A.R.Rahman’s compositions – A classical view – Part II

Compiled another set of Classical based compositions of Rahman Ji. This time I have tried to list some of the Hindi compositions too.


Bilahari– Omana penne from the movie “Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya” is based on the Raga Bilahari. The most beautiful part of the song is the interlude “Maragatha thottilil” which brings out the Rasa of Bilahari.
Nattai – The song Narumugaye from the movie Iruvar is based on Naattai. However usage of Gambeera naattai is seen in the pallavi for the female portion of the song. Also the ending of the charanam “Ilaithaen Thudithaen Pørukkavillai..
Idaiyinil Maegalai Irukkavillai..” is in the Raga “Maand”.

Maand – Sowkiyama in Sangamam is purely based on the Raga Maand. The most beautiful portion in the song is the starting of charanam, when nithyasree sings “Suriyan Vandhu Vaavenum bodhu” and the briha following it brings the main saaram of the Raga. The saz piece in the end is also wonderful.

Kaapi or Mishra pilu – The song oru poiyavadhu from the movie Jodi, is based on the ragam kapi. pilu is a hindustani raag that is almost similar to kapi in carnatic. However in the charnam the lines “aanaal penne ullam kallil seithuvaithaano….kaathal kanne ullam kallil seithuvaithaano” is deviating from kapi and is set in “Dharbari”.

Saraswathi and Hameer kalyani – Kaiyil midhakkum from Ratchagan is based on the Ragas Saraswati and Hameer kalyani. The Ragas were switched alternatively in elegance to produce a great tune. “Kanava kaatra” starts with saraswati. However the line “unnai mattum sumandhu nadanthaal uyaram dhooram theriyaadhu” in the charanam perfectly brings out the essence of Hameer kalyani. The song “Malargale malargale” from the movie Love Birds is also based on “Hameer Kalyani”

Charukesi – The song “Aahistha Aahistha” from the movie Swades is based on the Raga Charukesi. The tamil equivalent “Thai sonna thaalattu” is sung by Jesudas and Madhusri.

Panthuvarali – Hay Rama from Rangeela sung by Swarnalatha and Hari ji is based on Panthuvarali. Also the song “Machiniye” from the movie star is based on panthuvarali or kama vardhini.

Bhimplas – Manmohiney Morey from the movie “Yuvraaj” is based on Bhimplas.

Hamsadhwani/Shankarabhranam – yeh jo des hai tera from “Swades” is mainly based on Shankarabharanam. However, the song uses lot of phrases of Hamsadhwani. The pallavi starts with notation “yeh jo des hai tera …..[P N S S S S]”, ” tujhe hai pukaara …[P S R..S R G]”. In the charanam, “Tujhse zindagi ….[R G gp G G G] hai ye keh rahi….[R G gd P P P]” usage of Da is seen.

Shubha panthuvarali or Gujri Todi – Bhor Bhaye song from Delhi 6 is based on Shubha panthuvarali. The hindustani Equivalent of this raga is Gujri Todi.

Hamsadhwani and Vaasanthi – Manmadha maasam song from Paarthale paravasam, starts with Hamsadhwani and as the song progresses, it moves to vaasanthi, which is evident by the usage of the Sudha Daivatham.

shankarabharanam, behaag and hameer kalyani – Nee thaan en Desiya geetham from the movie Paarthale paravasam is an excellent composition and it is a magic to hear in Balram’s voice. Wow what a composition! The song starts in Shankarabharanam. After the interlude but before starting of the charanam, Balram does a Aalap which is set in Hameer kalyani. As the song moves to charanam, the Raga shifts to Behag.

Ragamalika – Suttum Vizhi chudar thaan from the movie Kandukonden kandukonden is a ragamalika. The sequence is Behag, kalyani, Vasantha and back to Behag.

To be continued…

continue your reading here:
https://ravikumarv.wordpress.com/2011/02/12/a-classical-perspective-of/

Sargam for Lukka Chuppi – A.R Rocks

The original composition is sung by A.R.Rahman and Lata ji.

I have tried to notate the swaras as closely as possible. In case, if you find any change, please feel free to intimate me.

Note:
, indicates a single pause.[1 maathirai]
; indicates a double pause. [2 maathirai]
The Swaras in red indicates the taara sthaayi and the green indicates the manthra sthaayi.
 

A.R.Rahman’s compositions – A classical view

Right from his debut in Roja, A.R.Rahman has given numerous songs of classical background. And this space is no big to elaborate each of them. But let me share my views/word of appreciation on few of the songs which I am gifted to listen to.


Abheri – Kannodu kanbathellam from the movie jeans is based on this Raga. Especially the chittai swaram part of the song affirms the Raga.

Vasantha – Minsara kanna from the movie padayappa

Darbaari kanada – kaatre en vasal vanthai from the movie Rhythm

Desh – Rahman rocked in his dubut movie Roja and the aalap portion of the song kadhal rojaave is based on the Raga Desh and the song is set in kapi. The National Song “Vande Matharam” is also based on raga Desh.

Madhyamavathi – The song “Thom karuvil irundom” from the movie star is based on this raga.

Raga Durga is effervescently used in the song “En uyir thozhiye” from the movie “Kangalal Kaidhu sei”. The Raga chayal is preserved in the whole song. Especially the running chords after the pallavi, “DŔśś DŔśś” is set so nice that it brings out the essence of the Raga.

Yamuna kalyani is beautifully brought out in Sakthi kodu from Baba.
“Nila kaaigiradhu” from the movie indra is also based on Yamuna kalyani.

The song mettupodu from the movie duet is based on Anandha bairavi. Especially the prelude of the song “aaya kalaigal arubathu naanginaiyum” brings out the essence.

“Anbendra mazhaiyile” from minsara kanavu is one other composition in Anandha bairavi.

“Enge enadhu kavidhai” from the movie “kandukonden kandukonden” is a classic mix of lathangi, keeravani and sindhu bhairavi.

“Kannamoochi yenada” is an excellent composition in nattai kurinji raga. However in the charanam Sahana creeps in. The song “Oru Naal Oru Polzuthu” from the movie “Andhimandaarai” is based on nattaikurinji and in some places use of khamas is seen predominent.

“En veettu thottathil” from the movie gentle men is based on the ragas Nilambari, kurinji, sankarabaranam and chenchurutti. But the interlude is based on hamsadhwani.

“kurukku siruthavale” from the movie mudhalvan is a crystal clear presentation of raaga vaasanti. The song “Theeyil vizhunda thena” from the movie “God Father” is also based on the same raga.

The songs “oh vennila and thendrale” from the movie “kadhal Desam” are based on shankarabharanam.
The song thoda thoda from the movie Indra is also based on the same raga. But usage of anya swaras are more in this.

The song “Thaai sonna thaalaattu” from the movie Desam is mellifluously dipped in Charukesi. The Song “Udhaya Udhaya” from the movie Udhaya and the song “Yedho Yedho ondru” from the movie “Enakku 20 unakku 18” are also based on the same Raga.

The song “Uyirum Neeye” from the movie Pavithra is composed in khamas.

The song vellai pookkal from the movie kannathil muthamittal is a master piece of Rahman and is based on the raga Hamsadhwani. My heart gets filled with peace and happiness whenever I hear this song.

The song “Ennavale Adi Ennavale” from the movie “Kadhalan” is based on the Raga kedaram.

The song “Vidukathaiya” from the movie Muthu is based on the Raga “Ahiri Bhairavi” or in some places “Chakravaham”.

The song “Anjali Anjali” from the movie “Duet” is based on the Raga Maand

To be continued…

Here is my continuation

https://ravikumarv.wordpress.com/2012/01/04/a-r-rahmans-compositions-a-classical-view-part-ii/

Indian Classical Vs Light Music

Hmm…So this time I have jumped into the pacific, and I hope I can swim a considerable distance just to feel in bones that I am infinitesimal amidst the ocean !!!

Starting from finest of melodies to Dappanguthu, every song has one or more Ragas associated with it. From the bird’s eye view A Raga is a series of five or more musical notes upon which a melody is made.

So what differentiates the Classical music from the Filmy music?



Classical Music has its origin rooted deep into Indian history and tradition. Thats why it is often referred to as traditional music (pandhadhi). It follows strict rules and aesthetics. Especially the life (Jeeva) of Carnatic and Hindustani music lies on that special aspect called Gamaka. The unique character of each raga is given by its gamakas, making their role essential rather than decorative in Indian music. The cine/light songs are totally devoid of these gamakas.

But in light, anything pleasant to hear (Ranjaka) and suiting the occasion is accepted. It doesn’t impose strict rules on usage of Anya swaras (swaras not belonging to the specific raga) in songs and other aspects such as Bhava, and style are also not adhered traditionally.

We also have practice of using Anya swaras in Carnatic and Hindustani, but they are well defined for a raga and again bound to rules. Example,
Mishra Shiva Ranjani, Bilahari, etc., The literal meaning of the term “Mishra” is mixed. Mishra ragas are often referred to as Bashanga ragas in carnatic. Example of some of the mishra ragas are Mishra mand, Mishra peelu, Mishra kapi, etc

Most of the songs in modern films, are not based on a single raga. As they are composed mostly for varying moods, and for the sake of entertainment, mixing more than one Raga adds beauty and gives a varied dimension to the song. Most of the time, you need a keyboard or an instrument to figure out the notes of cine songs and jot them in order to map it to the domain of ragas. And it is mostly one to many mapping.

There are some differences in way of singing (say culturing the voice), between the classical and light music. As the name suggests, light music is always sung light without any depth in singing. Mostly the sound emerges from the throat. However in carnatic, the sound emanates from the umblical cord (Naabhi) and travels through the chest then to the throat.

Stated clearly in the following kriti,
“Naabhi hrud kanta rasana”.

A breathing technique called Pranayama helps in acheiving this.

And there is no doubt that, people who are trained in classical have an edge over those who only sing light, especially in voice culture, knowledge, identifying swaras, and other technical aspects. They can adapt to light with ease.

But on the contrary it is a great challenge for those who sing only light to adapt themselves for singing carnatic. To quote an analogy, A person knowing marine swimming, can adapt easily and swim in a swimming pool but the converse is not true.

The trend of cinema music has been continuously changing from the days of pure classical music being adopted in movies (Sampoorna Ramayana, Lava kusa, etc) to modern rap and Jazz music. It is becoming more westernized and less classical day by day.

Nowadays, only Rahman’s and Ilayaraja’s songs makes sense to be mapped to the Raga domain. Thanks Rahman & Ilayaraja for that.

“Music” – a path to “Eternal Bliss”

Although I have commenced my blogging with  the  “Hello World” Post, this is my first official post.  As I am a novice to blogging, I felt I would take up a topic that is  familiar to me, probably the one which will not make me feel vacuous.

Music – “The language of the soul” is abysmal  and something that cannot be expressed in words.  Say, I utter a statement “Sugar is Sweet“, you cannot feel the sweetness in your tongue, unless it is tasted(at least once). Music has to be felt realized (rather lived) than to be spoken about.You can question me then, as to why i am writing about music. To be clear in my point, this is not about music but the experience of music.

Any sound(music or noise) has a frequency and produces an effect in the environment. If you are a C/C++ programmer and if you ever had a chance to read the sound() function(help) in turboc3, you might be aware of the following story.

“True story: 7 Hz is the resonant frequency of a chicken’s skull cavity.
This was determined empirically in Australia, where a new factory
generating 7-Hz tones was located too close to a chicken ranch: When the factory started up, all the chickens died.” – content from turboc3 – help for sound() function.

Experience differs from genre to genre (say Carnatic, Hindustani, Pop, Rock, Folk,western … so on and so forth). It is beyond doubt that, Irrespective of the genre, every music has an impact on the human mind/body. Some takes you to a higher level of ecstasy and some may produce a soothing effect to your mind and some other may tap the emotions out of you. Besides, few others may give a peculiar experience of “Losing oneself in music!!!”. This is a state of being in unison with the music or rather a transcending experience. The effects of Ragas on human mind/body are proven scientifically. For instance, Raag Abhogi stimulates appetite, Raag Ananda Bairavi reduces hyper tension, Chandrakauns treats heart ailments and diabetes, Nilambari induces sleep and the list grows. Moreover, “One of the oldest examples occurs in the Bible with King Saul asking David to play his harp in order to relieve him of his evil spirits”.

Eternal Bliss means “A state of extreme happiness lasting forever” which is a very difficult term to describe but has to be felt. This eternal bliss can be achieved only when the mind releases itself from the bondage of space and the time. Saint Thyagaraja (one of the trinities of Carnatic Music) says in his composition “nAdalOluDai brahmAnandamandavE manasA” meaning “O Mind! By becoming a lover of nadha(Music), attain the eternal bliss”.

The state and the mood of the singer mostly reflects while a song is rendered. And the converse is also true. Say the state and the mood of the singer is greatly influenced by the song he hears/sings. But sorry to say that most of the songs rendered now by most of the great artists reflects the Ego of the performer/artist and it is mere exhibition of their talent. This music can cater to your appetite for knowledge but will never get you even close to the state of bliss.

But on the contrary the beauty of music lies in its simplicity(in its raw form). In a Tamil movie song from the Movie “Idhu namma bhoomi”, there is a lovable lyric that reads “Sabayil paeredukka kuyilgal isaippadillai…enakke naan sugam serka dinamum paadugindren” meaning ” Just as, how cuckoos don’t sing for rewards/glory, I sing for my own happiness/bliss”. One another wonderful composition “Katril varum geethame” from the movie “Oru Naal Oru kanavu” portrays the key objective of music… “Isayin payanae iraivan thaanae” meaning “The ultimate fruit of music is divine himself”.
For instance the “Khwaje Mere Khwaja” song from the movie Jhodha Akbar sung by A.R.Rahman or any song of M.S.Subbulakshmi assimilates the Bhakti Rasa (devotion/divine essence) and is totally devoid of ego.

To conclude, what I feel is, an artist can certainly attain this state of bliss, and with the power of music, can even extend the experience to the listeners if he/she annihilates the ego.