirred his soul. At the surface level, it would seem as if the poet is comparing the pupil of the eye with darkness. Delve further and you can see the word vaLarnthathu. The night seems to be never ending and it keeps growing and expanding like her eyes.

In the second half, he talks about war and the ignominy of a king who loses the war. The darkness and therefore the night is like that unfathomable ignominy.

Contrasts? Yes! But delve deeper and you can find that it symbolises RavaNa and his defeat. The entire RamayaNa narrated in a matter of seconds in just four lines.

Not many can interestingly narrate an interesting story with the reader or the listener not even aware that a story is being narrated.

This is Kamban- The Story teller.

Let us now look at a story teller, who weaves eternal stories in a jiffy.

If Kavi Chakravarti told stories in poetic form, Isai Gnaani has been telling stories in musical form.

Any song of his can be interpreted in multiple ways and each time one can see a different story or an expansion of a story depending on the perspective.

‘Iru Vizhiyin Vazhiye’ from ‘Siva’(1989) is no exception.

Listen to the initial humming of Chitra. What do you feel?

Jubilation? Exultation? Exuberance?

And the subtle sound of the bells? Doesn’t it make you visualise something?

And the flute which lights up short colour glints with keys backing?

And the two sets of percussion in chatushram with the first set sounding only the first syllable like a light thunder and the other one sounding ta ka dhi mi/ ta ka dhi mi like the lightning?

And after a while when the first set gathers momentum and sounds the first and the third syllable yet again like a light thunder?

And when the chorus hums with grace and sensitivity and the higher-octave strings moving with coherence and fluidity?

And when Chitra joins again and continues the humming from where she left?

Don’t we see Hamsadhwani sketch a beautiful portrait and extending beyond that?

Don’t we see the effervescent lightness in the Pallavi which glides in quietly and with unmatchable charm even as SPB joins in?

What does the soft, sedate, subtle and majestic melody of the saxophone in pure Hamsadhwani indicate in the beginning of the first interlude?

And the aura of the melody from the flute which touches the nook and cranny of Hamsadhwani and starts floating in the air?

And the finely etched melody from the strings which moves with pulsating weight on the ground providing a beautiful contrast to the flute which is floating?

And the abundant melody phrases in the CharaNams with the zealous first segment where one also has to listen between the lines to the mellow flute and the ebullient strings for a full aavartana? Isn’t listening between the lines as exciting as reading between the lines?

And the sober second segment which moves gently with the ascending and descending notes moving like breeze?

And the alluring depth of the last segment which touches the higher-octave notes revealing the hidden ecstasy?

Or the fragrance of the humming in the beginning of the second interlude and the musical elegance of the saxophone which shows the unique dimension of a pure classical raga called Hamsadhwani?

Or the caressing and felicitous strings in higher-octave with the chorus humming following like a calm river?

Or the dazzling flute which interjects and plays the ‘Sa ni pa ga ri’ phrase showing us all that sliding is not merely going down but is also going up to reach dizzying heights?

Some stories do not end. And we do not want these to end.

That is why, story telling is an art. It grows, glows and spreads the rays of light ..to dispel darkness.

Ps: This post was exclusively written for the 7^th Anniversary celebrations of ‘ILaiyaraaja- The Master’, a Group on Facebook, and was read out to an invited audience on Zoom on the 2^nd of October 2021.

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ILaiyaraaja – The Music Messenger

How do we get connected?

This question might sound doltish, imprudent, witless and even thoughtless in this age of apps and browsers. It just needs a single click to get connected with others irrespective of the distance.

But the ‘connection’ I am referring to does not pertain to the ones we have on social media. A majority of these connections are superficial and the connection stops and ends with the keypads. Most of these are lifeless and exist just for the sake of existing.

However, it can also be not denied that some of these connections are indeed very deep. Going beyond the typical definitions of social media, these connections make us feel as if the person/s is/are known to us since many years even if we have not even seen them or do not get to see them often physically. What makes this possible?

I shall probably answer this in the end.

Now imagine those days when even communicating with each other was next to impossible. By ‘those days’, I mean days when neither ‘tech’ nor ‘logy’ existed in the lexicon of the world; days when even ‘posts’ or ‘offices’ did not exist; days when travel was by foot. Were people not connected those days? If they were not connected, how was it possible for somebody in Kanyakumari to know somebody in the Himalayas? And how was it possible to ‘be in touch’?

Our Literature is rich with poems in which birds acted as a ‘go-between’ and delivered messages. There are also instances of plants/ creepers, clouds and even non-living things like conch being requested to act as a via-media, but these were used more for poetic beauty and less for reality. I shall come to this in a while.

Let us look at a real story before that. This happened during the Sangam era. There was somebody called Kopperunchozhan, who as the name suggests ruled the Chozha kingdom. There was a poet called Pisiraanthaiyaar, not in Chozha naadu, but in PaaNdiya naadu. Those days-just like the present days- rivalry existed between fellow tamizh people despite living the same land and despite speaking the same language. The three major kingdoms – Chera, Chozha and Pandiya- were at loggerheads with each other. The intensity of the rivalry was more between the last two mentioned.

Therefore, it is more than a surprise that Pisiraanthaiyaar composed poems on Kopperunchozhan extolling his virtues and describing the beauty of his kingdom. The king too developed an affinity towards the poet and the reason was not just because the latter sang paeans on him. The two never met!

Things were hunky dory in the Chozha kingdom until the two sons of the Chozha decided to wage a war against their own father to annex the kingdom. Vexed with the developments, Kopperunchozhan decided to indulge in  ‘Vadakkiruththal’, the act of sitting in the northern direction and starving to death  which was common those days.

He did the unthinkable after this. He reserved a spot for his friend -Pisiraanthaiyaar- alongside! 

Pisiraanthaiyaar gets to know the developments (now don’t ask me how) but is helpless. Somehow, he reaches the spot but by then the king is dead. He sits at the same spot and gives up his life.

Here is a poem composed by him, which is part of PuRanaanooRu, which in turn is part of the Sangam literature:

 

அன்னச் சேவல் அன்னச் சேவல் ஆடுகொள் வென்றி அடுபோர் அண்ணல்

நாடுதலை அளிக்கும் ஒண்முகம் போலக் கோடுகூடு மதியம் முகில் நிலா  விளங்கும்

மையல் மால யாம் கையறுபு இனையக் குமரிஅம் பெருந்துறை அயிரை மாந்தி

வடமலைப் பெயர்குவை ஆயின் இடையது சோழன் நன்னாட்டுப்படினே கோழி

உயர்நிலை மாடத்துக் குறும்பறை அசைஇ வாயில் விடாது கோயில் புக்கு எம்

பெருங்கோக்கிள்ளி கேட்க இரும் பிசிர் ஆந்தை அடியுறை எனினே மாண்ட நின்

இன்புற பேடை அணியத் தன் அன்புறு நன் கலம் நல்குவன் நினக்கே.

‘Oh, my dear Swan!

Seeming as if two horns join together to make it a circle, the Moon shimmers. It reminds one of the glowing face of a king who emerges as a victor fighting for his land.

On this mesmersising evening when one even loses all his senses, I feel helpless.

If you, my dear swan, after feeding on ayirai fish in that Ocean called Kumari, decide to fly to the Himalayas in the North along with your beloved, and on the way stay at URaiyur and visit the beautiful palace without stopping at the gate and utter the words, ‘ I am Pisiraanthaiyaar’s servant’, the king ‘PerunkoRkiLLi’ will rush towards you and gift you with beautiful jewellery for your beloved to wear’.

(this is just a loose translation by yours truly done with the purpose of making you all understand the import of the poem, without bothering to sound poetic).

For the benefit of all, I have recited the poem and you can find it in the link.

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Though there is no record to show as to when this was composed, the words like ‘I am helpless’ and ‘two horns’ suggest that probably this was written after the poet came to know of the king’s decision. There are many things in this poem which demand a detailed explanation and analysis but I would refrain from doing that for the time being at least as the objective of quoting this poem is to show how people got connected those days and developed unfathomable affection even without seeing each other.

Goes to show that there is something in the Universe which connects people and what that something is, cannot be explained rationally.

Let us look at Music in general and ILaiyaraaja in particular. The latter connects with millions of people with his music. Though he would not have met the people (at least 99% of them) and the people would not have met him in real life, the affinity people have for him and vice versa cannot be measured. The same in fact applies to the connection people have between them with his music being the main reason.

On this day which is very special for me, I am looking at a song which never fails to give vibrations whenever I listen to it. The reasons could be many but let me try and explain the nuances and intricacies and see if these alone are the reasons or if there is something beyond these too.

The song Malligaiye Malligaiye from Periya Veettu PaNNaikkaran (1990) is based on a raga called Sarasaangi. Though the name sounds romantic or at least indicates romance, the raga evokes a mélange of feelings, say a mix of happiness and poignancy with a dose of nostalgia. As per the melakarata system, it is the 27^th mela ragam, just before ShankarabharaNam with just the variant of the swara dhaivatam separating the two. Yet, the two sound totally different. In fact, if one changes the variant of each of the swaras, it would lead to some very well- known ragas.

Change the variant of rishabham(ri) and it will give MayamalavagowLa. Change the variant of gaandharam(ga) and it will give KeeravaNi. Change the variant of madhyamam(ma) and it will give Latangi. Change the variant of nishadam(ni) and it will give Charukesi.

Except the last mentioned, the other ragas sound so different from Sarasangi. That indeed is the beauty of Music.

Curiously enough, this raga exists as a scale in Western Classical Music too where it goes by the name Harmonic major.

After that rather elaborate explanation about the raga, let us look at the composition.

The beginning itself is zestful. The frisky strings move as if these are suddenly released from exile. There are two sets with one sounding like a thunder and the other sounding like a murmur. But isn’t it a fact that a murmur too adds value? Here, it adds that musical value. The thunderous set quickly touches the higher-octave and makes us believe that the peak has already been conquered.

However, very soon we realise that it is just the summit. In fact, there lies the magic of the composer. The chorus hums in Sarasangi with the tabla sounding in Tisram and that reticently powerful instrument called Bass Guitar backing both -in Tisram.

The mellow flute sings like a bird with the rhythm pad accompanying it like the rustling leaves.

The Pallavi starts in the voice of Chitra. The beauty of this Pallavi not just lies in the fact that it is soft and supple and is well structured, but also in two more factors. First is the podi sangati in the lines which sounds unique. Next is the rhythmic pattern and the instruments which give it that special status. The reticent bass guitar is more vociferous here and it sounds ta – –  ka dhi mi along with the vocals. The 3-beat tisram is broken down into 6 micro beats- ta ka ta ka dhi mi- and is made to sound only the first, fourth, fifth and sixth leaving the second and third as blank(kaarvai). The fact that this gives the Pallavi a majestic look is as obvious as the fact that the rose is beautiful.

One sees the variegated nuggets of the raga in that western instrument called the guitar in the first half of the first interlude. The diffused glow of the strings which play a parallel melody in the background is not dissimilar to the beauty of the full moon which hides behind the dark clouds sometimes partially and sometimes fully. The moon does come out of the clouds a little later but not before the billow of clouds (guitar) touches the nook and corner of the sky called Sarasangi.

The euphonic flute continues the journey in its own style provoking a response from the strings which give a catena of swaras. This results in our witnessing ornate images of the raga.

The first segment of the CharaNams ( Yesudass in the first one and Chitra in the second one) is full of melodic intricacies. The second segment touches the upper registers while the last segment is plaintive. All these three typify the raga.

The second interlude has some amazing patterns.

First, the sticks(kolaattam) sound gracefully in tisram. The chorus takes over and continues the humming. The ever-smiling flute responds to the humming with pulsating vibrancy. The strings enter elegantly and in a matter of seconds elevate us to a higher plane. The guitar responds with a touch of sobriety.

As if taking a cue from the guitar, the strings move with an evocative grandeur making it a quintessential experience. With a flourish, the flute takes some silky glides connecting the earth with the heaven.

What has made this connection possible?

It can probably be answered by Pisiraanthaiyaar and Kopperunchozhan..

Ps: This is my 200th post in the Blog and I am very happy that this is happening on my special day- 29th of August. What give me energy are Music, His Music, Writing and Literature. Thank you all for the support. I am sure I will continue to write on his music and share whatever little knowledge I have with you all!!

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ILaiyaraaja – The Mathematician

AruNagirinathar, who lived in the 15^th century, was a musician par excellence.

Did I say musician? But was he not known for his verses in beautiful Tamizh-verses like Thiruppugazh, Kandar Alankaram, Kandar Anubhuti, Vel Viruththam, Mayil Viruththam etc.,?

Is there any historical record of his performance? Did he tune his verses in ragas or PaNNs? And if so, is there a record or reference to these like say Tyagaraja kritis or Muththuswami Dikshitar kritis?

It is really not known if he tuned his Thiruppugazh or his other works. It is not even known if he learnt classical music. Unfortunately, he had no disciples. Like a vagabond, he travelled across the Tamizh country and composed the verses. In fact, in all likelihood he travelled to Sri Lanka too as there is a Thiruppugazh on KaNdi Kadirgaamar.

Then why do I call him a musician? The reasons go much beyond the fact that his Thiruppugazhs are sung in carnatic concerts(albeit towards the end) in classical ragas. The taaLas he has used in Thiruppugazh make one wonder as to how he could conceive such rhythmic patterns. Though some say he composed in all 108 taaLas, what amazes one are the compositions in taaLas which are not listed in any classical theory books. These have now assumed the name ‘Chandha TaaLas’.

Let us look at a Thiruppugazh(he is said to have composed about 16,000 Thiruppugazhs out of which just around 1,800 are available now).

பாதிமதி நதி போது மணிசடை நாதர் அருளிய குமரேசா

பாகு கனிமொழி மாது குறமகள் பாதம் வருடிய மணவாளா

காதும் ஒரு விழி காகமுற அருள் மாயன் அரி திரு மருகோனே

காலன் எனை அணுகாமல் உனதிரு காலில் வழிபட அருள்வாயே

ஆதி அயனனொடு தேவர் சுரர் உலகாளும் வகையுறு சிறைமீளா

ஆடும் மயிலினில் ஏறி அமரர்கள் சூழ வர வரும் இளையோனே

சூத மிக வளர் சோலை மருவு சுவாமி மலைதனில் உறைவோனே

சூரன் உடல் அற வாரி சுவறிட வேலை விடவல பெருமாளே.

Though the focus now is not as much on the meaning as it is on the rhythmic structure, I feel I must briefly touch upon some aspects of the verse before explaining the taaLa structure.

He starts the verse saying ‘Muruga is the son of the one who has the half crescent moon, the river and the kondRai flower on his head.’ He then moves on to the romance of Muruga(whether many like it or not, the romance of the Gods is part of our literature and one cannot escape from this or be like an Ostrich). In the third line, he tells a mini story from RamayaNa in which Rama first attacks a crow(a raakshasa in the form of crow, in fact it is Indra’s son Jayanthan who assumes that form) and then forgives him after ‘poking’ just one eye. He then requests Muruga to protect him (AruNagiri) from the God of Death and then talks about how he saved the Devas. He ends the verse with a lovely description of ‘Swamimalai’-one of the six abodes of Muruga.

This is just the gist.

What is of particular interest in the way each line is constructed.

In Carnatic Music parlance, the taaLa pattern is :

ta ka/ta ka dh mi/ ta ka/ ta ka dhi mi/ ta ka/ ta ka dhi mi

(1 2 / 1 2 3 4 / 1 2 / 1 2 3 4 / 1 2/ 1 2 3 4 ).

This peculiar pattern, which has 18 aksharaas, is a taaLa by itself.

This is just an example and there are hundreds of examples like this which show the mastery of AruNagirinathar. Though I have not seen AruNagirinathar, I am sure it would have taken just a few minutes for him to compose this(otherwise how would he have composed 16,000 songs plus a host of viruththams in one life time of which at least the first 20 odd years were lost in just ‘wandering around’(an euphemism for ‘womanising’)?

The Genius called ILaiyaraaja’s strength lies not just in melody but in rhythm too, a fact which is being highlighted by ‘yours truly’ in infinite posts.. He has used different patterns, has used cross rhythms, has used ‘usi’, has done ‘gati bhedam’..and has done many more(the list is huge). The composition I am going to focus on today is special in many ways.

‘Paarththa Vizhi Paarththapadi’ from ‘GuNa’(1991) is a composition which will make a genuine classical composer proud. First, it is based on a raga which in real sense is a rare one. As far as I know, there are only 2 compositions in this raga in carnatic music.

There is an interesting story too. It is said that the hero of the movie requested the composer to give him a song like ‘Kaa Vaa Vaa’ and the composer came up with this song. The song quoted by the actor is based on a beautiful raga called ‘VaraLi’. Any other composer would have instantly obliged and would have composed in VaraLi. But not the gentleman whose brain is wired differently.. He composed it in Paavani.

How is the latter different from the former?

The latter is a melakarta raga while the former is a derived raga and follows a devious structure. However, both are ‘vivadi’ ragas. I have written about the concept of vivadi in some of my posts earlier. Moreover, since this post will focus more on the rhythmic pattern and less on the raga pattern, it will be prudent on my part to revisit ‘vivadi concept’ sometime later.

All I can say now (and this does not pertain to ‘vivadi’) is that on paper it is the variant of ‘dha’ which separates the two ragas, but this too is on paper as VaraLi is a very special raga having some unique oscillations of swaras.

Paavani is the 41^st meLakarta and the swara ‘ga’ is the vivadi swara. A raga with a vivadi swara evokes a very different feel and I am sure this kind of a raga was used here keeping the protagonist of the story in mind.

Generally, my posts in this thread would go systematically and the description would follow a pattern, and I would take up the prelude first, go to the Pallavi, then move on to the first interlude, go to the CharaNam and finally describe the second(and third if it exists) interlude. Today, I am straightaway jumping to the interlude and not without a reason. But before that, I must tell you that the composition is different from a normal composition in terms of the structure. There is a prelude, a short Pallavi, an interlude which can also be called as the CharaNam, the Pallavi again but in higher octave and then a postlude.

Let us first see that interlude/charaNam part.

This part has the vocals (chorus) and no melodic instruments. It is in fact a ‘recitation’ of ‘Abhirami Andaadi no.42.

The composition is set to the 5-beat khandam. Now, any other composer would have set the verse too in the same beats and would have moved on. Yes, I am talking about an ‘ordinary composer’. But why talk about something ‘ordinary’ when we have somebody who is ‘extraordinary’?

The group of percussion instruments follows this pattern when the verse is sung. Here too, one set (Jaalra) plays in kizh kaalam while the other set(cheNda) plays in mel kaalam simultaneously. It would not have been difficult at all for the composer to set the verse (which is in Paavani ragam anyway) in khandam. But here, the verse goes ‘freely’. How free it is, let us see.

The entire verse lasts 18 khandams. So, it a total of 90 aksharaas(18x5). The rhythmic pattern of the verse (mind you, decoding this was an herculean task!) roughly follows

                  15  / 10  /33  /32

How he conceived this and executed this (it is not an easy task to make the chorus sing in this pattern when the percussion goes in khandam considering the fact that a majority of chorus singers may not have been well trained in carnatic music) is difficult to fathom!

Let us now look at the composition from the beginning.

It starts with the resonant ‘gong’ like instrument reverberating during the first, third , fifth, seventh and the eighth beats. This piece which lasts for one aavartana of Aadi taaLam(kizh kaalam) sounds like veda mantram and sets the tone-literally and figuratively. The chorus starts rendering ‘Abhirami Andaadi no.50’and this too is set in Aadi taaLam with the ‘gong’ sounding rather subtly now. The resemblance to the veda mantram is too close to be missed.

This ethereally hormonised singing lasts for 4 aavartanaas. The sympathetic strings then play the arohanam of Paavani and right from this point it is khandam. One sees the glowing images as the conch plays extended notes to the backing of the cheNda.

Laced with softness, the Pallavi starts in the voice of Yesudass and it entrancingly portrays the hidden beauties of the raga. Note that the vivadi gandhara(Shuddha gandhara) dominates the first two lines while the last two lines(can be called as ‘anu pallavi’) are dominated by the ‘uttaranga swaras’. The akaaram towards the end shows the subtle and the dynamic shades of Paavani.

Andaadhi no.42 follows(as already described in the beginning) with the shining contrasting texture. It is a kind of cohesive matrix with some variegated patterns.

It segues into the Pallavi which is rendered this time in the higher octave.

The percussion takes over and it is a mélange of sorts with the group going in mel kaalam and if I were to say that it is a divine spiritual experience, it would not be an exaggeration.

The composition has a postlude too with the sitar playing a sensitively crafted classical melody in Paavani and the flute joining towards the end with an emotive heft.

Free flow of music which runs into patterns..

That is how a river flows..And that is how the moon shines..And that is how a flower blossoms..

And that is how AruNagirinathar sings..

And that is how ILaiyaraaja composes..

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ILaiyaraaja – The Ultra-fine Musician

 

What distinguishes a normal life from that of a beautiful life is something called subtlety. If one is able to appreciate the nuances in each and everything in nature, his/her life acquires new meanings. Meanings which cannot be expressed in words and which can only be felt and experienced. Such people see new things in old things and older things in new things. They not only look for details within details but also know how to express what they see and what they feel. Aesthetics is a way of life for these people. And this gets reflected in their works.

AaNdaL is a classic example. Yes, she was a Bhakti poet who was truly in love with Krishna. But she also loved nature and was an expert in human psychology. Her poems explored Bhakti, Nature and Human behaviour in the broadest sense minutely.

Here is one sample:

கீசு கீசு என்றெங்கும் ஆனைச் சாத்தன் கலந்து

பேசின பேச்சரவம் கேட்டிலையோ பேய்ப்பெண்ணே

வாச நறுங்குழல் ஆய்ச்சியர் மத்தினால்

ஓசைப்படுத்த தயிரரவம் கேட்டிலையோ?

நாயகப் பெண்பிள்ளாய்! நாராயணன் மூர்த்தி

கேசவனைப் பாடவும் நீ கேட்டே கிடத்தியோ

தேசமுடையாய் திறவேலோர் எம்பாவாய்.

 

In the poem under reference- Keesu KeesenRu- she describes things around her and uses these to wake he friend up. This ‘waking up’ and the ‘friend’ are esoteric and therefore are better left alone here as the focus now is on her aesthetic sense and her propensity to relate things around us to the Divine.

She first talks about the birds. ‘Aanaichaatthan' is a species of birds found in villages in South Tamizh Nadu. These birds are also called ‘Bharadhwaja pakshi’. She hears their sound at dawn and tells her friend, ‘Can’t you hear their sound?’ But what is to be noted here is that she refrains from calling it a ‘bird song’. She calls it a ‘conversation’. Wonder how many can even view the bird calls as ‘conversations’. Most significantly, she calls it a ‘screech’!

She addresses her friend as ‘Demon girl’ here but more on this in a bit.

She then moves on to the milkmaids who churn the butter milk to get curd(here too, I am skipping the esoteric meaning). ‘Milkmaids -whose fragrance of the hair permeates the air- churn the butter milk with their bangles and chains moving here and there. Are you not able to hear this sound too?’ asks she.

‘You are lying on the bed despite all these and despite us singing paeans on NarayaNa. Come, open the door and join us’, she concludes.

Forget even the description for a moment. Just observe as to how she brings all the five senses into play here.

Sound of the birds/milkmaids/paeans on VishNu- Hearing.

Fragrance of hair- Smell.

Butter milk to Curd- Taste.

Lying down with half-eyes open- See.

Lying down cosily on the bed – Touch.

And now let us see how she addresses her friend. To start with ‘ a demon girl’. Somewhere in the middle(5^th line)- ‘Heroine/Head of all girls’. Towards the end – the lustrous/ the one with tejas!

Details..Mini details, Micro details, Nano details..

And that is AaNdaaL for you.

Needless to say, ILaiyaraaja whose love for nature, eye for detail, his proclivity for music and above all his passion, is like AandaaL.

Now, take ‘KaatRodu Kuzhalin Naadame’ from ‘Kodai Mazhai’(1987). Based on a classical raga called Simhendra Madhyamam, the composition blows, saunters, drifts and floats like a breeze. This is as far as beauty is concerned. But being a musician who believes in getting into the skin of the character, he delves deep and the output is there for all of us to see.

All that the director would have told him was this – ‘’It is a classical dance sequence’’.

The Maestro would have instantly plunged into the world of dance.

The composition starts with the akaaram of Chitra in pure Simhendramadhyamam.

The mridangam sounds just the first syllable in the beginning of the 8-beat taaLa cycle and sounds 5 micro-beats at the 4^th beat. This continues for three full cycles (one full cycle is called ‘aavartanam’ in Carnatic Music parlance). The mridangam takes over in the 4^th cycle and plays a micro-korvai for one cycle.

Dance of the taaLa!

This continues in the Pallavi too with the mridangam taking over again after the first lines is rendered and playing yet another korvai with Chitra extending the ‘naadame..’.Resonance at its best!

Not to be left behind, the flute sounds too in the segment that follows coalescing with the vocals, symbolising the wind and of course justifying the meaning- resonance of the flute along with the wind.

‘Taam taam ta ri ki ta taam’ says the mridangam in the beginning of the first interlude.

The tabla echoes it.

‘ta ka dhi mi ta ri ki ta taam’ says the mridangam.

The tabla echoes again.

The romance between the two continues again with ta ri ki ta taam/ ta ri ki ta taam , taam ta ri ki ta taam/taam ta ri ki ta taam and then finally ta ri ki ta taam.

Magic of Laya!

The magic happens again in the CharaNam with the percussion instrument playing with gusto and robustness exactly at the 4^th beat of each cycle. It is not that there is no percussion during the other beats. It is just that it makes a special sound during that beat which gives sheen to the entire CharaNam.

The VeeNa gliding with an unmatched grace and the last line being split as ta a a a/ta a a a/ ta ka dhi mi/ta ka dhi mi/ta ka dhi mi/ta ka dhi mi with the last four ta ka dhi mi s in the second half of the cycle, show the master craftsman in full cry.

The swaras drizzle from the flute. These drizzle from the veena too. But it is two different drizzles.

This happens in the beginning of the second interlude.

The two classic instruments then go on a friendly rampage twisting, twirling and then dazzling. The flute decides to go on its own now for a while even as the veeNa takes a pause. It is the turn of the latter to go on its own then. The end result- That classical raga called Simhendramadhyamam shown to us in all its splendour.

The two join together again and lead us to the second CharaNam. Now the vocals render one line lasting one cycle with the cheNda(percussion used mainly in Kerala) playing in the next cycle with the mridangam and jaalra backing it.

A litany of swaras follows making us spell bound.

Details..Mini Details.. Micro Details.. Nano Details..

I can now hear the conversations of Aanaichaattan. Can you all too?

 

 

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ILaiyaraaja – The Exotic Musician

 

Tender than the sprouts and having the fragrance of the white glory lily blossoms and water lilies is this young woman’s body. And isn’t it so enthralling to embrace her?

Awestruck by the beauty of the young woman, the man mutters these words to himself.

கோடல் எதிர் முகைப் பசு வீ முல்லை

நாறு இதழ்க் குவளையொடு இடையிடுபு விரைஇ

ஐது தொடை மாண்ட கோதை போல

நறிய நல்லோள் மேனி        

முறியினும் வாய்வது, முயங்கற்கும் இனிதே.

Written by a poet called SiRaikkudi Aandaiyaar, this is part of KuRunthogai, one of the works belonging to the Sangam Era. There is an inextricable link between literature and romance, and it is a known fact that poetry and love go together.

And yes, music and romance go together as well.

One can keep giving examples and this will fill reams and reams of pages. Due to lack of space, let me take up just one now.

Thaana Vandha Sandaname from Ooru Vittu Ooru Vanddhu(1990) is based on a very classical raga called Kharaharapriya. One of the most ancient ragas, this raga is also one of the basic PaNs in Tamizh music and is known by the name ‘Kodippaalai’.

The composition has an unusual start. The guitar sounds with exuberance and continues playing a short melody. The flute ambles and moves with poetic intensity. There is also a very different sound which even sounds eerie. The Jaalra and the very subtle bass guitar combine with all these and the experience is unmatchable.

SPB starts the Pallavi and one cannot miss the sangati even in the very first phrase which goes like nidhapadhaSa. The Master now makes a subtle variation of this sangati and makes the phrase that follows as – nidhapanidhapa.

Subtleties do matter when it comes to music, love and life!

The Master now shows the avarohaNam of the raga towards the end of the next line, but it is the third line which beautifully defines the raga with the typical phrase-rigamagari. The sudden entry of the lower - octave swaras- dha. ni. and sa.- in this line and in the line which follows this shows the classical Raaja at his best.

Sound of the thunder- This is how one can describe the beginning of the first interlude. If there is thunder, how can one stop the rain? It is a rain of melody. The brass instruments move vigorously and melodiously with the strings playing the second fiddle. It gathers momentum with the entry of the guitar and the keys which give a flowery musical expression. The two sets of strings take over now with one set roaring in the higher - octave and the second set moving with disciplined smoothness. What is to be noted is the fact that the two sets play two different melodies parallelly without sounding cacophonic.

The lines in the CharaNams show the classical Raaja yet again in the voices of SPB and Janaki. It starts with the avarohaNam in the beginning of the first line which even goes on to touches the upper Sa.Not stopping with this, it also touches the upper Ri and Ga. But there is more to come. The third and fourth lines see a sudden spurt with the upper Ri following the mid-ri and this goes upper and upper until it reaches the upper Ma, a rarity even in a normal classical composition.

It is the sound of the thunder yet again in the second interlude. But here, for a change the lightning appears after the thunder and most importantly, lasts longer. The keys illuminate the sky with the string of guitar backing it in tisram. The strings now brighten the sky more playing in the higher - octave with the flute moving like a group of twinkling stars now and then. The second set of strings play subtly with elegance. The flute moves up and down with the guitar looking at it with glee and this spectacle takes one to empyrean heights.

Exhilarating experience not dissimilar to the one experienced by that man who felt the fragrance of the lilies..

 

 

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