ILaiyaraaja-The Ocean!

‘The smoke from sugar cane bagasse goes up with fragrance and surround the place like dark clouds making the peacocks dance. Like a Sapphire on a Blue Mountain, You were reclining on the serpent on the great Ocean called ‘ThiruppaRkadal’ once upon a time. Now, you are inside my heart, Oh, the Lord of ‘Thiruvaali’!’

நீலத் தடவரை மாமணி நிகழக் கிடந்ததுபோல், அரவு அணை

வேலைத் தலைக்கிடந்தாய் அடியேன் மனத்திருந்தாய்,

சோலைத் தலைக் கண மாமயில் நடமாட மழைமுகில் போன்று எழுந்து, எங்கும்

ஆலைப் புகைகமழும் அணி ஆலி அம்மானே.

Thirumangai Aazhwar-about whom I had written in my post titled ‘ILaiyaraaja’s Music is Eternal’ while describing the song ‘Oru kaNam’- was a genius par excellence. He composed more than of 1200 paasurams out of the 4000 paasurams composed by the 12 Aazhwars. His works are considered to be the 6 angaas of the 4 vedas(note that Nammazhwaar’s works Thiruviruththam, Thiruvaasiriyam, Periya Thiruvantaadi and Thiruvaaymozhi, are considered to be the essence of the 4 vedas.

This gentleman was born as ‘Kaliyan’ in a tribal family in a small village called ‘Thirukkuraiyalur’ but went on to become one of the most learned during his period(8^th Century). He is also called as ‘Parakkalan’ (one who is beyond time) and ‘NaRkavi’ (a great poet). His verses sound simple but are very deep and enjoyable.

The verse quoted in the beginning stands testimony to his genius.  The concept of Maaya is explained in just one line by saying that the peacocks dance assuming the ‘fragrant smoke’ to be the real clouds. The rebel that he is, he also takes liberty with the Lord saying ‘Once you were in the PaaRkadal’, but now You are in my heart’.  Very deep meanings and open to interpretations.

If one ignores the spiritual angle, the poem still sounds great what with the description of the dance of the peacocks, the fragrant smoke from sugar canes and the Blue gem on the Blue mountain.

Of course, this is just a small drop from the Ocean called as ‘Thirumangai aazhwar’.

As you all know ILaiyaraaja’s music too is like an Ocean. The more one immerses into it, the more gems one discovers. Most importantly, one discovers new dimensions and gets new meanings from the gems already seen (heard)..

‘Saagara Sangamame’ from ‘Seethakoka Chiluka’ (1981) is one such gem .On this very special day, I am proud to present this beautiful gem of his. Based on Hindolam, the composition looks and sounds like a grand sea. The first interlude melts my heart while the second interlude where the raga undergoes a change by replacing one variant of a swara with another and where the instruments move with short pauses gives me goose bumps.

Hindolam- a janya of Nata Bhairavi and which has the swaras sa ga2 ma1 dha1 ni2- by nature is very romantic and as already mentioned in my post on ‘Sridevi en vaazhvil’, the pictorial representation of Maalkauns-as it is called in the Hindustani system- is Lord Krishna playing with the gopikas. But to bring the essence of this raga in film music without in anyway compromising on the classism or the melody calls for ingenuity and the Maestro comes up trumps as always.

The composition has a unique start.

The percussion sounds’ ta – dhi –‘. It is followed by ta ka dhi mi.It is then ‘ta ka - mi‘ twice and finally ‘ta ka dhi mi’ fully twice.

It follows the Chatushra eka taLam, which is a 4-beat cycle. The first cycle goes as 1 2 3 4 but only the first and the third syllable are played. In the one following this, all the 4 are played. How do we have two 1 2 3 4s in the next two cycles? It is because it is played in the ‘mel kaalam’(faster beats-double the speed of the two previous beats). Here too, in the first instance, the third beat is left as a gap.

Four variations in a matter of seconds!

The first line of the Pallavi now flows freely like a river ready to merge with the sea. The zestful strings move like the small waves even as the dazzling single violin and the cuckoo-like flute jump like big waves. The strings raise again followed by the dexterous veena. With the ‘ma ga sa’ and ‘dha ma’, we see waves of music. Or is it musical waves?

The Pallavi is in the anaagata eduppu starting after ½ beat. In the mesmerising voice of SPB, the entire Pallavi, that starts with the first 3 swaras of the aarohaNam(sa ga ma) has a succulent charm. In fact, the pause after the prelude and the ones after the poetic phrases-‘kalalo’,’ ilalo’- have an exhilarating impact. These and the ‘ga ma dha ni Sa’ of veena in just a matter of 1 and ½ beats and the subtle variations of Chatushram in the percussion give a moving projection of the musical value of the composition.

The caressing flute backed by the subtle guitar smiles in Hindolam in the beginning of the first interlude. A ‘Tarang’ of sorts ensues with the Tabla Tarang asking questions and the Jalatarangam replying with ‘ma dha ni’ and ‘ma ga sa’. The musical dialogue continues with strings that join with palpable fervor and the flute. The latter charts a graceful course of Hindolam smoothly and melodically with the veena nodding its head in appreciation and with pinpoint precision. It is now the turn of the Veena to ask questions to the Tabla tarang and the Jalatarangam which jointly answer with great flourish and élan. The tonally pleasing strings take us to the first CharaNam.

The first CharaNam is marked by exquisite expressions with the soothing akaaram with a matrix of dynamic sanchaaraas that last or 5 taLa cycles. The line that follows this touches the higher octave and is joined by the sweet voice of Suseela. The romantic musical meeting is complete now.

Or is it?

We get the answer in the second interlude. ‘How can it be complete without me’, it seems to say.

Starting with the aesthetic flourishes of the veena and the guitar, it is a journey into the realms of emotions. The coming together of Jalatarangam, ankle bells, veena and the guitar is scintillatingly brilliant. With fascinating fecundity, the strings replace the ‘ni2’ with ‘ni3’ and it is Chandrakauns now. SPB follows the strings and it elevates the ambience to stratospheric levels.

The strings get back to Hindolam.It is all sparkle and dazzle with the strings and veena  caressing us and taking us on a fleeting melodic trip which is interspersed with musical ‘slaps’.

The pause at the end says it all..

Waves of emotions give way to stillness..to tranquility..

Saagara sangamam..

 

http://www.divshare.com/download/24171075-579

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!

http://www.divshare.com/download/24088230-4f4

ILaiyaraaja-The Instinctive Musician..

One of the many virtues a genius possesses is spontaneity.

A genius does not waste time in breaking his/her head. Yet, the output is something unimaginable.

ThoNdaradipodiyaazhwar, one of the 12 great Vaishnavite saints, looks at the reclining posture of Lord Ranganatha and decided to sing ‘PaLLi ezhucchi ’to ‘wake him up from sleep’.

‘Blowing gently from the East, the wind embraces the jasmine creeper spreading the fragrance. Flapping the dew-soaked wings the swans get up from their flower beds. Oh, the one who saved the elephant(Gajendra) from the poisonous and gory teeth of the crocodile! Please wake up’.

கொழுங்கொடி  முல்லையின்  கொழு மலர்  அணவிக்

      கூர்ந்தது  குண-திசை  மாருதம்   இதுவோ

எழுந்தன  மலர்  அணைப்  பள்ளிகொள்  அன்னம்

        ஈன்பனி  நனைந்த  தம்  இருஞ் சிறகு  உதறி;

விழுங்கிய  முதலையின்  பிலம்  புரை  பேழ்வாய்

        வெள்  எயிறு  உற, அதன்  விடத்தனுக்கு  அனுங்கி,

அழுங்கிய  ஆனையின்  அருந்துயர்  கெடுத்த

        அரங்கத்தம்மா!  பள்ளி   எழுந்தருளாயே.

This is one of the 10 ‘ThiruppaLLi ezhucchi’ verses sung by the Aazhwar and is part of the ‘Naalaayira Divya Prabhandam’.

‘Waking up the Divine’ is of course symbolic as the Divine is always awake. But what should be noted here and appreciated is the description done with fertile imagination. We feel the aroma of the ‘mullai’ flowers, we watch and listen to the flapping of wings of the swans feeling the wetness of the dew, we experience the excruciating pain of the elephant as the wily crocodile holds its leg and finally we feel the compassion and love of the divine.

The contrast-pleasant fragrance/ dew against poisonous teeth/sorrow- cannot be missed. Nor can the poetic usage and description be not appreciated.

It is said that the Azhwar sang these verses in the sanctum sanctorum even as he was looking at the Lord.In other words, he did not sit down, think, refer any tamizh dictionary and then wrote. Words flew from him instinctively.

And yet, the entire verse is a poetic beauty.

‘Arjuna mantram’ from ‘Sitara’(1984) is a musical beauty.

Composed spontaneously by ILaiyaraaja and rendered by SPB and Shailaja, the composition is classical, is folksy shows the contrast, shows the similarities and is melodically superior.

We see a pentatonic raga changing to a sampoorNa raga, a native Andhra folksy tune followed by a rare raga, all seamlessly done.

The composition starts with the divine Omkara.  The sloka is set in AmritavarshiNi, and the omkara being rendered as the ‘Shadja’ at the end of each line ( upper ‘Sa’ before the sloka, and after the first and third line and lower ‘sa’ at the end of second line) symbolically suggests that the PraNava mantra is the basis for everything in the Universe.

With aesthetic spontaneity, the Pallavi moves in Pantuvarali(AmritavarshiNi plus ‘ri1’ and ‘dha1’).The Veena that appears between the two lines shows flashes of brilliance as it shows the ‘chaaya swaras’ of the raga.

The Veena continues its journey in the first interlude as the zestful Jalatarangam joins it with splendour.The dainty flute takes over and the musical spectacle is rounded off with a ‘saval-jawab’ of Veena and Jalatarangam.

The first CharaNam has some enlivening patterns. The first two lines are felicitously fluid while the following lines move like a beautiful breeze.

The raga’s resplendent domain is shown in the akaaram that lasts two full avartanams. The beauty of this segment is the superimposing of the female voice over the male voice with each singing a different set of swaras.

The charming swaras alternate with the dance jatis towards the end.

The song now acquires and aromatic flavour. Andhra folksy tune in Tisram beats. The dainty Shehnai and the dexterous Flute are followed by the vocals. Fertilely imaginative!

The Veena now gives a classical touch playing ‘Karnataka Khamas’. It is a janya of Harikhamboji and avoids ‘ri’ totally. It may be noted that this is different the more popular raga ‘Khamas’ which has some very distinct phrases.

The Veena and the flute have a brief conversation in Karnataka Khamas before the beginning of the next CharaNam.

The CharaNam rendered by SPB gives a soft veneer and is fascinatingly attractive.

With a classical comeliness, the flute moves daintily and the veena nods with awe.

The last CharaNam is invested with considerable ardour with the male voice singing the sahitya while the female voice singing the swaras.

It is astonishingly beautiful!

Music of the ‘Omkara’.

Apuroopa sangeetam..

 

ILaiyaraaja-The Divine Alchemist..

Enraptured by the beauty of Kaveri, the young poet sings, 

‘Adorned by the aromatic herbs, colourful shrubs, ivories and the pearls, Kaveri looks like a golden river. And on its northern bank resides the Lord of Manthurai. Let us pray at his feet’.

செம்பொன் ஆர்தரு வேங்கையும் ஞாழலுஞ் செருந்தி செண்பகம் ஆனைக்

கொம்பும் ஆரமும் மாதவி சுரபுன்னை குருந்தலர் பரந்துந்தி

அம்பொன் நேர் வரு காவிரி வடகரை மாந்துறை உறைகின்ற

எம்பிரான் இமையோர் தொழு பைங்கழல் ஏத்துதல் செய்வோமே.

That he was so attracted to the river is known by the fact that nearly 3/4^th of the verse is dedicated to the description while only 1/4^th is devoted to his favorite Lord.

Thirugnansambandar, the child prodigy is capable of converting a river with white foams to gold with his poetic description. We also see the hand of the divine here which chose to bestow this golden poetic power to a child-just around 3 years old- by giving white milk of knowledge.

It is a fact that some are chosen by the Divine with a reason. These chosen few utilise it fully and not content with what is already given to them, explore, discover and innovate. With their ‘Hand of Gold’, they turn even a small tiny thing to gold.

Who should we, the mortals thank- the Divine which gave them these powers or the chosen ones for delighting us with this power and acquired knowledge?

If Tamizh acquired new meanings in the words of Thirugnanasambandar, Film Music acquired a new dimension in the swaras of ILaiyaraaja.

We have been seeing his use of popular, familiar ragas and very rare ragas in film music.

The song of the day-‘Neelakkuyile’ (Magudi-1984), is based on a raga which falls under the latter category.

The ‘sa ri ga pa dha Sa’ scale is one of the most popular in Carnatic Music. The different combinations of the variants of these swaras give us ragas like Mohanam, Shivaranjani, BhoopaLam, Vaasanti and Revagupti.

In the year 1981, ILaiyaraaja came up with a composition that had the same combination but with a new permutation- sa ri1 ga3 pa dha2 Sa. Let me clarify that this was new only in the Carnatic System as the Hindustani System has a raag pertaining to this scale called Vibhas (which again has two versions).As far as Carnatic Music or Tamizh Film music is concerned, this raga was never used until then.

Some texts define the name of this raga as ‘VarNa RoopiNi’ while some others call it as Rasika Ranjani. But since the Maestro himself has very recently clarified that it is Rasika Ranjani, let us stick to this name. Thus ‘Amude Tamizhe’ from Kovil PuRa happens to be the first composition in Tamizh Film Music based on this ragam.

He again composed a song in the same raga three years later and this is the song I am taking up now. While ‘Amude Tamizhe’ more or less stuck to Rasika Ranjani (excepting for the use of ‘ni’ in a couple of lines in the charaNams), ‘Neelakuile..’ follows Rasika Ranjani scale completely.

Did I say completely? Yes, but there is a hidden magic in the second interlude and we shall see that soon.

The composition starts with a great delicacy of feeling as the swaras are rendered with mellow tonal depth by Janaki and SPB. With energetic briskness, the Violins enter the fray as the upper Sa is touched by the male voice. The Sitar soothes the heart while the radiant Veena highlights the beauty of the raga with finesse.

The composition is set in Chatushra ekam tisra gati(cycle of 4 with a speed of 3)taaLam and has the ‘anaagata eduppu’ with the Pallavi starting after 2 aksharaas.

The Pallavi is crisp and is dominated by the mid-octave notes (it starts with the ‘sa’ just like ‘Amude Tamizhe’).The last line is a beauty with the phrase ‘paamaalai’ consisting of the combination of swaras in the arohaNam( dhaSa padha gapa).Note that the first swara in the preceding group becomes the second in the one that follows.

The higher octave violins that back the lines rise like the huge waves with the sitar that says ‘dhapa dhapa dhapa dhapa dhapa dhapa’ moving like a small wave.

Swaras blossom again with a fragrance in the first interlude as the Sitar and the Violin smile at each other with ‘ga pa dha pa’. The lilting flute joins and pairs with Sitar. There is more to follow after the strings flow like a stream.

Basic and advanced lessons in Violin plucking, fingering and bowing are on display. Harmony at its best!

The CharaNams have succinct but powerful phrases. The first half is dominated by the higher octave swaras like the ‘Sa, Ri and Ga with the last line have all the ascending notes. It is rounded off with a short and sweet akaaram.

The second interlude (remember the hidden magic I mentioned in the beginning?) shines with manifold beauties.

First the ‘dha2’ is substituted by ‘dha1’ and the raga becomes Revagupti. The strings play this and during the course of the journey adds two more swaras- ma2 and ni3- making it Pantuvarali. The Master then drops the ‘ri’ and ‘pa’ and substitutes ‘dha1’ with ‘dha2’ making it Sunaadavinodini, a pentatonic raga called as Hindol in  the Hindustani system. The flute and the Veena have a rendevouz with ‘dha ma ni’ with the former fondling ‘dha ma dha ni Sa’ and the latter caressing ‘ma ga ma ga Sa’. The magic happens yet again in the second time the Veena plays. It plays chromatic notes-ma2 ma1 ma2 ma1 ga3. Though it has only 2 swaras, the chromaticism and the contours suggest Lalit, another Hindustani raga.

The strings then play Hamsanandi( Sunaadavinodhini plus ri1) with the Lalit pattern peeping in again at the end.

Illuminating spectacle!

நாதப்புனலில் என்றென்றும் நாம் நீராடுவோம்..

Makes us bathe in the fountain of Naada forever..