sindhu-bhairavi on S Anand

Classical Ilayaraja 12

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 12:00:00 +0000

This is the 12th of 15 articles titled Classical Ilayaraja appeared on Usenet in the 90s.
I’ve added links to the songs, so you can listen as you read.
You could also try my Tamil song search.

Thamizh film actress Kushboo has been deified to the status of a Goddess and a temple has been built for her in Trichi! Often I hear news like the deification of Jayalalitha, M.G.R., and other related “chota” news like a man in rural Thamizhnadu seeing God M.G.R in his cow’s eye! These are all instances that narrate the conspicuous births of Gods, or rather, the conspicuous deification of ordinary human folks. Given the evidence that these farcical news items do happen in the gullible Thamizhnadu, one has the right to make conjectures that Jesus Christ could have been a very very ordinary man, just like Kushboo. He could have had good human qualities and could have helped his neighbours to buy kerosene from ration shop and old ladies to cross busy roads like Bhagyaraj in Inru Poi Nalai Vaa! His unfortunate, pathetic death at an young age at the hands of local villains could have created a sympathy wave. And now, in this 21st century it will be castigated as an outright act of profanity, if someone dares to question the divinity status of the messiah.

In any religion, Gods seem to make their genesis in a very subtle way. Particularly, in Hinduism, the births of Gods and the appearance of temples in a region are so insidiuous. The onset invariably starts with a small stone or a rock under a neem tree turning holy (it is heaven’s secret, how these stones are selected!). Sandal paste and “kunkum” appear on the stone shortly and a group of people start worshipping the stone. A cascade of events follow and a figurine appears there to replace the stone. The figurine might take any shape in the world, a huge “Phallus” like Lord Shiva, an elephant headed form like Lord Ganesha, a cow headed form like “Thumburu”, a fierce looking lady like “Mariatha”… Soon, a nomenclature comes into vogue to denote this newly born “God”. It could be anything, a highly calloquial one like “vedi uppu beerangisami” or a beautiful Sanskrit word imported from the Indus valley! As an appendage to the name, a story too, comes into vogue, to denote the relationship of this new “God” to the older Gods, like “Lord Shiva’s uncle’s son”. Look at this place after 100 years…! No kidding, a grand temple has come into being there! Loud speakers are in eternal function, broadcasting divine songs by Seergazhi Govindarajan, L.R.Easwari, Veeramani! You may find some of our imbecile brotheren doing “anga pradakshanam” with their tongue bloody and impaled with a holy needle! Oh, mother Nature! When is this alarming increase in the population of Hindu gods going to stop (small “g” intentional)!

Carnatic raagas are like Hindu Gods. Their birth in this world is so subtle. A tune can be born from the harmonium of Ilayaraja just in a matter of few minutes. But, raagas? Raagas encompass all the tunes in the world. A tune could be created by Ilayaraja. But, raagas? Do raagas have creators? Raagas creep into “being” from amidst the masses. No single person creates a raaga. Can any person in this world raise his hand and claim patency to the creation of Lord Shiva or Vishnu? The creation of gods is the result of a community effort! Similarly raagas are the unintentional creative result of the musical community. The creation of a raaga is not bound by any time frame. It might take ages for the raagas to take form. The form of a raagam is not static. It keeps on changing with ages, like the present day Lord Ganesha sitting before the computer screen with sunglasses and dirty jeans! Remember seeing this form in your neighbour’s kolu during Dasara festival? Really?!

Thodi is one of the greatest of the raagas. It is the 8th melakartha raagam. We know that there are 72 melaraagas in carnatic music. These 72 melakartha raagas are divided into groups of six, according to the numerical order. Each of this group is called as a chakram. Thus we have a total of 12 chakrams. The first 6 chakrams (comprising 36 raagas) use suddha madhyamam and the later 6 chakrams (comprising 36 raagas) use the prathi madhyamam. Within each of the chakrams, all the 6 raagas will have the same poorvaanga swaras (ie., Sa Ri Ga Ma). The difference is only in the utharaanaga swaras (ie., Pa Da Ni Sa). Each chakram has a got a name to denote it. The 2nd chakram is called as the Nethra chakram. Thodi is the 2nd raagam in the Nethra chakram.

Has Ilayaraja ever tried his hands on this great raagam? Yes! Just in one song alone so far. Was he successful? Perhaps not! The challenge that Lakshmi Parvathi poses to Chandra Babu Naidu is nothing when compared to the challenge that Thodi poses to the cinema music directors. If Ilayaraja tuned a song in the Thodi scale (Sa Ri1 Ga2 Ma1 Pa Da1 Ni2 Sa), then it will sound like Sindhu Bhairavi! Because, just playing the notes of Thodi in the harmonium will only manifest the raagalakshanam of Sindhu Bhairavi (even though Sindhu Bhairavi has Ri2 in its arohanam, using Ri1 plainly without gamakam in the arohanam will be perfectly Sindhu Bhairavish). Thodi and Sindhu Bhairavi are so closely related to each other, yet so different. The drastic difference is because of gamakam. But for Sa and Pa, all the other swaras of Thodi have aesthetically beautiful, terrific gamakam. So, to get Thodi raagam out of Thodi scale, you’ve got to shake those swaras (Ri,Ga,Ma,Da,Ni), like the way a Richter 8.0 earth quake shakes California once in a while! California residents may stay at home despite such shakes, but the cinema rasikas would simply leave the theatre at once, to “drink” beedi or cigarette, if the swaras started shaking in a cinema song!

Ilayaraja’s attempt came in the movie Varusham Padhinaaru. The song is gangai karai mannanadi. It is pure Thodi. Within the constraints of tuning a cinema song, he has tried his best to give a proper Thodi, with all the gamakams. K.J.Yesudoss has sung that song. In the pallavi and charanam the “heavy” Thodi identity is quite clear. But, in the interlude music, the raaga degenerates to a “lighter” status, Sindhu Bhairavi. In his Saramathi raagam song, paadariyEn padippariyEn (Sindhu Bhairavi movie), when Chitra sings “sonnadhu thappaa thappaa” he has introduced an unwarranted Thodi sangathi there. Why did he do that? Also, he had erroneously used Da Pa Ma (like Marga Hindholam), in Saramathi. When the movie was released, Ananda Vikatan made a big issue about these gramatical mistakes in that song, and even interviewed vocalist Dr.S.Ramanathan regarding this matter! One of my friends said that he heard Ceylon Radio identifying the raagam of akkam pakkam parada (Unnal Mudiyum Thambi), as Thodi! What a joke! Sindhu Bhairavi raagam is like potato curry. My wife can cook it, your wife can cook it, all wives can cook it! Ilayaraja has cooked it many times, from maNi Osai kEttu (Payanangal Mudivadhillai) to maNiyE maNikkuyilE (Nadodi Thendral). akkam pakkam is one such Sindhu Bhairavi cooking! Let us not praise our wife as excellent for this potato curry, which doesn’t need any skill to cook!

Thodi is unique among the 6 Nethra chakra raagas. Even though these raagas share the same Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa, look at the way the gamakam of Ri,Ga,Ma has evolved so specially for Thodi! Denuka is the immediate next raagam to Thodi (the 9th melam). In his Denuka krithi theliyalEdhu raamaa, Thyagaraja swamy has preferred to use these swaras plainly without much gamakam, like in Sindhu Bhairavi raagam! How did these adjacent raagas evolve so differently from each other? Can we question the Ganesh getting an elephant face, and the Kumeresh getting a beautiful human face, in the differential evolution of the sibling gods?! I know of a song in which Ilayaraja has used the Denuka scale. The song is en sOga kadhaiya kELu (Thooral Ninnu Pochu). He predominantly uses Ni3 in this song (like in Denuka) and occasionally Ni2 (like in Thodi). The next raaga to Denuka (the 10th raagam) is Natakapriya. Recently I happened to listen to one superb Natakapriya song tuned by Ilayaraja! It came as a pleasant surprise in the movie Moga Mull. The song is nenjE gurunaadhanin! It is a lovely song! The situation is similar to the one in Sindhu Bhairavi, where distraught hero Shivakumar, begs for alcohol and sings the song thaNNi thotti thEdi.

In Moga Mull, the hero Rajam is a music student. He gets a chance to perform in the house occasion of a local big shot. He refuses that chance. Later, his guru (Nedumudi Venu) falls sick and needs lot of money for hospitalisation. So, the hero becomes a victim of circumstance and is forced to go to that big shot for monitary help. The villain makes the hero sing in his house when there is no occasion. All his friends form a crowd and sit before the hero. While he sings, the insensitive audience talks aloud, giggles, and humiliates the hero in all possible ways. The song is nenjE gurunadhanin in the raagam Natakapriya. Arun mozhi has sung this song. Fantastic job! I have heard a classic krithi “geetha vadhya” in this raagam. If I remember correct, the Ri,Ga,Ma had been handled like in Thodi (with gamakam) in that krithi. Ilayaraja has used plain swaras in this song. But, even then it is very classical and the raaga identity is quite clear. Oh, what a pathetic situation it is, to be in a financially needy state, and to unwillingly sell one’s music skill to a shameless crowd that is absolutely deaf to music! That scene only reminded me of the nowadays very popular marriage reception katcheris! Amidst the total chaotic environment of maamis (talking about their jewelry), maamas (talking about their gas trouble) and kids (playing with water gun), the musician has to sing! Often the musicians eyes will be tightly shut up, feigning full engrossment in his music! If not for the eye closure, who will come to save the musician from seeing the terrible audience!

To get the prathi madhyama raagam of any sudhdha madhyama raagam, just add 36 to the order of the raagam! The prathi madhyamam of Thodi (8th) is the 44th melakartha raagam. It is Bhavapriya. Ilayaraja has tuned a song in this scale too. That is kandu pudichchEn (Guru Sishyan) song. The upper half of this raagam will be like Shanmukhapriya, and the lower half like Subhapanthuvarali. Reportedly, some big shot (Sudha Raghunathan or somebody) told about this song in the TV (Doordarshan). It seems that they wondered how Ilayaraja could use this raagam (normally implying sad mood) to suit a situation in which Prabhu humours Rajni about his new, clandestine love affair with Gowthami! Can we dare call this song as set in the raagam Bhavapriya? I don’t know. But, it is definitely an appreciable thing to notice him venturing into unchartered areas in scale selection, say like Bhavapriya.

Those mothers living in squalor in the Nungambakam railway station might not have any idea about “naalanaavuku moonu samacharam” and might populate the station with their innumerable underweight kids! That is bad for India! As a mother, even Thodi doesn’t seem to have any idea about family planning! But, that has turned out to be good to the musical heritage of India! Oh boy, how many kids (janya raagas) has it given birth to! Most of the janya raagas of Thodi are hardcore classic raagas. The trinity seem to have enjoyed very much, composing in Thodi and its janya raagas. One of its prime janyam is Dhanyasi. Sa Ga Ma Pa Ni Sa; Sa Ni Da Pa Ma Ga Ri Sa. Probably these raagas can never be made light and presented to the common rasika! Ilayaraja used one of the Thyagaraja krithi in Dhanyasi in the movie Moga Mull. Again, the situation is similar to Sindhu Bhairavi, where Shivakumar goes to a katcheri and takes over the singing of the musician on the dais. Ilayaraja used the Thyagaraja krithi “lochana” In the raagam Dharbar to indicate the kind of musical talent that Shivakumar has (despite loosing his sobriety). In Moga Mull, a drunken musician gets on the stage and sings with a lot of abhaswaram. The hero gets on the stage and then sings sangeetha gnanamu bhakthi vinaa in Dhanyasi. K.J.Yesudoss has sung that song in the movie. In that situation there is a strong lecture by the hero’s guru that many present day musicians take alcohol etc! Does not a musician (or any public figure) has every right to do whatever he wants in his personal life? Let him drink McDonalds, smoke 555, and have a couple of women in bikini (as cinema villains often do) around him! As long as his hedonistic pursuits do not affect his public performance, why should we care? Lest, alcohol companies might sue us for causing a drastic decline in their sales!

Sudha Dhanyasi is another janyam of Thodi raagam. Sa Ga Ma Pa Ni Sa; Sa Ni Pa Ma Ga Sa. You can also (more appropriately) call it as a janyam of Nadabhairavi. Ilayaraja has been very generous in using this scale. MSV made an indelible mark in this raagam earlier by presenting neeyE unakku enRum nigaraanavan in Bale Pandiya. That is really fantastic! He has wonderfully used the Ga and Ni with gamakam in the song. Ilayaraja’s first Sudha Dhanyasi is perhaps siru ponmani in Kallukul Eeram. Later he gave raagavanE (Ilamai Kaalangal), pudhiya poovidhu (Thendrale Ennai Thodu) poojaikEththa poovidhu (Needhaana Andha Kuyil), vizhiyil vizhundhu (Alaigal Oivadhillai), theem thanana (???), manasu mayangum (Sippikul Muthu), maasi maasam (Dharmadurai), punjai undu nanjai undu (Unnal Mudiyum Thambi), kotti kidakudhu (Theertha Karaiyinile), kaadhal vaanilE (Rasayya), unnai edhir parthEn (Vanaja Girija). In many of these songs he uses other swaras like Ri2 etc., and hence cannot be called as pure form. In punjai undu, he has not used any foreign notes. Then is it classical raagam? No! K.Balachandar (a boot licker to Ilayaraja at that time, so that he could sell the movie by publicizing Ilayaraja’s name), made a big argument in the movie that even “punjai undu nanjai undu” was a pure Sudha Dhanyasi. Dear sir, to call something as classical, you should present it in a real classical form! Just going up and down the scale wouldn’t make the raaga form appear in that tune! Use the gamakam, use the nuances of the raagam, then even Semmangudi will call it as Sudha Dhanyasi!

If one changed the kaisiki nishadham (Ni2) of Sudha Dhanyasi to kaakali nishadham (Ni3), then is there any raagam like that? If so, what is it called as? Ilayaraja has given a couple of songs in this type of scale. One of them came in the movie Poonthotta Kavalkaran. Radhika gets pregnant and then the song goes in the background! I have read in my school biology class (with lot of curiosity!) that a sperm and an ovum “join” to form a baby! Look at the way the poet says about this scientific phenomenon in his poetic language…. sindhiya veNmaNi sippiyil muththaachu!! What a nice euphemistic way of saying a vulgur thing! Gangai Amaran proved himself as a poet in that song! Ilayaraja’s tune is so wonderful in that song. It is so melodious. Vijayakanth specifically said about this song in one of his TV interviews! Another song that I know in this scale is o vasantha raja in Neengal Kettavai. Since Ilayaraja changed the Ni2 of Sudha Dhanyasi to Ni3 and made a new raagam out of it, can he proclaim himself as the creator of this new raagam?

Perhaps Balamurali Krishna was very much pleased with his wife’s filter coffee early in the morning every day. He has created a raagam called as Abhayambika! Perhaps Kunnakudi expected Jayalalitha to give medical college admission to his last son (like MGR did for his older son). He has proudly joined the sycophant family of ministers and created a raagam called as Jayalalitha. If these conceited musicians called themselves as the creators of those raagas, then Ilayaraja too, could…!

Lakshminarayanan Srirangam Ramakrishnan,
Internal Medicine Department,
Brackenridge Hospital,
Austin, Tx 78701.

Comments

Archana 15 Jan 2007 12:22 pm: Anand, GREAT blog! fantastic! Really cant believe that I have taken so long to discover your blog! keep up the fantastic work! Warm Regards, Archana
sundar 4 Mar 2007 11:37 am: My wife can cook it, your wife can cook it, all wives can cook it! Ilayaraja has cooked it many times, from maNi Osai kEttu (Payanangal Mudivadhillai) to maNiyE maNikkuyilE (Nadodi Thendral). akkam pakkam is one such Sindhu Bhairavi cooking! Let us not praise our wife as excellent for this potato curry, which doesn’t need any skill to cook! what an easy way explain both raga and cooking
Madurai Arun 26 Jul 2010 12:57 pm: Awe3some…Wt a man Raja… The Keyboard is there in his Head not in Head… By Madurai Arun
Maverick 14 May 2011 1:05 am: Suddhadhanyasi with N3 is Udayaravichandrika, Dikshitar has composed “Sri Guruguha Murthe” in this raga!
A.Sivakumar 1 Dec 2012 2:56 pm: Great Blog… A Person not recognised by World(but not even single way less qulified than beethovan and Mozart …They too have 50 Composition only…But Raja Has morethan 5000 Compositin with he himself orchetrize the same …) is really living in NET becaule like you firends…Great Keep it up Isaial Inaivom Ilaiyarajavai pugzhalvom
Projekt Ilaiyaraaja 204/365 - En Soga Kadhaiya Kelu | Sylvianism 20 Aug 2013 10:29 am (pingback): […] song is pure brilliance with Malaysia Vasudevan, Krishnamurthy and Chorus making merry. S.Anand in this article says that the song is based on the raaga, Dhenuka. And […]

Classical Ilayaraja 9

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 12:00:00 +0000

This is the 9th of 15 articles titled Classical Ilayaraja appeared on Usenet in the 90s.
I’ve added links to the songs, so you can listen as you read.
You could also try my Tamil song search.

There was a great furore in the Indian parliment a couple of years ago. Since the daily scene there is pretty much so, does this furore need any special mention? Yes. This furore was a meaningful one! It happened when the Indian government signed the GATT agreement. No wonder, the stupid “swadeshi” oriented parties like the Bharathiya Janata party opposed the selling of India to the “videshi” through GATT. But as an aftermath, signing the GATT agreement had a terrible effect on the interest of India in certain areas. For example, the medical value of neem oil has been well known in India for centuries. It seems some of the western pharmaceutical companies re-discovered the medical value of neem oil and started proceeding to claim patent for the product! In that case, any Indian company which tries to “manufacture” neem oil and tries to market it has to pay money to these western companies! Is it not funny and outrageous at the same time? Patenting is a powerful tool to protect ownership. It seems that it will be better if we patented both of our meaningful and meaningless traditional techniques to protect our interests. You may not know what will be re-discovered (and patent claimed) in the western hemisphere in days to come! Maybe, some scientist here will discover that giving unboiled rice with its hard covering (husk) to new born babies will result in the immediate death of those babies within few hours and secure patent for this finding! Conisder how this will affect the interest of our Indian mothers in the far south, who have been using this traditional technique to “close the chapter” of their unwelcomed, stigmatic female children! Poor mommas!

Saint Thyagaraja was one poor man who totally did not know anything about patenting or copyrighting one’s invention or literary work! He probably did not even know that his krithis were worth anything! If he had known that his krithis were going to draw international attention in the subsequent centuries, would he have copyrighted his works? Nay! He was such a naive sadhu, the word meaning in its strictest sense. He was a perfect example of a brahman, getting up early in the morning, much before “sandhya poorva pravarthathE”, and doing all the routine daily religious chores like the thrikaala sandhyavandhanam regularly. A brahman is supposed to eat only “moonu kavalam choru” (the amount of metabolic fuel necessary to keep the body and mind functioning), and he should not succumb to the pleasure of eating. I can see that Saint Thyagaraja didn’t, from the way he looks so thin, like a freshly fleeced goat, in his portraits. A brahman should only indulge in priestly and teaching duties. He should have no malice for others. He should only think of “lokha kshemam”. Thyagaraja had all these qualities. He was such a sharp contrast to those brahmin scoundrels like Selvi Jayalalitha, Subramaniam Swamy etc in the political scene now, who are the incarnation of corruption, greed and evil. Thyagaraja obtained his food by doing “unchivrithi” daily, ie., going around the temple, singing bhajans etc and accepting the rice that people had to offer as a matter of voluntary donation. He was a Telugu brought up in Thiruvaiyaru in Thanjavoor jilla. He probably knew Thamizh well. But he chose to write his compositions in his mother tongue Telugu. Valmiki, the creator of “Rama” character, would not have anticipated that his fictitious “hero” was going to have such a profound influence on people to be born later in the time window, like Thyagaraja (and of course, BJP, for political reasons!). Thyagaraja was literally in love with Rama, like Meera was with Krishna. He had such a powerful theoritical understanding and practical mastery over carnatic music that he could compose in any raagam. He chose to appeal to his Lord Rama through “bhava” margam, ie., tackling the God, through emotional appeals. This was in sharp contrast to his contemporaries like Muthuswamy Dikshitar, who used “bhakthi” margam. His compositions were never a verbal diarrhoea! Just a few lines, thats all. He never tried to project his knowledge in his krithis. He was so simple and such a wonderful vagheyakara, that nature would take another millenium to ordain such a man be born again in this world!

Thyagabrahmam’s compositions have often been ridiculed in the cinema arena. Nobody has the right to change anything in another persons belongings, even though the person might be dead. Thyagaraja’s compositions are his belongings. He used them to reach heavenly abode. He left his compositions for the world to cherish and enjoy, as they were written and sung by him. Nobody can tamper with his treasure, which are ours now. We have to protect them as he had it! K.V. Mahadevan opened the gateway to the free musical society where anybody could do anything to anbody’s compositions! What kind of arrogance was that, in changing the Thyagaraja form of Dhorakuna in the movie Sankarabaranam without his consent? Having been shown the way of ridiculing Thyarajaja, Ilayaraja too embarked on that task. That was his technically first innovative adventure of presenting a raagam in the light form and then in the classical form. He knowingly insulted the uncopyrighted work of the greatest saint composer the world has ever given birth to.

That song came in the movie Sindhu Bhairavi. The song is paadariyEn padippariyEn. The heroine Suhasini has terrific interest in carnatic music. She is one of those proponants of the so called thamizhisai. She feels that one has to sing krithis in local language so that the local mass also understands the krithis. She busts into one of J.K.B’s (Shivakumar) katcheri and sings this song. She starts the song like an ordinary folk song with a simple rhythm and finally ends the song in a classic Thyagaraja krithi. Throughout the song the grammer of the raagam is maintained, with a light music type of rendition in the beginning and then culminating in carnatic type of ending. She starts the song all alone. Later the accompaniests of J.K.B start admiring the tune and then accompany her.

The raagam of that song is Saramathi. It is a major janyam of the 20th mela raagam, Nadabhairavi. Its arohanam and avarohanam are Sa Ri2 Ga2 Ma1 Pa Da1 Ni2 Sa and Sa Ni2 Da1 Ma1 Ga2 Sa. Saramathi evokes a gloomy mood. There is a fantastic Thyaraja keerthanai in this raagam. That is mOkshamu galadha. Whenever some VIP puts down his head (may I translate ‘mandaya poataan’ like this!) B grade and C grade TV artists appear in the screen and play mOkshamu galadha with a pretentious sad face (feeling very happy inside regarding the unexpected death of the VIP and hence the sudden TV chance)! Ilayaraja’s selection of this raagam for that situation is very appropriate. Because a major proportion of cinema songs are set in Nadabhairavi scale. What you need to do is to avoid Ga Ri Sa and Da Pa Ma prayogam, thats all! When you end the song in a keerthanai, give a little gamaka touch here and there to make it classical (after all, strictly following the swara grammer, using specific prayogams, and appropriate gamaka soaked swaras are the essential ingredients of classicism).

Ilayaraja starts that song like: Ri Ri Ri Ri, Ri Ri Ri Ri, Ri Ga Sa Sa, Ri Ri Ri Ri. Then for EdariyEn EzhuthariyEn Ezhuthuvagai naanariyEn, he goes a little further like: Ri Ri Ri Ri, Ri Ri Ri Ri, Ri Ga Ma Ga, Sa Sa Sa Sa. Thus he starts following the grammer of Saramathi perfectly right from the start, but with a light music like technical approach initially. There is lot of “thamizhisai” preaching by thiruvaalar Vairamuthu in that song. He says

paadariyEn padippariyEn paLLikkoodam dhaanariyEn
EdariyEn ezhuththariyEn Ezhuththuvagai naanariyEn
Ettula Ezhudhavilla Ezhudhi vachchu pazhakkamilla
elakkaNam padikkavilla thalakkanamum ennaku illa

In the charanam he refers to the katcheri rasikas as ignoramus crowd who nodd their heads without understanding anything (thalaya aatum puriyaadha kootam). Then he goes ahead and suggests a remedy to this deplorable state.

chErikum sEra vENum adhukkum paattu padi
enniyE paaru eththanai pEru
thangamE neeyum Thamizh paattum paadu
sonnadhu thappaa thappaa? sonnadhu thappaadhu appa!

Though the obvious matter of controversy in this is the language, there is much more in the issue. Nobody can deny the fact that the enjoyment of music becomes supreme if we can also understand the sahithyam. But is it not also equally true that music and emotional feelings transcend petty barriers like language etc.. When you see a hidden sadness in the portrait of Mona Lisa, it is that sadness that matters. You have to look at that piece of art as it is! You cannot try to find a replacement to that Leonardo Da Vince’s monumental work by having a thamizhan draw an equivalent with a thamizhachchi’s face with a sad look! When Thyagaraja’s reckless brother Jalpesan throws away his pooja idol (Rama vigraham), and when Thyagaraja sings a keerthanai in that situation of utter frustration, mental turmoil and agitation of not finding his favourite idol, what matters there is the emotion that is packed in the sahityam, and not the language of the sahityam!

I heard recently that many people in the Hindi belt above have actually started listening to A. R. Rahman’s original Thamizh version of songs rather than the dubbed Hindi version. Would not Vairamuthu be extremely happy to see his “mukkaala mukkaabula” Thamizh version being such a popular song even in northern India? What would his reaction be if all his songs were translated and in due course the original writer of the songs, ie., he, forgotten by the people. I think that the mature way of dealing with this issue is to agree to learn the translated meaning of a krithi and then continue to sing the krithi in the language the composer made it. In this way we can get involved with the emotional framework of a krithi and enjoy it thoroughly. If the slum dwelling population of Thamizhnadu can understand “choli kE peechE kya hai” and enjoy the untranslated version of the song with a “kick”, then, they can also understand “Thyagaraja’s Telugu krithis kE peechE kya hai”. People only have to come out of their narrow minded caccoon that they have built for themselves.

Ilayaraja had to end this “padariyEn” song in some classical krithi to boost the character of Suhasini in the movie. He could have ended it in Thayagaraja’s “mokshamu galadha” or in some other original Saramathi krithi. But instead, look what he did! He chose Thyagaraja’s marimari ninnE which had been originally composed in Kamboji raagam. He changed the raagam of that krithi to Saramathi and annexed it to his “padariyEn”! Can anyone be more disrespectful to the innocuous, innocent and pious athma of the dead saint? Ilayaraja is a present composer. He should tune his songs to fit the previously written ones. He has no right to tailor the previously written krithis to suit his thalam, and ganam. After shooting the film “Veedu” director Balumahendra used some portion of Ilayaraja’s “How To Name It” as background score to the film (anyway, the music director was Ilayaraja). But, there were reports that Ilayaraja got furious at Balumahendra for not getting his consent for using his music album. When he is so sensitive to the way his musical works are used by his own friends like Balumahendra, how could he ruthlessly lay his hands on the Thyagabrahmam’s krithi? He writes in one of his own songs (idhayam oru kOvil in the movie Idhaya Kovil):

naadha thiyaagaraajarum ooNai urukki
uyiril kalandhu iyatrinaarammaa
avar paadalil jeevan adhuvE avaraanaar
en paadalin jeevan edhuvO adhu neeyE

So he knows about the greatness of Thyagaraja and his compositions. Yet he has commited the disgraceful deed in Sindhu Bhairavi.

Saramathi is technically called as sampoorna oudhava raagam, ie., sampoornam in the arohanam (having all the seven swaras of its parent raagam, Nadabhairavi), and oudhavam in the avarohanam (five swaras). There is a raagam that has the same avarohanam as Saramathi, and the same avarohana swaras in arohanam too. That is Hindholam. Sa Ga2 Ma1 Da1 Ni2 Sa; Sa Ni2 Da1 Ma1 Ga2 Sa. It is a great “light” raagam. Ilayaraja has used it several times in his music. Subu’s raaga based database has a good list of the songs in this raagam. As far as I know his first Hindholam came in the movie Ilamai Kolam. The song is sreedEvi en vaazhvil sung by K.J.Yesudoss. It is a very slow tempo song. One of his another early Hindholam came in Alaigal Oivadhillai. The song is dharisanam kidaikkaadha. He has himself sung that song. Oh, it is terrible! While su-swara rendition of even a simple tune can make the listening experience magical, abha-swara rendition of even a complex tune can give a real harrowing experience! The later has happened in the above song. His unconditioned fledgling vocal cords have worked very hard like a powerful gravitational force pulling his voice down when he desperately tries to reach the upper shadjam in one instance. But the tune is good though. His other songs are Om namachchivaaya (Salangai Oli), naanaaga naan illai (Thoongadhe Thambi Thoongadhe), poththi vachcha malligai mottu (Mann Vasanai), unnaal mudiyum thambi thambi (Unnal Mudiyum Thambi), naan thEdum sevvandhi poovidhu (Dharmapathini), kannaa unai thEdugirEn vaa (Unakkagave Vazhgiren), O janani en suram nee (Pudhiya Raagam), viLakku vaippOm viLakku vaippOm (Athma). naan thEdum sevvandhi poovidhu is a terrific piece with a wonderful rhythm (very novel at that time). It is a good westernised Hindholam. A. R. Rahman has given one very pure classical Hindholam too. The song comes in May Madham (maargazhi poovE maargazhi poovE). It is very good. I was told that it was sung by some Houston based new singer.

If you changed the Ni in Hindholam from Ni2 to Ni3 then we get Chandrakauns raagam. Ilayaraja has got a couple of songs in this raagam too. His first Chandrakauns came in Kaadhal Oviyam (veLLichchalangaigaL). It is a fantastic song. Great job by S. P. B. What a great change does this small alteration in the location of Ni in Hindholam makes to the mood quality! The tail piece of this song is in Sriranjani raagam. His second Chandrakauns came in Thai Mookaambigai (isaiyarasi). My brother tells me that it was called by a different raagam in one TV program in Doordarshan. Anyway it should be very close to Chandrakauns. The best of his Chandrakauns is azhagu malaraada abinayangaL soozha in Vaidehi Kaathirundhaal. Oh, what a song! Vaali has done a great job writing the status of an unconsumated young celibate widow. In his short story “siluvai” master writer Jayakanthan daringly writes about the cruelty of being a celibate just in the last line of the story narrating a nun’s short bus travel. Vaali has written about the same terrible celibacy from a young widow’s point of view. In Varusham Padhinaaru there is another Chandrakauns karaiyaadha manamum undo. Lately we got two more idhunaaL varume in Chembaruthi, and unnai ninachu urugum in Rasaiyya. A. R. Rahman has also tried Chandrakauns in his Bombay. The Hindi version goes like “ruk jao, ruk jao”. I don’t know the Thamizh version.

Lakshminarayanan Srirangam Ramakrishnan,
Internal Medicine Department,
Brackenridge Hospital,
Austin, Tx 78701.

Comments

jayendran 8 Jan 2007 9:03 am: darisanam kidaikkadha Om namashivaya ragavane ramana Oru jeevan azhaithathu Naan thedum sevvanthi Sridevi ennai paarthu Kannamma kadhal enum Anandha then katru Velli salangaigal konda Kanna unai theudgiren vaa Oh Janani Vilakku veppom vilakku veppom Pothi vecha malligai mottu Nanaga naan illai Azhagu Malar aada Unnal mudiyum thambi
venkat 2 Jan 2007 12:00 pm: ILAYAYARAJA’S HOW TO NAME IT & NOTHING BUT WIND, HOW TO DOWN LOAD THIS FREE. PLS ANYBONY CAN TELL ME?
Ajit 13 Mar 2012 5:22 pm: Hello, Thanks for these fascinating write-ups. I was listening to Sreedevi en Vaazhvil. While the song is largely in HindoLam (Malkauns), there are portions where I thought it branches out quite beautifully into Chandrakauns by switching to the Shuddha Nishaad, as opposed to the Komal Nishad. In fact, I think this happens at the end of every stanza. Would you agree?
Narasimhan 11 Jan 2011 6:17 am: L S Ramakrishnan, You disrepcted Thyagaraja more than Ilayaraja or anybody could by calling Rama a fictional hero.
shantha S Raju 1 Mar 2020 12:13 pm: Very neat presentation and informative.

Classical Ilayaraja

Sun, 17 Dec 2006 12:00:00 +0000

This is the first of 15 articles titled Classical Ilayaraja appeared on Usenet in the 90s.
I’ve added links to the songs, so you can listen as you read.
You could also try my Tamil song search.

Recently, I watched the movie Chembaruthi on video. One of those unethical, “kuppai” screen printed video cassette, you know, that gives you a vision like that of a “soda-butti” watching TV without his spectacles! Ilayaraja has done a fantastic job in that movie. Though I had heared all those songs many times while I was in India, watching that movie created a reminiscent train of thoughts in my mind, about Ilayaraja, his music, the dramatic change he brought about in Thamizh cinema. I thought that it would be worthwhile to discuss his music, particularly the CLASSICAL aspect! I am aware that it is not possible to write about all his carnatic oriented songs, about how he has handled those raagas, how he has deviated from the classical style etc. But it would definitely be interesting to pour out our ideas once in a while in a random order of the raagas covered by him.

In Chembaruthi there are six songs, out of which 4 are carnatic based. All the songs were “sooper hits”. To a guy who knows carnatic music, the raagas are explicit, and to a non-classical rasika, they are just great tunes! This was one of his specialities, to give the raaga in almost good shape and also make a good cinema tune out of it. And of course, the rhythm should give scope for good dance movements so that the hero and heroine could share their love by dancing! Maybe, many of his tunes have to be branded as semi-classical or light music (even though the raaga form might be pure) only because of this rhythm factor.

Chalakku Chalakku Selai is one good number in Chakravaagam. There is no impurity in the tune (like any anniya swaram). He has confined to classical 16th, Sa Ri1 Ga3 Ma1 Pa Da2 Ni2 Sa. Of course, not to mention, that the lyrics are very bad, fighting to degrade the song from semi-classical to light music. In the charanam the heroine says kalyaaNam aagaama paay pOda vENaam, ennaala aagaadhu aamaam. You know, some good heroines with morality do say such deterrant, anti pre-marital sex things to the always advancing heroes!

Ilayaraja has only few Chakravaagams in his account. In the janya raagas of Chakravaagam, he has excellent numbers. Like, Malayamaarutham…. Sa Ri1 Ga3 Pa Da2 Ni2 Sa, Sa Ni2 Da2 Pa Ga3 Ri1 Sa. His first malayamarutham came as a pleasant surprise in Sridhar’s movie (for whom he always had a soft corner) Thenralae ennai thodu. I distinctly remember how the ‘Ananda Vikatan’ magazine wrote in glowing terms about kannmani nee vara kathirunthen song in Malayamaarutham. Yesudoss and Uma Ramanan had done a wonderful job in that song. Ga Pa Da Sa Ni Da Pa Da Pa Ga, Ga Pa Ga Sa Sa Ri. What a wonderful start! The sharp rishabam gave a beautiful colour to this song. Maybe Ilayaraja’s first Malayamaarutham was poojaikkaaga vaazhum in Kaadhal Oviyam. That was a good song too. Deepan Chakravarthi had struggled to keep in pace with that tune (like some violinists get into trouble with Seshagopalan’s pace!). Then came thenRal vandhu muthamittathu in Malayamaarutham in Oru Odai Nadhiyaagiradhu (another Sridhar’s movie). Gosh! That was a fast song too. Krishnachandar and S.P.Shailaja tried their best, but probably spoiled it. Particularly, S.P.Shailaja has sung like the shrill sound you hear when you apply the breaks on a car that you bought for $500! There are two other songs in which he has deleted both Ni and Ma in Chakravaagam. I don’t think that such a raaga exists in carnatic music with any known name. Those two songs are amudhE thamizhae (Kovil Pura), and nila kuyilae (Magudi). They are simply excellent. One should be an artist and play those songs to know their quality. amudhE thamizhae starts like Sa Ri Ga, Sa Ri Ga, Sa Ri Ga Pa Ga Ri Sa, Sa Ri Sa Da Sa… Pulamai Pithan’s lyrics glorified that song. In the charanam he says, if you listen to and speak Thamizh, oon mezhugai urugum, athil ulagam karainthu pogum, such is the beauty of this language! One cannot write any better, about the greatness of Thamizh language. (Those people like Thamizh Vendhan & co, who have no other job other than inundating the S.C.T with meaningless news about Thamizh Ezham, now, have a point!).

I vaguely remember a song “naan irrukka bayam etharkku” (Kuva Kuva Vaathukkal?) At that time, when I had primitive carnatic music knowledge, I had diagnosed that song as “Valaji” (Rishabam deleted in Malayamarutham, Sa Ga Pa Da Ni Sa, Sa Ni Da Pa Ga Sa, you can say that it is a janyam of Chakravaagam too, even though theorists might say ‘janyam of Harikambodi’). Maybe, that song is indeed Valaji. Ilayaraja has few songs in Revathi, another 16 Janyam. Perhaps the best onces are sangitha jaathi mullai (Kaadhal Oviyam) and kanavu onru thonruthe (Oru Odai Nadhiyaagiradhu). But I personally feel that MSV’s melodious use of Revathi is unparalleled in the song manthira punnagai (Manal Kayiru).

So much about Chakravaagam and its janyams and Ilayaraja. In Chembaruthi, two of the 4 carnatic songs, are in Sindhu Bhairavi raagam. They are kaadhalilE ezhumbura alaigaLai and “kadalile thanimaiyil”. Ilayaraja himself has sung the former (thso, thso rendition) and Nagoor Hanifa the latter. Both these songs are excellent Sindhu Bhairavi’s. One in three of all cinema songs are in Sindhu Bhairavi scale (one of the commonest cinema melodies, like the 20th mela Natabhairavi). Ilayaraja has innumerable songs in Sindhu Bhairavi, a variegated population from valai osai kalakala ena to shenbagame shenbagame etc. One cannot list all of them. But, probably MSV’s Unnakenna Mele Ninrai (Simla Special) is the best of Sindhu Bhairavi. In kaadhalilE ezhumbura the lyrics is unusually good. Probably, Muthulingam or whoever was the lyricist, had a strong tea before writing that song! That song goes to tell the pathetic life of fishermen. The lyrisict says in pallavi kadal thaneer karikudu kaaranam irukkudu, meenavar vidugira viyarvaikal kadalile kalakudu… (Sea water is saline because of fishermen’s sweat). Good idea, ain’t it?

Lastly,there is one song in Kaappi raaam in Chembaruthi: chembaruththi poovu (after decades, Banumathi Ramakrishna sang a tail piece of this song). His other Kaappi are ada maappiLLai (Siva), hei paadal onru (priya). As far as I know Ilayaraja is the only one who used Kaappi in cinema. All of them are good. He starts ada maappiLLai like, Ma Ga3 Ga3 Ma Pa, Pa Ma Ga3 Ma Ni2 Pa Ga2 Ri Sa Ni3 Sa Sa. Wonderful start! To start Kaappi in madhyamam and use its key phrase ‘Ga3 Ma Ni2 Pa Ga2 Ri Sa Ni3’ at the very beginning is an excellent approach to the tune. This is one of the instance in which his classical ‘vidwat’ was manifest. Even in chembaruthi poovu he uses the bashangam of Kaappi, in the very beginning, like, ‘Pa NI2 Ma Pa Ni3 Sa’. Why did he choose to score tune in Kaappi for both these above situations in which the bride and the groom are humoured by the ’thozhan’ and ’thozhiyar’ on the occasion of their betrothal. Is their any definite pattern that he follows in scoring tunes for situation? Maybe.

Lakshminarayanan Srirangam Ramakrishnan,
Internal Medicine Department,
Brackenridge Hospital,
Austin, Tx 78701.

Comments

A .somaskanda 11 Dec 2006 8:37 pm: I loved your erudite commentaries on IR’s music.I wonder if you could identify for me the raga in the popular tamil bhajan by Swami Haridas,“prabho ganapathey”, popularised again by o.s.arun in one of his recent bhajan album.thank you.
S Anand 17 Dec 2006 6:28 pm: This article is not mine, I’m afraid. It’s by Ramki (Lakshminarayanan Srirangam Ramakrishnan), written in the 90s, and is the first in a series of 15. I plan to put in links to the rest over the next few days. Sorry about the bhajan – I know little of carnatic music.
Siva 18 Dec 2006 1:03 pm: I love only Hip Hops and Hard Rocks, I never listerned to old tamil songs. After reading this article and listrening to such songs, i was actually moved. Really they are Precious and yet to be preserved. Those hard rocks cannot sustain in peoples mind for a long time, these classical songs they have a longer life cycle.
Rajendra Kumar 5 Feb 2007 12:08 pm: The article is well written and it is obvious that the author has a sound knowledge of Carnatic Music.However, I must add that there are some factual errors. 1.Thendrale ennai thodu was released in 1985 and Kaadhal Oviyum in 1982.Therefore, it is wrong to say that his first Malayamarutham was in Thendrale Ennai thodu.But a little known fact is that Raja had indeed composed a song in Malayamarutham in 1980 for the film Nenjil adum Poo onru and the song is Kodi inbam …sung by SPB and Janaki.It is a pure Malayamaruthum and an excellent composition.Unfortunately the film was never released .. 2.The female voice in Thendral ennaimuthamittthu is Sasirekha’s and not Shailaja’s. 3.Amudhe Thamizhe is based on raga Rasika Ranjani-Raja’s own creation. 4.Finally, though the author is entitled to have his opinion, I do not agree with him when he says that Manthira punnagai-from Manal Kayiru is the best Revathi.I feel that Kanavu Onru Thondruthe from Oru Odai Nadhiyagirathu is the best Revathi I have ever heard in fim music because of the way it is composed and the way it is rendered…What a superb orchestration! Same is the case with Sindhu Bhairavi-a raga used by Raja very often.Valai osai, Attama therottama(Captain Prabhakaran),Enna Satham indha neram, Muthu mani malai..Mani osai kettu ezhundhu….the list is endless..Can these be matched by any other composer?I have my doubts…
AKILANDESWARI 17 Dec 2006 12:00 pm: One small request sir, I need the song lyrics (in words) from the film “Enn Rasavin Manasalae” the song which Act by Meena as “Kuyil Pattu oh” Please kindly send me the lyrics for this song From I Akila.
Sai Magesh 18 Mar 2009 12:19 pm: Chembarthui has a beautiful melody(may be best among other songs from the same film) “nila kaayum neram saranam”. Why didn’t the author mention about that? Is it not based on any Raaga?
jeyamohan.in » Blog Archive » இசை, கடிதங்கள் 28 Mar 2009 7:09 pm (pingback): […] இங்கே காணக்கிடைக்கின்றன. http://www.s-anand.net/blog/classical-ilayaraja/ பயனுள்ளதாக இருக்கும் என […]
usha 24 Jul 2010 7:00 am: nilawe nee ware vendhum, Oooo…. taniyeh unn tunai vendhum, Oooo…. Vaan tedhuthey unnai than odiwa..Ooo Ooo Ooo (Ilayaraja paadiya, intha paadal entha padathil endre teriyuma? Terinjal ennake solunggal…pleaseeee
balasoupramanien 18 Mar 2011 4:01 pm: Friends, he is not a young raja (Illaiyaraja) Big Big Raja! he is unreachable and not comparable . I never bored with his songs. He is a big big treasurer of every music learners (Coordination of Instruments, Chorus, Mood of the situation, vocal modulations, Experiments in music, language(s)). So, Pl keep listen, enjoy and learn music easily. Thappa sollalanu nenaikiren!!!! any comment please!
MBJ Pancras 26 Nov 2011 5:33 pm: Nothing But Wind Music the world filled with, And is God-breathed the melody in it. Music moves the world around on its way, And it’s wind in music dwells. Muse of Music! Let me imbibe thy notes For sans thee my voice lies half-dead When my heart is to sing That NOTHING BUT WIND is music. My soul enters the sylvan woodlands- The abode of musical birds, And in quest of music haunts every nest. It’s music that birds chirp, And I lay my soul on a pasture, And the chirping of birds does caress my soul: The cuckoo sings with twain quick notes, The nightingale babbles with nectarous notes, The sparrow squeaks with mumbling thoughts, The throttle bubbles with drizzling thoughts, All sail into, my soul cherished When wind turned to music through birds. Crickets join the orchestra with their wings rubbed the air, And music flows when their wings flap. My soul journeys along the bank of musical stream, Where bamboos rustle when wind penetrates them: It’s “Bamboo” music breathed thro’ flute, I learnt the love for music born thro’ bamboo Perfected with beautiful melodies. Dwelling on pastures music grows personified: Harps reverberate at the hands of the shepherds, Green music born of pastoral spirit join the bleating of lambs: The lambs bleat and music is breathed, And the whole of the pastures flutter with joy. Into deep woods my soul moves, And lions roar I hear, elephants trumpet, And ravens voice hoarse notes When “bamboo” music is tried by machines: Harp turned to Guitar, bamboo turned to piano, And music now flows thro’ science - Science that survives with computers. When engine whistles I hear music And train follows it with “friction” music, Rhythmic beats perfected on rails. ”Friction” music turned to “roar” music When air-plane has been invented. My soul speeds up - speeding up And hears jet engines launch musical roar Yet perfected by computer technology - An impeccable rhythm thro’ jets. My soul runs atop the mountain peak Where rockets zoom into the sky with “rocket” notes Blasting off for the stars, Measured with “light year wavelength”. Stars roll down with noise and roar, The universe being filled with “lightning” sound. Seeks solace the world shrouded with machines… ………seeking solace thro’ divinity With mantras chanted; Yet “disco vogue” lingers on earthly pleasures, And man is belittled by his social excusable sins, And his society turns to animalism. Down from the mountain peak my soul rolls down… The peak that showed me fleeting moments of life. An inevitable holocaust shrouds the earth, And a victim with wounds and bruises am I. Back into the sylvan woodlands my soul runs now- Into the sylvan woodlands, the abode of musical birds, And haunts every nest in quest of music. To breathe “bamboo” music I run, For I learnt the love for music born thro’ bamboo. Forlorn! Bamboos are found nowhere. My soul longs for “bamboo” music, Yet learns a truth that music is NOTHING BUT WIND. And my soul is convinced that Wind is Music, and Music is Wind. Longing for silent music at the threshold of woodlands My soul now lies. Muse of Music! My heart sang a truth That NOTHING BUT WIND is MUSIC. And it’s my garland of thoughts presented unto thee. This verse is penned as the versifier (I) has been inspired by the musical album of Ilayaraja, the first Asian who composed symphony at Royal Philharmonic Orchestra England, whose real genius has not been understood by many. The musical album is NOTHING BUT WIND. He is an Indian.
MBJ Pancras 26 Nov 2011 5:38 pm: Ilayaraja (Haiku) music genius born in Indian soil living in ragas.
Sita vishwanathan 12 Mar 2011 3:03 am: @somaskandan……..prabho ganapathe seems like raga tilang to me.
இசையோவியம் 1 – அமுதே தமிழே « இசையெனும் இன்பவெள்ளம் 15 Sep 2011 6:16 pm (pingback): […] http://www.s-anand.net/blog/classical-ilayaraja/ has more on the technical aspects of the song. […]
Ravichandran.N. 23 May 2013 9:38 am: Could you please tell me how do you identify ragas? I used to hear classical songs but am unable to identify ragas. Could you suggest means to get it? (Dont say I need to go for classes). However, you are a WONDERFUL person. I see MSV/TKR, ILAYARAJA, KVM as GODS.
Sudha 4 May 2018 5:25 am: In Sindhu Bhairavi ragam, we have IR’s “Maadha un Kovilil”, “Naanoru sindhu”, “Keladi kanmani paadagan sangathi”, “Poongatru pudhidhaanadhu”, “Mani osai kettu ezhundhu” etc…… all of which are as good as MSV’s Unakkenna mele nindrai. For different emotions, there are “Vanithamani vannamogini”, “Muthu mani maalai”, Oru naalum unai maravaadha", “Ram ram hey Hey ram ram” etc…..Lyrics are bad in “chalakku chalakku selai” because it was a coming-of-age kind of love story and it could also depend on the director / producer’s wish. S.P.Sailaja’s voice is a different one and IR has only used it perfectly. “Thendral vandhu muthamitadhu” is an excellent number. Maybe the male voice could have been KJY though I cannot put Krishna Chander’s voice factor down. There is a group of people that bashes IR for not giving enough chances to “newcomers” and then there is another group which bashes IR if the songs by the newcomers (or not the regular set like SPB/KJY/SJ/Mano/Chitra/PS) voices “spoil” the song! Intriguing! It is weird when people talk about the use of carnatic raga & grammar in film music and then complain about deleting from/adding something to it. Also, when the lyrics are bad, IR gets the whiplash while the tune is forgotten and when both the tune & lyrics are terrific, the lyricist gets the cake?????
vignesh 9 Jan 2018 7:53 am: Our favorite Ilaiyaraaja songs are compiled on his official mobile app. Get Maestro’s Music now for android and iOS on https://u3su2.app.goo.gl/VZeB