ILaiyaraaja – The Enchanter

If I say that human life follows a pattern, that the Universe follows a pattern, I will be stating the obvious.

How important are patterns in life? Doesn’t following a pattern make our life mechanical? Should we have patterns or should we break patterns?

Well, whether one likes or not, it is an undeniable fact that patterns are intrinsic part of the Universe and are inextricably linked to our lives. The sun rising in the east and setting in the west is a pattern. The onset of different seasons is a pattern. Sleeping during the night and getting up in the morning is a pattern. Blinking eyes is a pattern. Breathing is a pattern. Heart beating is a pattern.

While all this is true, it is the propensity to break patterns which gives rise to creativity. If people were happy with the patterns, we would not have seen any invention in this world. So, this takes us back to the questions in the second paragraph. My answer would be- While patterns are an ineluctable part of our life, breaking the patterns and in the process setting new patterns are what we should aim for.
And that is how many creative works were born..

Take Kamban for example. As all of you know, RavaNa’s brother KumbakarNa was known for his sleep. At the same time, he was a great warrior and his services were badly required to fight Rama’s army. How to wake him up was one of the many quandaries of RavaNa. He sends an army of people to carry plungers, sticks, drums and many other tools. His rationale? The sound from all these would wake his younger brother up from the deep slumber. That RavaNa himself was in deep slumber is a different issue.

Such a sequence is not difficult to describe for somebody who goes by the sobriquet ‘Kavi Chakravarti’. He could have simply gone by the usual way of composing a verse using rhyme words and similes. But Kamban being Kamban, he breaks the pattern and sets a new pattern:

உறங்குகின்ற கும்பகர்ண உங்கள் மாய வாழ்வெல்லாம்
இறங்குகின்றது இன்று காண் எழுந்திராய் எழுந்திராய்
கறங்குபோல வில் பிடித்த காலதூதர் கையிலே
உறங்குவாய் உறங்குவாய் இனிக் கிடந்து உறங்குவாய்.

Simply translated, it means ‘Get up you KumbakaraNa. Your game is over. Now you go and sleep in the hands of Yama’s messengers’.
As per Hindu mythology, Yama is the god of death and it is believed that he, along with his messengers, throw a rope around the neck of the person who is destined to die and thus the body dies.

Here, sleep is used as the LCM and this is not something you don’t expect from Kavi Chakravarti. But Geniuses are too dangerous. They will catch you off guard suddenly and without any warning.

Ulakkai is an ethnic tool used to crush solid things. This was one of the major tools used by Ravana’s battalion for waking his younger up. Now, the entire verse is composed in such a way so as to remind one of the ulakkai and its movements.

Listen to my recital here:




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New pattern breaking the old pattern..

When ILaiyaraaja was explained about a situation where the hero passes through a forest, gets mesmerized by the beauty of nature and sings with spontaneity, he came up with a tune. But being a nature enthusiast and most importantly being a person who loves different patterns and one who enjoys coming up with new patterns thus challenging his creativity, he decided to use just the percussion in the two interludes.
The result?

A composition with patterns not seen in film music before..

‘ILa Nenje Vaa’ from ‘VaNNa VaNNa PookkaL’ (1991) shimmers with percussive patterns showing us the beauty of rhythm and the brilliance of Laya Raaja.

I am going to slightly deviate from my usual way of describing the song in this thread, by writing first about the melodic aspects in the Pallavi and CharaNams and then list out the patterns in the prelude and the interludes to help you appreciate this unique composition in a better way. By the way, I too love breaking patterns!

The composition, based on Suddha Dhanyasi starts with Yesudas rendering the first few phrases. The flute follows him with panache. First time it plays, there is that majestic touch. Second time, there is that elegance and grace. On the whole, it pierces the heart.
The Pallavi in ateeta eduppu-with the song starting before the taaLa cycle, is subtle, soft and playful too with the swaras sa, ga, ma, pa and ni jumping with joy, the kind of joy one sees on a child’s face while playing. The flute too acknowledges this, and spreads joy.
The lines in the CharaNams are finely etched and are inundated with rich, imaginative ideas. The flute follows the vocals after each line. It is mellow. It is zestful. It is lucid. It is sizzling.

And now for the Laya part. The composition is set in Misram , which is 7 beats/cycle(a k a 7/8 in film music parlance). It goes as ta ki ta/ta ka dhi mi- 1 2 3/1 2 3 4. The Maestro has played around this,weaving intricate patterns and conceiving and executing variegated patterns on different percussion instruments. He also changes the kaalam(speed) at times in the first half, at times in the second half, at times in the second part of the second half and so on.

Let us now look at the prelude. The first half of the prelude, which has the vocals and the flute, goes without percussion as if to prepare us for the treat which is to follow.

1. The drums play ta ki ta ta ka/ta ka dhi mi – It is ta ki ta/ta ka dhi mi. However, the last 2 syllables are in mel kaalam (fast speed).

2. It now plays ta - / ta ka dhi mi/ta ka dhi mi/ta ka dhi mi- with the first 3 subdivided into 6 maatraas –leaving a gap for the second maatra- and the second 4 being subdivided into 8 (4+4).

1. and 2. are repeated twice.

3.dhi taam ta taam/ta - ta ka ta ka ta ka – again 6 and 8 in mel kaalam.

This pattern goes on 8 times. A new percussion enters during the 5th and 6th giving a special effect and this is replaced by a melodic percussion which plays with a stress during the 7th and the 8th.

The Pallavi then starts in ateetam.

The pattern backing the vocals is the same as pattern 1, except for the addition of rhythm guitar.

Interlude 1

4.ta ka dhi mi - -/ ta ta ta – ta ta ta –

5. ta ka dhi mi ta ka/ta ta ta – ta ta ta –

The drums play the first part which is again 3 subdivided into 6 leaving two kaarvais(gaps). Tuned tabla plays 8 maatraas leaving the 4th and the 8th as kaarvais.

The difference between 4. And 5. is that the first part has no kaarvai in the latter..

Now pattern 5 is played 4 times after this.

6. ta ki ta/ta ki ta/ ta – ta -/ - - - -

7.ta ki ta/ta ki ta/ta – ta -/ ta - - - -

Now the Raga Laya Raaja enters the fray with the Tabla Tarang playing in Suddha Dhanyasi, each time playing different sets of swaras.

8. Pattern 5 is repeated twice.

9.ta ka dhi mi ta ka/ta ka dhi mi ta ka dhi mi- twice by Tabla Tarang in pure Suddha Dhanyasi.- Raga Laya Raaja yet again.

Interlude 2

10.ta ta ri ki ta taam/ ta ka ta ka ta ka ta ka

11.ta ka ta ri ki ta taam/ta ka ta ka ta ka ta ka

Again the same division but played differently.

12.ta - - dhi ta -/taa taa dhi taangu( 4 times)
Now, the Pakhawaj and the Jaalra enter giving that classical touch.

13.ta - dhi mi ta - /ta ka dhi mi ta ka dhi mi (twice)- Drums.

14.ta ka dhi mi ta ka/tarikita ta ka tarikita ta ka

Played 4 times but the instrument in the second half alternate..

So, going back to the questions, should one allow patterns to exist or should these be broken?

Enjoy the patterns..and break the patterns. Life will then be full of patterns..




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ILaiyaraaja- The Inspiring Musician

Nothing can be more comforting than the thought of being in a comfort zone.

Well, that applies to people who are happy and content with what they do; for people who do not get disturbed -or rather do not want to get disturbed - by the status quo; for people to whom the word ‘challenge’ is an anathema; for people who do the same things again and again in the same way always.

But people who love the word ‘challenges’, are different. They love being challenged and if nobody challenges them, they challenge themselves. They look at the same things differently. They look for inner meanings in almost everything. The word ‘superficial’ does not find an entry in their dictionary, while the word ‘deep’ is found in block letters.

           KaaLidasa was one such poet. One day, he was challenged by somebody, not for debating but for composing a poem with the letters- tha tham tha tham tham

tha tha  tham tha tham tha(note that it is the fourth ‘tha’(ठ).

He came up with this:

रामाभिषेके जलमाहरन्त्याः
हस्ताच्च्युतो हेमघटो युवत्याः
सोपानमार्गेण करोति शब्दम्
ठ ठं ठ ठं ठं ठ ठ ठं ठ ठं ठः

Ramabhisheke Jalamahrantya

Hastaachyuto hemaghato yuvatya

SopaanamaargaN karoti shabdam

Tha tham tha tham tham tha tha tham tha tham tham.

During the coronation of  Rama at Ayodhya, women with golden vessel went to

fetch water. One vessel slipped out of the hand of the maiden and it tumbled

down the steps making the sound- Tha tham tha tham tham tha tha tham tha

tham tham.

          This goes to show that sky is the limit for the creativity of a genius and that the best comes out of them, when challenged. That is why, a true genius loves challenges not just because they are challenged but also because they consider challenges as not challenging. On the contrary, they consider it as an opportunity.

          Once ILaiyaraaja faced a very challenging situation.. After composing a song and writing notes for the orchestra, he found that musicians who played the strings (violin, viola, cello) were not available on the day of the recording as they had already committed playing elsewhere. So, he replaced the string section with mandolin section. He called different mandolin players (14, if I am not wrong) and made them play.

           And the output was incredible.

          ‘Pudiya Poovidu’ from ‘ThendRale Ennai Thodu’(1985) has many more highlights, but this is the topmost highlight, something like the ‘Headlines’in a newspaper. Based on Suddha Dhanyasi, the composition has that romantic slant not least because of the beats, about which we shall see soon.

          The beginning is like a glacier. The guitar strums gradually with just the percussion sounding the tisram beats- ta ki ta- in the faster mode. The second guitar starts strumming now and the duo moves with an insouciant grace. Enter the heroes now. The different mandolins vivisected by the bass guitar, bristle with melody and make an organic progression.

          The flute and the keys-which sound like flute and yet sound differently- make it more soft and sensitive while the mandolins follow with a determined countenance and play ‘ta ka dhi mi ta ka’- tisram broken down into 6 micro beats- even as the piquant percussion continues to play ‘ta ki ta’ in its own inimitable style.

          The Pallavi in the voice of SPB and Janaki is multi layered. First we have the mid-octave swaras ,pa ni sa. The mandra swaras(lower octave notes) ni. and pa. combine to give a different feel. The janta swaras (2 together) mapa gama pani complete the experience..well almost, because with this composer, nothing can end so easily. Here it is he echo- effect and the pause which give a feeling which is indescribable.

          And this is just one layer. If you remember, I mentioned about the beats in the beginning. The tabla plays the tisram beats in a unique way. 3 is divided into 12 micro-beats here and the stress is given only on the 6^th, 7^th and the 10^th beats.

          The piquant percussion meanwhile continues playing ‘ta ki ta’ with the bass guitar playing with a sense of equanimity while the mandolin group moves up like the waves in the sea.

         All these combine to make it a spectacular sight. Who said music is just aural anyway?

         Laya Raaja enters again in the first interlude making the tabla tarang (tuned tabla) dance gracefully in Suddha Dhanyasi with the mandolins nodding in appreciation. The latter take over splitting into two sets and playing two different sets of notes. This is just like how he makes two different sets of strings overlap each other. But see how a small change in instruments makes a difference to everything-from sound to feeling.

         The tabla-with its unique beats- the other percussion and the bass guitar continue to back the two sets of mandolins until the mandolins give way to the guitar and the flute. Now only the piquant percussion and the bass guitar back these two which of course play two different notes, at times even an alien note or two which make it more attractive.

          The jump from pa to the upper Sa followed by a glide in the first two lines, the sudden lower octave ni. in the third line(mayakkamallavo), the sudden appearance and disappearance of the alien note (ga3) in the following line and the echo effect in the last line, give the CharaNams, depth, resonance and most importantly an unmatched elegance.

          We involuntarily begin to sway in the beginning of the second interlude when the guitar plays softly with the percussion backing it. The mandolins are at work again. I can even call it as ‘Mandarin’ as one sees the contours of South East Asian Music here. One set of mandolins moves lugubriously giving ornate images. The other set sounds now and then with an energetic swirl.

          The tabla now joins playing those unique beats even as the mandolins romance with the keys with flourish and buoyancy. It even seems as if the instruments are giving a mystical smile..

           ...like the golden vessel which made a musical sound when it tumbled down the stairs!

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Laya Raaja - 3

‘ Who is that great soul, who with well set and tuned mridangam, who with words as pure as the Upanishads and the Vedas,  who with pure Swaras sings  and enthrals you Oh Rama!’

Sogasuga mridanga taaLamu jata korchi ninnu sokka jeyu dheerudevvaro,

Nigama sirorthamu kalgina nija vakkulato Swara suddhamuto…

Thus sang the incomparable and inimitable Tyagaraja.   Despite its richness,  English language cannot convey the emotions carried by some (at times many) of the words of our Indian languages. Take the word ‘sogasuga’. What is this ‘sogasu’?

Comfort? Ease? Luxury?

Isn’t it much more than all these?

Let us forget the language aspect and focus on the musicality and what Tyagaraja has conveyed.

Whenever I listen to these lines, I feel divine and serene. I visualise  Tyagaraja himself playing the mridangam and singing with his pure words and music. What attracts me the most in this kriti is the first line. Without any doubt Tyagaraja considers the TaaLa as the most important aspect in music. Otherwise, would he not have started the kriti with ‘Swara Sudhdham to’. Of course, this is not to say that swara sudhdham is not important, but the fact is that it is the Laya that stands out first in the Saint’s mind. And not without any reason.

The basic structure of a poem or a song is determined by the rhythm first. One can have a song without any melody or a raga. But is it possible to have a song without the ‘sandham’? Yes, we have the viruththams but even these follow a particular pattern and that pattern is governed by TaaLa only.

In my previous two posts, I wrote about the syllables and their different patterns.

 ‘ta ka’ ‘ta ki  ta’ ‘ta ka dhi mi’ are the commonly used syllables.

I had also said that a song follows a particular taLa cycle –which could be 8 beats, 7 beats,6 beats, 5 beats etc.,

We saw that a song can also have two different patterns parallely( Aagaya veNNilaave) or can have alternating patterns( Vanakkuyile).

The syllables form the backbone of any song. So, though a song maybe composed following a particular taaLa, the syllables are split say as 2,4,2 or 2,4 or 5,3….and in multiples of these numbers. Say a song is set in the 4-beat Chatushra ekam. Then the sub-divisions(called as ‘Maatras’) must be in multiples of 4 like 8,16,20,24…….Same is the case with all taaLas.

One sees the splitting of syllables in different groups mainly during the swara singing segment in a classical concert. But it follows the same TaLa cycle as the song.

One of the compositions of the Maestro demonstrates this aspect- of splitting though following the same taaLa- wonderfully.

Maanjolai kiLi dhaano from Kizhakke Pogum Rail (1978) follows the Chatushra eka taaLam throughout but the Chatushram patterns are split brilliantly. As far as I know, this composition is unique in the history of Indian Film Music.

The prelude is a precursor to the magic in store for us.

The ankle bell dances and the Tabla starts. After 2 aavartanams, the pakhawaj joins and it is a kind of ‘sawal jawaab’ between the two. After 4 aavartanams, the patterns-of course in chatushram change- and exactly after 5 aavartanams, the Tabla sounds typical Kathak  syllables(ta tai tai ta) that lasts for 2 aavartanams. Finally, we have two aavartanams in Tabla and Dolak followed by the subtle bells again for two aavartanams.

If one wants to study Chatushram patterns, he/she can as well listen to this prelude and write a thesis.

The Pallavi starts like a viruththam first.

The Pallavi with the percussion follows in Chatushra ekam. There are totally 8 aavartanams-a count of 32. This 32 is subdivided into 64 maatras and this is how it is split:

Maanjolai/kiLithaano/maanthaano  /

3           /     3                   /        3                  /

veppam/ thoppokuyilum / neethaano /    

2        /              5                 /           6            /

ivaL/aavaram/poothaano/nadai/thaerthaano /

   2  /       3        /         3       /    2      /          8               /    

salangaigaL/tharum/isai/thaenthano/Oooooooo/   

        4          /      2    /  2 /       8         /     8                   /

 

 As I said, I cannot think of any Pallavi as complex as this in Film music!

He plays with the percussion instrument(s) in the interlude. The mridangam sounds ’ta’ for every 3 beats.

In the first aavartanam, the ‘ta’ is sounded in samam; it is in the third beat then;in the second beat of the second aavartanam; first beat in the third  aavartanam. It sounds in all the beats now. After 2 aavartanams, the same pattern is repeated.

This is surely an apt exercise for people who want to practise keeping taaLam. Keep counting 4 and put the TaaLam.  It will be a learning-cum-enchanting experience.

The first CharaNam goes in plain chatushram until the 10^th aavartanam.

Idaiyil puraLum sadaiyil mayakkum malarkodi  goes like:

Idaiyil /      puraLum / sadaiyil    /mayakkum /

  3      /            3                /    3                 /     3                  /

malarkodi  /    

     4                /

Two aavartanams-8 beats divided into 16 and follows the above pattern.

The second interlude now goes in the ‘mael  kaalam’(faster speed) and goes in group of 4.

Just towards the end-in the violins/flute piece-, Laya Raaja divides it again as 3,3,3,3,2,2,2,2,4- a total of 24.

The second charaNam continues in the maelkaalam and it is the 4,4 pattern till ‘azhago devathaiyo’.

The following lines are divided into 128 maatras thus:

Angam oru   /thanga kudam/azhaginil/mangai oru/

       6          /       6                   /     4                   /     6                  /

gangai nadhi  /ulaginil/

       6                /      4             /

thuLLum idhazh thaenthan/

             12                                       /   


aLLum karam naanthaan  /

             12                                     /   

manjam adhil/ Vanjikodi/

              6       /            6            /

 varuvaaL/sukhame    /

  6             /      6                /

varuvaaL  /sukhame  /tharuvaaL/

  4               /       4        /         4                /

Magizhven/KaNN kaaviyam/

        4      /              6                      /  

pan paadidum/ peNNoviyam/

             6          /              6             /   

senthamarai/yeeeeeee/

          6         /     8      /

It goes back to the ‘keezh kaalam’ from melaadi maangani.

At the end, ‘ILamai enum thanimai neruppai aNaikkum paruva mazhai mugil’ goes as 3,3,3,3,4 (16 maatras) like the end in the first charaNam.

Let us now look at the melody part.

The Pallavi, first interlude, first charaNam and the second part of the second charaNam(from melaadi maangani) are based on Suddha Dhanyasi, the pentatonic raga which has sa ga2 ma1 pa ni2 Sa.

The second interlude and the first part of the second charaNam are based on Kharaharapriya.

In the beginning, we hear the call of the bird before veppamthoppu kuyilum.

The supple Veena smiles even as the mridangam(remember the ‘ta’ every third beat) jumps aesthetically. In between we see the flute, violins and jalatharangam sing with verve and vigour. This continues until the solo flute plays with a stylized elegance.The Veena joins and hands the melody over to the violins-flute-jalatharangam group which in turn leads us to the first charaNam.

We see the pleasant Kharaharapriya in the second interlude. The soft Veena and the colourful violins-flute-jalatharangam play with exactitude exploring the avenues of beauty.

TaaLam with ‘sogasu’,

Suddha Swarams,

Words and Music as pure as our scriptures.

Aren’t these enough to enthrall us?