What defines a great piece of work?
It should pierce the heart
straight, prise it open, go further deep, search for the soul and stir it!
To a certain extent, this can
be called subjective as appreciation- and therefore the experience- varies from
person to person. But beyond a point subjectivity and objectivity merge and
this depends purely on the conditioning, the upbringing and the exposure to
great works, which help the person separate the wheat from the chaff.
As an example, look at the
following verse:
தலை மேல தாள்- இணைகள் தாமரைக் கண் என் அம்மான்
நிலைபேரான் என் நெஞ்சத்து, எப்பொழுதும் எம்
பெருமான்,
மலை மாட த்து அரவு-அணைமேல் வாட்டாற்றான்,
மதமிக்க
கொலை யானை மருப்பு ஒசித்தான், குரை கழல்கள்
குறுகினமே.
The great poet Nammaazhwar
describes the Lord at a place called Thiruvattaru. Considered to be the longest
Vishnu idol in the country, with a length of 22 feet, the idol also follows the
katu-sarakara-yogam, an ancient method of idol-making following very strict
norms, in terms of the material, the admixture of river sands, the paste and so
on. Most importantly, the idol at that temple is made of 16,008 shAligrAmas, a
feat which is monumental. Just for information, a shAligraama is found on the
banks of Gandaki river in Nepal and supposedly bears symbols associated with
Vishnu naturally without any human intervention.
The great poet who was an
erudite scholar. composed the verse(in fact, there are 11 verses composed on
this deity and these are part of ThiruvAimozhi which in turn is part of the
Naalayira Divya Prabandham!) in keeping with the esoteric elements in the idol.
The meaning of the verse goes
something like this:
The lotus feet are on my head;
the lotus-eyed one will never leave my heart. He is the One who reclines on the
snake at this place which has huge buildings like mountains, the One who broke
the tusk of the elephant which had gone mad. I worship his feat.
On the face of it, this looks
like a normal verse which extols the virtues of the Lord. But scratch the
surface and you will experience a scimitar breaking open your heart.
First and foremost, it talks
about strength by talking about the fight with the elephant. Recall that the
idol is made of 16,008 small stones bound by thick pastes.
Next, it talks about the lotus
feet and the lotus eyes. Beautiful contrast- strength and softness!
Now, lotus is also the mind,
symbolically. Mad elephant is the symbol of bad thoughts. Contrasts of course,
but it suggests that to take bad thoughts away from your mind, you need to
meditate. But the clincher is the connection between the first and the last
line- His feet on my head and I surrender to His feet.
Life cycle- Starts with feet
and ends with feet.
Visishtasdwaita philosophy in
a nut shell!
Read the verse again and you
will know why I said it will pierce one’s heart. Perhaps you might end up
discovering more too in the process. After all, experience is subjective- or is
it?
One gets a similar experience
while listening to music in general and ILaiyaraaja’s music in particular.
Raaga Deepam YetRum Neram from PayaNangaL Mudivathillai(1982) is a classic
example.
In fact, it is a classical
example too as it is purely based on a classical raga called Hamsaanandi. This popular raga is a shaadava raga with 6 swaras in the arohaNa and
avarohaNa. The reason for my saying that this pierces the heart has to do not
only with the tune and the orchestration but also with a hidden magic. This
magic is too subtle and yet very powerful. We shall see this as we go along.
One should also understand the
background. As per the sequence in the movie, an aspiring singer gets an
opportunity to sing in a temple and as he starts singing, clouds gather and the
crowd disperse. He does not give up and continues singing and the clouds relent
by moving away. The crowd is back and that is the beginning. A beginning in
terms of his career as a singer.
The composition starts with
the akaaram of SPB. What starts as a free flowing akaaram starts following the
chatushram pattern as the percussion joins. The akaaram itself is vibrant and
vivacious, drawing the sketch of Hamsaanandi in a matter of seconds. The
strings move in higher-octave with a ferocity matching the intensity of the
rain.
The first line is conceived
meaningfully. It starts with the descending notes and then goes to the
ascending notes, indicating the travails of the aspiring singer in particular
and also of any human in general. In fact, it defines Life itself.
The lines that follow touches
the higher-octave swaras like the upper Sa, Ri and Ga, making it a plaintive
cry.
The jalatarangam and the tabla tarang move with a sprightly gait in the beginning of the first interlude,
perhaps to show the momentum- the rain and the fluttering of the singer’s heart
– contrasting elements. The strings play a flood of melody in Hamsaanandi while
the flute depicts the angst of the singer by sliding and gliding. The sitar
which responds to the flute initially, moves independently after a while,
playing a litany of swaras with ebullience.
The first CharaNam is
structured beautifully and like the Pallavi, this too shows the genius of the
composer. The first two lines touch the higher-octave swaras, with the second
line even touching the upper ‘Ma’, a rarity even in normal classical concerts.
The sound of the bell in the background makes it auspicious. It is clairvoyant
too, a fact we will see in a bit!
The last two lines have the
mid-octave swaras going up and down, with the last line ending with the
ascending notes- the mark of a genius yet again!
The second interlude conveys
myriad expressions. The strings bellow out feelings with impeccable precision.
Suddenly, there is magic. The solo-violin plays rather happily. What makes us
feel the happiness is the raga, whose name is Mohanam.
How did the raga change?
Hamsaanandi is one of the
ragas from where the pentatonic ragas like Suddha Dhanyasi, Suddha Saveri,
Hindolam, Madhyamavati and Mohanam can be obtained by keeping one of the swaras
as the base. This technique is called Gruha Bhedam, a fact known to people who
follow my posts here.
The Master keeps the swara
‘dha’ as the base here and it shifts to Mohanam. The reason for this has to do
more with the sequence and less to show one’s capability. The rain stops and
gradually the crowd starts gathering again. Mohanam is considered to be a happy
raga and is there any better way of showing emotions and feelings?
The backing of the keys carries
meaning too as it symbolises the rain drops!
The sitar plays Hamsaanandi
now and the feeling of joy is ineluctable.
The second CharaNam is
structured differently with the third and fourth line touching the lower-octave
ni, the line that follows showing the arohana(ascent) and the following line
reaching a crescendo with the dominant upper Sa.
Piercingly beautiful..
As beautiful as the little
stones found on the banks of the Gandaki river and as magnificent as the 22
feet idol which reclines with inherent meaning!!
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