ILaiyaraaja- The Free-spirited Musician

 

What are conventions?

A set of beliefs? Things which are followed traditionally?

First of all, how do we know if the beliefs are true or false?

Rather than making you confounded with a flurry of questions, let me explain the context.

Traditionally, it is believed that those days women were confined to their homes and were immersed only in activities related to their families, were not educated and therefore did not have independent thinking, leave alone expressing themselves.

Nothing can be far from truth than this if we consider the tamizh sangam age. There were many women poets who not just had a flair for the language, who not just had a natural ability to compose poems, but were also not hesitant to express themselves using simile from nature. Most importantly, topics which even now are considered taboo were touched upon by these poets with consummate ease.

Here is an example.

The lady is awaiting the return of her beloved who had promised to be back by monsoon. She sees a stag(male deer) who keeps looking for his pair-a doe. In short, the pair is separated. Instantly, she fears if her beloved too will witness such a sequence. Then, as if to console herself, she tells her friend that he will not see this. On the other hand, he will see the signs of monsoon- by sighting a pair which is together- think of me and come back to me immediately.

 

சென்ற நாட்ட கொன்றை அம் பசு வீ

நம் போல் பசக்கும் காலை, தம் போல்

சிறு தலைப் பிணையின் தீர்த்த நெறி கோட்டு

இரலை மானையும் காண்பர்கொல் நமரே?

புல்லென் காயாப் பூக்கெழு பெருஞ்சினை

மென் மயில் எருத்தின் தோன்றும்

புன் புல வைப்பிற் கானத்தானே.

 

The kondrai flowers are as pale as the complexion of my body now. The place he has gone to now has the long branches of kaaya trees which are full of dry flowers resembling the delicate neck of a peacock. Will he also spot the stag with twisted antlers(horns) which keeps searching for the small headed-doe(which is his pair)? No, I don’t think so. He will look at the signs of the monsoon and come back to me immediately.

This poem was written by Avvaiyaar, one of the women poets in the sangam era. I am not getting into the myths surrounding this name as it is beyond the scope of the discussion now.

What makes this poem unique is that the state of the mind of a woman is described by a woman and not by a man, which usually is the case(even now). Secondly, the kind of symbolism in the poem, makes it even more special.

Kondrai flowers- the pallor because of separation.

Dried Kaaaya flowers- his state of mind again because of separation.

Deer and Doe- He and She.

Peacock- Monsoon.

More than anything else, one feels the emotions even as one reads the lines. It also shatters the assumptions about the state of women and also goes to show how iconoclastic women were during that era in the Tamizh land.

The lady in the song of the day is as independent and as unconventional as the heroine in that verse and the poet who wrote the verse.

While listening to ‘Maanada kodi’ from ‘Mudal Vasantam’(1986), what strikes us the most is the feeling of unbounded joy in the voice(Janaki). This is because of the way the entire composition has been conceived, structured and executed.

For starters, the composition is based on a raga called Suddha Saveri. This very fact itself is interesting and intriguing at the same time. Suddha Saveri is a pure classical raga not generally used in film music. I must hasten to add that ILaiyaraaja has used it more prolifically than anybody else, though a couple of composers have made an attempt to use this raga. Branding any particular raga as ‘classical’ does by no stretch of imagination means that other ragas are not classical. But the fact is some ragas are more classical and the reasons are many though I would refrain from touching upon these now considering the fact that this discussion revolves around other factors and that the relevance will get lost if I start drowning myself into serious technical aspects.

The composition starts with the akaaram which is backed by the very subtle sound of the bells. This piece itself is enough to impact our full sensorium. It in fact even goes beyond that and gives an illusion of floating in the air. As if to give a contrasting feeling, the keys enter with a bang, ably buttressed by the bass guitar and the percussion-which is resounding along with the ankle bells, sounding just the first syllable ‘ta’ of tisram. The flute takes over and playing with finesse, expands the melody with the strings sounding ‘ta ka dhi mi ta ka’ in pure Suddha Saveri. The keys bend gracefully and as if charmed by this sound, the birds chirp.

What makes the Pallavi stand out is the podi sangati in the third line(thottaththu pookkaL). It is bewitchingly beautiful. What is exquisite about the entire Pallavi is the melody from the keys between the lines. This melody can also be called the leitmotif, as it keeps occurring now and then.

The strings in the beginning of the first interlude seem as if they are climbing up a hill, albeit effortlessly. The santoor interjects briefly before that magical instrument called flute enters. An instrument which is already magical assumes greatness and reaches gargantuan proportions in the hands of a true magician. And this is what happens here. Straddling between pure classicism and folk, the flute moves tantalisingly close to our heart showing us the visions of nature in its pristine form. This indeed is a surreal experience, accentuated by the strings which play in the higher-octave and the call and response between the flute and the santoor towards the end.

Balance between subtlety and grandeur. This is how one can describe the lines in the CharaNams which move softly and with flourish, bespattering droplets of honey and revealing the beauty of the raga called Suddha Saveri, with the initial akaaram - 4 cycles of tisram- and the ending humming- 2 cycles of tisram- looking like the raisins on an Indian sweet.

The flute does it again in the second interlude. But as one would expect from this composer, this time it is different. First, it plays an alluring melody. The strings respond with sobriety. This happens twice and the third time when it plays, the guitar-which had been silent all along- shows up and what a moment it is!

Known for its beguile and its fluidity, the guitar gives an incredible smile which even makes the flute bow down in appreciation. The keys follow with reverence and the strings move with ardour, symbolising the entire theme. The flute enters again and plays with translucence. The strings follow, but what happens now towards the end, is something which is indescribable. The flute, which until then was playing in higher octave, plays in the lower- octave which almost sounds like a whisper.

A whisper which gives us the meaning of ‘unconventional’.

A whisper which makes us feel nature.

A whisper which shatters all myths..

…about music and about women!