ILaiyaraaja- The Light- Hearted Musician

While AandaaL is considered to be one of the greatest Tamizh poetesses because of her mastery over the language of tamizh, because of her poetic brilliance and above all due to her eloquence, not many have looked at the sense of humour in her verses. This could be due to various reasons which would include the presence of deep philosophical content in her verses, her spiritual inclination, her devotion, her rather different and unique life- history and most importantly our proclivity to look at Bhakti literature with a tunnel vision.

However, the fact remains that there is enough humour-laced with innocence - in a majority of her 143 verses. As a sample, read her Thiruppaavais from no.6 to no.15 in which she tries to coax her friends to join her in her mission. That ‘coaxing’ is for making them get up from the bed in the chilly mornings of Margazhi and that ‘mission’ is to pray to KrishNa.

Let us look at no.9 as a sample of samples:

தூமணி மாடத்து சுற்றும் விளக்கெரியத்

தூபம் கமழத் துயிலணைமேல் கண்வளரும்

மாமான் மகளே மணிக்கதவம் தாழ் திறவாய்

மாமீர் அவளை எழுப்பீரோ உன் மகள்தான்

ஊமையோ அன்றி செவிடோ அனந்தலோ

ஏமப் பெருந்துயில் மந்திரப் பட்டாளோ

மாமாயன் மாதவன் வைகுந்தன் என்றென்று

நாமம் பலவும் நவின்றேலோர் எம்பாவாய்.

It is a beautiful hall illuminated with lamps glowing all around with incense stick spreading the fragrance. The girl is fast asleep. AaNdaaL and her friends are knocking at the door decorated with the bells. The girl refuses to get up. In fact, she does not move an inch. After making all kinds of noises, AaNdaaL seeks the help of the girl’s mother. ‘Is your daughter dumb? Or is she deaf? Or is she the laziest? Or is it that she is cast by a spell to sleep for eternity?’

Now, look at the sarcasm in each and every line. The first 3 lines talk about the richness and comfort. But it also says, ‘Lights and Sound all around and yet..she is sleeping’. Calling a friend dumb, deaf, indolent and slothful in a normal conversation nowadays is not uncommon. But what sets this verse apart is the suddenness with which these words appear –after describing the house and the surroundings using hyperboles.

And to think that this is a Bhakti poem makes it significantly beautiful.

It also goes to show at least 2 things:

1.Even a serious thing can be said in a lighter vein without in any way diluting the seriousness.

2. We often tend to box people and their works as per our perception, thus missing the wood for the tree.

One of the many false perceptions about ILaiyaraaja is that he is very serious. But contrary to this belief, he has a huge sense of humour which even gets reflected in his works. His background scores in many comedy movies and in comedy scenes in all movies speak volumes of his humorous sense. But the fact that many of his songs too show his propensity for humour may not be known to many.

Today’s song is just one example.

‘VandaaL Mahalakshmiye’ from ‘Uyarndha ULLam’(1985) oozes with humour. What stands out is not just the humour but also the classicism inherent in the composition. It is indeed tough to say if humour runs as the undercurrent in the classical song or that classicism runs as the undercurrent in a humorous song.

One sees a host of multifarious elements in this composition based on KalyaNi in which SPB shows his multi dimensions as a singer yet again.

What strikes us first is not just the absence of a prelude but the presence of the upper ‘Sa’ in the very first phrase, an occurrence which is somewhat uncommon. The second phrase –Mahalakshmiye (Sani riSa nidhaniSa)- itself gives a sketch of KalyaNi even without using the prati madhyama. The two swaras-ri and ni- are the jeevaswaras(ones which give life) to KalyaNi.Is it for no reason that he is called the Isaignani?

There  is one more subtlety in the Pallavi. After SPB renders ‘VandaaL Mahalakshmiye’, he pauseS for half aavarAtna(taaLa cycle) and the mridangam plays ta - - -/ta ka dhi mi/ta ka dhi mi/ ta - - - giving kaarvai in the first and the fourth parts with the jaalra playing the last syllable and this pattern is repeated in the next two phrases-EndRum AvaL Aatchiye. He then renders the full line, this time adding ‘en veettil’ between the first two and the last two phrases. In tamizh there is a word called ‘kuRumbu’ which can be loosely translated as ‘mischief’ and isn’t it apparent here?

After a soulful ‘akaaram’ for 2 cycles by SPB, the Veena-VeNu starts painting the canvas with classical KalyaNi in the beginning of the first interlude.It is tender and mellow and is embroidered with simple and yet intricate patterns. The percussion too responds in style and it is a raga-laya delight. What is to be noted is silence of the percussion when the VeeNa-VeNu plays.

The Guitar enters suddenly and tee-hees in KalyaNi. Here too, the suddenness is striking. The Guitar internalises the charms of the raga and externalises it in its unique style with the Bass guitar and the Indian percussion backing it with glee. After exactly 3 aavartanaas in western KalyaNi, the Indian KalyaNi reappears with the VeeNa, Sitar and the VeNu. With smile written on their faces, these seem to tell each other- ‘We have had enough fun.Let us continue later and watch the CharaNam'.

The first half of the CharaNam is dominated yet again by the higher octave swaras(Ri, Ga and Sa) and in a way this is responsible for the mood which is further enhanced by the rendering of SPB. The composer’s grip on Laya is well-known and one gets to witness this again here as the first line of the CharaNam starts after the Samam with the last line ending in the last beat of the taaLa cycle.. The change of gait of the percussion (from the third and the fourth lines), the penultimate line going as ta ka dhi mi/ta ka dhi mi/ta ka dhi mi/ta ka dhi mi and the last line going as ta dhee ta/ ta dhee ta/ ta dhee ta/ta dhee ta in a very typical classical style are not unexpected from the master of Laya.

But what is unexpected is something in the following CharaNam.

 Before that there is the second interlude where the West and the East meet. First, the Guitar and the Bass guitar sound repetitive notes with the VeeNa giving a very brief repartee. Even as the Guitar brothers continue the same repetitive notes, the VeeNa expands the melody with gentle nobility of involvement. It is an entrancing portrayal of the hidden beauties of KalyaNi in particular and music in general.

The first part of the second CharaNam starts and is totally different from the first CharaNam. The swara ‘ma’pairs with ‘pa’ and ‘ga’ and this janta prayoga shows yet another dimension of the raga. What happens after the first two lines is what makes ‘Ee laya Raaja , a musician par excellence. The lines now are rendered in ‘usi’. Note that I am not talking about the percussion which goes normally. But the vocalist is made to render the lines giving stress in the even syllables. Honestly, I haven’t come across such an innovation even in any classical concert.

After ‘Mayanginen’, the composer and the singer decide to mesmerise us with a claasical swara korvais- an incredible array of swaras.  The group of upper ‘Sa’s following the group of mid-octave ‘sa’s, with the lower octave ‘ni.’ in the ‘sarisani.’ group which follows in the second line, the higher octave group of ‘Ri’ s following the mid-octave ‘ri’s and the ‘pa ma dha ni.’each in a group of  4 first and then in a group of 6 towards the end shows the mischievously beautiful musicality of the composer.

And the ‘mischievous musicality ‘ continues till the last line of the CharaNam where one hears the akaaram which giggles, chortles, sniggers, titters and sneers.

Humour makes a genius, a super genius-whether it is AandaaL or it is ILaiyaraaja.

Does anybody disagree?

Check this out on Chirbit

Laya Raaja - 5

தாளம் தாளம் தாளம்

தாளம் போனால் தாளம் போனால் தாளம் போனால்

கூளம் கூளம் கூளம்!

TaaLam TaaLam TaaLam

TaaLam ponaal TaaLam ponaal

KooLam KooLam KooLam!

Thus sang the Mahakavi. ‘KooLam’ literally means garbage. As always, he hits the nail on its head by saying if the rhythm goes, it is nothing but garbage. This applies to the rhythm in music and in life too.

About a couple of days back, I was watching the webcast of a TaaLa ensemble. The two young vidwans announced that they were going to play a taaLam which by all means will be unique. Unique because it had the 5 nadais/gatis (refer Laya Raaja-1 for more information on nadais) in the same taaLam and went like this:

Ta ki ta/ ta ka dhi mi/ta ka ta ki ta/ ta ka dhi mi ta ki ta /ta ka dhi mi ta ka ta ki ta/ ta ka dhi mi/ta ka dhi mi/ta ka dhi mi/ta ka dhi mi.

After reading the 4 earlier posts, I am sure you must now be familiar with the aforementioned syllables. In any case, let me define those again.

First part: Tisram(3)/Chatushram(4)/Khandam(5)/Misram(7)/SankeerNam(9)

Second Part: Chatushram(4)/Chatushram(4)/Chatushram(4)/Chatushram(4)

Therefore a total of 44 aksharaas which is again sub divided as 88 maatras.

The two youngsters played a korvai and teermanam based on this TaaLam for about 15 minutes with the TaaLam being kept by another vidwan whose responsibility was twice than that of the vidwans who were performing. Now, if only the vidwan keeping the TaaLam had slipped even once somewhere, the entire exercise would have fallen flat. And the ‘TaaLa Gopuram’ would have become  ‘KooLa Gopuram’. Thankfully, this did not happen.

If you-especially people not that familiar with carnatic music or the TaaLas- ask me an obvious question- ‘As vidwans, are they not expected to keep TaaLam perfectly, what is the big deal about this’, here is my answer. ‘Yes, they are vidwans but the difference between a set taaLam(as per text book) and this innovative novel taaLam is that thing called familiarity. Putting one after the other (3,4,5,7,9) is like walking on a well oiled rope holding a balance with both the hands’.

In the previous 4 posts, we saw as to how ILaiyaraaja has played with the TaaLas with each composition being different with varied patterns and concepts. Today’s composition is unique too. The previous two compositions (Laya Raaja - 3 and 4)  followed  a particular TaaLa though the way the maatraas were divided to construct the Pallavi and CharaNams was different while the first one(Laya Raaja- 1) had cross-rhythm and the second one(Laya Raaja- 2) followed two different gatis in the CharaNams.

The song of the day does not fall under any of the aforementioned categories. It does follow a taaLa pattern but is free flowing mainly in the vocals section and in the end (of the Pallavi and the CharaNams), the TaaLa cycle gets completed. No, this is not a TaaLa like what was conceived by the vidwans but is just a simple Chatushra Ekam with 4-beats/cycle. But the difference is that the vocals are not restricted by the aavartana since it flows freely. Added to this is the percussion which draws a different pattern in chatushram and does not follow the pattern of the vocals.

There are more features too in this song Kottunga Kottunga from Raajavin Paarvaiyile(1995) and let us see these one by one. It requires a brilliant mind to conceive the idea alone. And a very firm grip over taaLa and of course mathematics to implement it. Let me tell you that he has walked wearing a pair of skating shoes on the oiled rope which is tied between two buildings and is hung in mid air.

The beginning (if one can call this as prelude) is in ateeta eduppu. Generally in his compositions, the Pallavi will be in ateeta/anaagata eduppu and not the prelude itself. The clapping of hands (kummi) indicates the samam. For 15 aavartanas, only this-the clapping of hands- acts as the percussion. The percussion starts in the third beat of the 16^th aavartana-kottunga kottunga kottunga kummi kummi- and the vocals follow 3, 3, 4, 3, 3 (the third kottunga is 4 because of the extension of ‘ga’ in kottunga). This goes on for 5 aavartanaas and then the real Pallavi starts.

The Pallavi starts in the third beat of the aavartanam and the entire Pallavi is like this:

Kummi(2) Kottunga(3) Kottunga(3) Kottungadi(6) Kaadalukku(6) Vaazhthu Cholli(6) Paadungadi(12)

KaigaL(2) thattunga(3) thattunga(3) thattungadi(6)kaN kuLirum(6)

 poo paRiththu(6) podungadi(12)

irusiRu(4) idhayangaL(4) siRagai(3) virikkave(5)

kottunga(3) kottunga(3) kummigaL(3) kottunga(3) diii(4)

kanavilum(4)ninaivilum(4) kavithai(3) padikkave(5)

kottunga(3) kottunga(3) kummigaL(3) kottunga(3) diii(4)

kathaikathaiyaam(6) karaNamaam(6) kaaraNaththil(6) kaadhalaraam(6)

vaazhga…..(12)

A total of 176 maatras.

The total no. of aavartanaas  of Chatushra ekam is 22. So, when we multiply this by 4, we get 88(aksharaas) which is exactly half of 176. Please also note that Vaazhga ends exactly on the second beat of the 22^nd cycle.

The difference between a normal composition  and this is that while the lines in the former will follow the aavartana, the latter does not follow that with lines starting in samam/after 2 beats/after 1 beat. And yet, it is set to a TaaLa.

Disobediently obedient!

Next feature is the pattern of the percussion.

Throughout the Pallavi, the percussion follows

 ta ki ta/ta ki ta/ta ka/ta ka dhi mi/ ta ka dhi mi 

This of course is in Chatushram but gives a totally different feel because of the variance in pattern between the vocals and this.

These two features- free flowing vocals and percussion drawing a different pattern- are seen in the entire composition

The first interlude follows ta ka dhi mi ta ka dhi mi/ta ki  ta ta ki  ta ta ka while the Tabla shows the different tekkaas in ta ka dhi mi sounding different in each and every ta ka dhi mi.

Let us now focus on the melody part where again there are some unique features.

The composition is based on Kalyani. .

The prelude sans instruments is very different. The third time ‘Kottunga kottunga..’ is repeated, another set of chorus sings a typical folksy humming simultaneously. Melody and Harmony go together as we hear the ‘ta na naa naa’ and ‘Kummi Kummi’ together. The pleasant flute now and then make the folksy experience complete. The strings going up and down energetically in the next part when the percussion joins is entrancing.

The first interlude shines with manifold beauties not the least because of the sustenance of notes. In the first part, we have only the percussion. In the next part, first we have the affable keys. This is followed by the subtle bass. Then it is the turn of the resplendent flute. The note from the keys is sustained throughout the flute bit too. In the third part, we have different keys with the subtle bass.

The Harmony continues in the CharNams too with the voice superimposed even as the line is extended with a ‘yekaaram’. Upper octave notes are touched in the lines that follow and finally the CharaNam is wound up with the ‘okaaram’

Classical KalyaNi comes to the fore in the second interlude as the flute plays with a rich tone. It moves, coils and winds up with a smile.

 The entire composition is a combination of melodic/harmonic delicacies and rhythmic intricacies..

Doesn’t it deserve a million kummies!!

Laya Raaja - 4

This question crops up to me time and again.

‘What makes somebody a genius?

Is it their ability to do something very complex- so complex that you and I scratch the heads to simplify that and unravel the mystery?’

Why should somebody do something so complex? To show off their intellectual prowess? To announce to the world that ‘See, I have done this. I am capable of more too. Can you even try doing this?’

If this is true, then is there not a shade of arrogance in their act itself?

Like many questions in this world, these are tough to answer. Looking at it in a positive way, it could just be that they want to show the finer elements and beauties in life.

Look at the following poem in tamizh:

தத்தித்தா தூதுதி தாதூதித் தத்துதி
துத்தித் துதைதி துதைதத்தா தாதுதி
தித்தித்த தித்தித்த தாதெது தித்தித்த
தெத்தாதோ தித்தித்த தாது?

‘Thathithaa thoothuthi thaathoothi thaththuthi

Thuththi thuthaithi thuthaithaththaa thaathuthi

Thiththiththa thithiththa thaathethu thithiththa

Theththaatho thiththiththa thaathu?’

Does it make any sense?

Now, let us try splitting the words. 

தத்தித் தாது ஊதுதி தாது ஊதித் தத்துதி

துத்தித் துதைதி துதைது அத்தா ஊதி

தித்தித்த தித்தித்த தாது எது

எத்தாதோ தித்தித்த தாது? 

Does it look better now?

‘Oh  Bee! You blow off the pollens and drink the honey hidden inside the pollen. You jump and fly again and go to yet another flower humming making a beautiful sound in the process. You drink the honey from that flower too. Which flower was sweeter? Honey from which flower was sweeter? Which petal was more beautiful? Will you please tell me?’

This poem was written by Kavi KaaLamegam who lived in the 15^th Century and was known for composing poems with more than one meaning. In this poem too, the word  ‘thaadhu’ (தாது) has been used to denote the honey, the flower and the petals.

The poet does magic using just the single letter  ‘tha’(தா) and its variants. It sounds musical while reciting, it kindles our curiosity, and it is very meaningful too raising some interesting questions.

Does this poem reflect the arrogance of the poet?

Far from it.

I feel it is a tribute to the language called Tamizh and shows us how beautiful the language can be if it is in the proper hands and if it is used the way it has to be used.

The song of the day falls in the same category. When one listens to it superficially, it sounds melodically beautiful, which of course is true even when one gets into an analytical mode. The mode is because a trained ear senses something hidden in terms of the taaLa structure and the raga usage. But if one dwells deeper, it leads to untying so many knots making one discover more and more hidden beauties. This leaves one wondering ‘what is his brain made of and how is it wired’.

‘Sollaadha raagangaL ennenna pollaadha taaLangaL ennanna’ from Mahanadi(1994), must be rated as one of the most complex compositions in film music. I am dividing the post into two parts now- Laya, and Raaga for easier understanding and appreciation.

1.Laya/TaaLa

As mentioned in my previous post on ‘Maanjolai kiLaithaano’, the foundation for a structure of the song is the TaaLa and more minutely the syllables.

‘Sollaadha’ has a rather unusual start with words first being rendered in a free flowing way albeit with different variations by SPB and Janaki.

The Pallavi starts and it is clear that it follows the 4-beat chatushra eka taaLam.

The first line- Sollaadha raagangaL ennenna is in one aavartanam and the 4 beats are subdivided into 16 maatraas- 4 (Sollaadha), 4(RaagangaL), 8(Ennenna).

The following lines follow the same pattern-

4(Pollaadha) 4(TaaLangaL) 8(Ennenna)

4(ThuNindhu) 4(Sonnaal) 8 (Enna….)

The percussion plays the next aavartanam which is again 16- with stress on 1, 3, 6, 9, 11, the last 4 being left as blank.

The three lines are repeated by Janaki.

SPB’s lines ‘Nillaadha eNNangaL munsella’ ‘ThaLLaadha en nenjam pinsella’, ‘Thodarndhu vandhaal enna’ follow the same pattern..

 ‘Ezhunda sandham ondru’( 4, 4, 8) and ‘Kalandha sondham indRu(4, 4, 8) have one aavartanam each.

But what follows is the ‘crowning glory’.

‘INaindha Santharppam’  is 10,  and ‘iZhandha pon sorgam is 10.

‘Thirumbumo pudhuyugam arumbumo…..’  is divided as 6, 6, 6, 2, 4, 4 - the last ‘4’ being the drums.

From ‘Ezhunda’, we have 5 aavartanams-a total of 20 counts which is subdivided as 80 maatraas!

In the first interlude, the drums alternate between the chorus in the first part playing    1 2 3 4 / 1 - 3 - / 1 - 3  - / 1 - 3 - /

The lines in the CharaNam follow the 4, 4, 8 pattern until the last line (INaindha santharppam) which follows 10, 10, 6, 6, 2, 4, 4.

The drums draw different patterns of Chatushram in the second interlude leaving gaps now and then.

Raga

The free-flowing part in the beginning has the Harikambhoji swaras.

The Pallavi has almost the same swaras except that those are used differently to give us Pahaadi.

The chorus continues in Harikambhoji until the strings take over. The ‘ma’ of Harikambhoji is taken as the base (graha bedam) and the raga changes to ShankarabharaNam. It goes back to Harikambhoji in the chorus part.

In the CharaNam, the ‘ma1’ is substituted with the ‘ma2’ and the raga becomes Vaachaspati. At the end of the second line, the ‘ri2’ of Vaachaspati becomes the base ‘sa’ and we get Charukesi- from the line ‘KooNdil’. The violins in the background too continue in Charukesi.

It is back to Vaachaspati in ‘Jeevan’ while the last phrase ‘INanidha’ is in Pahaadi.

Here is yet another twist. The CharaNam ends with ‘ma1’ and the next interlude starts with the joyful flute taking this as the base. Graha bedam again and it is Kalyani now. Does it end here?

No.. The strings and then the flute play Hamir Kalyani, a janya raga of Kalyani!!

Seamless change of ragas-with and without Graha bedam.

Very differently structured Pallavi/CharaNams with divisions and sub divisions of TaaLa.

Untold mysteries…

‘What makes somebody a genius’?

It is for you all to say now…

ILaiyaraaja-The Connoisseur..

The eyes and ears of a connoisseur are very different indeed. Go through these verses and you will know why I am saying this:

‘Looking at the evening sky,

Wandering about in different directions

‘Caw’ shout the beautiful black crows.

Spreading the shades of red, Devi Parasakti appears as the moon.

The rich green parrot tweets and flies,

And the little sparrow takes a flight.

A couple of vultures go on a circle and move away.

 ‘Saktivel’ says the rooster, down the street.

Shades of red fade away as the moon showers the honeyed light.

There she comes with a smile on her cherry lips and holds the moon with her eyes.

 Beautiful indeed is love!!

Love gives Life. Love gives valour.

Love gives intelligence. Love poetry makes everything fertile.

Holding her hand, and taking them to my eyes,

‘Wonderful’ said I without any worries.

She sang with a voice that was as beautiful as the Veena.’

 

கா என்று கத்திடும் காக்கை என்றன் கண்ணுக்கினிய கருநிறக் காக்கை

மேவிப் பலகிளை மீதில்-இங்கு விண்ணிடை அந்திப் பொழுதினக் கண்டே,

கூவித் திரியும் சிலவே,-சில கூட்டங்கள் கூடித் திசைதொறும் போகும்

தேவி பராசக்தி அன்னை-விண்ணில் செவ்வொளி காட்டிப் பிறைதலைக் கொண்டாள்.

 

தென்னை மரங்கிளை மீதில்-அங்கோர் செல்வப் பசுங்கிளி கீச்சிட்டுப் பாயும்.

சின்னஞ் சிறிய குருவி-அது 'ஜிவ்'வென்று விண்ணிடை ஊசலிட்டேகும்.

மன்னப் பருந்தொரிரண்டு-மெல்ல வட்டமிட்டுப்பின் நெடுந்தொலை போகும்.

பின்னர் தெருவிலோர் சேவல்-அதன் பேச்சினிலே ''சக்திவேல்'' என்று கூவும்.

 

செவ்வொளி வானில் மறைந்தே-இளம் தேநிலவு எங்கும் பொழிந்தது கண்டீர்!

இவ்வளவான பொழுதில்-அவள் ஏறிவந்தே உச்சிமாடத்தின் மீது

கொவ்வை இதழ் நகை வீச-விழிக்கோணத்தைக் கொண்டு நிலவைப் பிடித்தாள்.

செவ்விது,செவ்விது பெண்மை!-ஆ!செவ்விது,செவ்விது,செவ்விது காதல்!

 

காதலினால் உயிர் தோன்றும்,-இங்கு காதலினால் உயிர் வீரத்திலேறும்;

காதலினால் அறிவெய்தும்,-இங்கு காதல் கவிதைப் பயிரை வளர்க்கும்;

ஆதலினால் அவள் கையைப்-பற்றி அற்புதம் என்று இரு கண்ணிடை ஒற்றி

வேதனையின்றி இருந்தேன்; -அவள் வீணைகுரலில் ஓர் பாட்டிசைத்திட்டாள்.

These words are Bharati’s. I wonder if there can be a better romantic description of an evening.Bharati was surely a connoisseur who appreciated minute things in life. To him, a crow looks beautiful and vultures are part of life. Remember that the same poet saw the Divine in the dark-hued feathers of a crow. Here too, he sees the Divine in the evening sky and hears the Divine in the call of a rooster.

And look at the last stanza. Bharati- the Connoisseur. Bharati- the Romantic.

ILaiyaraaja is a connoisseur too.

During his early years in an interview to the ‘ilangai vaanoli’, he was asked about the secret of his success. Pat came the reply-‘I spend a lot of time with nature’!

 Is it any surprise then that his music sounds great and divine?

 I am sure he enjoys each and every note and the combinations as he writes the notes. He is his first ‘rasika’ and the song of the day reinforces my belief. ‘Vaanam enge’ from ‘Nenjil aadum poo ondRu’(1980, but unreleased) is a composition that takes us to the space in no time and makes us listen to the music in space. Harmony and Melody go hand in hand in this Kalyani based composition.

Kalyani, as you all know is one of the most melodious ragas. It is one of the oldest ragas too. It goes by the name ‘Yaman’ in the Hindustani system. As per the Carnatic Melakarta system, it is the 65^th mela and has the following structure- sa ri2 ga3 ma2 pa dha2 ni3 Sa/Sa ni3 dha2 pa ma2 ga3 ri2 sa. The phrases-‘ni ri ni’, ‘ni ga ri ni’ and ‘ni ri ga ri ni’- are enough to bring out the essence of this raga. At times, just a ‘ni’ is enough to establish this raga which is believed to be very auspicious and sacred too.

‘Vaanam enge..’ starts with the ‘ta ka dhi mi’ played not by any percussion instrument but by that great instrument called Bass Guitar. After 8 ‘ta ka dhi mi’ s, the chorus starts singing the ‘akaaram’. Invested with considerable ardour, the voice of Janaki lays the next layer of Kalyani in akaaram. The chorus sings the next set of swaras-in akaaram again- and Janaki expands this in the higher octave. The entire prelude does not have any melodic instrument (bass guitar may not fall under this category in the strictest sense) nor does it have any percussion. Remarkable!

The Pallavi  which starts after 1/4^th count(anaagata eduppu) is slick and brings out the inherent charm of the raga.

With a calm finesse followed by an astonishing vigour, the strings take a gleeful gait pausing for a second or two now and then. Mesmerised by this, the guitar flows with a mellow tone. The chorus continues the akaaram again but this time with a difference. The aesthetic cohesiveness is amazing as the higher octave is touched. The affable flute follows with zeal rather romantically. The sympathetic strings that appear towards the end give a totally different shade within a matter of seconds.

The two CharaNams-that alternate between Jayachandran and Janaki with the former singing the entire first charaNam and the latter the second one- are lucid and have some charming phrases. The first part is reflective and the middle part is intense. The phrases in the last line move languorously showing the inherent grandeur of the raga.

The second interlude is a connoisseur’s delight. The strings first play with vigour. The guitar responds in its own beautiful way. With rhythmic exactitude (playing ta ka - -), the guitar gives enticing expressions. Backed by this, the synth (or is it the keyboard?) makes an arresting delineation. The strings take over dexterously and hand it over to the chorus. It is profusion of nuances as the akaaram appears again harmoniously and melodiously.

Heavenly!

வானிலிருந்து வரும் தெய்வீக இசை!

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