Music And Movies

One Song at a time - 54. Hirabai's Hindustani Aarabhi

2012-01-22T03:21:00.000-08:00

(Hirabai Barodekar)

"What is the Hindustani equivalent of Carnatic Aarabhi?", asked a friend on twitter. With confidence ignorance instills, "There is no Aarabhi in Hindustani", I replied. Doubts started seeping in after I replied and I started my search and hit this song on youtube. It is Hirabai Barodekar singing what appears to a Marati Natyageet and the title says it is Aarabh.

The song sounds close to Aarabhi. At the same time I also hear a lot of Suddha Saveri in it. So it may not be an exact equivalent to Carnatic Aarabhi. Yet I don't hear it as straigh Durga, which is the Suddha Saveri equivalent. In Carnatic music, Aarabhi, Suddha Saveri, Devagandhari and Saama are close to each other based on the notes they use. I believe Aarabahi and Devagandhari have the same set of notes. They differ in the way the notes are sung. S.Ramanathan, in one lec dem, demonstrates how Aarabi and Sama share the same notes and yet differ in the nyasa swara used. 'Nyasa Swara' is the landing note. I have also heard a lecture demo of K.S.Narayanaswamy on veena, where he takes the same set of 4 notes of Todi and Dhanyasi and differentiates them by the nyasa swara. Infact I have heard many vidwans say that when you start a raga alapana you must differentiate between two ragas by singing the common notes !!! What that means is: If you take Sankarabaranam and Kalyani, they differ only in the madhyamam, (S'baranam being Suddha Ma and Kalyani being PratiMa), you must start your alapana in such a way that you differentiate Sankarabaram and Kalyani without touching the madhyamam. You need to differentiate them using their characteristic gamakas on certain notes or based on the nyasa swara or some other technique. For pure listeners like us, these details don't matter. For the performer, it does matter. Semmangudi says in one documentary, that the performers must analyze such things and discover what gives life to a raga.

Whatever be the raga, Hirabai sings it wonderfully. Hirabai, was the daughter of Abdul Karim Khan, the Kirana Gharana master. Her voice is so aligned to sruthi and in her singing you can clearly discern what the Kirana gharana masters held in high esteem: melody. And also note the taans. Even the super fast ones are so sharp and precise. Unfortunately this sense of perfection is what was lacking in most of the carnatic concerts I heard during the season, including in the performance of the so called modern masters. Carnatic rasikas have generally been a lenient lot when it comes to voice culture and perfection with respect to voice. Nowadays I think we have become even more lenient in this aspect.

I am happy that I started my New Year's post with this top quality rendition. Anyone who has details about this particular piece, kindly give details in the comments section.

African Brindavana Saranga

2011-11-27T00:00:00.001-08:00

(Vieux Parka Toure)

How different cultures and countries across the world use various ragams has always fascinated me. I had earlier posted about how Mohanam in available almost throughout the world and also about Azebaijani Todi. Yesterday late at night, my twitter friend Vipin Nair (@MusicAloud) sent me a clip of African music asking me if the ragam played was Madhyamavathi, Sree Ragam or Brindavana Saranga. (Vipin had got that clip from his friend @aiyerravi) When I heard the clip, I was amazed by the playing of the guitarist (Vieux Parka Toure). The playing was crisp and every note sounded so clear. And very importantly, I heard a lovely Brindavana Saranga. This was a revelation to me. I have heard Madhyamavathi in various settings but Brindavana Saranga, to me, has been confined to Carnatic and Hindustani music.  

Following some threads from the youtube clip, I came upon some Algerian music. In this I could hear Madhyamavathi. Ragas like Suddha Saveri, Suddha Dhanyasi, Madhyamavathi, not be mention Mohanam, form the pentatonic group of ragas and are heard in music of various countries. What interested me about this song was that it reminded me of a song Illayaraja had composed for a Malayalam film called 'Man of the Match'. The song 'kathirum kothi' is also in Madhyamavathi and the structure seems matching this Algerian song. Here is the Algerian song:

Here is Illayaraja's 'kathirum kothi', an outstanding number.

http://www.raaga.com/player4/?id=18604&mode=100&rand=0.11704419686621004

Staying in Africa, this Ethiopian music sounds like Madhyamavathi to me. Do give it a listen.

Thanks to Vipin, this was Sunday morning well spent listening to music from across the globe. Hope you enjoyed it was well.

One Song at a time - 53.Thamasammenthe Varuvan

2011-11-22T04:16:00.001-08:00

(M.S.Baburaj)

A lot of South Indian Film Music directors were influence by Hindustani Music as well as by Hindi Film Music directors. You can find the Hindustani strains in lot of films songs of Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam. 'Karnan' (Tamil) is an excellent example of North Indian influence. The hugely popular 'Sivashankari' ('Jagadekaveeruni Katha') is another example. One of the music directors from Malayalam film industry who was very much influenced by Hindustani music and Hindi film music was M.S.Baburaj.

(I realized quite late that I have not written about this excellent music director. I had written about the other greats of Malayalam film music but somehow missed him. As they say, better late than never.)

I first came to know about M.S.Baburaj through a piece on Janaki written by Saravanan in dhool.com. In that article Saravanan compared Baburaj-Janaki combination to Madanmohan-Lata combination. When such a comparison is done, it is but natural that you check out the truth or otherwise of that statement. And I am glad to say Saravanan was correct.

From what I have heard of Baburaj's music, he seems to be influence by music directors like Naushad. I personally find his songs better than those of Naushad though. He gave great melodies, some of them becoming all time favorites for Malayalis.

Baburaj's music was very soothing. He ensured that the singers sang with the required modulation. He seems to have based many of his songs on Hindustani ragas like Bheemplas, Yaman etc. His was a very different style of tuning compared to the other Malayalam music directors of those times.

I have taken today's song from the film 'Bhargavi Nilayam'. This movie had some great songs. The song for today is 'tamasammene varuvan'. Based on Bhimplas, Baburaj weaves a soft melody. His orchestration reminds you so much of old Hindi songs. (The tune can be easily imagined in Rafi's voice.) Jesudas executes it perfectly. (I had read that this was once rated as one of the best Malayalam film songs of all time. Now I heard 'ayiram padasarangal' has that pride of place.)

I wrote about Baburaj and Janaki being a great team. Let's hear a song to understand why. You will not complain about the Madanmohan - Lata comparison after hearing this song (based on Yaman.) An excellent tuned, delivered with the required emotion by Janaki. "thaliritta kinaakal" ('Moodupadam')

Given that I have delayed putting up a Baburaj melody for so long, here is one more lovely song tuned by Baburaj. 'Thamara Kumbillallo' This mesmerising tune is once again sung by janaki. From the movie, 'Anweshichu Kandethiyilla'

One Song at a time - 52. Suno Sajna Papihe Ne

2011-11-14T05:17:00.001-08:00

(Lakshmikanth Pyarelal)

The last song on the 'Chitrahaar' program was 'suno sajna'. We had all gathered in the TV room of or gymkhana to watch the program. Once it ended, the discussion started. Those were the times when we were learning to identify the signature of the music directors. Who could be the music director of this song? Was it Madanmohan or Roshan or Salil? Lot of names were proposed by Siva and me and were disposed off. Probably unable to overcome his hunger pangs, a vexed Krishnamohan said, "For all the debate, it may end up being a Lakshmikanth Pyarelal song." All of us laughed out loud. The discussion ended with us proceeding to the canteen for dinner.

It was Lakshmikanth Pyarelal who had the last laugh. That song from the movie, 'Aaye Din Bahar Ke', was indeed tuned by them. The incident clearly indicates the image that Lakshmikanth Pyarelal had in our midst. We had grown up with lot of their songs and unfortunately could associate only mediocre songs with them. Some of the songs like 'mere naseeb mein tu hai ki nahi' still give me the creeps. They scored for lot of Amitabh movies and also big budget movies. The tunes were functional, the orchestration cliched. Overall a lot of uninspired music in Hindi films happened during the best years of our childhood. So it was no surprise that we could not associate 'suno sajna' with Lakshmikanth Pyarelal.

They did start out well with songs from movies like 'Parasmani', 'Dosti', Milan' being liked by many. They got the big banner, big budget, showman directors movies. Unfortunately they couldn't really break away from the requirements of commercial cinema to give melodious music. While they did show their capability to produce a good melody once in a while, for most part they were content with giving middle-of-the-road songs. For us, when we hear a jaded song, we immediately ask if it is a LP song whereas a good melody immediately gets associated with other music directors. Many of the great music directors are known for the great melodies but LP on the other hand bring forth memories of the enormous mediocre output. This is unfortunate but that is how their image has got burnt into my memory.

Yet, they have given some nice melodies like the the song for today, 'suno sajna'. If only they had tried more melodies in this mould...

One song at a time - 51. Jab Deep Jale Aana

2011-10-07T02:49:00.000-07:00

(Jesudas & Ravindra Jain)

Do you recall any movie in which every song invokes a "All izz well" feeling in you? There are many movies in which every song is a gem but they may not necessarily evoke the 'feel good' factor. I can only think of a few movies which have such songs. One of them is 'Chitchor'.

'Chitchor' was a Rajshri Productions film, the production house started by Tarachand Barjatiya. Their philosophy in the 70s was simple. As in 'keep it simple, silly'. (The acronym would never happen in their movies.) Have a simple, idealistic story, which will appeal to the 'family audience'. Cast newcomers. Keep the budget low. Provide lovely music. In short, they depended on their stories and songs. Not on stars and marketing drives. They were successful for a long time. They left behind some superb melodies which the children of 70s can never forget, for all of them were 'feel good' melodies.

They made movies like 'Dosti', 'Uphaar', 'Geet Gatha Chal', 'Tapasya', 'Piya ka Ghar', 'Dulhan Vahi Jo Piya Man Bahe', 'Akiyon Ki Jarokon Se', 'Sunayna', 'Sawan Ko Aane Do' and the movie we will talk about today, 'Chitchor'.

'Chitchor' was movie which starred Amol Palekar and Zarina Wahab. It had music by Ravindra Jain. Jesudas got to sing all the four songs in this movie. Each of these four songs went on to become a major hit. Everyone loved these songs without exception. This was one of those few movies where every song was a hit, every song was musically good and every song was a 'feel good' song. Even today I am sure these songs will instantly invoke a high sense of nostalgia in people who were in their teens in mid 70s.

All the songs of 'Chitchor' were, in our colloquial tongue, 'ek se badkar ek'. Which one would you pick? The lilting 'aaj se pahele', the colossal hit, 'gori tera gaon bada pyaara', or one of the two classical numbers, 'tu jo mere sur me' and 'jab deep jale aana'? I will go ahead and pick 'jab deep jale aana' for today. For two reasons: One, the Kalyani ragam in this song attracts me a lot. Two, my classmate Seshadri sang it in my house and also many times in school. The nostalgic value is higher.

Jesudas made quite a impact on the Hindi Film Music scene with the 'Chitchor' songs. A lot of Hindi Film Music Directors liked him and he went on to sing for some top class music directors like Salilda and Jaidev, not to mention Ravindra Jain, Usha Khanna et al. 'Chitchor' will definitely be counted as one of Jesudas's great achievements in Hindi film music. All the songs tuned by Ravindra Jain were eminently suited for Jesudas's voice. Ravindra Jain gave prominence to melody in all the songs and Jesudas's voice enhanced the melody. I always felt that Hemalatha, the female singer was not in his league. She was a favorite of either Rajshri films or Ravindra Jain in those days.

(As an aside, S P Balasubramaniam, who is well known for his versatility, and his impeccable pronunciation of South Indian languages, could not make a major impact on the Hindi Film Music scene. Yes, I know he had hits like'Ek Duje Ke Liye', 'Maine Pyar Kiya' etc but his canon in Hindi does not have the same class that Jesudas's has. Strangely, SPB's Hindi diction was not as good as Jesudas's. In South (except Malayalam) it was the reverse.)

Let's watch 'Jab Deep Jale Aana', where simplicity dominates both the tune and picturization.

While I wanted to stop with that one song, I could resist myself pointing out one more beauty from this film. 'tu jo mere sur mein'. You can find the other two songs in youtube on your own :)

One song at a time - 50.Manasilunaroo

2011-09-30T05:14:00.000-07:00

Our festivals and music are highly interlinked. One cannot miss the festival music, even if you want to. For, the nearby temple will be blaring out the songs from those tinny loudspeakers. Ganesh Chaturthi is one festival where you get to hear songs in most parts of India. In Hyderabad, along with Ganesh Chaturthi, we have the Mahakali jatra time. The Mahakali festival itself stretches over more than a month. During this time every small Mahakali temple will celebrate and you get to hear songs day in and day out. Especially during the weekend, as the festival will be celebrated on Sundays. Added to these loud speakers, you also have the 'potha raju' and the famous live 'teen maar' of Hyderabad. All I have to do is type, 'dha dhanakur dhan' and the rhythm will immediately start playing in any true Hyderabadi's mind. So embedded is this 'teen maar' in our mind. ( I have not analyzed it but I have a feeling that 'teen maar' probably is equivalent to the tisra nadai in classical music. ). Live music, recorded music, dancing, are all part of many festivals and jatras.

It is music time during the Navaratri pooja at my house. It is during Navaratri that potential singers get a chance to display their singing skills in as many houses as possible. This attachment with music is not surprising given that the most important day of Navaratri is the 'Saraswathi Pooja' day. Afterall she is the one who gives us knowledge and our artistic success depends on her benevolence. Navaratri, to many, means the 'golu' (dolls arrangement), sundal and song. I always look forward to people coming to my house and singing. And many a times they have surprised me by singing some rare krithis. My friend Bala's wife, Sharanya, sang a rare Dikshitar krithi in Mangala Kaishiki ragam, 'Sree Bhargavi', superbly. It was during one such Navarathri that I heard the lovely Sahana Divyanama Sankeertana krithi of Tyagaraja, "Sree Rama Sree Rama", as also a lovely Marathi bhajan on Krishna. Some sing as soon as they are asked to and some sing reluctantly. Some sing well, some not so well, but it doesn't matter. For it is not a concert that they are singing and you are reviewing. They are just sharing the joy of singing. It is during Navaratri that you get an idea as to how deep Carnatic music has permeated into our lives.

Given that we are in midst of Navarathri, let us take up a song which invokes the spirit of singing during the Navaratri time. There are many songs in different languages for this occasion but I like this song the most. Composed by Dakshinamurthy Swamy, this is a excellent ragamalika, sung by Jesudas and Janaki at their peak. A song about Navaratri and Saraswati. What more can you ask for? I have always held that Dakshinamurthy Swami is one of the greatest when it comes to composing a ragamalika and he proves that in this song again. Each raga is lovingly dealt with. I am not going to give you the component ragas but ask you to listen to the song and let me know the ragams. Let's now listen to 'manasilunaru ushasandhyay'

One Song at a time: 49. Vazhi Maraithirukkudhu

2011-09-22T05:48:00.000-07:00

(Dandapani Desikar)

'salilam varshaya varshaya' sang Muthuswamy Dikshithar and heaven opened up providing succor to the drought hit Ettayapuram. The lamp wicks in Akbar's court caught fire when Tansen sang Raag Deepak and the heat generated was offset by cool rain that fell when Tansen's daughters sang Miya-Ki-Malhar. Flowers blossomed when Jeyadeva sang, a dead person got up on hearing Tyagaraja sing 'Naa Jeevadhara'. Such stories abound in India. Whether we believe in the stories or not, we do believe in what these stories want to convey: the power of music.

One of the most interesting stories which relates to music and devotion is that of 'Nandhanar'. Those who do not know about Nandanar can read this Wikipedia article. In this story, Nandanar, belonging to the low caste, is not allowed inside a Siva temple. He stands outside and wants to have a glimpse of the Lord, but the Nandi blocks his view. So he sings to Nandi to move a bit so that he can have the darshan of the Lord. Hearing his impassioned plea, the inanimate Nandi moves!! 'Nandanar Charitram' is as much about devotion as it is a critique of the caste system. In the film, it is as much about music as it is about the other aspects.

'Nandanar Charitram' was made more than once as a movie in Tamil. Randor Guy wrote an article on the making of this movie with K B Sundarambal playing the lead (yes, a woman playing a man's role!!) and Maharajapuram Vishwanatha Iyer playing the Brahmin. I have not seen that movie. The movie I saw had Dandapani Desikar playing the role of 'Nandanar'.

I first heard a tape containing some of Dandapani Desikar's 'Hits'. Songs like 'thamarai pootha thadagamadi'. I was fascinated with his voice and bought the 'Nandanar' tape. Each and every song in this movie was a gem. The songs were those of Gopalakrishna Bharathi. (I don't know if the tunes were original tunes as set by GKB or whether Papanasam Sivan set tunes to the lyrics of GKB. Papanasam Sivan was also associated with this project.). Dandapani Desikar has a ringing voice and a clear grasp on the raga. He sings with excellent bhavam. Though M K Thyagaraja Bhagavathar and P U Chinnappa are considered the pioneers of film singing in Tamil films and are more popular, I prefer the voice of Dandapani Desikar.

Here is the song I was referring to earlier. The song which made the Nandi move from its stationary position. 'vazhi maraithirukkudhu', the path is blocked, sing Dhandapani Desikar in this song (by the way, he is the actor as well here.) He conjures up a touching Todi. His passion of rendering is such that you are not at all surprised that the Nandi moved!! Observe the voice culture and the complete control he has over his voice. Not to mention that clear diction. An excellent combination of raga and bhava, which makes for an unforgettable song. (Video embedding has been disabled for this video.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aItUo_YmZio

'vazhi marithirukkudhu' is sung in Natakurunji ragam by the Dhanammal school. Brindamma, Muktamma, Higgins, all render this in Natakurunji. For the film, I feel Todi works better.

Dandapani Desikar was a versatile singer. In the earlier song we saw how well he handled the classical Todi. In the coming song we will hear him adeptly handle a folk melody.

Though I have said, "One Song at a time', in case of Dandapani Desikar I am unable to close the article without referring to this very moving song. 'varugalmo' in Manji (which resembles Bhairavi in a lot of places.) is another piece which clearly reflects Nandanar's state of mind. In one K V Narayanaswamy concert I heard this for the first time. KVN sang this and 'Sagara Sayana Vibho' one after the other. I can't describe the feeling. Both the songs touch you deeply. M D Ramanathan has also sung this song many times in concerts. Dandapani Desikar sings maintaining a perfect balance between ragam and bhavam.

Update:My twitter friend @elavasam commented that we should also include Dandapani Desikar's rendition of 'Kanavendamo'. Based on Sriranjani ragam, this is another beauty. To be honest this film was full of top class songs. The 'Kandavendamo' krithi has been sung on concert platforms as well. (I have heard KVN render in his concerts.) As @elavasam says, Dandapani Desikar brings in a different dimension to this song compared to the standard concert singers. Listen to this song. (There is another song in this movie which goes, 'kaaman agatriya thooyan avan'. Based on a Kavadichindu type tune. I am unable to find a youtube link for this song. At this time let me also thank the good soul called 'vintageaudio54' who has uploaded all these songs on youtube)

You can go to this link and hear all the songs of Nandanar:
http://www.inbaminge.com/t/n/Nandanar/

My senior, Dr.Venugopal commented saying that I should also include the Ghantasala song, 'Nanduni charitramu vinuma', from the movie 'Jeyabheri'. The song is written by the famous poet, 'SriSri'. Music by Pendyala. In this song you can see the impact that Nandanar's story had across languages, since it spoke about the cruelty of caste system and also about devotion, spreading the message against untouchability

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVLRU513O1A

One Song at a time: 48. Kuch Dil Ne Kaha

2011-09-09T23:47:00.000-07:00

'hiranmayena paatrena satyasa apihitam mukham' says the Isavasya Upanishad. "A golden screen hides the face of the truth". As with all Vedic and Upanishad sayings, a pithy one which gives rise to multiple interpretations. I am reminded of this saying once in a while, especially when I see a Black and White photo of yesteryear actresses. You seem to realize their true beauty in these Black and White photographs. As if the golden screen were pushed away revealing the truth. Ofcourse that is a mushy romantic notion, because lot of people look very good in color photos as well but for some reason the Black and White photo holds our attention a bit longer.

Though I have seen many movies of her in color, it was when I first saw her in Black and White that I appreciated the beauty that was Sharmila Tagore. In our college auditorium, our Film Society had screened 'Apur Sansar', the last of the Apu Trilogy by the great Satyajit Ray. (The trilogy was based on Bibhuthibushan Banerji's novels) This was Sharmila Tagore's first movie and she is first shown looking out from a torn curtain. Ray's aesthetics combined with Black and White photography produced a captivating image.

The song we will play today features Sharmila Tagore. In Black and White looking absolutely gorgeous and dignified. There is charming simplicity and naturalness in the whole setup: Sharmila's dress, the camera angles, the black and white photography, the scenery, Sharmila's expressions. The tenderness is so well brought out that you are afraid to speak out loud when you seeing this song, lest you destroy the magic. (Unfortunately, when you are listening to the current Hindi music, even at your loudest you will not be heard.)

This song was composed by Hemant Kumar, popularly known as Hemanta Da. Lyrics by Kaifi Azmi. This is a typical Hemant Da song. Soft, slow and melodious. (Something people feel about all Bengali songs.) The best melodies of Hemant Da have a leisurely feel to them. It is as if the singer had finished her meal on a weekend, resting on a hammock and singing the song, not wanting to disturb anyone, including herself. A lazy elegance runs throughout many of his compositions. Ofcourse he has composed some racy songs but in those I don't see the trademark of Hemant Da. The Hemant Da I know and love is the composer of such melodies like this song: 'kuch dil ne kaha' or 'ya dil ke suno' or 'thum pukarulo'. The song of the day is from the movie, 'Anupama'. The more famous song from this movie was 'dheere dheere machal' but to me 'kuch dil ne kaha' showcases Hemanta Da's style better. I think the song is based on Raag Pahadi. Experts can verify.

A lovely song for a lazy weekend:

One Song at a time: 47. Jummandi Naadham

2011-08-28T02:32:00.000-07:00

There were two ways to get to my school, St.Mary's, from Secunderabad Railway Station. One was the straightforward way crossing SPG school, taking right at Manohar theatre, crossing St.Francis School and taking left to reach my school. The other was a short cut. Who in his youth can resist a short cut? This was through a very very narrow lane behind SPG school, in the Regimental Bazar area. The lane had enough width for a couple of scooters to pass each other, or maybe not. The house on both sides had the traditional raised platform and very low roofs. The door size was such that any adult, whatever his height, had to enter respectfully. The houses were a two room affair and each house was joined to its neighbors at the hip. There was no gap between the house and after around 15 to 20 houses, the perpendicular road would provide the break, after which the house again stretched holding each other. There was no space for a compound wall and if an house did not have the platform outside, the front door would be adjoining the road. The road was not really a road but a path paved with shabad stones. The distance of this lane, with one road cutting it in the middle was around 200 mts at the most. And this was the route I always took during my walk to and from the school.

Till I arrived at the entrance of this lane in the morning, I would walk briskly. At the entrance I would almost always slow down my walk. I generally would arrive here around 8:30 or so in the morning and that would be the time when Vividh Bharathi would start broadcasting movie songs. And every, I mean every, house in this lane would have their radios tuned to Vividh Bharathi, the doors would be open and you could hear the songs clearly. When the sound faded from one radio you could pick it from the radio of the neighboring house. Most of the house didn't have the concept of volume control and their knob was always set on high. My pace through this lane would vary based on the song being played. If it was favorite song I would walk slowly, even stopping at certain points so as to listen to the complete song. The idea was to walk in such a way that I can hear the full song by the time I had crossed this lane and arrived at my school. (The evening though would be opposite. I use to rush through the lane so as to get home before 3:45pm, when the songs would started playing on Vividh Bharathi.)

One song in those days which invariably slowed down my progress was 'Jummandhi Naadham' from 'Siri Siri Muvva'. This was a 'hit' song and only someone who has lived in Hyderabad during those times can tell you the magnitude of that 'hit'. The song was on Vividh Bharathi's playlist on almost daily basis. So when I entered this lane and if there was an ad going on, I would pause, wait for the announcement of the song and if it was 'Jummandhi Naadham' I would crawl. I was so fascinated by the song that it was impossible for me even to leave a small piece of it behind. I had to finish listening to the song and only then would I worry about getting to school.

Before "Shankarabaranam' happened, the biggest hit of K.Vishwanath - K V Mahadevan combination was 'Siri Siri Muvva'. One of the early hits of Jayapradha. Vishwanath had this knack of making her look beautiful as in this movie and later in 'Sagara Sangamam'. The movie got made in Hindi as well, as 'Sargam', pairing Jayapradha with Rishikapoor. (Chandramohan did that role in Telugu.) "Sargam' was also a massive hit and was responsible for propelling Jayapradha to her North Indian stardom. 'Siri Siri Muvva' had superb songs. While 'Jhommandhi Naadham' was the biggest hit beyond doubt, other songs in this movie, 'andaniki andham', 'raa digi raa', 'evarikevaru e lokam lo' also got lot of air time and appreciation.

Some songs don't age well and as you grow older you may drop them off your favorite list. I can think of many such songs which I liked then and am not too keen on now. Luckily for me, 'Jhummandi Naadam' is enjoyable even now. A few reasons for that could be Susheela's superb voice, SPB accompanying her well, the words of Veturi. The way Veturi uses words loving in this song is a joy to behold.

A couple of years back when humming this song I suddenly realized that this song is based on Revathi. (Dr. Venugopal had also mentioned this in a comment of my earlier blog post.) Revathi is known more as a ragam which is in the 'shoka rasam' mode. In this song KVM converts it into a lovely melody and one doesn't hear any 'shokam' in this at all.

I have been around the Regimental Bazar area a few times but I have never been through this lane after I left school. I should try and walk through the lane in the morning hours. Music listening has become an intensely private affair after the coming of mp3 players. I honestly wish in this lane it is otherwise and the music continues to blare out of the radio in the morning hours. Whoever the resident of this small lane were, I record my gratitude to all of them here.

One Song at a time: 46. Moham Kondu Njan

2011-08-20T00:11:00.000-07:00

(Johnson)

Malayalam Music Director Johnson passed away recently. I knew about Johnson, had watched him on TV where he was judging a singing talent hunt show. Also knew that he had got two National awards and he was well known in Kerala for both his songs and his background scores (for which he had received the National Award.) Unfortunately I had heard very less of the songs he had composed. Once I happened chance upon a HMV collection of 15 of his songs titled, 'Nostalgia' and bought it. I was impressed with all the songs in that CD. Added to it I had heard a few more on youtube but overall my exposure to his music has been limited.

I anyway had 'moham kondu njan' listed in my internal database as a song which I should feature in this series. So I thought I will put it up today in honor of Johnson. As I said earlier, I had not heard enough of him to get an idea of his individuality. All I could observe is that his best songs were melodies, based on different ragas, something which almost all Malayalam music directors used to do those days. Many songs had the melancholic touch and the orchestration was quite good. Some of the songs reminded me of Telugu music director Ramesh Naidu, in the mood they evoked. Since my exposure to both the personality and music of Johnson is limited, I cannot put up a proper tribute to him. Instead I will put up this song here and then give you a link which has many Johnson's songs.

'moham kondu njan', I don't know how I discovered this song. It was probably during one of those youtube browsing sessions when I must have landed on this. The song is riveting right from the beginning. (What ragam is it based on?) Janaki, as usual, sings impeccably. The orchestrations in the interlude remind me of Illayaraja. In fact one of the reasons this song caught my ear is that it was almost structured like an Illayaraja song!! The same precision, lovely orchestration and Janaki. From the movie, "Shesham Kaazhchayil". According to youtube, lyrics are by 'Konniyoor Bhas'. Enjoy this song.

Another song of Johnson, which impressed me the very first time I heard it was 'Aadi Vaa Katre'. This was the very first song in the CD I bought. Another lovely melody. From the movie, 'Koodevide?', lyrics of ONV Kurup and voice of Janaki. Such a lilting song. The pallavi itself is very soothing at the same time complex. If you hear this song you will know that the Malayalam music directors reputation for melody is well earned.

Another song which caught my fancy and when I tweeted about caught the fancy of my friend was 'Gopike nin viral'. There is a slight Sriragam touch in this song. The veena interludes are well structured, the song mellifluous. Added to it a young Srividya and a younger Revathi. What is there not to like in this song?!!

Finally, a lovely Anandha Bhairavi based melody. This is very typical Malayalam songs sound of the 70s and 80s. Lovely reworking of the raga. Fresh while retaining the nativity and classicism. M G Sreekumar sings the lyrics of Kaithapram.

My twitter friend, who goes by the handle @MusicAloud had put up a list of Johnson's songs to hear as a tribute playlist to him. Do visit this link and you will get to hear some very nice songs.

http://j.mp/pQfcIs

Let us pray that the soul of this man, who gave us so many melodies, rests in peace

P.S.: My sincere thanks to my friend Rajeev Ramachandran who had sent me a list of Johnson melodies to hear and write about.

Shammi Kapoor: Enjoyment is infectious

2011-08-15T04:35:00.000-07:00

When I first saw the young Shammi Kapoor on Chitrahaar, I refused to believe it was Shammi Kapoor!! For the Shammi Kapoor we knew growing up was a huge man with a beard, who acted in elderly roles. This person dancing and prancing around was hyperactive and did not look anywhere like the Shammi Kapoor we knew. It took some time for me to realize that they were both one and the same. So drastically had Shammi Kapoor changed over the years. (I had this same confusion when I saw a young Prithviraj Kapoor. I thought he was Sashi Kapoor!! The resemblance is very strong.)

During that dark era, where there was only one TV channel, all of us used to crowd into either my aunt's place or at my cousin, Padmini's place, to watch Chitrahaar on a weekday (was it Wed or Fri?) and Rangoli on Sunday morning. While each one had his or her own preference of actors and songs, everyone felt happy when a Shammi Kapoor song was screened. It didn't matter if you thought he wasn't a great actor, it didn't matter if you thought he went over board with his acting or expression, it didn't matter whether the song was subtle or not, whether you liked his antics or not. All that mattered was when the song finished, you could see a smile on every lip. And that is what made him such a favorite across generations. He knew how to make people feel happy.

Ofcourse I am talking about his best songs. I am sure, given the number of films he has acted, there could be a number of songs which didn't turn out too great but all artists are measured based on their best creations, isn't it? Why was Shammi Kapoor so successful in making us feel happy. I know this sounds very trite but I think one important reason is that he himself was happy when he enacted those scenes. (I remember a question asked to an editor, "Why is it that when M S Subbulakshmi sings a slokha in Sanskrit, a language I do not know, I still feel the bhakthi?" To which the perceptive editor replied, "If the singer has bhakthi in her, the communication automatically happens.") I would say the same to Shammi Kapoor. He enjoyed those songs, those dance moves, the yelling, and it communicated itself to the audience. Here was aman enjoying himself and asking us to partake in that enjoyment for free. Who could resist that?

The second aspect was the enormous amount of energy he brought along. That enthusiasm of his was infectious. Not for him the slow walk, the gentle caressing of the heroine's cheeks, the sidelong glance or a small shake of the head. Let the Dilip Kumars and Rajesh Khannas do that. For Shammi Kapoor every part of the body had to shake. He had to communicate to the heroine that he loved her using every limb and just in case she didn't get the message, shout out the same loudly. There was no cause for confusion. The heroine, her 'saheli' and the forty three people in the street, everyone knew that he loved her from the bottom of his heart. (And his arms and legs.) Ofcourse I am generalizing but that is the image most of us have of the young Shammi Kapoor.

As tribute to him and the joy he gave us, let us have a look at some of the songs we loved. Given the huge number of songs he had, what I select will be quite less and most probably one of your favorite songs may be missing. If it is, please head to youtube and listen to it.

Let me be a contrarian and start off with a lovely song, which sort of negates whatever I wrote. A soft, delicate Shammi Kapoor, sing this delicate Kalyani (Yaman) based melody in Rafi's voice. Music by Shankar Jaikishen. Lyrics of Hasrat Jaipuri. From the movie where he made 'Yahoo' world famous, 'Junglee'.

Next we go to the familiar Shammi, the guy with more funny faces than Jim Carey and more dance steps than Elvis Presley. This beauty is from 'Professor'. Shankar Jaikishen wielding the baton again. Lata and Rafi singing the words of Shailendra.

This song from 'Kashmir Ki Kali' was a Chitrahaar favorite, as was "Deewana Hua Badal' which I had posted earlier. Rafi's voice, as Dr.Venugopal had mentioned in the comment of my earlier post, is made for Shammi Kapoor. Rafi matches the freak out nature of Shammi with his voice. Lot of credit must go to Rafi for he was equally responsible for the persona of Shammi Kapoor, as seen on the screen. Lyrics by S H Bihari set to music by O P Nayyar. A nice dimension to Kalyani (Yaman)

And even if he went to Paris or Switzerland, he wouldn't change. Here, amidst these beautiful mountains in Europe, he does what he does best, woo the heroine, the gorgeous Sharmila Tagore. 'An Evening in Paris' is like a walk in the park for him. Music by Shankar Jaikishen. Words of Hasrat Jaipuri.

And when is joined by a heroine like Mumtaz, who can match him step for step and who brings her own infectious charm along, you have no choice but to dance along. This super hit song from 'Brahmachari'. The same Shankar Jaikishen with music, the same Hasrat with lyrics. This time Suman Kalyanpur joins Rafi in this enjoyable song.

When a jazz and rock inspired music director called R.D.Burman happened to come along, he couldn't have asked for a better actor than Shammi Kapoor to try all his experiments on. 'Teesri Manzil' is an all time hit. Every song leaving behind the stamp of RD. It is a pity that RD couldn't work with Shammi Kapoor in more films. For Shammi was as modern as you could get in Hindi films and RD's music fitted him perfectly. Here he croons, 'aaja aaja' to whom else but his love of life. The young R D Burman's music is always a joy and the way he brings in the rock element into 'aaa aaa aaaja' and then the guitar in the interlude is mesmerizing. Rafi and Asha sing the lyrics of Majrooh Sultanpuri. A song in which Asha gets all the space to exhibit her talent for such songs and go one up on Rafi. I would have loved to see Mumtaz in this song but ...

When it comes to R D Burman's songs, it is like potato chips. You can't stop with one. So I give you one more super hit song from 'Teesri Manzil'. Typical R D Burman melody. Rafi and Asha again. Words of Majrooh.

With this let me end this musical journey. As you could have noticed, this post is not about Shammi Kapoor's career. He did lot more movies later as a father figure and all that. This post is about how we all remember Shammi Kapoor as: the enthusiastic, energetic man enjoying live fully and asking us to join him in that ride. Those who give us enjoyment don't fade away so easily. All of us will carry the memory of Shammi Kapoor with us for a long time. May he rest in peace.

P.S.: Special thanks are due to Dr.Venugopal, who admonished me for putting up just one song of Shammi Kapoor in my last post (which was basically on O P Nayyar) and told me that I should do a separate post on Shammi Kapoor. I am glad he said that since I was able to enjoy all these songs as well as all the antics of Shammi Kapoor once again.

One Song at a time: 45. Aap Ke Haseen Rukh Pe

2011-08-14T00:57:00.000-07:00

(O.P.Nayyar)

Trend-setters in any field disrupt the prevailing order, bring in new ideas and keep the field vibrant. Hindi film music has had many trend-setters starting from C.Ramachandra. One such well known trend-setter was O.P.Nayyar.

Nayyar brought in lilting rhythm into Hindi film music. He clashed with the established order of those days, also known as Lata Mangeshkar. He never did a single song with Lata and yet succeeded. He was responsible for the growth of Asha as an artist. A very outspoken person, he gave many hits which are now part of Hindi film music's folk lore.

To a certain extent, Rahman reminds me of O.P.Nayyar. Not from the personal characteristic front, in which he is the opposite of Nayyar, but from a musical sense. The initial Rahman rode of foot tapping rhythm, the judicious choice of ragas for his melodies, new recording techniques and new voices, providing a new attractive sound. He took on the established order and paved a new path. Both Nayyar and Rahman were instantly catchy and at the same time you could see how their music fell within a constrained circle. Rahman, after he moved to Hindi film field, started trying new things. Nayyar for most part retained the same identity of his, leading many a times to repetitions.

Today we will see a simple but charming melody sung by Mohd. Rafi. (On a different note, this will make my friend Sanjay happy). From the movie 'Baharen Phir Bhi Aayenge'. Thought the drums don't assert themselves, you can clearly make out that the song is driven by the rhythm, the inherent rhythm of the tuning accentuated by the piano. (Though when you see Dharmendar in the clip, you are not sure if he is just cleaning the piano or he is actually playing it !!)

The other wonderful aspect of this song are the lyrics. You can just read out the lyrics without any music and it still would sound wonderful. Lyrics are by Sheven Rizvi and Aziz Kashmiri. I am not going to lament about lack of good lyrics in today's Hindi songs for the simple reason that nowadays Hindi songs have only English lyrics. "Give me some sunshine, give me some rain. But don't give me Hindi words, they are a big pain" types.

Today came the news that the very popular hero of yesteryears, Shammi Kapoor, has passed away. One of his very big hits was 'Kashmir Ki Kali'. The songs were a rage then and have stood the test of time. The music was by O.P.Nayyar. As our tribute to Shammi Kapoor, let us play this lovely song from 'Kashmir Ki Kali'. Sung by Rafi and Asha. Lyrics by S.H.Bihari.

One Song at a time: 44. Aayiram Paadasarangal

2011-08-08T00:35:00.000-07:00

(Devarajan)

An important aspect for which music is used in films is to create a 'mood'. While most of the time, the mood is an emotional one, sometimes a temporal mood is sought to be created. Our classical music has mapping of ragas to both emotional moods and temporal moods. By temporal mood, I mean the ragas ability to evoke images of a particular time of day.

For me, this mapping has been problematic. I believe lot of this mapping is culture specific and in many cases your mapping may not agree with the traditional mapping. For example, no one would have a problem if Subhapanthuvarali is mapped to sadness. But to what mood would you map Kalyani or Thodi? Many say Bhairavi is a raga of sadness but I find it one of joy. S.R.Janakiraman, after singing a Mukhari song asks, "Where is the sadness in this?" He was referring to the oft repeated assertion that Mukhari is only fit for crying!!

If emotional mapping can be so problematic, you can be sure the temporal mapping is even more problematic. Ofcourse, we all know that ragas like Bowli and Bhoopalam immediately conjure the images of dawn in our minds but beyond them, there isn't much!! Hindustani music has a time to raga mapping which is quite strictly adhered to by most performers . Does the said raga actually evokes the time of day. I am not convinced. For example, I always associate Hamir Kalyani with the period just before dawn. (Maybe it is due to 'thoomani maadathu') My mother also feels the same. If I am not mistaken, this is an evening melody in Hindustani music.

Film songs of yesteryears mostly strive to get the emotional aspect correct but there are quite a few songs which try to evoke the temporal aspect. Some examples that come to mind include Sathyam's two superb compositions, 'thellavaraka munde' and 'tholi sandhya velalo' both of which take you to a seashore when the sun is just rising, Shankar Jaikshen's wonderful, 'yeh shaam ki tanhaiyan' which evokes the dusk hour, S D Burman's 'chand phir nikla' which evokes the early part of the night. To this I would add the song we will hear today, Devarajan Master's 'aayiram paadasarangal' from the movie 'Nadhi', which evokes a late night mood.

Devarajan Master was the uncrowned king amongst the Malayalam music directors during the late 60s and the 70s. He has given many many hits which have become part of Kerala culture. (The first song of his I heard was in post graduate days. 'chakravarthini ninakku ngyan' which is a very popular song. ) Devarajan used many ragas with his own stamp on them and created delectable melodies. In this particular song, he uses 'Darbari Kanada' to create the night mood. Right from the start the orchestration builds up the ambiance nicely. Jesudas's ringing voice at his prime, clinging to the sruthi, adds beauty to this atmospheric melody. One of the songs where the melody and the picturization match up very well.

Whichever time of the day you are hearing it, Devarajan Master will take you deep into the night.

Pancham and Us - Part 2. Guest Post by Ravi Natarajan

2011-08-05T10:47:00.000-07:00

Having covered some of the gems that R.D.Burman provided for Lata in his earlier guest post, my friend Ravi Natarajan now explores the synergistic relationship between R.D.Burma and Asha. I would also urge you to check out Ravi's blog, Raja, The Genius, wherein he has started a very nice series on the usage of chorus by Illayaraja. I am sure you will enjoy it as well. Needless to say, I am very much obliged to Ravi for this post.

R.D.Burman and Asha

The 60s were defined by a bunch of composers from India – SJ, SD Burman, Madan Mohan in the North and MSV in the South. The 70s was defined by just one man – Pancham. It is very easy to list the top three songs of the 70s – no prizes for guessing – all were by RD. ‘Dum Maro Dum’ from Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1972), ‘Churaliya Hai’ from Yadon Ki Baaraat (1974) and ‘Mehboobha’ from Sholay (1975). These three tracks had a worldwide impact. Unfortunately, TIME magazine/BBC was not including any world music in their lists and the RD fans could not brag. Nor did Pancham try for the Oscars. He brought serious changes to orchestration that have stayed on till date. Ilayaraja in particular, took the orchestration challenge to the next level from where Pancham left in the 80s and he became the musical master of the decade. We will cover Pancham’s orchestration in greater detail later on.

Let’s return to my top 20 picks of Ashaji under Pancham’s baton. This is an extremely hard task as the two had a great run for more than 2 decades. Please don’t find fault for exceeding the 20 limit!

The beginning was rough between them. Ashaji, a reputed singer was challenged by a young composer with the famous song ‘Piya Tu’ from Caravan (1971). Pancham tried to simplify the tune to accommodate Ashaji’s reluctance and she was totally ticked off and told him there is no challenge that can flummox her. She went on to sing this hit track with fantastic breath control and Pancham gave her a 100 rupee note as a gift for her wonderful rendition. (that was worth a lot in 1971!). The song created history for both Ashaji and Helen. A Helen dance with Ashaji’s voice became standard in Hindi films after that in the 70s, whoever was the composer!

The song has a pretty long prelude and the orchestration is way ahead of its time. Observe the trumpets, the bass and the lead guitar. Fantastic work with the signature Pancham conga!

Prior to this song, Asha and Pancham had some great hits. One significant track from the 60s is ‘Aao na gale lag jao na’ from Mere Jeevan Saathi.

I like the way RD uses flute in this track after Asha’s humming. Not sure, if anyone ever tried flute in a club song. That’s RD – he does not care!

The title song of Shaan (1976) sang by Ashaji is another fantastic piece of orchestration. Shaan came after Sholay and did not succeed like Sholay. However, RD did leave a mark with his great work. Observe the use of synthesized groove, electric guitar and drumming..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt1R0_oWovM

The title song of Shalimar by Ashaji (1976) was a stealer – complete with violins, congas, guitar, sax, cymbals – brilliantly orchestrated by Pancham.These days you do not get such rich orchestration in Bollywood and you have only Ilayaraja in the South with such capabilities.

All the scat singing experiments of RD became very popular with the Hare Rama Hare Krishna songs – Dum Maro Dum and I love you with Usha Uthup.. One of the most remixed songs of Hindi films, Pancham singlehandedly showcased Indian guitar talent at that time…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLdqaeUhu3A

The second song ‘I Love you’ between Asha and Usha, set the new standard for scat singing in Indian film music.

Here is Ashaji singing live, RD’s One Two cha cha cha from Shalimar. RD was quite comfortable with scat singing and newer orchestration techniques. This is typical 1970s club music.

The song ‘Sapna Mera Toot Gaya’ from Khel Khel Mein (1975) is another very difficult Asha song that has dialogs, glides and fantastic range in singing. This is not a solo, but a fine song with RD himself.. Brilliant orchestration to the tee.

Some very sweet solos for Ashaji specially composed by RD is next. First, let’s hear Too Jahan from Doosri Sita written by Gulzar..

This is one of my all time Asha-Pancham favorites. Not sure how many times I have heard this song for the conga drums and the timing. All the new female singers of today must practice this song to get their timing right. Bechara Kya kahen from Khusboo..

I used to go wild the way Pancham arranges the transition between the charanam and the pallavi. Many composers including Raja have used this technique later. Everything is taken care of by one Asha glide and two strokes on the sitar to the pallavi!

The other Asha solo, Ghar Jayegi from Khusboo is a very difficult song sang effortlessly by the veteran..

In both these songs, you can hear the real RD Burman who carefully sugar coats his Bengali folk for Bollywood.

Another effortless composition from Khoobsurat is ‘Sun Sun Sun’ – total fun loving song with some good lyrics…

Like Raja exploited Janaki’s voice, so did Pancham with Ashaji. You can now hear this wonderful singer in totally Hindustani classical mode: Piya Baawari from Khoobsurat. Ashaji brings you the memory of the young Jaya Bachchan.

Pancham also used Ashaji’s terrific gliding abilities with her voice. Here is an example of a simple song from Namkeen, Phir Se Aaiyo Bhadra Bidesi..

You can never hear these songs in today’s TV competitions. This appears superficially easy and effortless, only due to the two minds behind it – Asha and Pancham.

Here is another pensive Asha song for RD – Yeh Saaye Hai from Sitara (1980). Simple orchestration and total emphasis on melody. The violins remind you of Ilayaraja. Great lyrics by Gulzar.

Observe the tabla and the conga – this is the sound that excited me so much in the 70s and early 80s.

I have not even touched the tip of the iceberg, and it’s already 15 tracks! We have heard Asha pensive, sad, swinging, scatting, gliding, and formally singing classical. With the exception of Raja-Janaki, no other composer has done so much justice to a single singer.

Pancham gave Ashaji a unique status that he gave nobody – the entire film with just her playback voice. The film ‘Ijaazat’ (1987) has four songs – it’s Gulzar, Pancham and Asha hitting every ball out of the park. It has a mix of emotions with Mera Kuch Saaman Hai (romantic – lyrics easily beat Vairamuthu – ek akeli chatri mein, aadhe aadhe beekh rahan hain), Khatra Khatra (mischief/romance), khali haath sham aye (melancholy), the title song Choti Se Kahaani Se – he uses his harmonica generously.

This is one film, where I saw Raja’s influence with Pancham. If you go back to the orchestration of these four songs, Pancham uses polyphony extensively.

Around this time, Pancham, Asha and Gulzar got off the filmi bandwagon and decided to compose an album called ‘Dil Padosi Hai’, which takes you into a journey from early morning to midnight. There is a song for every time, every genre. It is simply a master piece from the team. I will provide links for some of my favorite songs from this album:

Here the fantastic ghazal, Jane Do Mujhe Jane Do with the brilliant sarod…

Mischief returns with swaras, Saaton Baar with the signature Pancham conga…

Set your mind to rest with Ummed Hogi Koi…

Here is the title song, Haan Meri Ghum to Utaah Lehta Hain (Dil Padosi Hai)

Just these 4 songs portray 4 different emotions. Great lyrics, fantastic music, great singing – this album (total of 12 songs) is one of the finest Pancham gifts to us.

One Song at a time: 43. Na toh caarvan ki talash hai

2011-07-15T08:17:00.000-07:00

(Sahir Ludhianvi)

I don't think there could have been better locality than Boiguda in Secunderabad to grow up in , for it was the most cosmopolitan of all localities. A locality which was populated by Tamilians, Telugus, Anglo Indians, Marwadis and Hindi speaking folks. Populated by the rich marwadis, the middle class government servants and slum dwellers. Populated by Hindus, Jains, Muslims and Christians. Everyone was a friend. And festival ours. As kids we loved festivals for they brought with them things to eat. Thus at an early age I had tasted multiple cuisines. Of all the cuisines, I have a special affection for the Muslim cuisine. (And Telangana cuisine,especially the Bagar Annam)

We used to attend Muslim weddings especially to eat. Most of us were pure vegetarians and special care was taken by our friends to ensure we got only the vegetarian stuff. The biriyani, the double-ka-meeta and what not. I still remember the wedding in the family of our local 'Dada', Jahangir Khan. His brother Basheer took care of us by constantly telling us, "Don't worry dear. I am here". That world was lost when I moved out of Secunderabad to Chennai and then to Bangalore.

Not only I but the Hindi film world also lost out on such a world quite some time back. In an earlier era, there were lot of charming Muslim socials and historical that were made and many of them achieved tremendous success. Sample: 'Mughal-E-Azam', 'Pakeezha'. Later, due to various reasons, the Muslim social just vanished from the screen. In an excellent and insightful article @umujahir examines this phenomena. Do read this incisive article.

And when it comes to Muslim socials, can that wonderful form of music, 'Qawali', be far behind? A naturally energetic musical form which can put you in a trance. It has been put to good use in Hindi films and none did it better than Roshan Nagrath. It is generally agreed that the best qawali in films is 'naa to caarvan ki talash hai' from 'Barsat Ki Raat'. I don't think anyone will debate this conclusion.

The song is an enduring classic and rightly so. It is stupendous on multiple counts. The sheer melody which Roshan coats it with separates it from the other qawalis. The way tension is created and resolved in the song (observer Rafi's entry). Sustained excitement throughout this very long song. Darbari Kanada touch. Excellent singing. And to crown it all, the wonderful poetry from the pen of Shair Ludhianvi.

The words of the qawali also show us a much needed attribute in current times, the friendship amongst various religions. If you observe the lyrics carefully, the first part of the song has a strong mix of Urdu words, the 'charaagar' imagery is from the traditional Urdu ghazals. ("illaz hai koi to maut hai". Wah. What a line.) Towards the end the song yields way to Hindu imagery. And here Sahir completely eschews Urdu and uses only Hindi words!!! Very subtly done which you will miss if you don't observe keenly.

Let's watch the video now. Lot of effort has gone into the picturization and it shows. While the main singer remains sober, watch out for the antics of the side kick. Very enjoyable. Singing credit: Manna Dey, S D Batish, Mohd Rafi, Sudha Malhotra and Asha Bhosle.

One song at a time - 42. Nagu Endide

2011-06-11T23:29:00.000-07:00

One day while driving my car to office I tuned into a Kannada FM channel heard this song. Right from the first flight of violins I knew that this was definitely an Illayaraja song. As the song progressed, I would have wagered my salary on it. I wanted to know which movie this song was from. Unfortunately by the time I reached office I had forgotten the lyrics. Given my inability to sing even the simplest of the tunes, all I could tell my colleague was, "It was a wonderful song and it went like..lalala lalala". She smiled, probably thinking that this was one mystery which even Sherlock Holmes would be hard pressed to solve. Then I saw this song on TV but as is their wont, they did not put up the film name!! One day I saw a cassette of the movie 'Pallavi Anupallavi'. Knowing it was a Raja - Maniratnam combination movie I immediately picked it up. And I was pleasantly surprised when this song played. We will listen to this song today.

If you observe Maniratnam's movies, you can clearly see that all the technical aspects improving in every movie. Be it cinematography, set designs, locations, editing. Each movie seems to better the earlier one in these aspects. Every technical aspect except music. For in his very first movie for Maniratnam, the master set the benchmark so high that subsequent movie were able to match it but never surpass it.

The first movie Mani made was in Kannada, 'Pallavi Anupallavi' and Raja gave unforgettable music for this movie. Yes, Raja - Mani combinations gave us some outstanding music later as well, be it 'Pagal Nilavu', 'Geetanjali', 'Mouna Ragam' or many more. Similarly the Rahman - Mani combination with 'Roja', 'Dil Se', 'Alaipaayudhe' has been wildly popular. Still, I hold that while some of these, like 'Pagal Nilavu' may have equaled 'Pallavi Anupallavi' none surpassed it. I am sure many have your own favorites and will debate with me on this but I will steadfastly hold that this particular movie had the best music of this combination. (I will probably concede that 'Pagal Nilavu' is at the same level.)

'Pallavi Anupallvi' had four songs. All of them amazing melodies. And all of them quite experimental as well. Take 'O Premi' for example. A lot of experimentation is happening here on the synthesizer and the guitar but throughout all that Raja keeps the melody intact. Then there is 'Naguva Nayana'. What can one say about this song!! The twist and turns of the song are pure Raja. Right from the first bit of humming, the song reeks class. (Will probably need to write a separate post on this song someday). Then there is the very Salilda sounding 'hridaya rangoli'. Definitely will go down as one of S P Shailaja's best solos. Finally, 'nagu endide' the song we will see today.

'nagu endide' seems to be picturized so as to show the love and affection between a mother and her child. There is a danger when tuning for such situations. You can easily make it very syrupy. (Almost wanting you to take an insulin injection after hearing the song.) Raja avoids this and gives us a lovely melody. A wonderful prelude leads you to the pallavi. Now, if you observe the pallavi, you will see that the drumming is going in a totally different direction with respect to the tune. The drumming is very staccato in nature while the tune is free flowing. It is a nightmare to sing this song live because you will definitely be pulled away by the rhythm. Hats off to Janaki for singing so beautifully amidst a beat which seems to have a mind of its own. Another thing which the beat does is to some extent reduce the sweetness of melody. I don't say this in a bad sense. It is just that the beat draws a bit of attention to itself and that ensures the melody doesn't turn out to be too syrupy. Yet, the whole (tune + beat) seems so natural. That is why Raja stands unique amongst all Indian music directors. His experiments always fuse different genres in such a way that you don't have a clue that underlying the tune and interludes are so many genres. You just feel it is a nice song!!! To get an idea of what I am saying, observe the first interlude. When the music is going the Western Classical style with violins leading the way, suddenly a flute appears and plays what can be thought of as a piece of our folk melody. And then the western violins take over. Everything done so seamlessly!! He was a master of orchestration, no doubt and was in inspired form for this movie. The charanams gain in sweetness as the song proceeds. An outstanding song if I have heard one. I am sure you will agree after listening to this song that my assertion of this movie being Raja - Mani's best combination is not unfounded!!

My friend Kamal Aakarsh and his friends had written in more detail about this song. You can check it here:

http://musicmavericks.blogspot.com/2005/11/pallavi-anupallavi-part-3.html

Finally, just came to know today that Violin Vicky, who has a superb blog, Raaja Paarvai, which explains the intricacies of Raja's music, has started an official Illayaraja site along with his friends. Content will be up soon. For the time being please bookmark this link, Raaja.com and keep checking.

Now let us enjoy our weekend by listening to this song:

One song at a time - 41. Amay Prasno / Kahin Door

2011-06-04T01:52:00.000-07:00

It is always interesting to compare and contrast two versions of the same song sung in different languages by different singers. I am not talking about dubbed movies but where the songs were made in each of the language with the same intensity and was a hit in each of these languages. Rafi's "chal ud jaa re panchi' from Bhabi can be contrasted with Ghantasala's rendition of the same song in Telugu, "payaninche o chiluka". (If fans of respective singers are involved in this comparison business it can lead to bloodshed. Just check out the youtube comments for this Telugu song!!)

A movie which moved everyone to tears and made Rajesh Khanna almost a legend was 'Anand'. Other than Rajesh Khanna's acting, Hrishikesh Mukherjee's direction, the film is also known for its superb music. How many films can boast of songs like, 'maine tere liye hi saat rang ke sapne chuni', 'naa jiya laage na', 'zindagi kaisi hai paheli' and the song we will see today, 'kahin door jab din dal jaaye'. Salilda's stamps his magic on each of these songs. What melody, what innovation!!!

For a long time I was not aware that 'kahin door jab din daljaye' had a Bengali counterpart (which ofcourse is the original.) I bought a CD of Bengali songs composed by Salilda and was pleasantly surprised to find the Bengali version of this song. The Bengali version is sung by Hemanta Mukherjee (aka Hemant Kumar) and goes, "amay prasno kare'. His baritone voice adds so much depth to the song. While I cannot understand more than a couple of words in this song, I can't miss the sheer beauty of Bengali language. The words sound so soft as if saying anything harsh may wake up a sleeping infant. Salilda, as usual, works his magic both in the tune and the interludes. The song overall is very soothing. Listening to it late in the evening, sitting on your balcony, when all city traffic sounds have ceased, will be a good antidote for all the stress we develop within ourselves.

Now let us listen to the Hindi version. What a contrast the voices are. While Hematda's is a bass voice, we have Mukesh here starting off in his nasal voice. In some places it is sung a bit more loudly than the Hemantda's version. Yet the song sounds equally sweet in its Hindi version as well. That you understand this language does have a bearing on your enjoyment. We can dissect this further but I will leave it here.

I always believe that in case of music, more the merrier. So instead of being a fan of any singer, I just take both of them. And my joy doubles.

One song at a time - 40. Rasikaraja

2011-05-25T10:02:00.000-07:00

(Ghantasala)

While the classical music purist frown when ragas are mixed, especially down south, we need to accept that sometimes this mixture does produce great music!! The mix happens in two ways. One by the introduction of alien notes. Second by mixing two ragas. Carnatic music is familiar with the introduction of alien notes into a raga, while mixing of two ragas is not looked at favourably. In Hindustani mixing two ragas is quite common. Basant Bahar and Bageshree Kaanada come to mind. In Hindustani music they call it jod-ragas.

The song that we will hear today is one such mixture. I am not sure if this raga exists in Hindustani music or it was creation of the music director, Pendyala. The raga takes Kaanada in its upward movement and Chakravaham in its descent. It sounds lovely and this is a very popular song in Telugu. Music, as noted earlier, is by Pendyala, lyrics of Malladi and sung wonderfully by Ghantasala.

This is one song in which you are not sure which of the participants you must praise. The music director for coming up with such a tune or the singer for executing this flawlessly. Perfect example of team work. This song does showcase the great talent that was Ghantasala. Right from the initial aalapanai, he is in total control. The way he goes up Kaanada and the way he glides down Chakravakham can only be done a master. And all the while keeping the melody intact. The song calls for a complete grip on the ragam, the swarasthanams and the talam. And Ghantasala rises to the challenge as only he can. It is quite clear that Pendyala would never have tuned this way if he didn't have a singer like Ghantasala to execute it. No wonder Ghantasala inspired many music directors of those days. It is also undeniable fact that when Ghantasala sang a song, whoever be the music director, it would become a 'Ghantasala song'. Such was his musical personality.

(A few months back I was speaking to my friend Kamal Aakarsh, who told me that he hadn't heard this song and that shocked me. Kamal celebrated his birthday this week. This song is for him.)

One song at a time - 39. Mohe Bhool Gaye Saawariya

2011-05-06T23:04:00.000-07:00

(Naushad)

"Bhairav is so fundamental to Indian tradition that its impaction on the nation's musical soul can never be overstated. Even the unlettered in the land is familiar with its germ in some form or the other. The overlay of Bhairav strains on an early, bucolic Indian morning affords a purifying experience like no other. Verily, it falls to the lot of the noblest of rAgas, deserving of renewal and reflection in the portals of the mind every single day." Thus wrote Rajan Parrikar in his article for SAWF titled "Bhairav - The Primordial Sound" . He was talking about the Hindustani Bhairav whose Carnatic counterpart in Mayamalavagowla.

Mayamalavagowla has been used a lot in Tamil film music. An old gem that I heard is in the movie 'Pattinathar', which starred T M Soundarrajan as the hero. The song was, "nilave nee oru sedhi sollaayo" and was tuned very similar to the Tyagaraja's famous krithi, "thulasi dalamulache". Then we had the Vishwanathan Ramamurthy's classic, "kallellaam maanikka kallaagumaa", which inspired A R Rahman to create "suntha hai mera kudha" in 'Pukar'. With Illayaraja's entry Mayamalavagowla was taken to a absolutely new high. The songs are too many to list. It suffices if I use the Sanskrit phrase, "na bhootho na bhavishyathi" (neither in the past nor in the future) to describe what Raja has done with Mayamalavagowla.

Compared to the Tamil films the usage of Mayamalavagowla (Bhairav) in Hindi films is fairly limited I would say. One Bhairav based song which has been a perennial favourite in Hindi Film Music is the Shakeel Badayuni written and Nauhad tuned, 'Mohe Bhool Gaye Saawariya" from the film 'Baiju Bawra', sung impeccably by Lata. I had written earlier about Amir Khan singing for Tansen in this movie. The movie was a great musical hit with songs like 'tu ganga ki mauj', 'man tadpat hari darshan ko' and 'O duniya ke rakhwale'. In fact you can say that this movie was a show case for Rafi's vocals but I like this Lata beauty the best in this movie.
Mayamalavagowla is a raga with many shades and Naushad uses the sad shade, if I can call it that. The loneliness and sadness of the heroine (the feeling of 'viraha' as we say) is communicated very well by the way the raga is used. Lata, as usual, does a terrific job of getting the right shade of the raga. The melody is lilting and it is no wonder that it has had a long shelf life.

Naushad was one of the most famous music directors of his times. He was well respected for his knowledge of Hindustani classical music and had given many 'hits' during his time. It must also be stated that opinion about Naushad's music is quite sharply divided. There is one group which holds him as the greatest composer in Hindi film music while group feels that his music lacked the imagination and innovation that was present in other music directors like Salilda, Madanmohan and Roshan. I remember reading an article which said that Naushad generally took a 'bandish' in a particular raga and build his song around it and he himself added nothing much to the raga. I probably lie somewhere in between these two extremes. Some of his songs I like but there are quite a few songs which I find quite clichéd. The number of Naushad songs in my playlist is quite less compared to the number of songs he has tuned. 'mohe bhool gaye saawariya' is definitely in my playlist. So let's go listen to it now.

One song at a time - 38. Vaishaka Sandhye / Mainakam

2011-04-27T02:34:00.000-07:00

(Shyam)

Each of us has a gripe about what is missing in film music these days. Lack of melody, lack of good poetry, lack of good voices, lack of natural instruments and much more. While I too miss all of these, one thing which I miss, especially in Hindi and Telugu film songs is the sense of ordinariness in song picturisation.

In earlier days, there were lot of songs whose picturisation was nothing but a capture of the ordinary lives led by its protagonists. This would come as a nice relief against the running around the trees and frolicking type of songs. Think about the picturisation of songs in movies of Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Gulzar, Basu Chatterjee and others and you will immediately understand what I say. Nowadays this aspect has completely vanished from Hindi and Telugu movies. Every song is lavishly mounted. Even if you have to cry, it will against a backdrop of half a dozen dances wearing colour coordinated skimpy dresses. The music accordingly has become very loud and only helps in accentuating the garishness of the scene. While most of the modern Tamil movie songs fall in this category, there are a few village based movies wherein we get to see some ordinariness. Malayalam films have somehow retained this aspect even now though the pull towards the Telugu garishness is quite high in Malluland nowadays.

Today let us hear one Malayalam song which captures the lives of two people in the city of Madras. The songs captures very simple day to day incidents from their lives. This song, 'vaishaka sandhye' is from the movie 'Nadodikkattu'. Music is by Shyam. During the 80s, Shyam, who is from Madras, came to the Malayalam film world and gave some lovely numbers which are still favourites with the Malayalis. This song has a very nice flow and Jesudas sings it very well. Shyam, who worked with Salil Choudary, has a good sense for orchestration and you can see how much the orchestration adds to the song. This song was later used in a Tamil by ~~Shyam himself~~ Chandrabose (thanks to my friends Raj and Inbavaana for pointing out the error) but somehow that did not capture my imagination as this song did. Shobana looks so very simple and charming. Mohanlal does his part very well. A lovely tune and nice picturisation.

I now give you another lovely song composed by Shyam and sung wonderfully by Janaki from the movie 'Trishna'. This was a super duper hit song in Kerala and people remember it fondly even to this day. In the structure of the song and the orchestration you clearly see the deep impact Salilda had on Shyam. You could almost mistake this song for a Salilda song!!

One song at a time - 37. Yeh Shaam Ki Tanhaahiyan

2011-04-18T01:21:00.000-07:00

(Shankar Jaikishan)

Given the A/C room bound lives that many of us lead, we have forgotten that every day has its own seasons. The winter of the mornings, the summer of the afternoon, the spring of the dusk. Of these, it is dusk which I miss nowadays, either being stuck in my job or in traffic!! I still remember fondly the evenings my friend Bala used to walk from Boiguda via Secunderabad Railway Station all the way to Paradise to have a burger at Universal Bakery. The walk inevitably happened during the time when the day started preparing itself to meet the night. The sound of the birds in tree lined road leading to station, the dim light on the horizon and the vehicles slowly switching on their headlights. A strange feeling comes over you at that time. A feeling that cannot be described in words.

For lovers, it is that time of the day to be with their beloved. If your beloved isn't around, the pain of the separation hits them hard during this hour. I have read many Sangam poems which talk about the pang of separation and many a times it is the twilight hour they refer to. There is something in this hour which makes the heart to yearn for the loved one.

One of the best songs which captures this hour and the pangs of separation perfectly is 'yeh shaam ki tanhaahiyan' from the movie 'Aah'. This song tuned by Shankar Jaikishan is rendered superbly as only Lata can. This Bhoop based beauty so effortlessly captures the intended emotion. The impact of the song in evoking the mood is such that when he went to do a concert in Italy, Illayaraja chose this song instead of his own songs to highlight how musically you can evoke the evening time and the pain of separation. I am not sure if the western ear could discern this mood but for the Indian ear the mood is unmistakable.

Shankar Jaikishen were one of the most famous composers in Hindi film music history. They had created lot of melodies which were huge hits. Their association with Raj Kapoor and his RK films is legendary. As can be expected with music directors who were doing lot of movies, you got some gems and you also got lot of not so great tunes. All said and done, they left a lasting impression on Hindi film music. I would say that only two styles have survived in Hindi film music. One that of Shankar Jaikishen, which came through Kalyanji Anandji, LP and then through Anu Malik. The other style is that of RD Burman. You can even now hear the SJ style in modern Hindi music. The loops, samples and recording techniques may have become modern but the soul of many of the songs still remains similar to what SJ did a long time back. And whenever I go to North India and the cab driver plays his favourite songs, invariably the tune has the style of Shankar Jaikishan!!! While I have to confess that my love for music directors like Madanmohan, Roshan, Salilda, Dada Burman and few others is more than that for SJ's music, I cannot discount the fact that SJ's impact on Hindi film music is very high and also the fact that they did create some very delectable melodies.

So let's listen to Yeh Shaam Ki Tanhaahiyan now and pay our respects to Shankar Jaikishan, Lata and Shailendra, who wrote the lyrics.

One song at a time - 36. Shaam-e-gham ki kasam

2011-03-27T01:25:00.000-07:00

(Khayyam)

Tuning for pre-written lyrics was the norm in the olden days of Indian film music. Most of the music directors followed this path, be it Anil Biswas, MadanMohan, Roshan, Khayyam or people like Rajeshwar Rao and K V Mahadevan down south. Ofcoure it was not a hard and fast rule. It is known that most of the songs of Vishwanathan-Ramamurthy and later MSV were written first by the poet, mostly Kannadasan, and were later tuned. There are known instances where the tune has been set first and then Kannadasan writing the lyrics to the tune. Music Directors like K V Mahadevan, if what I hear on various shows is correct, never ever set the tune first. They would always insist on the lyrics first and then the tune would flow. Salilda was one exception of those time, insisting, against the trend, that he tune first and then the lyrics be written. If you observe the way Salilda's tunes twists and turn, you can easily guess that tune would have come first. After Illayaraja appeared on the Tamil Film Music scene, the music director became dominant and Raja would always tune first. (There are only very few songs where he has tuned to pre-written lyrics.)

When you hear the old songs it is very difficult to say if the tune came first or the lyrics. The music directors would have constructed such a lovely tune and the lyrics and tune would merge so well that it was humanly impossible to take a call on which came first. Such was the genius of our music directors. While most of the tunes would blend wonderfully with the lyrics, some lyrics were tuned with the intention of highlighting the lyrics. In such case the tune seems to take a back seat to the lyrics. The operative word is 'seemingly'. The tune will sound as if the lyrics are just being recited but take away the tune and suddenly the impact of lyrics is down by an order of magnitude. Some songs which would fall in this category would include, 'ae kaisi ajab daastan aa gayi hai', tuned by Sajjad Hussain, or 'goranta gootiki' tuned by K V Mahadevan.

Khayyam, whose song will listen to today, is also one such music director who had superb ability to tune a lyric as if someone was just reciting it. You just need to think about 'kabhi kabhi mere dil mein' or 'main pal do pal ka shaayar hoon', both from 'Kabhi Kabhi' or 'kahin ek maasoom nazuk si ladki' from 'Shankar Hussain'. Khyyam in one interview after the success of 'Kabhi Kabhi' told that he had fallen away from his favourite lyricist, Sahir Ludhyanvi, because Sahir considered that his lyrics were responsible for the success of 'Kabhi Kabhi' songs and not the tune. As a lyricist you can easily get carried away when the tune is done in such a way as to highlight your lyrics. In that I would say the split was a success for Khayyam's tuning ability!!!

The song we will hear today, I first heard in my hostel room. Siva and I were listening to a tape which had the best of Talat Mehmood. One hit song after another followed, many of them well known to us. 'jalte hain kiske liye', 'jaayen to jaye kahan', 'tasveer banata hoon' etc. Suddenly this song appeared and I was hearing it for the first time. What a lovely experience it was. I realised immediately why this was included in the best of Talat Mahmood. Khayyam had created a gem for him.

Right at the very outset, Khayyam creates a night time ambience with his prelude. The violins join in beautifying the prelude. Then the song starts as if Dilip Kumar is just reciting it. The words are wonderful and as you can hear, the tune wonderfully enhances the impact of the words. The orchestration is minimal and the picturisation is also done without any fuss. Dilip Kumar is his usual self (which can be interpreted in multiple ways).

Today I give you 'Shaam-e-gham ki kasam' from the movie 'Footpath', lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri and set to tune by Khayyam.

One song at a time: 35. Solla Solla Inikkudhadaa

2011-03-23T08:15:00.000-07:00

It was like a ritual for me. I would take the local train on one of the second Saturdays and get down at Dayanannagar Station, close to which my friend Ranganathan used to live. Ranganathan was my class mate who used to be teased a lot in school due to his girth but once out of school we became thick friends in Junior College. One of main reasons was our love for music.

He was one of the few who owned a record player in those days due to his father also being a great music lover. So I used to go all the way to his house in that local train in order to listen to the records which he had. I now don't remember the records I heard at his place except for one, which was part of the ritual that I mentioned. That was the record of 'Kandan Karunai' and the last song that I always listened to before I left his house was 'Solla Solla Inikkudhada'.

'Kandan Karunai' had some lovely songs and it won its music director, K.V.Mahadevan, the National Award for music. The movie had the superb ragamalikai, "arupadai veedu konda", the delicious beauties in 'manam adaithen' and 'thiruparam kunrathil nee sirithaal'. Still it was 'solla solla inikkudhada' which captivated me and still does. A very short song. Sung by P.Susheela at her peak. Kannadasan's lyrics and a seemingly simple tune, which was the forte of Mahadevan. Only after listening to this song would I leave Ranganathan's house.

Ranganathan moved to Chennai after his B.Tech. I lost touch with him and then hunted him down when I moved to Chennai. When I moved to Bangalore, I again lost touch with him!! That you can lose touch with someone seems a difficult thing to believe in this internet age given that even people you may not want to be in touch with become your 'Friends' in Facebook. I am sure I will ferret out Ranganathan from his lair soon. For whenever I hear the song of today, I cannot but help but think of him. (And also cannot help think that Savithri had seen better days!!! )

Azerbaijani Thodi

2011-03-10T21:41:00.000-08:00

I didn't want to write a post today. Yesterday I had posted a humour article in my other blog, boigudabakwas. Added to it was some more work which was done for a Solvanam article. So I did not have the inclination to do anything today. My friend Ramachandran, who runs a very nice blog on Carnatic Music, http://carnaticmusicreview.wordpress.com/ sent a link on twitter which stunned me and at the same time spurred me into action. (Ram had inturn got it from his friend, Srikanth, http://www.srikanthd.com/)

There are some ragas in Carnatic Music which are very unique to it and you will not find them in other systems. Ragas oft quoted are Yadhukula Kambhoji, Begada, KedaraGowla, Anada Bhairavi, Reethigowla and some more. I had been thinking that Todi too was one such ragam, which is very unique to Carnatic Music. That would be surprising since Todi is not a vakra raga, it contains all the seven notes and as a scale it is not a difficult one to imagine. I have read that Hindustani Music's Bhairavi is equivalent to Todi when you compare them as scale. But Hindustani Bhairavi is according to our ears Sindhu Bhairavi. Without the characteristic gamakas, Todi can lapse into Sindhu Bhairavi. Hear the interludes of 'Gangai Karai Mannanadi' and you can see Todi sliding into Sindhu Bhairavi. So I held the opinion that Todi is very unique to Carnatic Music and we will probably not find it in other parts of the world. Not the scale but the raga.

In one lecture demonstration, S.Ramanathan surprised me by saying that he had heard Todi in Jerusalem, where he had a chance to listen to some Gregorian chants. He says that he sang Todi while they were singing the Gregorian chants. That interested me a lot but as usual you hear such stuff, get interested and by dinner time you have forgotten about it. So it was like godsend when I saw this link by Ram (@lalitha_ram on twitter)

Right at the beginning, you can feel Thodi, in the playing of the tar (mandolin like instrument.) The violin / sarangi like following keeps giving the Thodi flavour when the singer sings and when the instrument plays you can clearly hear Thodi. What superb playing!!! Wonderful skill and brings out the essence of the raga. For a minute you are in a carnatic music concert!!! Later when the rhythm instruments start accompanying, the carnatic concert feel is complete.

I was totally blown away by this piece. Time to go search for more Azerbaijani pieces. I enjoyed this thoroughly. Hope you too enjoy this. Take some time off and listen to it. You are bound to profusely thank me, the same way I thanked my friend Ramachandran.

One song at a time - 34. Tum Na Jane Kis Jahan Mein Ko Gaye

2011-03-04T00:42:00.000-08:00

(From L to R: RDB, Devanand, Dada and Lyricist Neeraj)

My friend Siva's son had hurt his foot badly in a freak accident. I was returning from the hospital and was playing some old Lata numbers in my car. This tape was given to me by Siva long time back for digitization. Suddenly the song, 'tum na jane kis jahan mein ko gaye' started playing. I had plum forgotten this song. In terms of which movie it was from, who was the music director etc. One part of my brain was trying hard to recollect this information while the other part was singing along. The lyrics, the sangathis, the interlude music. Everything was sung in perfect unison (except the pitch ofcourse.) When the charanam started, "maut bi aati nahin", I conituned singing the whole charanam and joined perfectly into the pallavi. The song was embedded deep inside and was not forgotten.

I am sure to many people this is not surprising at all. Some song we knew in our childhood and haven't heard for ages starts playing and we sing along perfectly. We know everything by-heart. Semmangudi Srinivas Iyer in one interview stated that as we was getting old, he was forgetting the lyrics often. (He also stated that whenever he forgot the lyrics, his sishyas singing with him also forgot the lyrics!!) He made the interesting observation that he never forgot the lyrics of the songs he learnt earlier in his career and the loss of memory happened when dealing with songs he learnt later in life. The brain is a mysterious organ. You never know what it can recall and when.

I called Siva and asked him if he knew any details of the song. He too started singing it but did not recollect the movie or the music director. After some time I had a feeling that it was from the movie 'Sazaa' and music by S.D.Burman. Came and searched in youtube and felt relieved that I was right!!

S.D.Burman, also known as Dada Burman, was like 'markandeya'.A man who never lost his musical youth. He wonderfully adapted himself to the times and provided tunes which sound fresh even today. No wonder some great music directors like Illayraja are big fans of his. Raja in one program said that Dada would ask the director lots of details before giving a tune. Details like what was the colour of heroine's saree, if she was wearing bangles or not. I am sure many of the directors would have had no clue about these aspect when they came to get the tune. Dada was adept at tuning melodious songs, folk songs, songs that could make you dance, claasical songs and lot more. He was an amazingly versatile music director, whose ability to conjure up dew fresh tunes is hard to match.

In this song, using very minimal orchestration and taking advantage of young Lata's amazingly melodious voice, he weaves a tune which stays in our minds forever. The lyrics are simple and when the tune and lyrics merge so well at 'loot kar mera jahan', you know this won't be erased from your consciousness anytime soon. How youthful the song sounds though it was done in 1951!!

One song at a time - 33. Anthinta Hennu

2011-02-28T03:31:00.000-08:00

(Kalinga Rao)

When I had sent him the link to my blog post about Rajkumar's wonderful 'Jeevana Chaitra' song, my friend Kiran replied back with a suggestion of his own for a future post. It was P.Kalinga Rao's singing of Mysore Narasimhaswamy's 'anthintha heenu nee nilla'.

I first heard Kalinga Rao in the tape titled 'Doni Saagali'. As I had stated in an old post, this tape had songs which were based on famous poems of great poets like Kuvempu, Da Ra Bendre, DVG etc. In this list of poets there were poems of Mysore Narasimhaswamy which were tuned as film songs. Mysore Narasimhaswamy's most famous poems collection is 'Mysore Mallige'. Given that these were love poems, is it any surprise that our film directors wanted these to be tuned for movies? That tape also had another Narasimhaswamy song sung by P B Sreenivas, 'avalu yaaru'. Another nice melody.

P Kalinga Rao was the only unknown name in that album. So I checked with my relative and he told me that Kalinga Rao was very famous for his 'lalitha sangeetham' or 'sugama sangeetham' and was a pioneer in this area. I then chanced upon a tape of his titled 'baarayaa beladhingale' and bought it. I could see that Kalinga Rao had varied tastes. There was light music, there was folk and there was semi classical numbers in that collection. I particularly loved his take on Purandarasa Dasa's compositions, wherein he gives it a folkish tinge sometimes. Somehow I have a feeling that Purandara Dasa himself would have approved of it. Very recently a set of 9 CDs of Kalinga Rao got released and I immediately bought them. (Have listened to 3 of there. 6 more to go.) Kalinga Rao has a nice voice and sings wonderfully.

With the advent of the satellite channels, 'sugama sangeetham' or 'light music' must be facing major challenges. In earlier days, AIR and Doordarshan were the major backers for this type of music. You had programs for 'light music' those days. Nowadays I am not sure if such programs exist at all and even if they do, if anyone watches it. Especially given that most people tune into the myriad song based TV programs and to the FM Channels blasting out non stop nonsense. Given that I have seen some kids going to learn 'sugama sangeetha' in Bangalore, I feel Karnataka has probably withstood this assault better than TamilNadu and Andhra. I am not sure about Kerala. Once upon a time, music directors like M G Radhakrishnan created some magical tunes for 'lalitha sangeetham'. Other very talented music directors like Jaidev and M B Sreenviasan also composed light music during the AIR / Doordarshan heydays. Light music, 'lalitha sangeetham', 'sugama sangeetha', call it by any name, was a nice alternative to film music. Nowadays film music is English pop music and the alternative is the same!!!

Enough of my crib. Let us now go ahead and listen to this wonderful tune of Kalinga Rao. My sincere thanks to my friend Kiran who forwarded this link.

If Kalinga Rao's voice and singing impress you, then head to this link. I would suggest you hear 'baarayaa beladhingale'. (I feel Illayaraja got his inspiration for the chorus part of "raman anadalum", 'Mullum Malarum' from this song.) Also listen to 'yaru hitavaru' and 'naguva baruthide'. Wonderful take on Purandaradasa's compositions.

Kodai Kaala Katre: A tribute to Malaysia Vasudevan

2011-02-23T02:51:00.000-08:00

'kodai kaala katre, kulir thendral paadum paate', thus goes one of the famous songs from the movie, 'Paneer Pushpangal' sung by Malaysia Vasudevan. The phrase 'kodai kaala katre' means 'summer breeze' and that was an apt description for some of the melodies that Malaysia Vasudevan sung.

Malaysia Vasudevan's voice was not the soothing kind, a 'cool' and 'gentle' voice. He did not possess the softness of Balasubramaniam nor did his voice possess an inherent melody like Jesudas. His was a rough voice, a 'manly' voice. If the other male singers like SPB and Jesudas represented spring and winter, Malaysia represented summer. His was a voice which blazed into your ears and burnt itself into your conscience. You either loved it or hated it on the first hearing. To be honest, it was the second feeling that came over many during his initial days. He sounded like a poor copy of C.S.Jayaraman or as a poor man's T.M.Soundararajan. This was further reinforced when he was called to deliver tunes which were parodies of the tunes of yesteryears. Tunes like, 'madana moha roopa sundara', 'anada then katru', 'aasai kiliye', and many more. And many thought he was good for such songs or for rough 'dappangkoothu' / fun songs like 'podhuvaga en manasu thangam', 'ennama kannu soukyama'. To his great credit, with the help of Illayaraja, he proved everyone wrong by delivering some amazing melodies, which will continue to live forever. While Malaysia Vasudevan's output is varied, this post is not to showcase his versatility. I am only going to deal with a few melodies that he delivered and argue as to why he was the right man to deliver these melodies.

Let us start with the song, which is also the title of this post. 'kodai kaala katre'. I don't know why Raja specifically chose him for the song but he is the perfect fit. For his voice provides the summer heat against the cool breeze which is the melody of the song. Instead of it becoming a cool evening breeze on a spring day, Malaysia Vasudevan's voice turns it into a cool breeze during a hot summer day. All said and done, don't we enjoy the cool breeze more on a summer day? It also perfectly suits the situation of the song, which is picturized in mid afternoon.

Let us take another outstanding melody and see how Malaysia Vasudevan's voice moulds it. This song is from the film 'Nandu', 'alli thanda bhoomi'. Malaysia Vasudevan starts it very softly but there is no escaping the roughness of his voice. It is like holding an umbrella against the blazing sun. You are in shade and yet you can feel the heat. And it is this warmth that gives the song a very different tinge. This song about nostalgia doesn't become utopian nor mushy because of Malaysia Vasudevan's voice. It becomes a lived experience. Contrast this to 'senthazhampoovil' where using Jesudas's voice Raja creates an utopian world. It is a world we would dream about. Everything is inch perfect. Whereas this song becomes a lovely recollection of the past making it not an utopian world but a world we had lived in. And I feel this happens due to Malaysia Vasudevan's voice.

Now, lets take this song from the movie, 'Dharma Yudhham', 'oru thanga radhathil pon manjal nilavu'. This is a typical film song in which a brother extols the virtues of his sister and proclaims the strength of their bond. The sort of start-stop nature of the initial part of the pallavi coupled with Malaysia Vasudevan's voice make us believe that it is a real brother singing about his sister. Contrast this to 'ven megam vinnil nindru paneer thoovum', which SPB sings in 'Naan Sivappu Manidhan'. Here SPB hits all the curves with great precision. When he goes, 'vidikalai velli meene' and ends with 'en vaazhve unnal thaane' you know you are in the presence of a great singer. But in case of 'oru thanga radhathil' you are standing in front of a loving brother and not in front of a singer. 'Dharma Yuddham' also had the other beauty, 'aagaya ganagai', again by Malaysia Vasudevan.

The roughness of his voice was also one reason why it suited Rajnikath's screen persona so well. Rajni was always portrayed as the rough and tough, rebel type of guy. And Malaysia Vasudevan's voice conveyed that effortlessly. Not only in songs like 'poduvaga en manasu thangam' but in this lovely duet as well. 'sugam sugame' from the movie, 'naan potta savaal'. It is just like how a real rough man would sing a melody. The summer heat effect again. This Suddha Saveri beauty is tempered by the 'heat' in Malaysia's voice. We all ofcourse know of the other Suddha Saveri beauty that Malaysia Vasudevan sang for Raja, 'kovil mani osai'.

Now let's listen to his lovely melody sung by Jency and Malaysia Vasudevan, I love the contrast between Jency and Malaysia's voices here. The melody which initially Jency starts is brought down to earth by Malaysia Vasudevan's voice. The melody gets enhanced when they sing it together in the end.

Raja was never averse to including Malaysia Vasudevan in his experimentations. And this song is an example of the amazing experimentations that Raja did. Raja mixes a very earthy, folkish melody with western classical music, rock music and with carnatic music!!! Malaysia's voice perfectly captures the earthiness as well as the carnatic and rock music elements present in this song. I personally don't think anyone else could have done greater justice to this song.

This song from 'En Uyir Thozhan' is another proof of the experimental mind of Raja. It is always the case the Raja fuses other elements like WCM, Rock, etc in such a way that they sound very 'local'. In this song too he uses the western style chorus to great effect. Inspite of that, the song sounds very folkish. One of reasons for that is the voice of Malaysia Vasudevan. He very casually brings in the earthiness to the song. No wonder Raja made him a part of many of his experimentations.

Finally, without much commentary I give you 'paruva kalangal' from 'Moodu Pani'.

As I had stated earlier, the biggest success of Malaysia Vasudevan was in converting every song into a lived experience of the listener. For those whom every song is a melody, Malaysia Vasudevan may not have been upto mark in some songs and they would prefer other singers to have sung those songs. But for those whom songs represent a part of their lives, they would never part with the voice of Malaysia Vasudevan. For in this voice, they discover themselves.

As the Bee Gees song goes, ".. and you come to me on a summer breeze, keep me warm in your love and softly leave", Malaysia Vasudevan came on a summer breeze, kept us warm with his songs and gently left us. He has given us many songs which we would want to carry with us to our graves. May he rest in peace.

One song at a time - 32. Aaj jyotsna raatein

2011-02-13T02:16:00.000-08:00

(Komal Gandhar)

Late one night I was watching Ritwik Ghatak's movie, 'Komal Gandhar'. Probably the only 'light' movie in Ghatak's oeuvre. The songs which happened till then were good and that was expected in a Ghatak movie. His sense of music is impeccable. Then this song happened, which left a deeper impact than the other songs. It was a stunning discovery. (Buddha gained knowledge sitting under the bhodi tree. For me it has almost always been sitting in front of the TV late in night after everyone has gone to sleep.)

A drama troupe is in some forest type of area and a few of them clapping hands start singing a folk song. Just as they sing a line, their song is interrupted by a female voice cutting through the night. And it cut itself a place in my heart. An absolutely minimal orchestration accompanies the song. The song is carried purely by the tune and the voice which delivers the tune. And what a tune it is. Dripping melody in every line, conveying clearly the longing of the singer. The voice adds it own sweetness to the song. I love the way Ghatak picturised it. The night time, the forest, a river running close by and this voice from nowhere. Don't worry about the actions of the actors in the scene. That has more to do with the movie but just observe the atmosphere and how well the song merges into the scene.

I then started researching on the song. I came to know that this is a famous Rabindra Sangeeth song. Gurudev Tagore must have tuned this. I couldn't find out who the singer was. In case any of you reading this has a idea of who the singer is, please let me know. The video contains the translation of the song. So you will clearly understand what I am talking about in terms of atmosphere and longing when you see the video. I wanted to write about this song as a start to my series but for a long I could not find this song on youtube. Luckily someone called 'baburamsnapure' has loaded this in youtube very recently. Thanking him, lets go ahead and listen to this gem.

Here the same Rabindra Sangeeth song is sung by Indrani Sen. Wonderful rendition.

Pancham and Us - Part 1: Guest post by Ravi Natarajan

2011-02-10T00:36:00.000-08:00

Some posts provoke lot of comments and some pass by without any comment. In case of R D Burman, I was sure lot of people would have lot to say, given that his music has impacted so many. My good friend Ravi Natarajan, mailed me asking if there was any limit on number of words that he could write in the comment section. When I replied that I didn't mind any length in the comment section, he came back by saying, "Why not I do a guest post on RDB". I was overjoyed and immediately took the offer.

Ravi is a technologist based in Canada. He has a wonderful blog on Illayaraja wherein he discusses the intricacies of Raja's music. This is a well liked blog and is often referred to by all Illayaraja fans. Check out his Raja, The Genius blog . (You can see it in my blog roll as well.) Additionally Ravi, who is very influenced by writer Sujatha, writes about Technology in Solvanam. He also writes about India and Development Issues in Thinnai. Here is an article he wrote for Thinnai about 'The 50 ft Divide' (In Tamil) and here is an article about 'Scientific Computing' written for Solvanam. (In Tamil)

My sincere thanks to Ravi for doing this guest post. He has promised me that couple more posts will follow. Eagerly looking forward to them as well. I now hand over this page to Ravi.

I could not use the topic ‘Rahul and I’ as Asha Bhonsle has already taken that topic and I have no intention of competing with such a legend even for a topic. I thought of using ‘Pancham undiscovered’ and they have released a CD of RD Burman’s background score in that name. Damn! I put these two together to get to our topic. My friend CSR has been pushing me to write about Pancham’s music for a while and I was not sure about the response. If this post gets received well, I can try my hand with ‘Raja and Rahul’ some day! Thanks to Suresh for this opportunity or else I may be testing the length limit of the ‘comment’ feature in blogger!

While I heard a number of music composers in my childhood, it was mostly their ‘songs’. I never bothered to figure out the composer nor the techniques they were employing. My first composer has always been RD Burman – and first impressions last. There are two childhood predictions that I made musically that turned out to be true and I am very proud of both. When I first heard SPB in the 60s, I was able to predict the voice of the next fifty years. When I started listening to RD, it was his strange unconventional sounds from the conga drum that attracted me. Just that sound revealed the new chapter in film music. Following the conga sounds of RD, I started familiarizing myself with his special tabla and the guitar. Soon, I could tell a RD song from Laxmi Pyare, Kalyanji and so on. The prediction I made on RD was not entirely true. I predicted that he would be the star composer till his death. He did die as a star composer, but had a decade of lull before that.

Firstly, RD is confused with his dad SD (Sachin) by a number of South Indians. Aradhana, Mili and Abhiman were SD’s compositions. I started appreciating SD only after hearing RD’s songs – too bad! Mili was SD’s last film. I started appreciating RD’s music before I learnt a word of Hindi. It is ironical that today I know the language very well and the current crop of composers in Bollywood do not impress me anymore! In this post, we will cover RD at the 30,000 foot level. We will cover his various faculties, orchestration, classical grounding, folk, melody compositions and also his modernization of Hindi film music in the 70s and early 80s. These are in no particular order. We will use youtube videos to illustrate.

Let’s start with his first film – Chote Nawab in 1961. What a title! Dad was the music king already. Pancham’s score with Lata was in his dad’s style but a fantastic tune, ‘Ghar Aaja Ghir Aaye Badra’ :

Listening to this track, you can tell the arrival of a new era. Lataji recollects in her memoirs about this track very dearly. Magnificent composition for a Bengali lad in the Hindi world!

Let’s take a classical trip of RD Burman’s work. He has been criticized for improper use of Ragas by experts and also complimented for some fantastic work too. Most North Indian musicians got off base when they could not deal with RD’s guitar chords in his classical compositions. Let’s first start with his Kedar composition ‘Yun Neendh Ne Jaane Chaman’ from Dard Ka Rishta (1982) where Sunil Dutt plays the cardiologist. Kishore is pitch perfect:

Set to Malkauns, here is a great composition from Namkeen sung by Kishoreda. The unmistakable RD congo is all over the place. Great string and guitar work:

One of the best haunting melodies in Hindi cinema, Mere Naina from Mehbooba (1976) is set to Sivaranjani.

Let’s get a bit more classical, pure Bhairav – Meete Bhole Bhole from Kinara (1977), sang by Bhupinder (his guitarist). I could not source the youtube video for this track. Brilliant composition that will make any classical musician sit up.

When I speak about RD with fans of other MDs, they get confused as though I am too unsure about who is the best. As I tend to enjoy any good music, I always think of the famous RD composition in Khamaj, Kuch to Log Kahenge, Logon ka kaam hai kehna from Amar Prem (1973)…Kishoreda at his best.

Next, another classical sample, this time with Pahadi, from the film Aap ki Kasam (1974), a brilliant melody – Karvatein Badalte …Lata and Kishore at their best.

Another immortal melody of Pancham from Amar Prem (1973), Raina Beeti Jaaye sang brilliantly by Lataji, is set to Gurjari Todi raga,

Pancham enjoyed a great rapport with Gulzar similar to MSV and Kannadasan. Pancham, Ashaji and Gulzar got off the film format compulsions and did a great album called ‘Dil Padosi Hain’. The first track of this album – Bheeni Bheeni Bhor is set to Todi and sang fantastically by Ashaji:

In his last film, 1942, a love story (1991), Pancham did a great Desh composition, Pyar Hua Chupke Se sang by Kavita..

In the early 80s, when I moved to North India, RD was very handy for me. I would introduce ‘Rasati Unnai Kanatha Nenju’ to my North Indian friends after breaking the ice with a typical RD melody such as ‘Phir Wohi Raat Hai’. Let’s get off the classical track and get to some serious melody of RD. It is so hard to list them all. Here are my top 10 Lata picks for RD.

Naa Jaa O Meri Ham Dum from Pyar Ka Mausam (1960s). You can see the use of bongos in this track extensively. The arrangement of this song is very different from his later 70s style.

Aaj Kal Paaon Zammen Par from Ghar…

The violins and the guitar in this song is way ahead of its time. Great lyrics by Gulzar. Aaina Wahi Rehta Hai from Shalimar…

Great use of the tabla – typical RD style. Ae Ri Pawan from Bhemisal (1982). Watch the tabla and the congo in tandem. Lata delivers her magic…

Bahon Mein Chali from Ananmika (1973) with Jaya. The congo in this track is a RD signature.

Naa Koi Umang Hai from Kati Patang (1972). This song was such a stealer that it broke all language barriers. I particularly like the use of flute in this song to bring out the pathos…

Do Nainon Mein from Khusboo (1975).

The first clip has the song in the album with the signature RD tabla. The second clip is from the film. If any of the competition kids can sing the second track as is, they can be the next Shreya Goshal!

Jaane Kya Baat Hai from Sunny (1984). This has all the attractive melody elements of his 1970s work. For some reason, he fell off the popular taste at this time…

Tere Bina Jiye Jaye Naa from Ghar. I particularly like the guitar strum that is used throughout this track with the tabla and the bass guitar. Very ahead of its time.

Lastly, Ab Ke Naa Sawan Barse by Gulzar for Kinara. Well written, composed and sung.

There is so much to write about RD Burman. Perhaps in the next part, we can cover Kishore, Asha and some duets.

One song at a time - 31. Kanchi Re Kanchi Re

2011-02-05T06:30:00.000-08:00

It was early evening and Siva, Murthy and I, as usual, had gone to Gymkhana to listen to some songs. Someone played a song which transported me to my very early school days, transported me to a small lane in Boiguda, a sloping lane, a lane in which all houses had raised platforms. A lane where by 8 o clock all movement would cease and the soanpapdi-wala would ring the bell and bring along the flaky soan papdi in his huge bell shaped glass jar. Did you guess the song which transported me to this lane? Yes, you are wrong!! It was not 'Kanchi Re Kanchi Re' but another song from the same movie, 'phoolon ka taaron ka'. That made me think of 'Hare Rama Hare Krishna' days and automatically to the evening hours of Boiguda. Probably the earliest of my remembrances.

I had a neighbour called Roop who was senior to most of us in the street and the unofficial gang leader. His elder brother and friends had a small music troupe which would practice in his house. We would all gather together on the raised 'thinnai' (platform) and peep in through the windows to watch them practice. Seeing the musical instruments like guitar, bongos and congos was a great thrill. All these guys would appear to us as if they had arrived from some other planet when they played these instruments. Such was the thrill of watching a live orchestra practising. The song they used to practice often was 'kanchi re kanchi re'. Roop later went on to become an excellent mandolin player and in one of our function played a superb 'yeh mera dil pyar ka deewana'.

The 70s was dominated by the music of R D Burman, formerly known as Pancham, then Pancham Da and now called as 'Boss'. His name keeps changing but his music still has the same impact that it had during the 70s. Anyone born during those times had no choice but to grow up with RD's music. That he was the great S D Burman's son and could still chart out a path of his own, shows the potential he had and also shows that he made use of that potential very well. To me, R D Burman is one music director whose influence on Indian film music has been enduring. Be it music directors like Sathyam, in who RD's influence can be heard directly or be it Illayaraja, in whose music you can hear the influence in a subtle way, he influenced all of them. And he keeps influencing them. The number of remixes of his songs stands testimony to that fact.

Each one has their own favourite RDB song(s). I have many but I chose 'kanchi re kanchi re' for it always evokes a very nice feeling inside me. The success of RD's music lies in the fact that he was able to create a very ideal soundscape. The first few chords of the guitar or a piano and automatically you are transported to a very idealized world. I still marvel as to how he does it. (I had written about lot of people being enamoured by Illayaraja's music because of his ability to create an idealized world. You can read it here. R D Burman had the same ability.) Another aspect of his music was Kishore Kumar. A combination none of us can forget. Kishore's voice took you the place that RD wanted to take you. And he did it effortlessly. The moment Kishore starts 'he kanchiii' and the flute joins in, you are already somewhere in Himachal Pradesh. In some 'pahadi' ilaaka. You don't even need to see the scene. The whole landscape opens in front of your close eyes. Such was the power of R D Burman's tune and Kishore's voice. a glowing Mumtaz is an added bonus. No wonder the guys next to my house were practising days on end.

Sometimes you don't realize how lucky you are while things are happening. Now when I look back I personally feel we had the best growing years with respect to music. First it was R D Burman. And just when we were having our fill, Illayaraja happened. More than two decades of our youth was taken care by two genius musicians. What more can you ask from life!!!

Sadaa Nanna Hridayadalli: Tribute to Pandit Bhimsen Joshi

2011-01-30T09:35:00.000-08:00

After he saw my post on Raveeendran's "thamburu kulir", my friend Sanjay mailed me. "I was expecting a tribute to Bhimsen Joshi", he said in his mail. I replied back saying that I had not heard Bhimsen Joshi enough to write a comprehensive tribute. Then I realized I was wrong. While it is true that I have not heard Bhimsen Joshi much, it is also true that he was a major figure when I grew up. Especially when we were slowly getting sucked into the beauty of classical music. I was also wrong because this blog is not just about my experience alone but about shared experiences. While I write about my experience with Bhimsen Joshi's music, I would request others to share their experience as well.

During our college going years, Bhimsen Joshi had already become a cult musician. I would define a cult musician as someone who is praised even though the person praising has never heard his / her work!!! Whenever we heard the name Bhimsen Joshi, we would go, "Wow. What a great singer", though most of us would not have heard him sing!!! For some unknown reason, I kept missing on hearing Bhimsen Joshi in my college days. Doordarshan and SPIC MACAY programs used to be our source of listening to Hindustani classical music. While I have heard Amjad Ali Khan, Malini Rajurkar, Zakir Hussain, Hariprasad Chaurasi and others live, I never had opportunity to listen to Bhimsen Joshi live. During those Doordarshan days, the first time I heard Bhimsen Joshi was when he and Balamurali sang together for Festival of Hyderabad. The next day I remember having a small discussion with my friend Sanjay, he feeling that Bhimsen was superb and I feeling that Balamurali was terrific. Looking back it sounds silly but then what use your youth if there is no silliness associated with it? Here is the video of Bhimsen and Balamurali singing the raga Yaman Kalyani. Doordarshan and AIR were the lifesavers as far as classical music was concerned. Here you can hear him singing the Telugu lyrics of Balamurali.

And during the Doordarshan days, who can ever forget the song which helped Panditji's strong voice reach every nook and corner of India and leave a lasting impression on all of us. You can never match his perfection of sur but when he lovingly told us , 'mile sur mera tumhare', we all sang along (though out of pitch)

The next serious listening of Bhimsen happened much later. In the intervening years I was completely immersed in listening to carnatic music that I would listen to nothing else. After a few years I got back to listening to all kinds of music. It was during this period that I bought a tape of Bhimsen Joshi singing Brindavana Sarang. It was a wonderful tape which I have heard multiple times. Unfortunately some of the Music Today tapes were prone to fungus growth and I lost that tape to fungus. Haven't been able to locate a CD of this yet but I am sure I would get it. This was one of the tapes I recommended to all people in a post I wrote quite some time back. You can check out the post by clicking on this link. While browsing youtube I got this video of Bhimsen Joshi singing Brindavana Sarang. (Vrindavani Sarang). Do listen to it. You can clearly see he is not in the best of his health but what power in his singing!!!

Part 1:

Part 2:

The next impact Bhimsen Joshi made not just on me but also on my friend was when I had shifted to Bangalore. I bought a tape of Bhimsen Joshi singing Devarnamas and in it was listed 'Bhagyadalakshmi Baramma' . Since this is a very standard song in Carnatic music I was keen on listening to Bhimsen Joshi take on it. While it is rendered in Madhyamavathi ragam in Carnatic concerts, Bhimsen Joshi uses a different raga. The raga which gives you the mood of the morning. And the rendition turned out to be a very memorable one. A friend came to my house in Bangalore from Hyderabad. He was not musically trained nor was he particularly keen on classic music. He rarely heard classical music. But Bhimsen's rendition of this piece attracted him so much that he took the tape from and used to listened to it every day when he was wearing the 'maala' to go Sabaramalai. He told me that every day for those 40 days this tape would play in his house. Ofcourse he has not returned that tape yet. You can listen to that lovely piece here.

Another lovely Devarnama. This one based on 'Darbari Kanada' . 'sada enna hridayadalli vasamadu srihari'

A couple of years back, at the behest of the Birla family, Illayaraja tuned a bhajan written by Mahatma Gandhi. He tuned it in Sindhu Bhairavi and request Pandit Bhimsen Joshi to start the bhajan by singing the pallavi line. A nice melody.

While Bhimsen Joshi was the torch bearer of the Kirana Gharana, it dawned upon me after to listening to other Kiran doyens like Abdul Karim Khan, Sawai Gandharva, Hirabai Barodekar, Gangubai Hangal, Feroz Dastur etc, that Bhimsen Joshi, while keeping the core of the gharana intact, had moved much ahead by incorporating aspects of other gharanas as well. While most of the Kirana gharana singers seemed to have given a preference for melody, Bhimsen Joshi, while being melodious, also brings in lot more of rhythm and energy into his singing. The second aspect, energy, is one which makes him endearing to the lay audience. At the same time, his grasp of the raga and his superb imagination captures the attention of all connoisseurs. He was one of the few musicians who had excellent crowd pulling ability and at the same time was praised by the musically knowledgeable critics. A balance which was achieved only by a few musicians, either in Carnatic or Hindustani music. Looking at the Hindustani music scene it is not very heartening to note that no one of Bhimsenji's stature is anywhere in sight in this or next generation. A great musician has passed away leaving behind a huge void.

To me, Pt.Bhimsen Joshi is a name which is intricately linked to my youth and such names are never erased from your memory. I do wish I had heard more of him than what I have. It is not something that I cannot correct and I intend to do it as early as possible. Let us all pray that Panditji's soul rests in peace. His music will always be around to provide us the peace we long for. And hence he shall remain, 'sadaa namma hrudayadalli'.

One song at a time - 30. Thamburu Kulir

2011-01-25T05:43:00.000-08:00

(Raveendran Master)

One particular aspect which makes me go listen to a composer often is the way he deals with raagas. To me, the more imaginative the music director is in dealing with a raaga, the more new ideas he is able to showcase, the more respect I have for him. In this regard, Raveendran is one music director for whom I have high regard. He was very good in dealing with various raagas in a very original fashion.

Raveendran ruled the Malayalam film music in the 80s. He has given songs which will always stay with the Malayalis. Songs like 'Harimuraliravam' and 'Pramadavanam' are all time classics now and some of the movies he worked like 'His Highness Abdullah' and 'Bharatham' had his music as their mainstay. Ravenndran's effort is even more laudable for he was in an industry which was quite adept in dealing with Carnatic ragas. Music directors like Dakshinamurthy Swami, Devarjan Master, M G Radhakrishnan et al have dealt wonderfully with various ragas. Raveendran was able to lay a very unique path for himself and gain the adulation of the film goers.

(In the music directors of this generation (including Rahman) I don't see this aspect of trying to show us a new face of the raga. They are all very good in using the standard phrases and coming up with good orchestration, catchy rhythms etc and in ensuring people have an immediate connect. The one music director whom I think has this ability now is Sharath. Again a Malayali.)

Today lets look at one lovely song, from a film called 'Soorya Gayathri'. I did not know the film name when I first heard this song sung by a singing competition contestant. I was stuck by the way the tune changes so well in the charanam and immediately search for more details about the song. This song is a very melodious one. I thought the song was based on Bouli, the morning raga. One web site gave the raga as Revagupthi. (Since I honestly haven't heard Revagupthi enough to distinguish it from Bouli, I would request someone who knows the difference between these two ragas to comment.) Anyway, Raveendran conjures up a wonderful mood in the pallavi itself but the charanam takes the cake. Listen carefully to the first charanam. After the first two lines, when Jesudas goes, "kaatu mulam thandil" observe how the raga color changes. Sheer genius. The overall handling of the ragam is amazing. No surprise that I keep returning to this song often.

I am now going to give you two versions of this song. First the song as sung by Jesudas in the movie:

Now listen to this performance by the singer named Roopa. (I had posted her performance of 'Gangai Karai Mannan' earlier.) I heard the song first time in her voice. I love this version for one reason. The place where I mentioned that raaga changes color is made even more explicit by her in her rendition. I went 'Wow' when I heard it for the first time. Very well sung.

One song at a time - 29. Pal Bar Main Yeh

2011-01-14T07:24:00.000-08:00

(Rajesh Roshan)

We spoke about music directors who did not get their due, we spoke about those who just vanished from public memory. Today we shall speak about someone who showed a lot of promise but somehow did not end up fulfilling the initial promise shown. One such music director was Rajesh Roshan.

Rajesh Roshan, the son of legendary music director Roshan, started off with a bang. When movies like 'Kuwara Baap' and 'Julie' happened, people stood up and took notice. The music of Julie was on everybody's lips those days. Be it 'bhool gaya sab kuch' or 'dil kya kare' or 'yeh raaten nayi purani'. Not to mention the wildly popular English song by Preeti Sagar, "My heart is beating". None of my generation would have grown up without listening to these songs. It is not easy matching up to the legacy of a giant like Roshan but Rajesh Roshan's first steps cannot be faulted.

Later Rajesh Roshan did some nice movies like 'Swami', 'Des Pardes', 'Manpasand', 'Khatta Meeta'. Then slowly he started fading. Not that he was ever out of films but somehow the music of the newer movies did not match up to the high standards he had set in his earlier movies. The decline of Rajesh Roshan musically would probably require a detailed study but I have a feeling that his peak period coinciding with the peak of Amitabh Bachchan was probably not good for him, since Amitabh's movies didn't worry too much about music. Rajesh Roshan had done work for Amitabh in movies like Mr.Natwarlal, Yaarana, Do Aur Do Paanch. All the while throughout 80s, 90s and the first decade of this century, Rajesh Roshan has been giving one hit here, one hit there, but somehow the magic of the 70s isn't present any more.

Listen to this song from the movie 'Swami' and you will understand why many thought Rajesh Roshan was a great talent to be reckoned with. He was seen by many to be the next best thing to have happened to Hindi films after R D Burman. His music has the freshness of RD without being a copy of RD. At the same time his music did not remind us of his father either. In short Rajesh Roshan showed what was then at a premium, originality. This song opens slowly and has a very leisurely gait to it. Many a times the music director opens very well in the pallavi to lose track in the charanam but Rajesh Roshan builds the charanam in a very nice manner. The charanam start without any percussion accompaniment initially. The percussions join later. The way he blends the charanam into the pallavi with the violins is also very original. Overall a class song. I am sure even Lata with innumerable top quality songs to her credit would not hesitate to put this songs into 'The Best of Lata' category. The movie 'Swami' was a nice one. A typical Basu Chaterjee movie done with lot of sensitivity. The other two songs from the movie 'yaadon mein hai' and 'kaa karoon sajni' were nice ones as well, with the latter song especially getting a lot of air time and rated amongst one of the best Jesudas efforts in Hindi. So if you ever get to hear a modern song composed by Rajesh Roshan and feel frustrated, do head back here and listen to this song. It will sooth your nerves.

Trivia: This song seems to have impressed the Malayalam director I.V.Sasi and his music director A.T.Umeer so much that this song was used in their movie 'Avalude Raavugal' as "rakendhu kirangangal"(sung by Janaki). Ofcourse a lot of people of generation remember 'Avalude Raavugal' for a different reason but we will not get into it.

One song at a time - 28. Kalala Alalapai

2011-01-08T11:06:00.000-08:00

(Gulebakavali Katha)

In the last post I spoke about Jaidev, whose talent was not given its due by the film industry. But we have to be thankful that he is still remembered by the connoisseurs today. In certain other unfortunate cases, the song remains in public memory but the memory of the creators has totally slipped into oblivion. One such case is what I will be talking about today.

I first heard the song, 'kalala alalapai', during my hostel days. Those were the days when my room mate Siva and I would have the radio on continuously and keep searching for one station or the other to listen to songs. Other than the usual suspects like 'Vividh Bharathi', we would also tune into Radio Ceylon, which would play Telugu songs. (The role of Radio Ceylon in propagating Indian music is enormous. A big book needs to be written about it.) The signal of Radio Ceylon was never strong and so most of the music we heard on that channel was combined with noise. Inspite of that, we used to enjoy ourselves since the Radio Ceylon folks taste in music cannot be faulted. 'kalala alalapai' was first introduced to be here in midst of all the static.

I have later heard this song multiple times and is a personal favourite of mine. When I wanted to find out who the music director was, I came to know that the music was provided by Joseph and Vijaya Krishnamurthy. Unfortunately I have no clue on who they were and neither was I able to get details from my friends or from the web. Here is a clear case of the music directors completely being erased from public memory. I am sure some of the senior folks would have more details about these music directors. If they do, I request them to share it with us. The only detail I got till now is that they were assistants to the more popular music director, T.V.Raju.

This song, from 'Gulebakavali Katha', is an excellent one. The whole song and the picturisation reeks of class. I love the way the tune is structured. It has a special lilt to it, as if the music directors wanted us to float on the waves. (That's what the words say.). Added to it, the tune is so delicately structured as if not to disturb a wonderful dream. Thoughtful touches, of instrumentation throughout. CNaRe's lyrics sung with the usual efficiency by Ghantasala and Janaki. Adding to the overall charm is a young NTR. The heroine isn't bad either!! So let's now enjoy this delectable melody and for a minute spare a thought to the wonderful music directors who came up with this tune. Thank you dear sirs. You have added so much joy to our lives.

One song at a time - 27. Zindagi Mere Ghar Aana / Allah Tero Naam

2011-01-01T01:11:00.000-08:00

(Jaidev)

I write this blog on New Year day and what better song to start the year than the one which asks life to come to the doorsteps. The song of today will be "zindagi mere ghar aana" sung by Bhupinder and Anuradha Paudwal for the film "Dooriyan".

This also lets us pray tribute to one of the most underrated music director in Hindi films, Jaidev. It is paradoxical that while he received the National Award for being the best music director three times, he was not well known to the lay audience!!! In our films, success depends, as in life, on a lot of factors other than just the skill you possess. While that is true, we should also take to heart on this New Year day that talent and skill will finally out. What is indisputable now is that Jaidev is regarded highly by connoisseurs of music and his songs have a good following among them. Anyone with a good ear for music can immediately make out a highly original and talented mind at work when he hears the songs of Jaidev. Infact I had recent befriended a youngster who said he heard just one song of Jaidev and immediately went looking for Jaidev's complete works. This friend is from the heartland of Tamilnadu and I guess he has no idea about Hindi. Yet his musical sense drew him to Jaidev immediately!!!

Jaidev had this ability to create lot of complex melodies. While Jaidev was working with S D Burman, it is said that Dada Burman used to admonish him and tell him not to create such complex melodies. We should consider ourselves lucky that Jaidev did not heed that advice and went on to create his own brand of magic, which was highly original. He has composed for films whose music still lives fresh and will continue living for a long time. When you hear these songs you can but feel sad that such a person never got more opportunities while people like Bappi Lahiri ruled the roost!!!

As I had mentioned earlier, the song for today is "zindagi mere ghar aana". What a melody!! I love the way Jaidev develops the melody. You can hear how wonderfully Kalyani develops in the charanam, reaching its apogee at "badi dhoop hai jo" and then sliding down delicately to rejoin the pallavi. A very different take on Kalyani and Jaidev brings a freshness to the raga with his interpretation. Added to it, hear how he develops the charanam. It is almost like an extended monologue, with the tune twisting and turning along the way. Deliciously original construction, not your standard one. The wonderful words of the song were written by Sudharshan Fakir.

Now that you have heard this song, let me give you another Jaidev song as the New Year gift. Again a song which would be relevant all the time, not just for this year. "Allah Tero Naam Ishwar Tero Naam" from 'Hum Dono', one of the big hits of Jaidev. By the way, I have read that when Jaidev had composed this song Lata Mangeshkar was not in good terms with Jaidev and so Jaidev was thinking about calling some other singer to record this song. When Lata heard that Jaidev had composed such a superb bhajan, she is supposed to have called up Jaidev, made up with him and went on to record the song. Such was the power of the tune. Listen to the song and if you were in Lata's place you would have done the same!!!

One song at a time - 26. Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen

2010-12-09T20:14:00.000-08:00

Last week I spoke about some lovely songs not getting their due because of being overshadowed by other hit songs from the same movie. That is atleast better. Many a times artists don't get their due because they are overshadowed by other artists of equal stature who are more popular. If the overshadowed artist has the required quality, he / she will have to keep working hard and wait patiently for their time to come. And come it will.

Whatever I said above, applies to many artists but the person I had in mind was S.Janaki. She was an extremely talent singer but during the 60s and for most of the 70s, she was in the periphery as far as Tamil and Telugu films were concerned. She did have a decent run in Kannada and Malayalam films but success in Tamil and Telugu films eluded her. The most dominant music directors of those days, Vishwanath-Ramamurthy and later Vishwanathan in Tamil and Rajeshwar Rao, Pendyala, K V Mahadevan in Telugu all swore by P.Susheela. To her credit, Susheela with her honey dripping voice delivered big time and has left behind a canon which is hard to beat. MSV, first with Ramammurthy and later alone, called Susheela for all the melodious songs and L R Eshwari for the 'fun' / 'club' songs. Later Vani Jayaram would be added to the mix but Janaki would continue being in the periphery. Whenever she was called, Janaki did deliver superbly but she wasn't called often. She had to wait till the late 70s for the advent of Illayaraja, who tuning suited her voice well. She gave the precise expression needed by Raja and ended up dominating the 80s along with Chitra.

The song I feature today tells you why it is just a matter of being in the right time, right place and right partnerships matter. I have chosen the song specifically because I feel this is a type of tune which has been designed for Susheela. You can easily see how Susheela could have sung this song as well. In other words, a typical Susheela tune, if I can call it so, is delivered perfectly by S Janaki. In other words, except for the difference in voices, skill wise there was very little to differentiate between them. Yet, the sweetness of Susheela's voice was preferred by music directors over Janaki's voice. As I said earlier, sometimes you just need to wait for your time to arrive.

This song can also stand as an example for the excellent partnership between Sridhar and MSV. They had partnership which has given Tamil Film Music some unforgettable classics. Sridhar definitely had a good ear for music. His movies always had great songs. While there have been many directors who had a good ear for music, what I find striking in Sridhar is the fact that he made a lot of movies over different decades and yet ensured his music quality never went down.

So let's go ahead and enjoy 'unnidathil ennai koduthen'. The only youtube link I could get was with the translation of the song. I will leave it to you to decide if you want to risk reading the translated lyrics!!

One song at a time - 25. Zulmi Sang Aankh Ladi

2010-12-03T06:40:00.000-08:00

My roommate Siva was slowly waking from his afternoon slumber when the announcer on the radio said in Hindi, "The next song is from the film Madhumati. Written by Shailendra and sung by Lata Manageshkar, the song is..", "Aaja re pardesi", I said. "..zulmi sang aankh ladi" said the announcer. I turned to Siva and said loudly, "What?". I thought I knew all the songs of Madhumathi. How could you not since each was a major 'hit' in its own right. The lilting "Suhana Safar" in Mukesh's voice, the poignant "Aaja Re Pardesi", the funny "Paapi Bichuva", the sad "Toote Hue Khwabonein", and very rhythmic "Dil Tadap Tadap" and "Ghadi Ghadi More Dil Dadke". But I had not heard of this "zulmi sang". So I asked Siva, "Why the hell aren't they airing 'aaja re pardesi'? Which song is this?" "The best song in that movie", retorted Siva. "What?" Thus was my first introduction to this lovely song. To a great extent I now agree with Siva's assessment though "Aaja Re Pardesi" still pulls me towards it.

Paradoxically, a great song lies unheard when high quality is delivered!!! The other songs of 'Madhumathi' were such superb hits that this song languished in the background. Similar to this song, the song I had featured earlier from Tajmahal, "jurm-e-ulfat" is not as often heard as the other songs from the same film. 'Madhumathi' delivered so many hits that this gem evaded many ears for many years. (Bad pun, I know). I am sure many music directors would get frustrated when such a thing happens. (I sometimes wonder how someone like Illayaraja takes it. In his case it is not just song from a particular film but whole films with gems that lie hidden.)

The music of 'Madhumathi' was by that genius musician Salil Choudhary, loving known as Salilda. That it took 25 episodes before appearing in my series surprises me, since he is one of my favourite music directors. It also tells me about the depth of Indian Film Music as such. Anyway, Salilda composed some amazing numbers in Bengali, Hindi and Malayalam. His was an extraordinary brain and a very complex one. He had this knack of conjuring up very complex tunes and yet keeping them very melodious. It will very difficult for you to guess how the next line would move in his songs. He was also very interested in Western Classical Music and incorporated a lot of it seamlessly in music. He was one the first music directors to give importance to orchestration in songs and to the background music in films. You can hear his influence in many songs of Illayaraja. Needless to say, you will hear lot more of Salilda in this series.

'zulmi sang aankh ladi' is a folk song. Lata's voice is sweetness personified, with the chorus adding a nice touch. I love the anupallavi in this, 're sakhi ka se kahoon'. The total song has the Salilda touch moving in ways that you cannot anticipate.

(Before you go ahead and hear this lovely song, a bit of shameless self plugging. I recently wrote an article in Tamil for the e-zone Solvanam about K V Mahadevan and his use of Carnatic Music in films. You can read it here, if you know Tamil: http://solvanam.com/?p=11714 )

One song at a time - 24. Naadamaya E Lokavella

2010-11-26T04:21:00.000-08:00

(Dr.Rajkumar)

"Does Rajkumar sing?" asked the assistant. The music director nodded, "Muthuraju? Yes, he sings." "So why don't we ask him to sing this song in the movie?" suggested the assistant. The music director wasn't sure but the assistant persisted. Finally the music director agreed, Dr.Rajkumar sang in that movie and as the cliche goes, the rest was history. The music director was G.K.Venkatesh and the assistant went by the name of Rasayya. He would later be rechristened by Panju Arunachalam as Illayaraja!!!

During my school days I had a classmate who used to love Rajkumar's voice and would tell us that Rajkumar was a great singer. It was not until I moved to Bangalore that I first heard Dr.Rajkumar's voice and the first song that I heard was a stunner. That was 'Nadamaya E Loka'. Later I came to know that this song won Dr.Rajkumar, affectionately called 'Annavaru', the National Award for the best singer. This song from the movie 'Jeevana Chaitra' is set to music by Upendra Kumar. (My friend and musician @MDPallavi informs me that this song was based on an archival M.Ranga Rao tune.) Based on one of the toughest ragams to adapt to movies, 'Todi'.

In the course of his mammoth lecture series on the melakartha ragas, based on Mahavaidhyanathan Sivan's magnum opus, when he arrives at the 8 melakartha raga, Todi, S R Janakiraman exclaims, " The majestic Todi, the mighty Todi, the magnificent Todi. You can give whatever adjective you want. When you start singing Todi, involuntarily you feel joy". The raga retains its carnatic flavour a lot and when you try to 'lighten' it, you suddenly lose the colour of Todi and ragas like Sindhu Bhairavi start creeping in. This song follows the carnatic Todi very closely without trying to 'lighten' it. The only 'cinematic' Todi (if I may call it so) that I have heard, is Illayaraja's "gangai karai mannan adi". There we do lose the colour of Todi a bit in the interludes.

Dr.Rajkumar sings like a veteran classical musician. A lovely alapanai starts the song. He brings out the essence of Todi very well. When I heard this the first time on TV I was blown away by the singing capability of Dr.Rajkumar. The song morphs into a ragamalika towards the end and here too Dr.Raj does a wonderful job, both in changing the ragas and singing the kalpana swaras. No wonder this song won him the National Award. Very deserving win indeed.

(The only problem with the song for me is that when I see the song, I feel depressed. Nothing to do with the song. The Himalayas in the background keep telling me, "Why the hell are you in front of a computer typing some nonsense instead of being here".)

As my friend Madhu says in his blog, "Thanks for reading thus far". As a bonus for having read thus far, here is the Todi, as tuned by Illayaraja. I am not giving the movie clip but the song as sung by a contestant in a singing program. As per me, this is the best rendition of _any_ song in any singing competition. Sung by Roopa, the initial aalap is enough to give goosebumps. No wonder Unnikrishnan was enamoured by this aalap that he asked for a repeat. The judges are ecstatic. Even if you don't understand Malayalam, you will understand the comments!! A video worth savouring.

One song at a time - 23. Karim Khan and Karaharapriya

2010-11-16T21:32:00.000-08:00

(Ustad Abdul Karim Khan)

We saw earlier in this series how Gurudev Tagore was inspired by Muthuswamy Dikshtar and composed a song based on Dikshitar's "meenakshi me mudham dehi". One more great personality from North, Ustad Abdul Karim Khan was also so enamoured by Carnatic music that he learnt and recorded a few krithis!!

You will understand why this is something unique if you know about Ustad Abdul Karim Khan. He was a great musician and was, what the Hindustani people call, the 'khalifa' of Kirana Garana. You can understand the impact his style had on Hindustani music by looking at the 'shisya parampara' of his gharana. Sawai Gandharva, Hirabai Barodekar, Bhimsen Joshi, Gangubhai Hangal, Sureshbabu Mane, Basavaraj Rajguru. All of whom were top class and influential musicians. Abdul Karim Khan was a revered musician of those times and it is indeed surprising to know that such a man took pains to learn and render krithis in a musical form which was quite different from his. Great artists search for music everywhere and Abdul Karim Khan was one such artist who was enamoured with carnatic music.

I am not sure when he learnt these krithis but it is well recorded that he learnt the krithis from Veena Dhannamal, in who house he stayed whenever he came to Madras. (I think his first trip down south must have been to sing in the Mysore Darbar.) Initially Abdul Karim Khan used to be quite critical about the carnatic musicians singing the kalpanaswaras. It is said that he used to say, "Why are these people playing harmonium with their lips" when referring to kalpana swara singing. He completed changed his opinion when he heard Dhanammal playing the kalpana swaras on the veena. Infact he was so taken in by Dhanammal's playing that he started incorporating swara singing in his Hindustani singing as well!! (They are known as sargam in Hindustani music.) So in Dhanammal's house the great man learnt a few krithis which he recorded. The couple of them I have heard as "rama nee samanau evaru" in Karaharapriya and "entha nerchina" , a Patnam Subramanyaiyer krithi in Saveri. Today I feature the Karaharapriya krithi.

When you hear Abdul Karim Khan singing, you can clearly make out that he has adapted Karaharapriya and the krithi to his style of singing. That itself makes it very interesting. (BTW, Karaharapriya is not present as such in Hindustani music though the Kafi thaat would be equivalent in scale to Karaharapriya). So don't listen to it keeping your carnatic music ears open. Instead look at the beauty he brings in by his adaptation. It may not be the form of krithi which we have often heard but very interesting nevertheless. So, bow down to this great man who took pains to learn and record this krithi and listen to the song.

One song at a time - 22. Sharadindu Malardeepa

2010-11-08T05:39:00.000-08:00

I personally feel that no one emanates stronger signals than a woman in love. Generally the only person whose receiver is shut off from these signals is the male of the species for whom the signals are meant!! Everyone else can easily spot a girl in love except that special person!!

If you think I am joking, first look at this song. Then I will give you my views on the song after you watch it.

First observe the woman. Every small gesture of her's oozes love. Can anyone have any doubts that she is in love with the gent in the picture? The half smile, the faraway look which break into a sudden smile and the smile which turns into a faraway look, the sudden glance, 'from the corner of the eye' look. Shoba is a such a delight. As someone commented in the youtube comment section. "How can someone not fall in love with Shoba?" How indeed!!

Now observe the gentleman in question. You have no clue if he is tuned to the same frequency as Shoba. His whole serious approach is, "I need to recite this poem without any mistakes." Most of the looks he gives Shoba seem to say, "Am I correct till now, teacher? I by-hearted this last night." Even in the only physically intimate scene during the song, it looks as if he trying to get the poem transferred from Shoba's brain to his!! I see a sense of relief in him when the song ends, as if it is tough job well done. (Check the video once again and you will know what I am saying is true.) In a sense he reminds us of ourselves. Agree to it man. That way you have the option of thinking that someone actually liked you and you missed all those signals!!!

This song is from the movie 'Ulkadal'. Sung by Jeyachandran and Salma George. Poem of ONV Kurup set to music by M B Sreenivasan. Based on Kalyani. What a tune by M B Sreenivasan. Very minimal orchestration adds to the charm. As if the singers are just reciting the poem. The lack of percussion instruments helps in keeping the mood mellow. A song which most of the Malayalis know and love. I too love this song. For the music, for the singing and above all, for Shoba. The final expression in this video is priceless. What an actress!!

One song at a time - 21. Saranga Teri Yaad Mein

2010-10-28T05:06:00.000-07:00

(Sardar Malik)

The Familial link

Some families are musical families with the offspring taking over the baton from the parent and proving himself / herself to be an equal. In some cases the offspring is either uninterested or not upto the task. Many such cases exist. The third variety is a bit rare. The parent, a talented musician but unfortunately not getting due recognition but the offspring going on to achieve lot of fame. The most classic example of this would be R.K.Shekar and his son. R.K.Shekar, though a very talented music director, never made it big commercially. His son Dileep on the other hand went on to achieve international stardom. Ofcourse, you would know Dileep as A.R.Rahman.

We will talk about one more such talented music director, who unfortunately did not get his due from the film industry. His name is Sardar Mallik. His son Anu Mallik later became a very popular music director in the Hindi film industry.

The song I want you to listen to today is 'saranga teri yaad mein nain hue bechain'. An excellent composition, based on Kalyani, for the film 'Saranga'. This film also had another Mukesh gem, 'haan dewana hun main'. The song of today is sung by Mukesh, one of my favourite singers. Ofcourse Mukesh has been often criticized for singing out of tune, of his voice not having the range and of his voice being only suited for sad songs etc. I will agree to most of these criticisms but when it comes to conveying the required emotion, Mukesh was up these with the best. If the emotion was that was sorrow, no one did it better. The beauty is that Mukesh conveyed this emotion with himself not crying in the song. Many singers tend to do it (depending on who the music director is.) Mukesh avoids this but the sadness of the situation is very clearly communicated by him. This song is no exception.

Maybe it is my predilection for old melodies but if I were to be offered the two melodies from this movie ('saranga teri yaad mein' and 'haan deewana hun main') against all the hit songs composed by Anu Mallik, without hesitation I will pick these two. So lets listen to this wonderful song now and silently applaud people like Sardar Mallik who gave us such treasures but got nothing in return.

Mohanam : A World Wide View

2010-10-17T05:26:00.000-07:00

Update: One of my good friends, who is a also a musician, wrote to me to say that the rock songs that I had quoted do not strictly follow the scale of Mohanam and the suddha madhyamam and nishadam do peep in. In other words they are not strictly following the pentatonic scale. I wouldn't doubt his take on this subject. I could 'hear' Mohanam in them so I put them there but someone technically may make out that this is not the pentatonic scale. I would still leave these clips here for two reasons: One, they are nice songs. So no harm hearing them, even if they are not pentatonic. Two, it sort of tell me that I still have a long way to go when it comes to matters of music. // End Update

Some scales / ragas seem to affect all of humanity. Mohanam is one such ragam which is found in different musical systems. I had written about this briefly when I wrote the article on Kalyani and Mohanam: The versatile cousins. Today I want to give you some examples and convince you that Mohanam indeed is used in many parts of the world.

Before we begin our journey, let me state a couple of things. One, I am not touching Indian music. Second, the Mohanam you will hear in other systems may not be easily graspable sometimes but I believe you should be able to 'get it'. I say this because once I played the krithi, 'Mohana Rama' to my friend Venkatesh and told him that the Allman Brothers song, "Jessica" was based on this same raga. He told me that he just couldn't connect them !!! I am hoping that the examples I give would be easy enough to grasp the essence of Mohanam. (My assumption ofcourse is that you already know the basic contours of Mohanam. Else you should check out songs like 'lahiri lahiri lahiri lo' (Maya Bazar, Telugu), 'ninnu kori varnam' (Agni Nakshatram, Tamil), 'katru veliyidai kannama'(Kappalotiya Tamizhan, Tamil), 'yaava janmada maitri' (Gowri, Kannada), 'pankh hoti to ud aati re' (Sehra, Hindi) etc. Classical krithis include 'nanu palimpa' and 'mohana raama' of Tyagaraja, 'Kaapali' of Papanasam Sivan) )

Mohanam is a part of the pentatonic scale of Western Music. There are five ragas in this scale, each of which can be got from the other through the shift of the tonic / adhara shruthi. We call this grahabedam. The five ragas of this group are: Mohanam, Suddha Saveri, Suddha Dhanyasi, Madhyamavathi and Hindolam. Mohanam is called as Bhoop or Bhoopali in Hindustani music.

That was a rather lengthy preamble. Let us get to the point now. Since we are talking about the world wide impact of Mohanam, let us start with a group ruled a large of the world once upon a time. Here is 'Hey Jude' from Beatles. I heard that this was written by Paul McCartney for Lennon's son. Right from the very first phrase that McCartney sings, I hear Mohanam. Ofcourse in western music you have scale changes happening in the middle of songs. So don't expect every song to stick to Mohanam throughout.

Now for the song I had written about earlier. Allman Brother's Band, "Jessica". The initial part of the song may not immediately conjure up Mohanam. Wait till around two and half mins into the video and you shall be rewarded when Mohanam leaps at you during the piano run. This lovely piano run is followed by an equally charming guitar work, where the guitarist keeps the feel of Mohanam intact. Mohanam or not, this is divine music. Just enjoy this song written by Dickey Betts.

We will now play one more mellow Mohanam. This time it is by Crosby, Stills Nash and Young, popularly known as CSNY. The guitar in the background keeps playing Mohanam and the overall melody is very touching indeed.

If you though Mohanam can be used mainly for mellow and melodious songs, think again. In what was a 'once in a century event', Country Joe McDonald sings one of the most popular protest songs of those times. At Woodstock everyone sings along with this anti-Vietman war song, "Feel like I am fixing to die". What energy in the song and to ears, a wonderful Mohanam as well !!! Even if you have no clue on Mohanam, watch the video to have an idea of what Woodstock and protest was all about.

I do hear Mohanam in this very 'rockish' number by Stevie Ray Van, especially when he does his solo part. Check if you can hear it or are my ears so tuned to Mohanam that they hear it in everything!!!

There are many more examples of Mohanam in rock music but I am sure the examples given above have convinced you. So let us now move to other countries in the world. Before that, let me do two things. One thank my friend Venkatesh for having introduced me to these wonderful rock numbers more than a decade and half back. Two, let me say that the rock numbers I quoted above are songs which I have been hearing for a long time. Whereas the songs I am going to list down now are songs which I searched on youtube for this post. I am neither an authority on them nor do I have much background about them. I loved these songs and the Mohanam feel in them. So I present those to you here.

First off, a very interesting musical instrument this, from Thailand. This person is playing Mohanam on it. Do have a look, you will definitely be impressed with this instrument and the playing. The beat and the music remind me of a latest Indian film song. I wouldn't be surprised about it given the international inspiration of our current music directors.

Once during an official visit to Japan, I happened to watch TV late one night and I saw a man singing with a glass of Sake in his hand. And he was singing Mohanam!!! When I enquired about it the next day, I was told that the form of music rendered was known as 'Enka'. He is one such "Enka' song. It is Mohanam as good as it gets.

Since the Japanese love this scale / ragam, let us play one more Japanese song. A lovely song.

One Mohanam from our neighbours, the Chinese, who too use this often in their music.

Beyond the Far East, here is one Mohanam from Ethiopia. Other than the ragam, dance style and the amateurish video are also common with our film songs of yore!!

Another Ethiopian song, this time with more class and seems like it is their classical music. An enjoyable song.

This Albanian song seems to have the flavour of Mohanam. Do you also feel the same way?

Well, I am more than sure that if we dig deeper, we will get more such examples throughout the world. In short, Mohanam is a truly global raga / scale. Maybe in future we can look at Mohanam in Indian music. That ofcourse would be material for multiple posts!!

One song at a time - 20. Ponezhil Poothadhu Pudhuvaanail

2010-10-09T04:49:00.000-07:00

(Panju Arunachalam)

Almost anyone who is out of his / her comfort zone longs to be back to the comforting lap of familiarity. It was the same with me in Hyderabad in the olden days as far as Tamil film songs were concerned.

I used to listen to Telugu and Hindi songs throughout the day. And seven days a week. And I loved those songs. Yet, Tamil film songs, by the sheer familiarity of the language, sounded additionally sweet to my ears. Especially since they were not easily available. I used to tune in at 4pm on Sundays when Madras AIR would broadcast the latest songs and also at 10pm on Monday evening, when the same radio station would broadcast old classics. The Sunday songs were not a given to me since we would go out to play some sports but my ears were glued to the radio on Monday nights. I did not want to miss out hearing those great songs. To give credit where due, whoever chose the songs had great taste and here is where I heard all the standard classics of Tamil films. 'malardhum malaradha', 'mannavan vandhanadi', 'maraindhirudhe paarkum', 'ennai yaar enru' and lots and lots more.

It was on one of those Monday nights, the lights turned off and sound at a minimum, in order not to disturb the sleeping family members, and my ears literally attached to the speakers of the transistor, that I heard this song for the first time. The tune starts of with TMS singing 'sivagami' and Susheela responding with her humming. As soon as the words, 'ponezhil poothadhu pudhu vaanil' came through, it was nectar to my ears. Because the familiar struck me with a strong force. The words themselves were such a delight and so very typically Tamil in nature. 'ponezhil and puthu vaanam'. The tune was the next surprise. It should not have been given that was a MSV tune. The rhythm has a very modern structure. The charanam's accentuate the strong Tamil feel with the very typical Tamil words flowing so very smoothly. And the melody sort of feels complete when Susheela enters with her honey dripping vocals. Her singing and her pronunciation of Tamil lifts the song a step higher. (It still surprises me as to how Susheela nails every Tamil syllable to perfection while singing but when you hear her speak you can clearly make out she is not a Tamilian. The currently out of fashion aspects of dedication and hard work may have something to do with it.)

(The reverse happened to me when I moved to Chennai. Having only a radio and a TV without cable, I would long to hear some Telugu songs and Telugu movies. Just wanted to hear that language. Nowadays with so many channels blaring out similar outlandish songs in all languages, all I long for is some silence.)

Here is our song of the day. Don't go by what you see in the video. The lyricist is neither Kannadasan nor Vaali. The lyrics are by Panju Arunachalam. He does a superb job here.

One song at a time - 19. E Divilo velisina parijatamo

2010-09-30T03:15:00.000-07:00

(Music Director Satyam and SPB)

It was Sampath teacher who first 'discovered' my singing talent. We were in 7th standard and Vatsala teacher came to our Tamil class to call my friend Kumar to participate in a group song. She spotted me and promptly asked me to come as well. The group song was for the school annual day and the song chosen, unsurprisingly, was the national anthem for schools, 'ham ko man ki shakthi dena', the Vasant Desai tuned song which literally put Jaya Bhaduri on stage. We were taken to an empty classroom in order to practise. As is my wont, I was putting in my best effort. After we sang the song a couple of times, Sampath teacher arrived to check out the rehearsal. We sang for her. "Someone is not singing in pitch. Sing again." So we sang again and she frowned. "All of you stop." We stopped. "Suresh, you now sing alone." So I started, "hum ko man ki.." "That's enough. You can get back to the class." The group unfortunately had to sing the song on stage without my charismatic presence.

The next reality check happened during my Intermediate years (+2 as they call in Chennai.) We kids had formed a club by the fancy name of 'Five Star Victory Recreation Club'. No clue why we selected it but that was the name. We held a cultural day every year exposing the talent we youngsters had. During that year I decided I too had singing talent, which was so carelessly crushed by Sampath teacher, and it was time for me to nourish this talent. So I started learning a Telugu film song from one of the supposed good singers near my colony. I would go to his house and keep singing in front of him and he would correct me. A few days passed and the corrections kept continuing. I used to sing it in front of other friends, each of whom offered helpful corrections!! This continued all the way till a day before the program. Since the corrections never ceased, I gave up in order to maintain the harmony in the society. Due to my decision, the program was a grand success. My friend Roop played an outstanding, 'yeh mera dil' (Don) on the mandolin, bringing the roof down.

Some interests never really go away, do they? One of my musical friends was very convinced that because I had so much interest in music, I should be able to sing. So he offered to teach me. In order to find out how my voice was he asked me to sing a krithi. I sang 'Narada Ganalola', the Tyagaraja krithi in ragam Atana, made popular by KVN. He listened to it in rapt attention and was at loss for words after I finished. Slowly he said, "It was good in parts." I was happy to hear the comment. It took me a few days to realize he was talking about the silent parts!!! I have since given up on singing but you never know when the ghost will wake up. Just pray you aren't around at that time.

Anyway, here is the Telugu song which I had practised hard. an excellent melody. It is from the movie, 'Kanne Vayasu'. Music is by Sathyam, who had given some lovely numbers in Telugu. He seemed to have been influenced largely by R D Burman and you can hear the RD style in this song as well. Wonderful lyrics by Dasarathi and sung very well by a young Balu. When I listen to this song I am glad that I did not murder it on stage.

And for those who have not heard the 'Guddi' song, here it is. Ofcourse, you must be from a different planet if you have not heard this song before.

Ideal world of Ilaiyaraja

2010-09-24T23:20:00.000-07:00

One of the important reasons our movies succeed is because they create an ideal world for the viewers. And in creating this ideal world, music plays a very major role. There have been many songs which talk about an ideal world, a world where everything is in place, good things happen to you and you look forward to living a life filled with happiness. I can probably call this as a separate genre of songs and we have had many such songs in Indian Film Music. "puthiya vaanam puthiya bhoomi", "putham pudhu bhoomi vendum", "suhana safar aur ye mausam hasin", "muthyamantha pasupu", the song I featured earlier, "moodala manaya" and many many more. No wonder these songs become very dear to us because of their message that life is good.

If one music director has been called repeatedly to create such an utopian landscape through his music, it has been Ilaiyaraja. There are countless creations of his which do this magic. We will examine some of them in this post. I will also try and analyze the techniques he uses to create this magic. I want the more knowledgeable readers to contribute their comments so that we can try and deconstruct the master's technique. It is not an easy job I assure you.

Let us start by paying tribute to the memory of the singer Swarnalatha, who unfortunately passed away at a very young age of 37. Raja uses her voice as the vehicle for creating this utopian land. And she perfectly complements his vision by her singing. You cannot separate her out from this song. An universal favourite, which evokes the utopia and makes you want to be in such an ideal place. Good photography and a lovely Bhanupriya add to the charm. From the movie 'Chatriyan', "maalayil yaaro"

What can give us more hope than a lovely dawn? With the sun filtering through the trees, a bit of mist hanging on, crisp air and the light chill. When such is the scenery, the music must match it. And matching mother nature is no easy task. Added it to this is the fact that is the brief to create this world for young lovers. Raja meets this challenge in his own innovative way. With an incessant beat of the running shoes, he opens softly and slowly builds up the melody. The harmonium playing the interlude introduces an old world charm further enhancing the utopia. From the movie "Nejathai Killadhe" an outstandingly innovative "paruvame pudhiya paadal paadu". The world cannot better than this for the young lovers.

The gentle strum of the guitar starts this song. With the chorus joining in the pallavi, you know this is a shared dream. An excellent world is created for the young students. Definitely one of Malaysia Vasudevan's finest songs. 'kodai kaala katre' from 'Panner Pushpangal'.

If you take the three songs above I personally see some similarity in the way it is constructed. That the singers sing softly is clear but the tune itself is 'soft'. The ragam selected, the way the song moves, everything is done keeping this softness in mind. There is no harsh note anywhere. Another thing to observe is that in many of his songs the charanam takes many interesting twists and turns before joining the pallavi. Raja eschews that technique and the merging of the charanam with pallavi is very smooth and gentle. The orchestration again is done keeping the mood is mind. Watch out how the chorus is so effectively used in 'kodai kala katre' ensuring that the students are participating in appreciating the beauty of nature.

If you were to drive in a ghat sections which twists and turns often, which song would you select? There are tea estates around you and a blue lake far away, clear sky with a few white clouds. Which song would you sing then? To many of us, this would be no-brainer. Sharath ~~Kumar~~ Babu was lucky to have Shoba in his jeep and great nature all around when he sang, "sendhazham poovil" from the movie "Mullum Malarum"

Here too observe how Jesudas starts the humming. As if he is afraid of the delicate notes. Then that flute, which was ever present in Raja songs of those days, joins in. Again a song which does not have a single harsh note, orchestration which accentuates the beauty of nature. Hear how he introduces a brief shenai when the song 'valaindhu nelindu'. It is as if the through the shenai he is trying to capture the twists and turns of the road. This has long since become a part of the vast canon of Jesudas. And then we have the words of Kannadasan which go straight into your mind and embed themselves on their own.

Edit: This is an addition after I got the comment from my friend Dilip. I knew I had missed some song and Dilip reminded me what I had missed. Here is that lovely 'Aamani Paadave' from 'Geetanjali'. SPB's singing, misty Ooty, the cinematography of PC Sreemam and the tune of Raja. What a combination.

While the song is helped by the visuals, I would say the song succeeds only if it is able to create the ideal world without the help of visuals. I would say all the songs above have this feature. You can listen to them without the visuals and you need even know what the visuals are. But it is very much possible that what you imagined while listening to the song is what has come up on the screen!!! I now give one such song without the visuals. The song from the Telugu movie 'Gayam-2', the idea is to create an 'Andala Lokam', a wonderful world. While Raja created the earlier worlds using his tools of the 80s, he now creates this world using the tools of the current generation, the synthesizer, the synth pad and the computers. Yet the purity of the created world remains the same.

Here too he establishes the softness with the very first note and ensures that the singer starts off delicately and as the pallavi progresses the orchestration joins in to enhance this softness. The delicate touch is maintained in the interlude as well. As we saw in other songs, here too Raja gently merges the charanam into the pallavi without taking torturous turns. The way the charanam finishes makes an imaginary world bloom so well. For those who thing Raja's best was only in 80s, all I can say is that this song matches up to any of the songs I had posted earlier. His brain is still ticking and ticking well.

While the world we opened up was gentle one, there is another type of an ideal. A world full of discovery. It is like looking through the eyes of a child. Everything appears new, everything excites you and you are in a constant state of excitement and happiness. Obviously such a situation different tunes and different orchestration. Lets see a couple of such songs and how Raja handles them.

Well, can any ideal world for the guys of my generation be complete with Sreedevi appearing in it?!! So the first song in this category features Sreedevi. This Suddha Saveri based melody is from the movie 'Kalyanaraman' and sung by Shailaja.

Here is another heroine being mesmerised by the beauty of nature. As in the hoary tradition of Indian films, the hero is mesmerised by her. From the movie 'Namoora Mandhara Hoove", this lovely Mohanam based melody sung flawlessly by the ever dependent Chitra.

If you observe, in both these songs, the song doesn't move in the smooth mode as in the earlier song. In tune with the excitement of discovery, the tunes too move sprightly. There is a 'thullal' in the songs. The rhythm patterns keep changing, the flute keeps playing short bursts of melodious patterns, the pallavi itself has complicated twists and turns.

An ideal world is foreign to many. What I mean is that for many people, the ideal world exists outside of India, in a foreign country. Many of our movies portray this as well. No wonder Raja had to create songs which talk about these foreign lands and build a great dream world which beckons you. Lets see a couple of them here.

First one, from the movie 'Priya' sung by Jesudas, extolling the virtues of Singapore.

Hearing this song will want you to relocate to Singapore. This feeling may even come to those who have already experience the sultry Singapore weather. Such is the power of this song.

The next song from the movie 'Ullasa Paravaigal'. This time it is Europe which is the object of affection.

In both these songs the tuning is done keeping the discovery aspect in mind. Something new is being discovered in these lands. The sound has to be new. The 'mama mia' refrain in 'azhagu aayiram', the use of synthesier, the way the tune moves, everything is pretty new and when released, did give a sense of discovery.

While nature and foreign lands kindle our desires, the most ideal world probably lies in being happy with your loved ones. In this song, one more of Malaysia Vasudevan's classic, Raja recreates a world gone by. As a song on nostalgia this is almost unbeatable. As in the first few songs, Raja keeps the whole song soft and it is always a surprise that the rough voice of Malaysia Vasudevan suits these type of soft songs so well.

Director Sathyan Anthikad says this on a tape. The song situation was that the hero and the heroine were friends and were probably falling in love. It was a time where emotions were somewhere in between those of friendship and love. I am sure for many people who fell in love with their best friends, this was probably the best time of their lives. A world where only two of them exist. Now, how can you get such an abstract emotion in your music? How do you get that sense of joy as well the sense of uncertainty of those times into the song? But then we are not dealing with any ordinary composer. The king raises to the challenge and gives Sathyan exactly what he wants. 'swasathin thalam' is an outstanding song, wonderfully sung by Jesudas and Manjari, for the movie 'Achuvinthe Amma'. For some unknown reason, this song always moves me. It takes Raja to create such an out worldly song using the synthesizer.

Is it any wonder that so many people dedicate themselves to Raja's music? After all his music makes life more pleasant and lets us escape into a fantasy world. All said and done, life is a big dream and we can always take Raja's help to create a dream within this dream. While God creates the bigger dream, in many people Raja creates the other dream. No wonder you often see this hashtag in twitter #WhyRajaIsGod.

One song at a time - 18. Nuktacheen hai gham-e-dil

2010-09-23T06:59:00.000-07:00

Sometimes in the most unexpected of places you hear an unexpected melody. Cruising at around 30,000 feet or more above sea level, I was listening to the Hindi Channel on British Airways flight, as I was returning from an official trip to Japan. I did not expect much from that channel since I though they would be playing some popular songs. They proved me wrong as someone with good taste seems to have been at the helm for choosing songs. After a couple of nice songs, came this song which I had not heard earlier. Or maybe I had heard it earlier but it never registered with me. Now it is completely fixed in my mind.

The song was 'Nuktacheen hai gham-e-dil', a ghazal of Mirza Ghalib for the movie, well, 'Mirza Ghalib'. I still clearly recall the mesmerizing Kalyani tinged notes floating through the ear plugs and providing me immense joy. The joy of discovering a classic. I had heard 'Dil-e-Naadan tuje hua kya hai' from this movie quite a few times since that song is a standard issue on many Talat Mehmood anthologies. Whereas for some reason 'Nuktacheen' had passed me by. So when I bought a Suraiya tape, the first thing I checked out was if this song was listed. It was and I immediately bought the tape.

Ghulam Mohammed was the music director who gave this melody. He has not done many films but two of the films he did will ensure that his name remains permanently embedded in the hearts of all true film music fans. One was this movie, 'Mirza Ghalib' which had some superb gems. I especially like the way he tunes 'Yeh na thi hamari kismat'. Not as a standard slow ghazal but as a vigorous song. The other movie which was such a musical hit that you would have had to be hearing impaired in those days to have missed those songs. The movie was 'Paakezah' and the songs are everlasting. A cliched word that works perfectly for 'Paakezah' songs. I think Ghulam Mohammed died before the movie was released. Unfortunately he couldn't savour its success.

So let's go ahead and listen to this gem of a song, sung by Suraiya. When the words are those of Ghalib, you should just state that fact and leave it alone. For praising Ghalib's lyrics is like "sooryuniki deeparadana chesinatlu" (As if you are performing Deeparadhana to the Sun.)

The above video (uploaded by ajayuv) doesn't have the scene from the movie. (But as a bonus you get 'Yeh na thi hamari kismat' as well.) In case you want to watch the scene from the movie, click the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-48lGYR_F8

or at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUPc87mIsfc&feature=related

Lure of Bageshree continues ....

2010-09-09T04:27:00.000-07:00

After post on songs based on Bageshree, I received some good comments, both in the comment section as well as through mail. Everyone had their favourite Bageshree and told me that I missed it in my post. There were some songs that I didn't know and some I had deliberately not put in keeping the length of the post in mind. Now that I have clear proof that people can't get enough of this raga, I will do an additional post now to cover the other songs. Ofcourse, even after this there will be many Bageshrees left behind. Don't blame. Blame the composers, who had a soft corner for this raga.

Before we proceed further, I am sure many of the carnatic music aficionados know that the carnatic raga considered closest to Bageshree is Sriranjani. This is as per the swaras but it is clear that the emotions they invoke are quite different. But don't be surprised if you hear a bit of Sriranjani in Bageshree. It is very much possible and is not a problem in your hearing!!!

One song, which pretty much everyone was convinced that I should have put in is 'Na Bhole Na Bhole Na Bhole Re' from the movie, 'Azad'. Music by C Ramachandra. As Kamal Aakarsh had pointed in the comments section of my earlier post, C.Ramachandra left behind his own stamp on Bageshree. I have fond memories of this song since my daughters danced to this song in a cultural program held in my apartment complex. This is one of the few Hindi songs they knew. Nowadays they will sing a Hindi song only if it sung by Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift or Linkin Park!!! The Bageshree that Ramachadra paints here is a testimony of his genius. He uses Bageshree for a mischievous song as against the general tendency to use it for love songs or sad songs.

Another lovely Bageshree comes from the baton of another master melody maker, Madanmohan. From the film, 'Dekh Kabira Roya', this is a gem from Talat Mohammed. The song suits the voice of Talat very well. 'Dekh Kabira Roya' was screened on late night on TV when we were in our post graduation. I missed it and the next day my friend Krishna Mohan told me that it was a very funny movie. I later watched it on DVD. I can assure you it is a genuinely funny movie and recommend you to buy this CD and watch it. There is a definitely movement away from Bageshree in the charanams but still this is a song worth hearing.

From the movie 'Rangoli', music by Shankar Jaikishan, this is another example along with 'No Bhole' of Bageshree being used in dance based songs. I observe a bit of Sriranjani touch in this song.

My sincere thanks to my friend Kamal Aakarsh for suggesting this song. This has been completely erased from my memory. 'Batasari' was a popular movie in its time and I had watched this movie on TV. (Those were the days of only one channel, Doordarshan, and you watched each and every movie screened.) A very nice Bageshree sung by Bhanumathi in her typical style.

I had spoken about 'mayakum malai pozhude' in my earlier post. I did not get the original youtube link for it. This is sung by a contestant in Airtel Super Singer. The emotional intensity of original is lacking but a nice rendition nevertheless. Tuned by Vishwanathan Ramamurthy for 'Gulebagavali'. There are some places where it goes off Bageshree but nevertheless a lovely song.

Here is the original Jikki and AM Raja version of 'mayakum malai pozhude'

The following song shows why NTR will always be considered as the last word when it comes to depicting Lord Krishna. That charming smile, the mischievous glint in the eyes and the overall earnestness is enough to charm even the toughest of the ladies. The melody of the song tuned by Pendyala helps as well.

Vidhyadharan master in the Malayalam movie, 'Achuvinte Veedu' hovers between Bageshree and Sriranjani to create an ideal world. Nice tune delivered well by Jesudas.

Lalgudi Jayaraman had composed a thillana based on Bageshree. My good friend pointed out to this video of that thillana sung by O S Arun. My thanks to him.

If there is one music director who understood all the rules of the game and then set upon breaking them, it must be Illayaraja. Is this lovely song Sriranjani or is it Bageshree. He somehow mixes the objectivity of Sriranjani with the intimacy of Bageshree and tunes this duet !! It takes a genius to come up with such a tune and Raja is one.

This song picturization perfectly suits the mood of Bageshree. A mega hit song and movie when it was released. Wonderfully photographed by P C Sreeram for the movie 'Geetanjali'. Delivered with the requisite sensitivity by Balu. All technical aspects combine together gloriously making this an all time classic.

Not everyone can think of tuning in Bageshree for a comedy song but then Raja is not somebody. The song from 'Puthu Puthu Arthangal'. Again a mix of Bageshree and Sriranjani to my ears.

From the movie 'Aruvadai Naal', this is a song which can typically be conjured up only by someone like Illayaraja whose brain seems to be wired quite differently. Again a mix of Bageshree and Sriranjani.

Lets close now. My hands are aching!!!

One song at a time - 17. Mudala Manaya

2010-09-03T00:13:00.000-07:00

(Da.Ra.Bendre)

Nothing seems to inspire poets more than the dawn. One, for everything in the world is aglow with the slanting rays of the sun. Two, for dawn symbolizes a new beginning. Poets have written both about the natural beauty that dawn reveals and about the new beginning.

Most of us city dwellers don't have much of a dawn to speak of. We do not get to see the trees, the flowers, mountains or the water bodies. Nor do we get to hear the sounds of dawn. Even if all these were present, in our own rush to meet some unknown deadlines we miss all of them. You will realize how much you miss this aspect of nature if you take a vacation to a place which is in the lap of nature.

I had once been to Masinagudi, near Mudumalai, for a vacation. I woke up early and wanted to go for a walk. Our resort was surrounded by the forest. Deer and peacocks were roaming around. I started my walk, like any good 'cityzen' by wearing my headphones and switching on the mp3 player. Only when I stepped out of the room, did I realize what a stupid move that was. It was dawn and the music made by nature was such that there was no way you can compete with it using any mad made music. The birds chirping all around and the soft glow of the early morning. I discarded the mp3 player immediately and it was one of the most enjoyable walks that I ever had.

Today's song also features the dawn. This is one more instance of where a great poet's poem has been set to music. The movie is 'Belli Moda'. The poem of the great Jnanpith award winner Da.Ra.Bendre is set to music by Vijaybhaskar. The tune fits the mood of the day very well. A very soft tune which Janaki sings superbly. Lines like 'elegaLa mele hoogaLe oLage amrithada bindu' so joyously convey the sense of dawn. Vijaybhaskar keeps the orchestration minimal and lets the song be carried by the lyrics and the tune.

Time was us to enjoy this immortal song.

One song at a time - 16. Sweet sorrow of Bageshree

2010-08-27T03:13:00.000-07:00

(C. Ramachandra)

In case you are thinking I am going to write something about the actress Bageshree and her sorrow, perish that thought!! Just kidding. I am sure you know I mean the raga Bageshree.

Bageshri is one of those ragas you can wallow in and never get out. It is as addictive as self pity. Unlike a raga like Subhapanthuvarali, where the pathos is almost unbearable, the sorrow that Bageshri carries has a sweetness associated with it. It is like going back in past and thinking of 'what if..'. An untold apology, an unexpressed love. Something you deliberately bring up to the surface, feel a bit sad, chew on it for some time and enjoy that mild sadness. Bageshree is a raga similar to that. It gives you a sweet sense of sadness. A sadness which you want within you for some time. This is a raga which has instant impact on the listeners and it will only be a person whose heart is made up of some non-corrosive metal who can escape the clutches of the raga. For some, it gnaws at their heart. For others it melts their heart. You can use any of those cliched phrases and those phrases describes perfectly what Bageshree does to the listener.

Bageshree came in Carnatic music quite late. Sometime in the twentieth century. The trinity did not know about this raga and hence there are no compositions of the trinity in this raga. This was imported from Hindustani music. I don't know who was responsible for this import but that person gets our affection.

As I told, Bageshree is a ragam within which you want to lose yourself. (My friend Kamal Aakarsh coincidentally tweeted today: " Stuck with Bhageshree!Dont think i want to leave bhageshree today.Dont even want to.Today dedicated to Bhageshree!" That's the impact I was talking about.) Given this feeling, I will post more than one song today. You can enjoy these over the weekend.

Let us start with a superb Bageshree designed by that outstanding music director called C.Ramachandra. He was the original trailblazing music director in Indian Film Music. He got in the funkiness of rock and roll, the rhythms of Caribbean islands into Indian film music. Songs like 'EnaMeenadeka', 'Mera Piya Gaya Rangoon', 'Meri Jaan Meri Jaan' are still with us, in their original forms or as parodies. Other than composing such funky songs, Ramachandra also composed some heart melting numbers, which were played in loud speakers all over India. 'Yeh Zindagi Usiki Hai' is a prime example. Everyone in those times knew this song. It was remade into 'jeevitame safalamu' in Telugu and that too become a roaring hit. Ramachandra also sang songs under the name of Chitalkar. He has lot of major 'hits' to his credit. Movies like 'Azaad', 'Ratan', 'Albela' etc but if one movie which was a super duper hit and will ensure C.Ramachandra's immortality, it was 'Anarkali'. The song I quoted earlier is from this movie and it is from this same movie that we will pick up our Bageshree song today. 'Jaag dard-e-ishq jaag', in the contrasting voices of Hemant Kumar and Lata Manageshkar. The Bageshree is superbly bought out and this song also shows why he was such a well respected and well like music director of those times. The words bring out the sadness and so does the tune. The very start of the pallavi establishes Bageshree perfectly and develops wonderfully in the charanam. (Song uploaded by 'yuanyuanyuanyin')

As I said, we will have more than one Bageshree today. From the Telugu movie 'Mayabazar', set to tune by S Rajeshwar Rao, (there is some debate about this. I think the credits show Ghantasala as the MD but it was supposed to be S Rajeshwar Rao who composed the songs.) 'neekosame ne jeevinchinadhi'. A song which every Telugu speaking person knows. Again bringing out that sadness very well. The lyrics also express the emotion of Bageshree well. Isn't separation also sweet sometimes? (The tune takes a different turn in the second charanam for a brief while.) (Song uploaded by 'sashirekhaweb')

As far as Tamil films are concerned, there are two Bageshree tunes which everyone must know. One from 'Gulebagavali', 'mayakum malai pozhude'. Since the video of this song is not on youtube, I give you the other classic Bageshree tuned by MSV, from the movie 'Ramu'. The shenoy bit in the interlude is lovely, to say the least and P B Sreenivas's voice is very apt for this song, effectively bringing out that self pity of protagonist. (song uploaded by 'ramudaya')

A more modern take on Bageshree by the Malayalam master, Raveendran. Some lovely flute bits in the interlude.

And this was a song which reverberated throughout India. In the magical voice of Jesudas, the tune of Ravindra Jain. I know you have already guessed the film. Probably not the canonical Bageshree but a lovely song nevertheless. (Uploaded by 'YesudasFan')

Leaving behind the film world, lets come to the Carnatic world. The first Bageshree that impressed me was Bombay Jayashree singing 'kanden kanden kanden sitayay'. Very apt tuning for that Ramanataka krithi. Ofcourse it is not the traditional tuning because the ragam was not known in South India during Arunachala Kavirayar's time. I couldn't get a youtube link for this song. So you need to go to this link and listen to this song.

http://www.hummaa.com/search/search.php?vl=kanden++sitayai&tp=song&lg=16

The other amazing Bageshree I heard was during the music season in Chennai. Probably 1995 Dec. K V Narayanaswamy was giving a concert in Krishnagana Sabha and KVN being one of my favourite artists, I did not want to miss the show. Towards the end, he started a song which went 'sagara sayana vibho'. It was so touching that it almost brought out tears from my eyes. It was the first time I was hearing it. Later I came to know this was a composition of M D Ramanathan. The rendition of KVN, with its slow speed and clearly intoned syllables is a joy to behold. Unfortunately no youtube video exists. Instead of KVN, here is the rendition of the same song by Sreevalsa Menon, who does a nice job. The genius of MDR is evident in the way he has composed the song to bring out the sweetness of Bageshree. (Uploaded by 'Cacofonics')

For those who want to know more about Bageshree musicology wise and also to hear some nice Hindustani renditions, Rajan Parrikar's article on Bageshree is the one to read.

One song at a time - 15. Apara Sundara Neelakasham

2010-08-21T07:18:00.000-07:00

Every epic needs its hero. And that hero needs a trusted lieutenant. (This lieutenant is often referred to as a 'side kick' or a 'second hero' in our films.)In the field of Indian film music one of the most famous trusted lieutenant was Pugazhendi.

Pugazhendi, born Velappan Nair, was the most trusted lieutenant of K V Mahadevan. In all the movies where K V Mahadevan has scored the music, you will find the name of 'Pugazhendi' appearing as the assistant music director. His devotion towards 'Mama', as KVM was affectionately known, is legendary in the South Indian film music circles. He remained at Mahadevan's side till Mahadevan's demise and would take care of every need of Mahadevan. This is definitely surprising in the movie industry where the bond is tight onlt till the next hit.

Pugazhendi was the person who wrote the notes for the songs, who arranged for the songs of K V Mahadevan. P B Sreenivas, in one of the programs said that as K V Mahadevan used to sing the tune, Pugazhendi would write down the notes. SPB has great respect for Pugazhendi and has made it known in many of the programs that he conducts. Very recently, in one program, after one contestant sang a K V Mahadevan song, he remarked that one of the sangathis was a typical Pugazhendi sangathi. It is well known in music circles that it is Pugazhendi who recommended that SPB sing the songs in the movie 'Shankarabaranam' when everyone was searching for a classical musician to deliver the songs. (You can read a more elaborate article on Pugazhendi here.)

Pugazhendi has done music for a handful of films as an independent music director in Tamil and Malayalam. (He probably did more Malayalam films than Tamil.) You can clearly see the KVM touch in many of the songs. Today I will feature a lovely song tuned by Pughazhendi for the Malaylam film, 'Vithukal'. This is a well loved and well known song in the Mallu world which I discovered quite late. A very gentle melody sung superbly by Jesudas. The words of P. Bhaskaran paint a wonderful picture of nature. I love the very starting words, 'apara sundara neelakasham'. What is the ragam on which this song is based? Well, sounds like Arabhi to me, though at many places I can feel the effect of Suddha Saveri. (One of the sites mentions it as Suddha Saveri.) But when the singer goes, 'alagalil urayum vennuragal', the Arabhi feel is quite prominent. Anyway, why split hairs about the raga. We all know that a rose is a rose and all that.

So let's go ahead and enjoy this lovely song of Pugazhendi. It is very important that we document the efforts of such trusted lieutenants because isn't Ramayana as much about Lakshmana and Hanuman as it is about Rama and Sita?

(Loaded in youtube by 'SRN1000')

One song at a time - 14. Janani Sivakamini

2010-08-03T06:03:00.000-07:00

Some incidents remain stuck in our mind inspite of them having absolutely no significance in our lives!!! These images pop up once in a while making you wonder why this got stored. Brain is a mysterious organ and we have no clue what algorithm it uses to store some images and discard others.

One such incident happened to me when I was staying in Chennai. One evening I went to the Sharadamba temple in Krupa Sankari street, West Mambalam, which was close to my house. It was that mysterious evening time when the sun has finished his duty but the night has not yet taken over. The time of strange light. Accentuating this dusk hour were the oil lamps inside the sanctum sanctorium. There was no one around save the poojari and a mother-daughter pair. The daughter was young, dusky, short and had a round and pleasant face. Upon her mother's urging, standing in front of Sharadamba, she started singing an old Telugu melody, "Janani Sivakamini". Her voice was sweet and she sang quite sincerely. It was a great experience. The evening time, the almost empty temple, oil lamps in sanctum sanctorium, Sharadamba's graceful idol and the girl singing with sincerity. I never saw that girl again nor was that incident of any significance in my life but whenever I hear "Janani Sivakamini", the image immediately props up in front of my eyes. Such is the power of an image, once embedded, it doesn't leave you!!!

I will feature that same song today. "Janani Sivakamini", sung by Susheela at her peak, is from the movie 'Narthanashala'. The music is by Susarla Dakshinamurthy (for a long time I thought Susasrla Dakshinamurthy and V Dakshinamurthy were the same. They are not.) Lyrics by Samudrala. Susarla Dakshinamurthy has not done too many films but 'Narthanasala' is enough to give him musical immortality. This movie has some excellent songs, atleast one more of which we will feature in this series. This movie is based on the 'agnatha vasa' chapter of Mahabharata. An Italian director is supposed to have been so taken in by S V Ranga Rao's portrayal of Keechaka in this movie that he remarked, "This man is six feet full of talent." Very true words indeed.

Check out this video. You will see that the scene in the movie very closely matches my own experience !!!

One song at a time - 13. Mai re main kaase kahoon

2010-07-22T23:31:00.000-07:00

(Madanmohan - Lata)

"Everything stated or expressed by man is a note in the margin of a completely erased text. From what's in the note we can extract the gist of what must have been in the text, but there's always a doubt, and the possible meanings are many." Thus spoke Fernando Pessoa, the great Portuguese poet. (Translation given here is by Richard Zenith.) This clearly expresses the difficulty inherent in communication. When communicating using a language is difficult, think about the difficulty when a music director wants to communicate his / her ideas to the singer. While music has developed its own language, it is almost impossible to capture all the nuances using the musical notation. The micro tones, the colour needed to be invoked, the modulation required and most importantly, the emotion that needs to be conveyed. All these have to pass from mere thoughts in the music directors mind to actual song sung by the singer. During this process a lot can be lost or if the singer is good, something may be gained.

It is no wonder that many music directors stuck to their favourite singers, since they felt these were the people who could clearly understand what they were experiencing and bring out what is exactly needed. One such pair which needs no introduction to anyone listening to Indian film music is that of Madanmohan and Lata. For Lata, he was 'Madan Bhaiyya', the rakhee brother. For Madanmohan, she was his muse. Together they created magic which remains unsurpassed even today.

The song for today is 'mai re main kaase kahoon' from the movie 'Dastak'. This is one of the better Hindi movies I have seen, with a very interesting premise. Madanmohan's music adds a lot to this movie. The movie has songs like 'baiya na daro', 'hum hai mata-e-koochar'. The most famous was 'baiya na daro' which appears regularly in all 'Best of Lata' collections and rightly so. We used to hear the song I am featuring today regularly during our college days in our gym. The reason for our interest was as much due to the singer as to the tune. The version we had on LP was the one sung by Madanmohan himself. The Lata version is the one used in the movie but we were fascinated by Madanmohan version. Luckily I found a link in youtube which gives both the versions one after the other.

This is a good case study to see what the composer had in his mind and how that got translated by the singer. What was lost during this translation and what was gained? You can check that out for yourselves. There is definitely a difference in the feeling when you hear the Madanmohan version and when you hear Lata's version. The individual signature of each singer is evident. Interesting to hear this because we are talking about two people who musically understood each other very well and yet, as Pessoa says, some things may still be notes on the margin of a completely erased text.

Enjoy the song here: (uploaded in youtube by 'bombaymumbaidreams')

One song at a time - 12. Kaalangalil aval Vasantham

2010-07-17T14:11:00.000-07:00

(Vishwanathan Ramamurthy)

The aroma floating in from the neighbour's kitchen, a candle burning in someone's house, a kid arguing with his mother, a stranger running hard to catch the bus. You never know which almost insignificant incident will take you back to your past and make you nostalgic. Nostalgia attacks you at unexpected times and one of its secret weapons is the long forgotten song.

Given the prevalence of film music in our society, it is no surprise that the songs we heard in our early childhood remain embedded deeply in our memory . A song heard after a long time can evoke a significant part of your autobiography: your old school, playground, childhood friends, long forgotten neighbours and some random people whom you never would have thought about earlier. "Kanchi re Kanchi re" from Hare Rama Hare Krishna is one such song which helps me in time travel. It takes me to the earliest of my memories in Boiguda, Secunderabad: the street we lived in and all the friends of those times, not a single one of them in touch now. The guys in my street had formed a small band then and used to practise this song in my neighbours house and I used to watch from outside the window. The other song in this movie, 'Phoolon Ka Taaron Ka' crept on me unexpectedly during my post grad times. I had not heard that song for a long time and as soon as I heard it I was transported to my primary school days. I am sure each of you has such song(s) which are very close to your heart and can invoke that nostalgic feeling in you.

The song I will feature today is another song which is close to my heart. From the movie, 'Paava Mannippu', this is 'kalangalil aval vasantham'. Sung wonderfully by P B Sreenivas, set to tune by Vishwanathan Ramamurthy at their very peak and the master wordsmith Kannadasan's lyrics. A wonderful tune which starts with a very charming mouth-organ (harmonica). This song immediately transports me to Villupuram. This was where my grandmother was staying and we used to make an annual trip to Villupuram during my primary school days. This song used to played on the radio often and I loved it. Whenever I listen to it now unexpectedly, my mind wanders to that typical village house, with the slanting tiled roof, with a courtyard in the middle, the terrace where monkey's roamed free, the large garden behind the house and all the movies that my uncle took me to. Those were the best days we think, our vision clouded by the diffuse filter of nostalgia. (Now I realize that those were probably the toughest days for my grandmother, who having lost her husband then, was struggling to keep the house running with two children still in college. ) I still remember those days when my aunty, an avid film music fan herself, and I used to be glued to the radio when this song came on.

As you grow older, your music tastes evolve and some of the earlier favourites are discarded. Musically some songs don't age too well. Luckily for me, 'kalangalil' remains as young and as tasty today as it was when it was released a long time back. So lets go ahead and enjoy this song.

One song at a time - 11. Two short stories

2010-07-12T03:20:00.000-07:00

(Roshan)

"In our times, music was different." This is constant refrain we hear all the while. Our parents heard it from their grandparents, we from our parents and our children from us. (Reminds me of the 'Woodwords Gripewater' advertisement. Every generation in the family saying the same thing.) While it is easy to dismiss such talk as the rambling of a person who is not modern enough, there is generally some truth in it. Music has to change, evolve, move forward etc and in this process something gets added and something gets lost. Whether the march forward is always evolution / revolution or degeneration has always been debated and I don't think anyone has arrived at any conclusion. That is fine, because to many of us the discussion is important. Conclusions be damned !!!

One of the major aspects in film music which has changed is the way the song was used earlier. The usage of songs in films had multiple dimensions. Be it conveying the heroines happiness of finding her match, be it the hero singing about nature, the father singing about his helplessness, the inner turmoil of a girl in love, the anguish of homeless people. You get the general idea, right? Any and every situation was ripe for a song.

What we will see today is the way that the song was used to tell a small story within the larger story. Seeing the song gave you a part of the picture. Such songs also helped move the story forward. (Ofcourse it has to be done aesthetically. There are many songs in this genre which can be unbearable.) Nowadays these are quite disparagingly called 'situation songs.' It is very rare in modern times to find such songs in movies. The song and its filming have turned as generic as possible due to the mushrooming of TV music channels and the morphing of many normal TV channels in predominantly music channels. Situation songs do not lend themselves well to the MTV culture which depend a lot on the editor's dexterity with the scissors!! And in the 'India Shining' times, the last thing anyone wants to see is tears in a song!!

Today we will see two such story telling songs. I have picked two instead of one because each of this is a very short song. Both of them are tuned by the master tunesmith, Roshan. The first one we will see is from the movie, 'Tajmahal' and was probably not heard as much as the other songs in this movie like 'jo bhaat tujh mein hai', 'jo vaada kiya tha', 'paaon cholene do'. Yet I consider this short song as the best in this movie. Lata's pitch perfect voice complements Roshan's superb tune. I don't need to explain to you the situation. Once you watch the video, you will know it immediately. The 'hero' to me looks like he is doing a perfect imitation of a robber caught trying to steal chickens on a Friday!! This is basically a ghazal and the lyrics are by Sahir. The arrangements are minimal. Roshan lets Lata's voice and the poetry dominate the scene.

The second song we will see today is from the movie 'Mamta' Music by Roshan and lyrics by Majrooh. A very tender tune lovingly rendered by Hemanth Kumar and Lata. The contrast of the two voices adds to the beauty of this song. Again a song with minimal musical accompaniment. A tune based on Kalyani. Here too something is happening on the screen. Though I have no clue on what is actually happening, since I have not watched this movie, the whole scene is interesting, making you want to watch this movie!!

Song such as these made movie watching a great experience and we must be thankful to the directors and music directors of the past for giving us such songs.

One song at a time - 10. Oru Murai Vandhu Kaeleero - Tribute to M G Radhakrishnan

2010-07-08T03:48:00.000-07:00

The noted Malayalam film music director M G Radhakrishnan passed away recently. This edition of 'One song at a time' is a tribute to him.

The first time I encountered M G Radhakrishnan's name was when I wanted to find out who was the music director for 'Manichitratazhu' (which was later remade as 'Chandramukhi'). I stored the name in a corner of my mind and did not encounter the name for some more time. Then, when I was watching an interview of the popular Malayalam playback singer M.G.Sreekumar, I came to know that M.G.Radhakrishnan was his elder brother. Much later I came to know that the noted Carnatic musician, Omanakutty, was their sister.

I first saw M G Radhakrishnan on TV screen as a judge for one of the singing shows. He had come in as a 'guest judge'. From the way he passed comments you could clearly make out that he was a very simple and unassuming person. (There is generally lot of 'simplicity' and 'humility' in the music industry, which we need not take seriously but M G Radhakrishnan's simplicity was very genuine.) I liked the comment he made on R D Burman's 'Beeti na Bitayi Raina' sung by one contestant. He said, "If you observe the song, you will find that the song does not have too many complicated phrases, it doesn't have too many brigas and such. But the song goes deep into your heart and pulls at your heart strings, doesn't it?" My respect for him immediately went up. Looked like he was first and foremost a music lover and then only a musician.

While I did see a lot of M G Radhakrishnan on the TV Screen, I still hadn't acquainted myself with his music much, except for 'Manichitratazhu', in which I liked most of the songs. Idea Star Singer on Asianet once had a 'Lalitha Geetha' round, which featured the non-filmi songs composed by M G Radhakrishnan. Every day one of the contestants would sing one of these 'Lalitha Geethams'. I used to wait for them every day since each one of them was based on some carnatic ragam and moreover M G Radhakrishnan would briefly talk about each of these compositions. I liked all of them and was very impressed by the very original use of ragams and the complexity of the tunes.

In one such episode I heard a singer sing a song based on 'Reethigowla'. It was very nice treatment of 'Reethigowla'. Not the standard carnatic style 'Reethigowla' but a more lighter version of it suited for 'Lalitha Ganam'. I thought I should find this song but as it happens I did not note down the song pallavi. So I did not know where to search and did not make any effort to find it. When I heard that M G Radhakrishnan has passed away, I thought one way of paying homage to him would be to discover this song and then make it known to a few more people. I searched the past episodes of Idea Star Singer and finally located the song. That is one song which I will feature in this post.

Doing some more research I also discovered that M G Radhakrishnan worked at AIR and during that time gave many such non-filmi tunes, which were called 'Lalitha Gaanam'. They were supposed to be very popular in Kerala during those times (and even now.) Those who were in Kerala during those times can give their experiences. (Ramki, are you listening?) After listening to many of his compositions I can easily see his originality and the complexity of his compositions. I could make out that he had his own aesthetics and operated in that range, where the tunes were soothing, slow and based on Carnatic ragas.

Now lets hear some of the songs created by M G Radhakrishnan. So I call all of you to 'oru murai vandhu kaeliro'.

Here is the Reethigowla based number I was talking about. I am giving the song as sung by the Idea Star singer contestant since this video features M G Radhakrishnan talking about the song.

Here is a lovely song based on 'Kharaharapriya'. Very pleasing melody.

A lovely melody from the movie 'Jalakam': (Quiz: What ragam is he using here?)

And finally, probably the most famous of his creations. I still get goosebumps when I watch Shobana in this song. Superb portrayal of a person who is mentally unhinged. Based on Kunthalavarali.

P.S.: The Tamil version of this movie had Jyotika doing this dance which was nowhere close to what Shobana did. But the Tamil version had something that Malayalam version did not have and has now become a legend. "Enna Koduma Saravanan"

When Colors Change : Ragamalikas in Carnatic Music Part II

2010-07-02T19:06:00.000-07:00

Everything turns a bit more interesting if you have some imagination. This would apply perfectly to Indian Classical Music, where imagination is key to enjoyment. In case of some singers, you enjoy their imagination and innovation. In case of some other singers, you have to just imagine that you are enjoying their singing !! Any which way you look at it,imagination cannot be divorced from Indian Classical Music. As was promised in the last post on the subject of Ragamalikas, we will discuss about Ragamalikas in 'kalpana sangeetham'.

According to Carnatic music purists, the piece-de-resistance of Carnatic music is the Ragam-Thanam-Pallavi. As can be expected in a fast moving world, this has now been christened RTP. We find that Ragamalikas exists in all three arms of RTP, namely, Ragam, Thanam and Pallavi. Now, singing Ragamalikas while elaborating a ragam would be frowned upon, and rightly so. But if you are going to take up a ragamalika pallavi such an exercise in raga alapana would be excused. And people have carved such ragamalika pallavis nowadays. The more traditional of such pallavis was what Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar used to sing, "சங்கராபரணனை அழைத்தோடி வாடி துர்பருக்கு கல்யாணி" ("shankarabaranani azhaitodi vaadi durbarukku kalyani".) Who said words need to make great sense in pallavis. (I have highlighted the ragas involved just in case you missed them :) ) This chatur ragamalika pallavi was also sung by Ariyakudi's disciple and the excellent musician, K V Narayanaswamy. While singing raga alapana for this pallavi, the audience expected you to move between the ragas, changing from one to another, if possible, seamlessly. Another such traditional pallavi is "எங்கள் நாட்டை குறுஞ்சி என்பார்" ("engal naatai kurunji enbar") Can you guess the three ragas involved here? If you guessed, Naatai, Kurunji and Natakurunji as the three ragas, you can give yourself 5 marks. There is a recording of T N Seshagopal of this pallavi, which is commercially available. I have also heard Seshagopalan sing a pallavi which was based on Arabhi and Bindumalini. (I was intrigued by the choice of ragas here because I couldn't see any connection between Arabhi and Bindumalini. When I queried about this choice, someone in an online community replied that the ragas were chosen because Arabhi started with 'A' and Bindumalini started with 'B'. Given the tone of the reply I am sure that person was not kidding. I just hope that was not the real reason!!!) I have read reports about such ragamalika pallavis being sung by many people but I haven't heard any live concert or recording of any such pallavis but I am sure they are being done.

There is always a debate on whether ragamalika pallavis are appropriate or not. On one hand people feel that singing, say, three or four ragas in a limited timeframe does not do justice to any one of the ragas. If you take the case of Seshagopalan singing the pallavi 'naatai kurunji enbar', you feel given his enormous talent, it would be great if he uses the complete time to elaborate one raga. The argument from the other side is that this adds to the variety in a concert and also showcases the mastery of the musician over the raga. Afterall is RTP not one way to demonstrate the 'vidwat' of the musician? Where do I stand on this? As usual, somewhere in the middle!! I am OK with hearing this once in a while for the variety. It will be an overkill if done too frequently. Needless to say, singing ragamalika pallavis means you are singing the raga, the thanam, the pallavi and the kalpanaswarams in all the ragas mentioned in the pallavi.

Ragamalikas in thanam singing / playing have the veena tradition behind it. If you forget about the ragamalika pallavis and think of only single raga pallavis, here too we have ragamalika while playing or singing the thanam. Here the accepted practice is to play the gana raga thanam. The thanam is played in Naatai, Gowlai, Aarabhi, Varali and Sri, in that order. The same ragas that make up the Tyagaraja Pancharatna Krithis. The veena players almost invariably play this gana raga thanam. Sometimes I have heard them play this thanam after elaborating a raga and before taking up a krithi. Singers too sing thanam in these ragas. There is a concert recording of Semmangudi where he sings thanam in all these ragas. Very recently I heard T M Krishna do the same. I personally like this aspect of ragamalika, since thanam in these raga sounds very good.

Kalpanaswaras, as the name indicates, is a fertile ground for 'manodharma' and do you think our musicians will miss the chance? As can be expected, it is in singing kalpanaswaras in RTP that musicians resort to singing ragamaikas. Infact, they start the ragamalikas in the neraval phase of the pallavi itself. The neraval is done in different ragas. Sky is the limit here, as far as combination is concerned. People do neraval in different ragas, then kalpanaswaras in different ragas, sing a few ragas and then sing the ragas in the reverse order and so on. Highly talent artists like Seshagopalan have sung around 20 to 25 ragas in the kalpanaswara phase. Each raga probably for one avartana of swaras.

This begs the question as to how much is too much? As usual, there is no single or simple answer. On hand we have purists who frown at the mention of ragamaikas during RTP since it destroys the picture of the raga that the musician has built carefully. One the other hand, people would claim that RTP is a very lengthy exercise, especially of the artist does the technical stuff like trikalam, anuloman, pratilomam etc. Audience may be exhausted due to the length and the ragamalikas provides the much needed relief and get the audience engaged in the exercise. Now where do I stand on this? Well, you guessed the answer. As usual, somewhere in the middle. I have heard wonderful RTPs by masters who keep you engaged throughout which is based on a single raga. The Shankarabaram RTP of Semmangudi in one of the Music Academy seasons is one example. (This RTP kept me company during one of the trips to US.) At the same time, when done in a limited way, the ragamalika part of the neraval and kalpanaswarams do have their charm, especially in a concert setting. The key, according to me, is moderation. Of the recent concerts I have heard, musicians like Bombay Jayashree, Ranjani - Gayathri have got the mix right. They don't sing more than 3 ragas in the ragamalika and that lets them dwell on these swaras for some time. The choice of the ragas too is such that they make an instant impact of the listener. On the other hand, singing swaras for one avarthanam at breakneck speed, becomes an objective test to the listener. You need to switch off from the RTP mode and now get into answering the questions. "Was that Rithigowla which passed by or was it AnadhaBhairvai which eluded my grasp". Before you can decide, the next ragam is already passing you by!!!

In essence, whether we appreciate ragamalikas association with RTP depends on what you are expecting out of an RTP. If your expectation is for the musician to build a great edifice of the raga or you expect the musician to involved in 'laya vinyasa', then you are not going to be too happy about ragamalikas. On the other hand, you think RTP is something which allows the 'vidwan' to show various facets of his 'vidwat', then you may actually be looking forward to such ragamalikas. The current concert experience is such that ragamalikas have now become an integral part of RTP. Some years from now, people will be claiming that singing ragamalikas in RTP is a tradition!! To purists it will be corruption, to modernist it will be evolution.

The other area where ragamalikas are accepted and expected is sloka singing or virutham singing. This is something which both the musician and the listeners enjoy in equal measure. The musician can let go his imagination in sloka singing and inspired rendition of slokas and virutams add to the enjoyment of the listener. There are different ways in which artists approach sloka singing. On one hand are the musicians, for who the words of the sloka are of paramount importance. The drape the raga over the words in as exact fashion as possible. On the other extreme would be the musicians for whom the words are just an excuse to sing raga elaborately. Singers like D K Pattammal and M S Subbulakshmi are examples of the first school of thought while singers like G N B and Maharajapuram Vishwanatha Iyer belong to the latter school of thought. My person preference is for the golden mean, where importance for words and importance for imagination is given in equal measure. My personal favourite in Sloka singing, who exhibits this balance, is Semmangudi Srivinivasa Iyer. Be it the choice of sloka, be it the phrasing, the emphasis on certain words and the manodharmam he brings to bear on the sloka, everything has class written all over it. (Update: One of my good friends commented that this sentiment would apply to M D Ramanathan as well and I whole heartedly agree.) If I were allowed to only take one aspect of Semmangudi singing with me and have to give up all other aspects, I will unhesitatingly chose his sloka singing. All you need to do is to hear him sing the Ramayana Navarasa sloka, 'sringaram kshiti nandini' once and you will also come to the same conclusion!! The slokam he sings in the Krishna Gana Sabha concert, with MSG and Velore Ramabadran, which is commercially available has him singing an amazing ragamalika slokam, in which the Hamsanandhi, literally and figuratively, touches the skies. My personal favourite is a recording of some concert, in which he sings the phrase, "karunyam balibojane" of the Ramayana Navarasa sloka, in Punnagavarali. Such peace in a concert platform is almost unimaginable.

I will leave you now to enjoy these Ragamalikas. (Don't think I am stopping here. In the next part we will deal with Ragamalikas in Indian movies.)

Sanjay Subramaniyam's sloka (Uploaded by 'navarasan')

Ranjani - Gayathri singing Kulasekara Azhwar's pasuram. (Uploaded by 'carnaticopia')

One more Ranjani - Gayathri (they talk about the inevitable change) (Uploaded by 'kamakotisankara')

Aruna Sairam with a viruttam (uploaded by 'carnaticopia)

One song at a time - 9. Yaava Janmada Maitri

2010-07-01T09:24:00.000-07:00

G K Venkatesh

"By the way, why have they left out Yaava janmada maitri, that enchanting Kuvempu poem Janaki sang under G K Venkatesh's baton? ", exclaimed the reviewer Smriti Anand, of the now defunct, TheMusicMagazine. She was reviewing a compilation CD of Janaki's Kannada songs. If you have heard 'yaava janmada maitri' you too would have commented on its absence from any compilation of Janaki's Kannada songs. There are some songs which you will immediately recognize as something special and will hold it amongst the best songs by the singer, even if you have not heard the other songs that the singer has sung!!! 'yaava janmada maitri' is one such song.

I first heard this in the 'Doni Saagali' tape. Music Director G.K.Venkatesh had set tune to the poem of Rashtrakavi Kuvempu. I am sure Kuvempu would have approved of this tune. The very first time I heard the song I was taken in by the lovely tune, the way Janaki sung the song and whatever I could understand of the lyrics. Class was written all over it.

Sometime back I had written a post about Kalyani and Mohanam being favoured by the film music directors. When two such lovely ragas combine together, the music directors are even more happy. Yes, this song is based on Mohana Kalyani. (It is called Suddh Kalyan in Hindustani music. I think even the famous 'rasik balma' is Mohana Kalyani based.) The raga gives a feeling of indescribable peace. G K Venkatesh, by the way he tuned the song, enhances this mood of Mohana Kalyani very well. The tune also evokes the night mood which is very apt for the movie. Janaki's sings as if her throat is made of glass which would shatter if she were to sound harsh. So lets enjoy this soft beauty from the movie, 'Gowri'. (Uploaded in youtube by 'Sirigannadiga') (Update: My friend Ramki feels that this could a straight Mohanam and not MohanaKalyani.)

One Song at a time - 8. Haye Re Woh Din Kyun Na Aaye

2010-06-25T02:24:00.000-07:00

In India, film music has fascinated Classical musicians and vice versa. We have seen many classical musicians get involved in film music. Their involvement is generally as an individual artist. Very rarely do you we have classical musician as music directors for films. Pandit Ravishankar, the sitar maestro, was one such musician who had been a music director for films. He was the man who provided music for Ray's amazing debut film, 'Pather Panchali'. Later Ravishankar was the music director for a Hindi film called, 'Anuradha', starring Balraj Sahni and the lovely Leela Naidu. I remember that he gave music for a film on Meerabai, which starred Hema Malini as Meera. I remember reading a rather lengthy article about this movie in 'Illustrated Weekly of India', which means the movie must have been a late 70s or early 80s one. Contrary to the popular choice of those days, Lata, Ravishankar chose Vani Jayaram to sing all the songs of this movie. Unfortunately I have not heard any songs from this movie till now to comment on them.

Let us take a couple of digression before we come to the song. Other than Pt. Ravishankar, two other great Hindustani musicians, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Ustad Vilayat Khan have provided music for Satyajit Ray's films. Read a recent article which said that given Ray's insistence on wanting very minimal scores, none of the classical musicians were happy with their contribution as Music Director in Ray's film. Ray later went on to score music himself for all his films.

The second digression is a shameless plug for my old post. In case you are wondering who are those instrumentalists who were involved in film music, you can check my article on this subject.

Now to our song of the day. The song we will hear now is 'haye re woh din kyun na aaye' from the movie 'Anuradha'. I got introduced to this song during my post graduate hostel days. Courtesy Vividh Bharathi. A lovely tune by Pt. Ravishankar and sung impeccably by Lata. This song keeps figuring in most of 'Best of Lata' collection. You can see that Pt. Ravishankar understands the film music idiom very well given the way he has tuned this song. He makes the song sound very modern and makes excellent use of Lata's voice. Just hear her go 'sooni meri beena' and you don't know if it an instrument or a human voice. The presence of Leela Naidu (one of the few films she did) adds to this song's charm as well. Can't believe this song was tuned almost half a century back.

Before we hear the song, a juvenile joke. How would have the lyrics were this song to be sung by a hippie? It would have been, "haye re woh din kyun "nahaye" '. Before you come to hit me, here is the song.

One song at a time - 7. Muthuswami Dikshitar and Rabindranath Tagore

2010-06-18T02:32:00.000-07:00

The transfer of musical ideas between the North and South India is well documented. Muthuswami Dikshitar had visited Kasi and brought along with him lot of Hindustani ragas to the South. The North Indian musicians turned Muthuswami Dikshitar's 'Vatapi Ganapatim Bhaje' into a khayal. (Wonderfully sung by Amir Khan.) Many such transfers have happened. I was aware of many of them but not about the one which inspired Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore.

One of my good friends had once sent me a link to a Rabindra Sangeeth song, which was actually Tagore's homage to that monumental krithi of Muthuswami Dikshitar, 'meenakshi me mudam dehi'. Tagore had taken this krithi and had made minor modifications to it and had written the Bengali lyrics to it. The song starts as 'basanthi o bhubhanamohini'. Very nice words. Gurudev must have been very impressed by the krithi. And what is there not to be impressed by it? 'meenakshi me mudam Dehi' stands as a testimony to the genius of Muthuswamy Dikshitar. The intensity, the slow unfolding of the raga, the majestic movement and the sancharas of unmatched beauty. It touches your intellect and it touches your heart. Rarely has Poorvi Kalyani flowered so well. Tagore seems to be so smitten by the beauty of Dikshitar's language s well that he takes some of words as it is. The madhyamakalam in Tagore's song also starts 'madhumata modita hrudaye'. It looks like everyone who knows Rabindra Sangeeth knows this is an adaptation of 'Meenakshi', since I have heard this being said in different program before the song starts.

It is well known to many people that when Muthuswami Dikshitar was on his death bed, he asked his disciples to sing this song and he shed his mortal coils when they were singing, 'meenalocani paashamochani'. Gowri Ramanarayan, when she gave a lecture on MS Subbulakshmi, played an excerpt of this song, sung by MS in the Meenakshi temple Madurai. You will be excused if you feel that giving up your mortal coil hearing this rendition is as good a way to depart from this earth as any. Such is the intensity and the devotion in MS's voice.

Let us now listen to the homage paid by one great master to another. Sincere thanks to my friend who sent me the song link.

Here is a dance program, in which this song is sung.

Click the link below and you can make out the resemblance between the two songs even better. This is an audio only version.

Basanthi O Buhanamohini

For those who have not heard 'meenakshi me mudam dehi', here it is in the voice of the inimitable M D Ramanathan. Well, I would suggest this even for those who have heard the song earlier.

One song at a time - 6. Rajeshwar Rao's Bilahari

2010-06-14T00:26:00.000-07:00

(S. Rajeshwar Rao)
Just like Begada which we spoke about a couple of posts back, Bilahari is another ragam which is not so easy to adapt to film music. It generally ends up showing its classical colours. Illayaraja had tuned a wonderful song in Bilahari, "koondalile megam" for the film, 'Balanagamma'. He also tuned "neethone aagena sangeetham" for 'Rudraveeena' in Bilahari. In both cases you can clearly see the classical aspect of Bilahari present in the song. I am sure there are quite a few Bilahari based songs if you dig deeper in time but I can also bet that the classical aspect would dominate in those songs.

Today, I am posting a song composed by S.Rajeshwar Rao, one of the great music directors of the Telugu Film industry. He has given enormous number of hits. Too numerous to enumerate here. From his songs you can see that he had a very good grasp on both the Carnatic as well as the Hindustani forms of classical music. We will definitely be seeing and hearing more of this great composers songs in this series. In this song, Rajeshwar Rao wonderfully 'lightens' Bilahari's classical load to create a delectable melody. The fact that a young and beautiful Jayapradha sings it, adds to the charm.

The song which I have chosen today is from the movie 'Ee Naati Ee Bandham Ae Naatido'. The scene is one of the typical dreams of all Indian males. His wife getting up early in the morning, drawing the rangoli, doing her tulasi puja, praying for the family and most importantly waking up the husband with coffee in hand, while the husband happily sleeps till late hours. 'muthyamantha pasupu', 'malargal nanaidhana' and host of other songs stand testimony to such dreams. Times have changed in urban India now and this song will bring a sigh out of all those males out there. You can just dream of such a scenario. This is not going to happen buddy. You better make that coffee yourself!!!

One song at a time - 5. Bhool Jaa Ae Dil

2010-06-09T02:12:00.000-07:00

"This is not a composition of Naushad miyan. You need to put in some effort." ("Yeh Naushad miyan ka gaana nahin hai, aap ko mehnat karni padegi."). When I read that a music director had directed these words towards a young Lata Mangeshkar, struggling with his composition, I was intrigued. For Naushad was a famous name and you don't expect a music director to dismiss him so casually. Naturally I had to find out more about the music director who made the statement.

Sajjad Hussain was his name and he was a temperamental man. I discovered that due to his temperament he never got along well with the film folks and ended up scoring for only 16 or 17 movies in his career. Knowing the name was not enough. I needed to know what he had scored. One of his first composition I heard was "yeh hawa yeh raat yeh chandni". Then I heard "dharthi se dook gore", "yeh kaisi ajab dastan". Enough to show that his style was quite different from that of Naushad. I personally feel his compositions were more complex than those of Naushad. His compositions sound very original. Infact Anil Biswas is supposed to have remarked that Sajjad Hussain was the most original of all composers!!! High praise indeed coming from Anilda, whom I hold as a very original composer.

To prove the point of originality and complexity, listen to this song today. This is sung by a very young Lata. Observe the rhythm of the song. Observe how the music director suddenly introduces melody into it when instead of ending the line sharply with the rhythm, Sajjad Hussain lets Lata to elongate the word. Observe how in the charanams the tune is not going as you expect it to go but is more free flowing. Observe the extremely modern treatment given that the song came out in 1950.

From the film 'Khel', ladies and gentlefolks, presenting you 'bhool jaa ae dil'.

One song at a time - 4. Dakshinarmurthy's Begada

2010-06-03T23:07:00.000-07:00

(V. Dakshinamurthy Swamy and K J Jesudas)

In Indian film music, one of the biggest challenges for the music directors of yesteryear was how to tune in classical ragas for film music. In early days, they didn't try changing the classical flavor much and the old Tamil songs for example, are almost like classical krithis. When film music turned more 'modern', the music directors put in an effort to modify the raga, to make it more 'lighter', give it a different flavour so that it can reach a larger audience. This is probably easier said than done for not all ragas are equal in this respect. Some, like Mohanam and Kalyani, are eminently suitable for this modification as innumerable songs based on these ragas prove. Some others like Begada, Bilahari, Yadhukula Kambhoji do not shed their classical cloak easily and it requires a genius to transform their image to suit the film music needs. And in V.Dakshinamurthy or Dakshinamurthy Swami, as he is called now, Malayalam film music found its genius.

Today we will see / hear the transformation of Begada in the hands of Dakshinamurthy Swami from being a traditionally bejewelled lady dressed in silk to a normal cotton saree wearing housewife. (It is very difficult to get Begada to being a jeans clad youth.) Dakshinamurthy Swami takes one of the most 'classical' of Carnatic raga and comes up with a very melodious film song. The first time I heard this song I took some time to recognize the raga because I was not expecting Begada in a film song!!! Actually this song is made of two ragas. The first part of the song based on Begada and the second part based on Kalyani. Dakshinamurthy has lot of excellent ragamalikas to his credit as well as many famous songs in Malayalam films. My first exposure to Dakshinamurthy was when I heard his name as the music director for the Tamil film 'Oru Oodapu Kann Simitugiradhu'. The song 'nanda nee en nila' was a famous one during those times. Later I heard his songs from the movie 'Gaanam', which was very famous for the classical bent of all the songs.

This is a very melodious song which you can enjoy even if you are not a person who can recognize ragas. In fact this is a song which many Malayalis will know by heart. I had once sent this song to a group of friends asking them to identify the ragas. My friend Ramki immediately replied, "Begada' and 'Kalyani', without bothering to open my attachment. He had grown in Kerala during his early days and this was a song that was burnt into his memory. So let us go ahead and hear this all time hit song from the film 'Sthree'.

The famous male version sung by K J Yesudas here.

Here is the female version of the song sung by S.Janaki. (Those of us who have watched actress Sharada in Telugu film will probably remember her as someone who always cries or makes other cry!!! Here you see her charming side. ) The female version is a slightly modified version of the male one.