ILaiyaraaja- The Sagacious Musician

Subtleties..

In this age of WhatsApp forwards, You Tubes, Instas and Tweets, the meaning of the aforementioned word is getting lost. How many of us have the time to listen to the early morning bird calls, to watch the sunrise and sunset, to watch the moon, to watch the stars or just to be quiet and listen to the silence?

It is not that we don’t have the time. It is just that we don’t want to. Blame it on the ‘life style’ and ‘changing times’. I do not want to delve into the reasons as this post is more on subtleties and less on our inability to appreciate and the decline in the aesthetic sense and values.

So, let us look first look at a poem. I call it a poem, despite its being a verse from ‘Bhakti literature’, because to me, a poem is a poem. Moreover, poems in Bhakti literature are no way inferior and stand out for their acuity and quality which can be appreciated by atheists and theists alike, provided they genuinely care for language and not for the source.

Here it is:

தொந்தி சரிய மயிரே வெளிற நிரை

தந்தம் அசைய முதுகே வளைய இதழ்

தொங்க ஒருகை தடி மேல் வர மகளிர்... நகையாடி

தொண்டு கிழவன் இவன் யார் என இருமல்

கிண் கிண் என முன் உரையே குழற

விழி துஞ்சு குருடு படவே செவிடுபடு.....செவியாகி

வந்த பிணியும் அதிலே மிடையும் ஒரு

பண்டிதனும் மெயுறு வேதனையும்

இளமைந்தர் உடைமை கடன் ஏது என முடுக...துயர் மேவி

மங்கை அழுது விழவே எமபடர்கள்

நின்று சருவ மலமே ஒழுக உயிர்

மங்கு பொழுது கடிதே மயிலின் மிசை....வரவேணும்

எந்தை வருக ரகுனாயகா வருக

மைந்தா வருக மகனே இனி வருக

என் கண் வருக எனதாருயிர் வருக.....அபிராம

இங்கு வருக அரசே வருக முலை

உண்க வருக மலர் சூடிட வருக

என்று பரிவினொடு கோசலை புகல....வருமாயன்

சிந்தை மகிழ மருகா குறவர் இள

வஞ்சி மருவும் அழகா அமரர் சிறை

சிந்த அசுரர் கிளை வேரொடு மடிய..... அடுதீரா

திங்கள் அரவு நதி சூடிய பரமர்

தந்த குமர அலை பொருத

செந்தி நகரில் இனிதே மருவி வளர்....பெருமாளே.

It is indeed a long verse. In fact, this is one of the longest verses from thiruppugazh, though it follows the structure and rule to tee ( 8 cantos/following a ‘chanda taaLa’). For the benefit of all readers, I am first reciting it and then giving a summary.

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In the first part (first 4 cantos), AruNagirinathar describes the ‘final moments’ in anybody’s life.

‘Sagging paunch, silver hair, shaking teeth, hunching back, drooping lips, walking stick(for support), whooping cough, incoherent speech, very poor eyesight, deaf ears, all diseases, intruding doctor, ‘curious sons’(to get details of assets and liability), crying wife, uncontrolled bowel movement, messengers of Yama (God of death as per Hindu mythology) and there I see Death approaching..And at that point please come in front of me Oh Muruga!’

Isn’t this a beautiful narration and description of a man’s final moments?

Logically, the poem should have ended here. But when there is logic, there is no poetry; when there is logic, there is no genius.

So, the poet continues,

‘‘Oh, the hero of Raghu dynasty! My father!! My Son, the apple of my eye, my soul, my king.Please come here, I want to feed you. Please come here, I want to you to be adorned with flowers’, sang Kausalya’,

says the second part( 2 cantos).

Now, what is happening? Did he not sing to Muruga in the first segment? Then why Rama now? Like the present day politicians, did AruNagiri switch sides? Isn’t there a disconnect anyway?

Well, not really. One just needs to be patient and wait for the next word in the poem. He ends that line with the word ‘nephew’; Rama’s nephew(Muruga). But this is not all. He makes Kausalya address Rama first as ‘father’, then as ‘maindhan’(மைந்தன்) and ‘magan’(மகன்). The first one is not uncommon. However, the second and third ones require a deeper understanding. ‘maindhan’ and ‘magan’ can be easily translated in English as ‘son’. But tamizh scholars know that there is a subtle difference in the meaning. ‘Maindhan’ is one who protects not just his parents but also the entire family(which would include his all other relatives as well). ‘Magan’is just a ‘son’. The former is strong;the latter is comparatively weak. The former is like an emperor; the latter, just a king. There are more meanings too, but let me stop here.

But look the lines closely and see how he says-or make Kausalya say- ‘Maindha’ first and ‘Magan’ next.

Subtlety?

Well, there is more too. The first half talks about ‘Death’ while the next segment talks about ‘childhood’. The following line talk about his romance (with one of his consorts-VaLLi) while the next line talks about his valour and finally, the last one talks about his father, Paramasivan(look at the description here-one who adorns the moon(thingaL), the snake(aravu), and the river(ganga).

Contrasts…Life Cycle..Relationships..

Read the verse again and you can find infinite inner meanings.

If the works of the tamizh poet from that great spiritual land called ‘ThiruvaNNamalai’ are full of subtleties, the works of the gentleman from that remote village called ‘PaNNaippuram’ too brim with subtleties. If the first one is musical poetry, the second one is poetic music.

Today, let me just take one example. And it is from one of his most recent works.

The beauty of ‘Kekkadha Vaathiyam Kekkudhu’ from ‘MeRku Thodarchi Malai’(2018) lies not just in the tune or in the raga used. There are so many other subtle elements in the composition which make it shine like a kohinoor diamond.

Can we see that one by one?

For starters, the composition is mainly based on Mohanam. Underline the word ‘mainly’. The fact that ILaiyaraaja is in awe of Mohanam , is known to people who have been following him right from his entry into the film music world. Also known is the fact that he takes a lot of liberties with the raga, just like how one takes liberties with the beloved. And this includes adding the non-existent note ‘ni’ or the other ‘ga’ or the other ‘dha’. But what he has done in ‘Kekkadha..’ is something unique.

Let us see the composition from the beginning.

The prelude starts from nowhere. This is what one can say about this rather unusual start in which it seems as if the melody is a continuity of an existing melody or that is an extension of a previous melody, which of course one has not heard before and yet has been in existence since eons. Coming to think of it, this is how rivers are born, right? Who can get to the source of a river?

And yes, it does flow like a river. Two synth instruments are superimposed on one another and these move with an intuitive perception, giving us the fragrance of Mohanam, with two sets of percussion playing ‘ta ki ta’and a third one sounding ‘ta’ with resonance after 4 ‘ta ki ta’ s. The melody is filigreed by the dulcet flute. One gets to see musical images in different colours with more synth instruments joining in and with the melody played from the beginning continuing like a leitmotif.

The Pallavi starts in the voice of the Maestro himself. It is tender with a unique melodic expression. What adds to the beauty is the sound of the bells in the background. In fact, throughout the Pallavi, one hears the sound of different synth instruments subtly sounding in the background. N.S.K.Ramya continues the Pallavi in pure Mohanam until the last line which changes to Hamsadhwani, albeit briefly. On paper, one just has to substitute the swara ‘dha’ with ‘ni’ to go to Hamsadhwani from Mohanam, but the transition here is very smooth. So smooth that one can even easily miss it.

The musical river continues to flow in the first interlude. It in fact seems like an unrestrained flow and yet is disciplined. There are sensitive overtones as well, with a couple of synth instruments in the background. After a quick dash of the non-existent swara ‘ni’, the melody continues in Mohanam but this time in the humming of the chorus. The imagistic brevity is bewitching.

The lines in the CharaNams have a cherubic charm with the flute-like instrument which appears between the lines(as usual, his music demands ‘reading between the lines’) shining with a divine luminescence. However, what defines the CharaNams is the scale change which appears in the penultimate line.

Mohanam can be said to be in major scale as it has ga3(E in Western Classical Music). Replacing this ‘E’ with ‘D#’will change the scale to minor as per western classical theory. Here, the Master does it with insouciance maintaining his sangfroid.

But is that all?

The second interlude says ‘No, there is more’. As connoisseurs who have trained our ears and the heart to listen to music with aesthetic sense and value, we too expect more and more from him, anyway.

However, what happens here is even beyond one’s expectations.

Since few words of music theory and techniques have to be given to help one understand and appreciate the nuances and niceties, I am going ahead here with some relevant details briefly.

Mohanam has sa ri2 ga3 pa dha2 while ascending and descending. Changing the swara ‘dha2’ to ‘dha1’makes it Vaasanti, another beautiful raga. The Master does this first. Then he keeps the swara ‘ga’ as the base ‘sa’ and changes the raga. Music aficionados and regular followers of this Group know that this is called as ‘Graha Bhedam’ in Carnatic Music parlance.

Now, if graha bhedam is done on ‘ga3’ of Vaasanti, it would give a raga with the following swaras:

sa ri3 ga3 ma1 ni2 Sa. This raga is not defined in any raga text. The Maestro adds a swara ‘dha1’ here to make it a six-note raga- which has sa ri3 ga3 ma1 dha1 ni2 sa. This raga is ‘Swara vardhini’and is derived from Ragavardhini, the 32^nd mela ragam. People who have attended Geetanjali-2018, I am sure will remember that this is a vivadi raga.

The second interlude(in Swaravardhini) moves with a suffused flow of pensiveness and with an elusive fascination. It wafts us through quiet currents.

It is this quietness which makes us feel the subtleties.

Can we define this feeling?

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ILaiyaraaja – The Phenomenon

Greatness is one of the great things in this world which cannot be measured not just quantitatively but also qualitatively.

Though this may sound odd, the fact remains that greatness too is subjective. At the same time, there are certain factors which make a thing or a person great:

Creativity

Being different

Lateral Thinking

Innovative

Aesthetic Value

Being Radical

Offbeat

Multi Dimensional

These are just some of the factors which occur to me now.

Let us take the case of Bharati. He was born at a time when our Nation was suffocating under the oppressive rule and when caste discrimination was at its peak. The language of Tamizh too was seriously looking for a saviour. He breathed new life into the world. And this he did not by following the footsteps of his predecessors – though he never had any disrespect- but by questioning everything. He simplified the poetic tamizh, rebelled against orthodoxy (remember, he was born in a community considered to be the most superior those days) earning the wrath of many in the process, viewed things differently and presented these differently.

But what matters the most is his poetic sense and sensibility. I am saying this because it is not enough to be a rebel, for there is a danger of presenting everything in a crude way which would defeat the purpose. The young poet was able to put down his thoughts in a presentable and pleasing way thus making his works shine with aesthetic value.

Take just one sample:

திக்குகள் எட்டும் சிதறி-தக்கத்

தீம்தரிகிட தீம்தரிகிட தீம்தரிகிட-தீம்தரிகிட

பக்க மலைகள் உடைந்து-வெள்ளம்

பாயுது பாயுது பாயுது- தாம்தரிகிட

தக்கத் ததிங்கிட தித்தோம்-அண்டம்

சாயுது சாயுது சாயுது-பேய் கொண்டு

தக்கையடிக்குது காற்று- தக்கத்

தாம்தரிகிட தாம்தரிகிட தாம்தரிகிட தாம்தரிகிட..

Now, this is just a description of the rain. We all enjoy the rain, at least most of us do. Poets enjoy it more. But tell me, how many can describe it so differently. He saw and felt the rhythm in the rain and just went on his own trip without in anyway spoiling the syntax of poetry. A new form and yet beautiful.. Breaking the rules and yet staying within the confines of the rules..

Aesthetics at its best!

But such people and such works occur only once in a while. It is a different matter that such rarity has to be celebrated, because in my opinion, it is the rarity which makes this world beautiful.

Without any doubt, ILaiyaraaja and his works will fall under the category of ‘Rare Occurrences’.  If the is a printed sheet paper and if all the factors I mentioned in the beginning are listed in that, all boxes will see a tick mark when it comes to ILaiyaraaja.

In all my posts here, I have quoted reasons as to why he is called as one of the greatest ever music composers, with live examples. So, I do not want to repeat anything today. I would rather discuss about a composition and I am sure that is more than enough. After all, is it not true that action speaks more than words?

What is great about ‘Vaare Waa Maanava’ from the telugu film ‘Aa Okkati Adakku’(1992)?

First and foremost, it is based on a raga which has never been used by any other musician-classical or otherwise. This is not something new as far as people who know him are concerned (check my previous post in this blog). But this is not all..

Let me go step by step.

The composition seems to follow a scale something like this- sa ri2 ga2 pa dha3 ni3 Sa.

That ‘dha3’ is a vivadi swara and I am sure people who follow my posts, know what a vivadi swara is, by now. This raga is called as ‘Kamalaasanapriya’ and is a janya of(that is derived from) the 24^th meLa VaruNapriya.

The Master does something unthinkable- that is unthinkable for mortals. He does Graha Bhedam just before the CharaNam and makes it a different raga, which again is a raga not used by any other musician.

Are you breathless now?

Well, there is more beautiful technique too related to Laya in this composition and since I care for your breath, let me reveal it as I take you through the composition.

With an intensity which at best can be described as musical, the strings gush in and make an organic progression from mid-octave to higher octaves. Just before the end, the multi-layered flutes skate with passion. An aural treat not to be missed!

The electric guitar plays with sobriety with the flute acknowledging and playing with an insouciant grace. The strings enter again and this time we have two sets with one set moving like quick waves and the other set spreading serenity albeit in higher octave.

In fact, a closer look suggests that the entire Pallavi has been played by the electric-guitar-flute-strings!

There is a sudden clap and silence. How often has he spoken about the value of silence and how often we have enjoyed this!

After a brief melody from the sympathetic strings, Janaki starts the Pallavi with the pizzicato backing the vocals for every second tisram in the first half. The second half is made to sound different and this is essentially because of the bass flute which plays different sets of notes along with the vocals. Can you define the feeling when you hear those lines?

SPB joins now and sings only the first half-with the pizzicato backing- though the wordings are different.

The guitar sounds in the beginning of the first interlude. It is soft. Another guitar responds. It is pleasant. The strings play briefly. It is lively. Yet another guitar plays now and the strings back it, of course with a different set of notes. It is lilting.

Well, don’t all these prepare us for something exciting?

Yes, if we know Raaja well; if we know that he is O’Henry Raaja.

That ‘exciting thing’ happens now. The taaLa suddenly shifts from tisram(1 2 3) to chatushram(1 2 3 4) and the stress is on the second and the fourth beats. People who follow my posts closely here know that this is called as ‘usi’ and the Great Master is the only one composer in film music to have applied this technique prolifically and with consummate ease.

One instrument(keys?) is punched, the other one-bass guitar- is plucked and the strings wander around but not pointlessly. It is a melodic and rhythmic swirl, even a kind of maze and yet we do not feel like getting out of it. Do we?

And now the Master does the Graha Bhedam and shifts the raga to yet another little known raga.

This raga follows a scale something like this- sa ri3 ga3 ma dha1 ni3 Sa- and as per the Raga text it is called as Hema BhushaNi, derived from the 33^rd MeLa Gangeya BhushaNi. In fact, Raaja sir had already used this raga in ‘Karaiyadha Manamum UNdo’ where again there is Graha Bhedam (more details in this post : https://rajamanjari.blogspot.in/2010/12/ilaiyaraaja-alluring-musician.html ).

The CharaNams have some charming phrases and what is striking is the plaintiveness which pierces your heart especially in the first segment and in the third segment. The contoured delineation and the characteristic retinue of unique phrases mark the second segment.

With this composer who has a firm grip on all major forms of music and who believes in variety, is it wrong on our part to expect more?

Well, we don’t have to expect anything as he always gives the unexpected. And to him ‘enough is never enough’.

Otherwise how can one explain his sudden shift to the western classical style in the first half of the second interlude, after having used 1.an unknown raga, 2. usi and 3.graha bhedam to shift to yet another little known raga?

The strings play in higher octave with another set playing a totally different set of notes. If the former is lilting, the latter is delectable.

It is then time for a contrastive tone and which other instrument other than the flute can give that feel?

It is haunting..

In fact, the entire composition haunts us even hours after listening to it.

That is where the greatness lies..

..Greatness of a composer who redefined music in general and film music in particular!

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ILaiyaraaja - The Virtuoso

Why is Kamban considered as a genius?

After all, he ‘retold’ what was already written centuries ago in Sanskrit. Moreover, it is just a mythology about a form of God who is believed to have taken an incarnation as a human.  And did the poet not indulge in eroticism too?

Well, I am not going to get into these and many other points put forth by the so called rationalists to ‘prove’ that Kamban was just an ordinary poet. But what I can do it to quote just one of his verses and try and explain it. One can draw their own conclusions after that.

This sequence is well known. Soorpanaka, the sister of RavaNa sees that handsome man called Rama in the forest. Well aware and conscious of her (non- existent) beauty, she decides to take a form of a beautiful woman.

This is how the poet describes her:

பஞ்சிஒளிர் விஞ்சுகுளிர் பல்லவம் அனுங்க

செஞ்செவிய கஞ்சம் நிகர் சீறடியள் ஆகி

அஞ்சொலிள மஞ்சை என அன்னம் என மின்னும்

வஞ்சி என நஞ்சம் என வஞ்ச மகள் வந்தாள்.

Glossy hands in lustrous red, feet like the dark coloured lotus, body like a cool creeper, uttering words like a sweet-talking peacock, moving like a swan, here she comes, that loathly lady full of venom.

This is just the literal meaning. However, there is more to this poem than meets the eye and I am not talking just about the mention of the artificial red and the ‘sweet-talking peacock’.

People familiar with the language of Tamizh must have noticed the ubiquitous occurrence of the letter ‘ஞ்’ (pronounced as ‘inj’). For the benefit of non-tamizh people(and of course tamizh people too), I am rendering the poem now:

                   

                 

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Hope you have all noticed as to how that particular letter gives that nasal tone. Now, people who know the story of RamayaNa know that LakshmaNa cut off Surpanaka’s nose after her ‘proposal’ first to Rama and then to him. The brilliant poet suggests this even as she walks towards them. Moreover, ‘nasal tone’ is generally considered to be artificial. So, he symbolically shows her artificiality using that letter, which is part of the mellinam group in mei ezhuththukaL.

Isn’t this why Kamban is considered as a genius?

Time and again ILaiyaraaja too has hidden such intricacies in his music. His use of ragas is well known and one gets to see too many lists (sorry to say, many are wrong) of the ragas used by him. But as I have repeatedly been saying in many forums, the name of the raga is not as important as the way it has been used. In any case, my focus today is not on this, but on his brilliant use of a very rare raga in a romantic song.

By definition, the word ‘rare’ is too deceptive. The reason is because of the subjectivity factor. For example, recently while I was watching a live performance of a carnatic singer on You Tube, there was a volley of comments-not unexpectedly- and somebody mentioned about a particular ‘Javali’ being very rare. But this ‘javali’ is often performed in a Bharatanatyam recital. Therefore, ‘rarity’ depends on the context and the level of exposure of a particular person.

However, at the same time, ragas/pieces which are generally not heard or which are heard for the first time by a majority should definitely be classified under ‘rare’. ILaiyaraaja has used the most number of such rare ragas as far as I know in film music. Many examples have been quoted in this blog itself.

What makes the song ‘Nilladha VeNNila’ from ‘AaNazhagan’(1995) unique is not just that the raga is very rare but also the fact that it is a vivaadi raga. The concept of vivaadi has been discussed in the past in this blog and therefore I am not going to explain in detail again, at least in this post. Suffice to say that vivaadi means dissonance(as opposed to vaadi, which means consonance) and the use of vivaadi notes gives a kind of intriguing and even a mystical feeling.

The song under reference follows a pattern whose arohaNam and avarohaNam are – sa ri3 ga3 ma1 dha1 ni2 Sa/Sa ni2 dha1 ma1 ga3 ri3 sa. As per the raga text, this raga is called as ‘Swara Vardhini’ and is derived from the 32^nd Mela Ragavardhani. In fact, this is Ragavardhani sans the panchamam(pa). I am not aware of any other musician (classical and films) having used this raga.

To use such a vivaadi raga in a purely romantic situation calls for gumption, courage of conviction, and a firm grip over classical music. And yes, a genius mind!

This genius mind is seen not just in the use of the very rare raga but also in the use of percussion and we shall see this soon.

The prelude looks like a shirred fabric. The guitar rustles. One set of strings plays softly while the second set responds with intensity. Even as the second set responds, the third set plays delicately. Now, all the three join together playing different set of notes without in anyway sounding cacophonic. And yes, the vivaadi note ‘ri3’ is perceptible too but there is no dissonance here!

The Pallavi in the magnetic voice of the Maestro moves with poise and dignity showing some beauteous light and shades of the seldom heard raga. Swarnalatha follows and repeats the line in her own style. What makes the Pallavi more attractive is the use of the guitar-like instruments which sound off-beat literally and figuratively.

The purity of the first interlude is striking. It starts with the lucid long flute whose melody goes deep into our heart. The carnatic flute responds and it is like a luminous spiritual arc. The Shehnai pours its heart out with the melody moving with fluidity. The brilliant aspect here is that the vivaadi notes is totally avoided by the Shehnai giving a feel of Malkauns(hindolam)in the uttaraanga(ma dha ni Sa). The backing of bass guitar and a couple of very subtle instruments gives a totally different feel. So does the melody from the strings-first in the mid-octave and then in the higher octave. Doesn’t this give a WCM effect?

The short flute smirks and leads us to the first CharaNam.

Sometime back, I mentioned about one more speciality. It is time to reveal that now. Right from the prelude, through the Pallavi and the first interlude, the percussion is totally absent though the composition follows the tisram pattern!

I can hardly think of any other composition in this format.

Now, as if to compensate for the absence, there are two sets of  percussion with one set playing the 6^th beat with ebullience and then splitting the first beat of the next cycle into 2 and playing the following beats with passion. This pattern is repeated alternately.

Both the sets play all the three beats in the last line.

The lines in the CharaNams also bring the creative instincts to the surface with the judicious use of the vivaadi note gelling so well with the other notes resulting in a heady mix of intrigue and sobriety.

Creativity and innovation are seen yet again towards the end of the first CharaNam when the Pallavi is rendered again. The percussion takes a break and the vocals are backed by the pizzicato and the bowing sound and thus touching ecstatic realms of music.

The pizzicato continues in the second interlude and is joined by the bass guitar even as another group of strings plays with power and majesty showing some varied hues of the raga. The brass flute enters at the end of the piece changing the complexion. The strings then move in western classical style with another piercing instrument intruding and playing a different melody parallely. It is a kind of maze even as the two melodies scintillate and sparkle. A sudden stroke from a very different instrument towards the end says it all..

Isn’t it like the letter tamizh letter ‘ஞ்’?

Why is Kamban a genius?

Why is ILaiyaraaja a genius?

Answers lie within us!

                   

                 

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