Laya Raja-II

பாழ் என, கால் என, பாகு என, ஒன்று என
இரண்டு என, மூன்று என, நான்கு என, ஐந்து என
ஆறு என, ஏழு என, எட்டு என, தொண்டு என
நால்வகை ஊழி எண் நவிற்றும் சிறப்பினை

‘Zero, quarter, half, one,
Two, three, four, five,
Six, Seven, Eight, Nine,
Thus the four eons speak about the numbers’.

Does this sound like a Kindergarten class?
Well.. almost! But is it not a fact that what we read (or for that matter experience) during our childhood stays with us forever?

Foundation.. If this is strong, the building is strong. Otherwise, it collapses.

Going back to the poem quoted- it is from a work called ‘Paripaadal’. Paripaadal was composed by different poets during the 1st Century AD and is part of eight anthologies called as ‘Ettuththogai’. These eight along with the 10 long poems- called as ‘Paththuppaattu’- form the core of Tamizh Sangam Literature.

Sangam means an Academy or Fraternity. It is said that there were 3 Sangams – the first one lasting 4,440 years, the second one lasting 3,700 years and the third one lasting 1,850 years. It is also said that a Great Flood destroyed many kingdoms and a large body of literature.

All the works of the First Sangam have been lost forever. The grammar work ‘Tolkappiyam’(I had quoted from this work in my posts on the music of ‘ULiyin Osai’ where I explained as to how classical dance and music were part of the Tamizh culture) belongs to the Second Sangam while the ‘Eight Anthologies’ and the ‘Ten Long Poems’ are part of the Third Sangam period.

The length of the Sangam poems varies between 3 lines and 800 lines. There are 2381 Sangam poems of course not taking the first and the second Sangams into account.

'Paripaadal’ is the one of the oldest texts that has notes on music. In Tamizh music, a Raga is called as ‘PaN’. Under each group of poems in ‘Paripaadal’, there is a mention about the ‘PaN’ on which it is based on. Similar to our Films, the songs(poems) would be written by one person and would be set to music by another person.

The poem quoted in the beginning was written by ‘Kaduvan iLaveyinanaar’ and was set to music by ‘Pettanaaganaar’. It is sung eulogizing Lord Vishnu and is set to ‘Paalaiyaazh’ which is the equivalent of Shankarabharanam.

This also shows that God has always been part of tamizh culture despite the claim made by the so-called rationalists in Tamizh Nadu.

In a way, ‘Paripaadal’ was a precursor to ‘Naalayira Divya Prabandham’,the sacred book of Srivaishnavas.I find a lot of parallels between the works of ‘Kaduvan iLaveyinaar’ and Aazhwars-Thirumazhisai azhwar in particular.I have quoted some verses of ‘Thirumazhisai Aazhwar’in this thread.Please refer the post ‘Laya Raja’ and ‘ILaiyaraaja’s music is unique’ where I quoted from his ‘Thiruchchandaviruththam’ that talks about the numbers.

Talking about numbers, let us remember that numbers revolve around us always whether we like it or not.

Take the poem quoted for example. It sounds so simple but yet throws up a lot of philosophical pointers. I am not getting too deep into it since it is beyond the scope of this thread. It is enough if I say that the Universe revolves around numbers.Have a look at the paragraphs that follow the poems in my post.

‘1st Century, ‘8 anthologies’, ’10 Long Poems’, ‘3 Sangams’, ‘4440, 3700,1850 years’, 3 and 800 lines’, ‘2381 poems’… well can there be a world without numbers? Can there be a Life without numbers?

Eons, Years, Months, Weeks, Days, Hours, Minutes, Seconds..

We find the numbers in music as well. Though all forms of music have rhythm(and therefore numbers), Carnatic Music gives a lot of importance to numbers.In the Raga system, it is the 72 melakartas and the different permutations and combinations of swaras while in the Tala system, it is the beats/cycle.

There are 108 Talas in Carnatic music.Let us now look at the major Five-patterns(called as Pancha Nadai).
The 3-beat cycle is called as Tisram, the 4-beat is Chatusram, the 5-beat is Khandam, the 7-beat-Misram and the 9-beat-Sankeernam.It is indeed a very vast subject and let us understand these basics as of now (Foundation!).

In a carnatic music concert, during the percussion ensemble-called as Tani avarthanam- the percussion artistes generally play in different nadais.

Almost all film songs follow the 8-beat cycle called as Adi Talam.There are also songs that follow the Tisra gati in this cycle. We will come to that a little later.

However, not many composers have composed songs in Misram and Khandam.

The Maestro is an exception.
In this Blog, we have been seeing his usage of not just the ragas but also the talas.

He has also used cross-rhythms (two patterns running simultaneously-example ‘Endrendrum Aanandame’ and change in gatis-example ‘Innum Ennai Enna Siyya PogiRai’

There have also been a lot of intricate mathematical patterns involved in his compositions.

He often talks about the ‘KaalapramaaNam’ in music.People who have seen him work vouch for his perfect sense of timing especially during the background scores. He would watch a scene, take a piece of paper, write the notes, give it to the various artistes and start recording. The piece of music would exactly fit the scene in terms of the duration.
This is because ‘Kaalapramanam’ is inherent in him.

That is why he is ‘Laya Raja’.

Today, we are going to see a composition of his that reveals his penchant for Laya.

The song is ‘ILamanadinil’ from the film ‘ManjaL Nila’(1982).

The song is based on Mayamalavagowla, the 15th Melakarta.

All basic (foundation) classes in carnatic music are taught in this raga because of its symmetric structure.

Its structure is: sa ri1 ga3 ma1 pa dha1 ni3 Sa/Sa ni3 dha1 pa ma1 ga3 ri1 sa.

The swara ‘ri1’ is very close to ‘sa’, with the ‘ga’ ‘ma’ and ‘pa’ ‘dha’ being next to each other.The last swara ‘ni’ is very close to the upper ‘Sa’. Such a structure is very easy to understand for beginners.

I mentioned about the Adi-Tala and Tisra nadai.

This composition follows this pattern. But something does happen in the CharaNams and let us see that soon.

I was talking about 8(adi tala cycle) and 3(tisram).The LCM of this is 24.Now, 24 is a multiple of 2, 4, and 6 as well. Using this theory of mathematics, the maestro has divided two lines in the charanams as 2, 4, 4, 4, 4, 6.So Tisram sounds Chatusram in 4 phrases.But the magician does not stop here. He has made the percussion play in ‘Usi’.

Let us understand the concept of Talas a little more.

The place where the Tala begins is called as ‘Eduppu’. A composition follows any of the following three different patterns of Eduppu .

1.Samam-when the tala begins along with the song.
2.Atheeta Eduppu-If the song begins first and Tala cycle starts after this,it is Atheetham.
3.Anaagata Eduppu-If the Tala beats start before the song begins, it is Anaagatam.

Apart from these is the concept of ‘Usi’-that is the stress on the even syllables/beats.

ILaiyaraaja has used all these four concepts rather prolifically.

‘ILamandinil’ starts in samam.However, In CharaNams when he divides the beats, he has applied ‘Usi’ to make it sound more beautiful.

We shall see this again as we go along.

The composition starts with the strings playing ‘ sa pa Sa’ and the chorus following suit. No percussion but still Tisram is clearly perceptible.

The notes are now strung together like a beautiful garland by the flute.We see the gentle curves of the Raga as the violins, viola and the cello peregrinate.

The percussion starts now and it follows
‘Ta ka ta ka dhi mi’ with the stress on the first ‘Ta’ and the second one (ka) not played. It weaves a splendid veil making us more curious.

The Pallavi starts now with the refined articulation and the melodic expression of Yesudass.

The first interlude slowly unveils the beauty.The chorus say syllables-‘ta ri ki ta thaam’ ‘ta ri ki ta dheem’ ‘ta ri ki ta jam’ ‘ta ri ki ta nam’-6 each.

The female voice of Sasirekha hums the raga and the chorus continues in Tisram-‘ta ki ta ta ka dhi mi ta ka’-with ‘ta ki ta’ in slow speed and ‘ta ka dhi mi ta ka’ in fast speed that is the speed matching the first ‘ta ki ta’.

The flute now voyages through the rhythmic patterns while the violins move with a sense of relish.

The chorus sings 6(3x2) 8 times completing one cycle(called as one avarthanam) of adi talam.The male voice sings the words in the same pattern followed by the female voice.

Suddenly there is a change of pattern.

It is now split as ta ka/ ta ka dhi mi/ ta ka dhi mi/ ta ka dhi mi /ta ka dhi mi/ta ka ta ka dhi mi twice making it 24x2.Most importantly the percussion is played in Usi with the stress on the second syllable ‘ka’.

It is like a starburst with thundershowers!

In the second interlude the dainty guitar is sated with delicate swirls with the violins making wide and spectacular sweeps. The languid grace juxtaposed with remarkable arithmetic accuracy is exhilarating.

The pattern of the first charaNam continues in the second and the third charaNams as well.

The Third interlude has the skilful embellishments with the veena , santoor and the bass guitar taking us to the deeper levels of the raga’s beauty. The aesthetically affable chorus adds punch.

The composition is a balance between subtlety and exuberance.
An ingenious work.
An exquisite ornament made of raga and tala.

அவர் மனதினில் எழும் இசையினில் விழி மலர்கிறதே..

http://www.divshare.com/download/16330146-973

ILaiyaraaja-The Inimitable Musician

9994 is the Post Box No. of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in all the major cities in Australia.

Can someone guess the significance of the number 9994?

If one adds a decimal point after 99, it could make the guessing game somewhat easier..

99.94?

Does it have something to do with averages?

Maybe a batting average…

But can someone have a career batting average of 99.94?

I am sure Cricket aficionados would have got the answer by now.

Yes, it is the career batting average of Sir Donald George Bradman , the best ever batsman cricketing world has ever produced.

He played 52 tests scoring 29 hundreds..

Out of these, 6 centuries were scored in just single sessions.
He also scored a triple century on a single day in a Test match.

Some of his records have been broken but it will be an insult to the great Don himself if his greatness is measured just by the Records and Statistics.What is of more significance is his batting style, his ability to torment any bowling, his precise footwork, his balance and his timing.

In essence, Bradman is the epitome of Batting and Cricket itself.

Though many batsmen have come and have even succeeded in breaking some of his records, no batsman can even come closer to the Don stands tall among all of them and it is a fact that his name will exist as long as the game of cricket exists!

He is inimitable!

Australian Broadcasting Corporation has honoured itself by keeping his 'Average Figure' as its Address.

In a similar vein I feel that the Sangeet Natak Academy in India or any other Organisation of Music in India must keep its post box no. as 261943 or at least 1976.

I am sure all die-heard fans know the significance of these numbers in this community.The first number is the date of birth of one of the greatest geniuses the music world has seen and the second one is the year he entered the world of Film Music.

I find a lot of similarities between ILaiyaraaja and Bradman.

The records set by him-in terms of time taken to compose and many ‘firsts’-are known to all of us and need no elaboration.These records can never be broken by anybody else.

But again, it will be an insult if he is known just by the records.

His style of composing, his approach, his sense of timing(called as ‘kaalapramaNaa’ in Carnatic Music),his unique blending of many forms of Music make him a composer who cannot be compared with anybody.

During his days, Bradman was criticized by some ‘self-acclaimed denizens’of cricket whose only job was to find fault but the Don stayed clear of all these.

Similarly, Maestro is also being criticized by people who do not even know what Music is.

But little do they know that the Maestro is unassailable and that nothing will affect him.

I am reminded of a ThirukkuraL:

அகழ்வாரைத் தாங்கும் நிலம்போலத் தம்மை
இகழ்வார்ப் பொறுத்தல் தலை.

He is like the Mother Earth who bears with people who dig it.

He is also inimitable because he is a class apart!

Today, we are going to see a composition of his where he has woven his magic.

It is ‘Kattikkidalam’ from Poovarasan.

Though the composition is based on Sindhu Bhiravi, it has traces of Karaharapriya and Nata Bhairavi as well..

But more than the Raga, what is of particular interest is the Rhythmic Pattern..


As I have always been saying, he is not just Raga Raja but ‘Laya Raja’ as well.

The first thing that strikes us in ‘Kattikkidalam’ is the percussion underpinnings.
It is set to the 8 beat Adi talam.

The 8 beat is multiplied by 2 and this is divided as 3 2 3 and 3 2 3-Ta Ki Ta Ta Ka Ta Ki Ta in the first half and Ta Ki Ta Ta - Ta - -.

A Film Song with the pattern of - 3 2 3 -is not unusual.

But in the first half, the Tabla is played with the ‘Gumki’ sound giving a very different feel to the entire song.

And the beauty in the second half is the second ‘Ta a’ and the third-‘Ta a a’-where the ‘a’ s are left blank.

Silence means many things.

For him, even silence is Music!

This pattern is palyed twice for one cycle of Adi Tala.

It is a romantic song and who else can bring sensuality in just one cycle of Tala?

The composition opens with a very peculiar background of a synthesizer sounding just the ‘sa’.

The Violin orchestra appears slowly but with panache. Then it is that wonderful Tabla beats.

The Pallavi thrums with life with the voices of Chitra and SPB with the long flute adding to the romantic mood.

The interlude has the electronic instruments and the traditional instruments playing with flourish and dash creating the right ambience.

The Charanam is sensuous and has an insidious magic. The vocals wallow with glee and zest. One does get to hear the alien Swaras here and there but they are used very subtly.

The second interlude is sequined with gems and jewellery celebrating Love and Romance.

Any composer would have easily got carried away by the situation and would have given a blitzkrieg of sorts but here this composer whose Music is dignity personified gives a very soft effect with the strings and the violins and reels us in.

As mentioned earlier, the sheer beats of the Tabla give the requisite effect.

Delicate, Graceful and with Poise!

அவர் பூவரசந்தானே..இசை என்னும் பூவிற்கு அரசன்தானே!

Is he not the King of that Flower called as Music!

Laya Raja

Human life is very beautiful.

Though there are things that make us sad or angry, there are enough things in life to keep us happy and cheerful.

Why ‘ enough things’? I can even say ‘there are two things in our life that keep us happy and cheerful.’…Yes.. I am talking about Music and Poetry.

In fact, life, music and poetry are inextricably linked.

Sometime back, I wrote as to how musical our life is. And the Bharathiyar’s poem quoted yesterday talks about the music in nature.

Examples galore and one can go on and on…

But one simple example is the heartbeats. How rhythmic it sounds..And how it changes the pattern depending on our mood.
One pattern when we are angry;
a different pattern when we are tensed;
some other pattern when we are happy;
a very different pattern when we meditate.

There is rhythm in life, poetry in rhythm, life in poetry, rhythm in poetry, , poetry in life, life in rhythm.

Thirumazhisai Aazhwaar ,one of the 12 major Vaishnavite saints who lived in the 7th century composed some wonderful verses called ‘Thiruchanda Viruthham’. Chandam means metre , that is an arrangement of strong and weak stresses in lines of poetry that produces rhythm.

I am quoting one of the verses:

‘You are
The Five Elements, The Four Vedas,
The Three Worlds, The Two Feet,
The Stars and the Moon(combining together to become one),
The Sun and The Moon(giving different characteristics),
Are we even capable enough to think about you?’

பூ நிலாய ஐந்துமாய்ப் புனற்கண் நின்ற நான்குமாய்
தீ நிலாய மூன்றுமாய் சிறந்த கால் இரண்டுமாய்
மீ நிலாயது ஒன்றுமாகி வேறு வேறு தன்மையாய்
தீ நிலாய வண்ணம் நின்னை யார் நினைக்க வல்லரே?

It does talk about the Almighty. But people who are atheists or agnostics can consider this as a poem on nature.

This poem has lot of philosophical connotations and let us not focus on that.But what we must focus on are the metre and the way he has used numbers in the poem.

ILaiyaraaja who invented a new paradigm for cine music has done wonders with the Ragas and Talas. He has given us compositions that are classic in quality and refined in taste.

What we hear as his compositions is nothing but the harmonization of the soul’s inwardness with music.

His phenomenal knowledge and grasp of the finer elements in music make him an extraordinary composer.

We have been seeing his use of ragas(rare and popular), application of concepts like Shruti Bedam and his innovative rhythmic patterns in this thread.

Today , we are going to see a composition that can be called a real wonder.

A wonder not because of the raga but because of the Tala structure.

The composition is ‘Endrendrum Aanandame’ from ‘Kadal MeengaL’.

I am going to take up the rhythmic pattern first and try and explain each pattern phrase by phrase. I am also going to number these patterns and while discussing about the melodic aspect and the orchestration, I shall be mentioning these numbers again for an easy understanding.

I am also not going to say anything about the raga now.

The song is composed in Tisram-that is three beats also called as waltz in Western Music. But the beats follow the chathushram(four beats) pattern in most part of the song.

He has used simple arithmetic and has used aksharas that are multiples of both 3 and 4-that is 12, 24, 36, 48 etc.,

Yes, simple arithmetic indeed!

Easily said than done.
The patterns are mind -boggling.

Another beauty is that the patterns (most of them) are played by the Bass guitar , an instrument supposed to add melody to a song.

Let us now look at the pattern.

1.The song starts with the percussion playing

‘Ta ka Ta ka Ta ka Ta ka Ta ka Ta ka Ta ka Ta ka Ta ka Ta’
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
and this is where the bass guitar starts and plays ‘Ta ka Ta ki Ta’(1 2 3 4 5) completing the 24 beat pattern.

2.The Bass Guitar now follows this pattern:

‘Ta - Ta- Ta- Ta - - Ta Taa - - - - Ta Taa - - - - Ta Taa -‘(24 again but the dashes are places that are left blank and these are called as ‘kaarvais’).
This pattern is played 6 times.

3.The Bass Guitar stops and now the synthesizer plays the 24 beats.

4.The pallavi starts and the bass guitar accompanies the vocals in the following pattern:

‘1 – 3 – 5 – 7 8 9 10 11 –‘.

As mentioned earlier, the ‘- ‘ are the karvais.

5.The first interlude starts with three beats ‘Ta ki ta’ in slower tempo(called as keezhkalam).The beauty is that there is neither percussion nor bass guitar here.
The first Ta ki ta is followed by the mild sound of the drums which plays ‘1 – 3 4 – 6 7 – 9’ in a faster tempo that equals the ‘Ta ki ta ‘.

The second ‘Ta ki ta’ is followed by ‘1- 3 4 5 6 7 - -‘ in drums.

Therefore the total count now is 12 (3 + 3 + 3 + 3).

Let me again tell you that though each of the drum pattern plays 9 beats in the faster mode(mel kaalam), it is taken as 3 counts only in the slower mode (keezhkaalam).

6.The Bass Guitar now plays ‘- - 3 4 5 6’.Then the flute plays without the accompaniment of any percussion or Bass Guitar. This is repeated thrice and then the bass guitar plays the pattern again.

7.Then comes a very unique long bass guitar pattern ‘- - 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18’.

8.It is then ‘1 2 3 4’ nine times with more stress on 1 and 2.

The pattern in Charanam is ‘Ta ka Ta ka Ta ka Ta ka Ta ka Dhi mi’(12 beats).

10.Towards the end , it slows down and it is ‘Ta ki Ta’ 4 times(12 beats).

11.The second interlude starts with the bass guitar pattern ‘Ta ka dhi mi’( 1 2 3 4) with stress on ‘Ta ka’ and this is played 12 times.

12.Now the bass guitar plays ‘Ta - -‘ 4 times.

13.It is ‘Ta ki ta’ 10 times by the bass guitar.

14.Finally it is ‘Ta ka dhi mi ta ka’ ( 1 2 3 4 5 6) 8 times..

Let us now look at the raga .

This is based on Sarasangi-the 27th Melakartha.
The structure is – sa ri2 ga3 ma1 pa dha1 ni3 Sa/Sa ni3 dha1 pa ma1 ga3 ri2 sa.
It is very close to Charukesi and only the variant of ‘ni’ separates the two.

Let us look at the composition in full now. As mentioned earlier, I am giving the s.nos. of the various patterns.

The percussion in the beginning seems like pellets of rain. It is (1) now.The Bass guitar starts playing the notes of Sarasangi with zest(2).

The violin now sounds like the breeze. We then see the droplets of rain furrowing down as the synthesizer plays(3).

The voice of Malaysia Vasudevan creates a mellow ambience and the pallavi moves with melodic grace (4).

The first interlude starts in a quiet and meditative way and even the drums sound so subtle.The violin lends an extra special slant to the experience(5).

The flute is agog with excitement and the bass guitar responds with glee(6).

The Bass Guitar now pummels(7).

The Violin and the bass guitar race and it is like the sun rays on the mist!(8).

The Charanam is delectably designed. The violin piece that appears at the end of each phrase adds punch(9).

After the ‘Isaimazhai pozhinthathu kuyile’phrase, it beautifully slows down and the subtlety of the pattern is amazing!(10).

The second interlude is like a quest and discovery.The Bass Guitar and the Violin play with immaculate sensitivity(11).

It is pause and articulation as the violin picks up momentum while the bass guitar watches it(12).

It is then the harmony of the mind, body and the soul(13).

The flute and the bass guitar meet and it is the coalescing of melody and rhythm(14).

And this is the most defining moment..

Beyond the externalized exposition lies the aesthetics of music.

We get to see the finer facets of this music from a Genius

who is like a veritable ocean..

who upsets stereotypes and controverts assumptions..

who gives us compositions that make us think..

Most importantly he gives us eternal bliss!

என்றென்றும் ஆனந்தமே...

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