ILaiyaraaja – The Free-spirited Musican

 

Independent thinking!

How relevant is this in the age of even intelligence being artificial and people going gaga for such intelligence?

More than being very relevant, I would say it is very essential now as people are quickly losing their ability to think on their own, with creativity itself is becoming just a word in the dictionary and is in the danger of being wiped out even from the dictionary! People being ‘influenced’ by some self-declared experts and by the machines, is not a trend which can be called healthy.

This is where one is forced to go back to our literature and arts where we find different works shimmering with unique beauty and different poets and artistes laying new paths and treading unchartered territories. AruNagirinaathar was one such poet.

With a questionable background and a very questionable personal life, this gentleman transformed into a poet who set the tone for a new format which throbbed with rhythms which were new and until then were unthinkable. Author of many works that include Kandar Anubhuti/Andaadi/Alankaraam, Vel/Mayil Viruththam and so on, he is mainly known for ‘Thiruppugazh’. The last mentioned has 8 cantos (which itself was not new in Indian literature with somebody by name Jayadeva already having composed Ashtapadi at least 3 centuries before AruNagiri) with each composition following a particular rhythm, most of which not being part of the classical music taaLas.

The beauty does not stop just here. Thiruppugazh also has layers of meanings, esoteric as well as mundane.

This one is an example: 

ஆறும் ஆறும் அஞ்சும் அஞ்சும் ஆறும் ஆறும் அஞ்சும் அஞ்சும்

ஆறும் ஆறும் அஞ்சும் அஞ்சும் அறுநாலும்

ஆறும் ஆய சஞ்சலங்கள் வேறதா விளங்குகின்ற

ஆரணாகமம் கடந்த கலையான

ஈறு கூறரும் பெரும் சுவாமியாய் இருந்த நன்றி

ஏது வேறு இயம்பலின்றி  ஒருதானாய்

யாவுமாய் மனம் கடந்த மோன வீடு அடைந்து ஒருங்கி

யான் அவா அடங்க என்று பெறுவேனோ

மாறு கூறி வந்து எதிர்ந்த சூரர் சேனை மங்க வங்க

வாரி வேல் வெகுண்ட சண்ட விததாரை

வாகை வேல கொன்றை தும்பை மாலை கூவிளம் கொழுந்து

வால சோமன் நஞ்சு பொங்கு பகுவாய

சீறு மாசணம் கரந்த ஆறு வேணி கொண்ட நம்பர்

தேசிகா கடம்பு அலங்கல் புனைவோனே

தேவர் யாவரும் திரண்டு பாரின் மீது வந்து இறைஞ்சு

தேவனூர்  விளங்க வந்த பெருமாளே!

This rather long poem mentions the numbers in the first 3 lines and these numbers when totalled give 96, which are the 36 paratatvaas, 35 other tatvaas, 5 elements, 10 naadis, 10 karmaas, 5 ahankaaraas, 3 guNas, and 3 kinds of Vaak. Since these are too deep, explaining these will take reams and most importantly, is out of scope of our present discussion.

However, what he says in this entire song can be summarised as – ‘He (Muruga) is the One who is beyond all these and beyond description and when will I be able to reach that state of silence and emptiness reining in my desires?’

He also goes on to mention His annihilation of Surapadma and his armies and after describing Shiva as the One adorned with different garlands, moon, the poisonous snake and the ashes, he says ‘You are His Master’.

The choice of words and most importantly the contrasts, make this a poetic beauty. But beyond all this, it is the rhythmic metre – 2,2,2,2,3,3,2,2,3,3,4 - which sits like a diamond on the gleaming crown, mesmerising us readers with an alluring glow!

Since readers who follow my writings, by now would have guessed as to who I am going to bring in now, I am not even going to mention the name now. You all also know as to the kind of experiments he has done in film music, which in a way is beyond comprehension for many.

This composition I am taking up today is rather old. I say ‘old’ because it is a very popular hit and is known to many unlike many compositions I normally write about. In fact, there have been efforts to explain the technique in this composition on the internet, but I am not sure as to how many have really succeeded in bringing out the intricacies. In any case, let me try and explain the concept in my own way.

Any composition follows a rhythmic pattern. Most film songs follow the 4-beat structure – called ‘chatushram’ in Carnatic Music and 4/8 in film music. Some follow the 3-beat structure (Tisram), a few, the 7-beat structure (Mishram) and a few, the 5-beat structure ( Khandam). There is also the 6-beat structure (Rupakam) but since the number of beats is double that of Tisram, most of the songs that follow this structure can also be classified under Tisram.

But ‘Aagaaya VeNNilaave’ (ArangetRa VeLai – 1990), is an exception.

Let us start from the beginning. Yesudas renders the entire line with Uma Ramanan rendering the following line. Note that the vocals do not have any percussion support. However, if one were to count, both lines have 8 counts exactly. So, is it going to follow the 8-beat cycle or simply the 4-beat cycle?

The guitar follows but now with the backing of the percussion. It is obvious that this entire segment follows the 4-beat cycle. Simple, isn’t it?

But with O. Henry Raaja, you must always expect the unexpected. Just towards the end, the melodic instrument sounds ‘1 2 3 4’ thrice. Is it a prelude to something else?

We get an answer almost instantly. Yesudas (and then Uma Ramanan) start singing and the vocals do not seem to follow the ‘4-beat’ pattern. It clearly follows the 6-beat pattern. But then, what does the percussion do? Rather than sounding the 6 beats, these sound the 4 beats.

How?

Take the first two phrases – Aagaaya VeNNilaave. As I said, it is – 1 2 3 4 5 6. However, the percussion sound 1 2 3 4 thrice during the same time.

Can 6 equal 12?

This is where the genius comes into play. While the 6 beats are sounded in the slow tempo- called ‘Keezh kaalam’- the three 4s are sounded in a tempo which is two times faster than that of the vocals. And that is how 6 equals 12.

Here too, the Tabla plays ‘1 – 3  4/ - - 3  4/ 1 – 3  4’ leaving those gaps called ‘kaarvai’ to make the puzzle more interesting.

The interludes follow the 1 2 3 4 pattern like a disciplined army of soldiers. In the first interlude, the solo-violin plays with a touch of poignancy with the group of violins joining in playing a counter melody. A close observation suggests two things. One, there is no percussion for a while. Two, the counter melody of the group says, or rather sings – 1 2 3 4.

The strings move like the breeze in the next segment with yet another set joining in and playing a counter melody. The end of the interlude is interesting yet again with the melodic instruments sounding 1 2 3 4 four times, with an ostentatious smile!

Why have I not spoken about the raga yet?

It is because a composition goes beyond just the name of the raga- as I have said ad nauseam- and also because the focus in this composition is on the rhythm.

But that does not mean that melody has little role to play here. It is loosely based on Darbaari Kaanada scale with a dash of alien notes in the CharaNams.

The sudden surge of the higher-octave notes – Sa Ri Ga Sa- in the second half of the Pallavi (Malar soodum/ URavaadum) gives it an impetus. The beauty is that the same melody is repeated in the last two lines of the CharaNams.

The sudden entry of the alien swara (chatushruti dhaivatam) in the fifth and the sixth line, gives it a new complexion. So does the ‘niRiSaRi’ prayoga towards the end of these lines.

The melodic instrument in the beginning of the second interlude sounds ‘1 2 3/ 1 2 3/ 1 2’ twice before the guitar and the tabla join. But as if it is under a spell, it continues subtly in the background during the guitar segment. The two sets of strings take over, each playing an independent melody albeit in different octaves.

The strings sound ‘ 1 – 3  4/ 1 – 3  4 with the brass flute responding with ‘1 2 3 4/ 1 – 3  4’.

Do these say we are unique and different?

Or do these say ‘We lay our own path?’

It is for you to interpret or decode!

 

 

 

Raja4376 · Thiruppugazh recitation