ILaiyaraaja and SPB- Musicians of the Millennium

One of the ubiquitously used terms in English is – Made for Each Other. This is more common in weddings where people use this even before the couple begin their journey. Is Made for Each Other real? Is it possible to one being made for the other? Is it fair? How can somebody made for the other? What happens to their individuality? Most importantly, is it not the contrast which makes life more beautiful?

Before commenting on that, let us see what Kavi Chakravarti says. 

 It is the ‘Sita Swayamvaram’ and Rama breaks the bow in a micro-second. The entire city of Mythila erupts with joy. A section of people make an effort to compare the beauty of the couple. 

 To see Him, she needs one thousand eyes. He needs one thousand eyes every time He sees her. 

 தம்பியைக் காண நங்கைக்கு ஆயிரம் நயனம் வேண்டும்;

 கொம்பினைக் காணுந்தோறும் குரிசிற்கும் அன்னதேயாம். 

தம்பியைக் காணீர் என்பார்; தவமுடைத்து உலகமென்பார்; 

இம்பர் இந்நகரில் தந்த முனிவனை இறைஞ்சுமென்பார். 

 At the face of it, the poem sounds very simple. But look at the second line closely and it will suggest one thousand meanings. If it was just ‘kaaNumpothum’(காணும்போதும்), it would have been just an ordinary line. But a subtle modification ‘kaaNumthoRum’(காணுந்தோறும்) changes the entire complexion. Every time He sees Her, He would need one thousand eyes! 

 And this is what is Poetic Beauty. 

 So, does Kamban suggest that Sita was more beautiful than Rama? Are they then not Made for Each Other? 

 Far from it. When somebody acquires one thousand eyes every time he looks at a particular person, who is greater? At the same time, if this is because of the other person, then who is greater?

 Kamaban makes us think and make us wonder in amazement.

 The relationship between ILaiyaraaja and SPB was like this, the only difference being that the role kept changing. At times, Raaja sir becomes Rama and SPB sir becomes Sita. And at times, the roles are reversed. Yet what this suggests is that one complements the other. If the composer knew what this singer is capable of, the latter knew what was in the mind of the former. The output is there for us to see. No other pair in the history of Indian Film Music has given the kind of compositions this pair has given. Needless to say, it is a matter of pride to all of us. With these words, let us look at one such composition.

 The film ‘Kaadal Oviyam’(1982) would have been a trend setter if only the story was good(that is if at all there was one) and the presentation was different. This did not happen. But each and every song is a gem and even after 4 decades the songs sound as if these were recorded yesterday.

 Take ‘Poovil VaNdu Koodum’ for example.

 Based purely on Mohanam, the composition is soft, sedate and subtle. It starts with the akaaram which has a catena of swaras. the facile movements combined with the tonal smoothness make and indelible impact. What follows is something incredible. The ankle bells sound the first line of the Pallavi, not in swaras but just in jatis. The two tarangs-Tabla and Jala- combine to create flowery musical expressions. The violin caresses us in Mohanam with the Laya Raaja nodding his head in appreciation and making the mrudangam sound only the ta and dhi of ta ka dhi mi and leaving the next ta ka dhi mi totally blank. Yes silence is musical! 

 With melodic finesse, the veeNa plays the first line of the Pallavi. 

 The finely etched Pallavi in the golden voice of the genius shows the glowing facets of that beautiful raga called Mohanam. The mandra stayi swaras towards the end shine like the reflection of the full moon on a river. It is a sawaal-jawaab between the mrudagam and the ankle bells-jalatarangam first and between the tabla and veena next which makes the first half of the first interlude scintillatingly brilliant. The aesthetic flourishes and the rhythmic nuggets give us images of a Goddess in a South Indian temple festooned with radiant jewellery and fragrant garlands. The flute which sparkles with brilliant patterns seems to adore the divine spectacle. The subtle change in the percussion- which first plays with kaarvais and then plays all the syllables- gives the spectacle a special aura. The veena plays briefly and leads us to the first CharaNam. 

 The plethora of different prayogas in the dulcet voice, make the elegant passages with tapering phrases look graceful. If the first segment has the spontaneous spirit, the second segment is exuberant. The third segment is rousing with the singer touching the higher octave with consummate ease. The second interlude is a distinct mix of colours. Yes swaras have colours and in the hands of a genius artist, the colours shimmer with an unmatched radiance and that is what happens here. 

The veena in combination with the bells sounds a set of swaras. The percussion responds in chatushram in melkaalam. This happens twice. After this, the veena sounds 4 times briefly and each time the percussion responds with ‘ta ri ki ta tham’. The tabla alone sounds now playing ta ka dhi mi four times. The violin enters and with the tabla in the background, moves with a calm demeanor. The veena interjects now and then. The serenity is ineluctable and it feels as if we are watching the flow of a river. Not only are we watching but we are also swimming. As if to drench us with this divine serenity, the twin-flute moves with poetic intensity. If one ambles across, the other skitters.

 It is transcendental rendering Time and Space meaningful and meaningless.

 One thousand eyes, one thousand ears and one thousand years- don’t we need all these to appreciate the two geniuses?

Check this out on Chirbit

ILaiyaraaja's Music and Emotions- III-Anger

‘Anger-It is just one letter short of Danger’.

I remember reading this line about 20 years back. Anger numbs our system. The rush of blood during that time has been scientifically and medically proved to be detrimental to our health. Voice becomes shrill,  breath is heavier and body becomes tight. There is no control over what one speaks too.

But is it not natural for a human to get angry and in that case, is it wrong to express oneself? Was it not Mahakavi who said ‘Roudram pazhagu’(loosely translated as ‘Practise aggression’)? Anger is an emotion which when channelized well will lead to positive outcomes. How one uses this is what will distinguish men and the beasts.

History is replete with such instances. Instances where anger, a negative emotion was used as a vehicle to transform the world. If the young lawyer after being thrown out of the first class compartment at the Pietermaritzburg station had chosen to react by attacking, the world would have never seen a Mahatma. If the small boy hailing from Ambavade in Maharashtra had given into the chidings of his peers for being born as a ‘untouchable’ and had stopped going to school, India would have lost a strong leader to speak for the oppressed. If the gentleman born in Hooghly in Bengal had remained immune to the atrocities committed in the name of religion, Brahmo Samaj would not have been formed and that atrocious practice/ritual called Sati would not have been abolished.

These are just some of the happenings where anger was used to bring about positive changes. There have also been exceptions where anger was used as a destructive force but still is not considered negative. On the other hand, we cherish it.

Am I contradicting myself?

Look at this:

The lady throngs the King’s court and shouts with anger. She throws one of her anklets on the floor with venom to prove that her husband-who was hanged to death by the King- was innocent. Does her anger stop here? No. She wants the entire city to pay for it.

‘My beloved was killed by this city. So, my anger is not unjustified and I will not be a sinner’ saying this  she circumambulates  the city of Madurai thrice, prays and throws her left breast to burn the city’(there is also a version that she threw her left eye and not the breast).

யானமர் காதலன் தன்னைத் தவறிழைத்த
கோநகர் சீறினேன் குற்றமிலேன் யானென்று

இடமுலை கையால் திருகி மதுரை
வலமுறை மும்முறை வாரா அலமந்து
மட்டார் மறுகின் மணிமுலையை வட்டித்து
விட்டாள் எறிந்தாள் விளங்கு இழையாள்

Was this justified? Well, this is not a debating forum and what matters here is the literary value. If not for this incident, would we have got one of the greatest works in world literature ‘Silappadikaaram’?

Anger used destructively and yet earn appreciation and encomiums.

This has happened in music as well. Angered by not attaining salvation, Saint Tyagaraja composed many songs chiding and scolding Rama. He attained salvation and the music world became richer by some outstanding compositions in popular as well as rare ragas.

ILaiyaraaja was given a situation of a lover showing his anger on the Goddess for losing his beloved (who did not die but was taken away by her people). How did Raaja sir depict that anger? First, he chose a raga considered to be soft-in its name as well as in the sound! Next, he used some stupendous swara combinations. The character does not shout.But the swaras seethe with anger.

Poojaikkaaga vaazhum poovai from Kaadal Oviyam (1982) is based on Malayamaarutam(which literally means breeze from the mountain). We not only see the radical but also the musical genius. Let me explain. There are essentially three stayees(octaves) in music, mandra staayee(lower),madhyama staayee(middle) and taara staayee(upper). Generally, songs (classical and film) are composed in the  madhyama staayee and higher octave notes are used by the composer during the course of the composition. However, the mandra staayee is reached by some classical musicians during the ‘aalaap’ and this gives a special colour and flavour to the raga being rendered. It also needs a superb control over the voice, a firm grip on the raga and of course rigorous practice.

If not used wisely, there are chances of its sounding cacophonic. Precisely because of this reason, there are just handful compositions with mandra staayee swaras in film music. It also needs a highly talented singer .In Poojaikkaaga, the mandra staayee swaras are used wisely and also brilliantly made to combine with madhyama stayee and taara staayee swaras to show the anger of the character. Deepan Chakravarty, one of the dynamic and melodious voices in Tamizh Film Music does a fabulous job and renders it with consummate ease.

The speciality of the first line is that except for the starting notes-dha Sa- all other notes are descending(avarohaNam).  And what a beautiful descent it is! Saninidhadhapa twice followed by nidhadhapapaga twice and dhapapagagari once, brilliantly ending with ri sa sa.

The second line is a marvel too with the swara ‘ni’ is juxtaposed between the madhyama stayee sa and the mandra stayee sa. in the beginning after which it is the ascent(avarohaNam) with the swaras starting with the sa either following a beautiful pattern like sa ri ri ga/sa ri ga/ri ga pa/ga pa dha/pa dha dha ni.

The mridangam starting just towards the end of the first aavratanam and the subtle variations in the chatushram pattern in the two lines are hallmarks of the Laya genius. We shall of course see more about Laya Raaja in the interlude and the CharaNams.

Even the graceful Veena is ebullient while the vibrant strings are aggressive in the first interlude. The Flute dazzles and we see a very different Malayamarutam. The strings then move with verve and also mathematically play with the mridangam as

1 2 - -/1 2 - -/1 2 – 4  5  6 7 8.

The first two lines of the CharaNam are full of vim and vigour.The Strings and the Veena follow exuberantly for a full aavartanam.  The following two lines are virtuous with sangatis. The magic starts after this.

The second part of the next two lines-ragasiya raNam and unadarpanam - is in the lower octave with the swara dha. repeating itself 5 times after the ni. .

This is slightly modified in the following line with the lower octave adhu and iru alternating between the two mid octave phrases ponnezhil silai and en vasam ilai..

The toughest and yet most musical part is the next line where the lower octave notes in a group of four are followed by the same notes in mid octave yet again in a group of four –

dha.dha.dha.dha./dha dha dha dha/ni.ni.ni.ni./ni ni ni ni

It takes an ascent as it is followed by the mid-octave sa(4 times) and the upper Sa(4 times).

We see a beautiful pattern in the last line too, but this time a laya pattern- ta kit a/ta ka dhi mi ta/ta ki ta/ta ka dhi mi ta/ta kit a/ta ka dhi mi ta/ta ka dhi mi/ta ka dhi mi.

Melodious and Rhythmic anger!