Live in San Jose - the Prince of Music: Part 3

This is the final part of my thoughts on Ilaiyaraja's concert in San Jose. Please read the prelude, Part 1, and Part 2 before proceeding further below.

Thanks to YouTube, I have heard Ilaiyaraja and Sadhana Sargam sing the altered version of Sorgamey Endraalum (Movie: Ooruvittu Ooru Vandhu) at his concert in Dubai. Well, I should just say I was lucky enough to hear it again, the lyrics were even more altered, even better and even more lilting. Here you go (Sorry, non-Tamil folks):

Sorgamey endraalum adhu nammooru pola varumaa (he sang this line alone in Telugu too)

En naadu sendraalum, adhu nam naattukkeedaagumaa

Pala desam muzhudhum pesum mozhigal Tamil pol inithudumaa

Software-il yaaru indru number onnu, namma ooru kaarar illaiyaa

England-il minnum Kohinoor vairam, adhu ingirundhu ponadhillaiyaa

Valluvar, Kamban, Bharathiyum thondri vaayththadhindha naadallavaa

Dhoora dhesam vandhu vaazhndhirundha podhum naattin paasam maaravillaye

Annaiyidam keatta aareeraaro paatum indrum nammai vitta dhillaiye

Sondha naattin uravu nammai vaattum bodhu endha geetham sogam aattruhu

Nithiraiyam indri dhukkam konda podhum endha isai thoonga vaikkudhu

Un ullukkulley sendru un ullam thotta dhaaru

Nee kandu kollu raasa, adhu namma ooru raasa

Kai maaru seyya yeadhum illai

Though I am pretty sure that the last line was what he felt (he, in fact, he spread out his hands meaning that he cannot reciprocate the love from his fans), still idhu konjam too much illa?! (is not this a little too much?!)

Jokes apart, let us sigh because Yuvan is back on stage with: Ninaivo oru Paravai (Movie: Sigappu Rojakkal), and he is paired with one of the chorus girls (she sings her first individual song, out of chorus). I thought the girl did a better job than Yuvan. One thing which puzzled me was: Why should Yuvan be given all Kamal songs?  Well, there is one more Kamal song to follow. I feel Kamal has a very distinct voice and sings songs which invariably only he can do justice do (I actually consider Kamal's voice to have lost the melody, in recent times).

The next was a song I am familiar in both Tamil (dubbed from Telugu) and Telugu. I have even seen the Tamil version of the movie called “Paadum Paravaigal”, since it appealed to me as a murder mystery as a kid - worse, I did not even know what a “Rape” meant then, and hence did not understand the movie fully! The song Keeravani (Movie: Anveshana) was sung by SPB and one of the chorus girls; I must also add that the introductory humming was superbly performed by one of the male chorus singers. “Keeravani” is also the ragam name, and in the beginning of the song, Raja beautifully showcases the avarohanam (S N D P M G R S N - Keeravani). The charanam of the tamil version has some beautiful construction (P N - S R G R G S - N P - Nee Paartha, i.e., after the swaram “Nee Paa”, the lyric also has “Nee paa”. Let us wow again!)

Another nice number followed: Thamthana (Movie: Pudhiya Vaarppugal) - Chitra and same girl as the previous song. Raja showcased his genius creativity by performing a new score for the song. While the tune and lyrics were retained, almost everything else was different. The string instruments showcased a beautiful westernization of Shanmugapriya (Ragam name), which was superb!

I had never heard this song before and immediately consulted my Telugu neighbor in the auditorium. She said that this was a cult song; I had to come home and see the video of this song to understand what exactly she meant. The song was Priyathama (Movie: Jagadeka Veerudu Atiloka Sundari), sung by SPB & Chithra. I have already listened to this song about 10 days during the past two days and I should say I am falling in love with this song (originally sung by S. Janaki. Is there a reason why Janaki is not present in Raja’s concerts?)

Having mentioned Janaki’s absence, I should say that Chithra performs most of her songs beautifully and continued doing that for one more song that evening. Of course, this song is more popular because of its grandiose orchestration which apparently stunned RD Burman’s troop in Bombay (SPB repeated this story which he previously said in Andrum Indrum Endrum)

Do you remember my mention about another Kamal song by Yuvan: Poattu Vaitha Kaadhal thittam (Movie: Singara Velan). Yuvan is also showed by Karthik and another guy in the chorus. Sadly, both Yuvan and Karthik did not touch the highs (the line “noolaadai soodikkollum kolarin thangappaalam nee thaan”) satisfactorily. It looked like Karthik asked for support from the chorus singer at that point. I guess it is understandable after 4 hours of constant singing - but wait, Karthik and Yuvan did not have so many songs, right?!

Raja asked SPB for the time, and it was 11:45 PM. None of us felt that it was so late. The next was a song was an audience favourite: Thakita Thadhimi (Movie: Sagara Sangamam). The first half of the song was in Telugu, and SPB started off in Tamil with “Ulaga Vaazhkkai”. I thought the song could have been performed in a reduced semitone. SPB too was not able to reach the highs - this is the first time I have seen SPB struggling with the highs. Given the amount of (some say, blind) passion I have for this jumbo man, only I know how bad I felt to see his voice shrieking. The chorus-backed-up humming at the end of the 2nd charanam was beautifully performed - to me, that was the highlight in addition to the orchestra.

Somebody from the audience shouted more, and Raja shouted back, “Adei pasangala”, and the next moment there was absolute silence - well, he said that because he had sailed into Orampo (Movie: Ponnu Oorukku Pudhusu) along with his chorus. I did not quite know why this song was performed at that juncture (recalling my previous example, my father would have said, “a concert as good as this needs a dhrusthi pottu” - that is why we have this song!). One thing I observed was that all of the chorus girls screamed exactly like young boys in the movie - they did not at all sound like young women!

Even as the previous song ended, SPB came on the stage, whispered something into Raja’s ears and Raja started asking: Where is the palana (a word used in Tamil to indicate sexual connotation) matter? The next moment I knew that the next song would be: Nila Adhu (Movie: Nayagan). It may be because it was getting late that Raja performed only till Pallavi when SPB interrupted and informed us that this tune was originally composed as a lullaby! What?! I know! So, Raja then sings a beautiful lullaby by removing the beats and lyrics, and altering the meter. This tune was the alternate tune for the actually featured lullaby in the movie: Thenpaandi (Movie: Nayagan), performed with altered lyrics, which I really liked. SPB sang the Telugu altered version (which I am not giving here: I don’t know the language and don’t even know if what I have understood - lyric-wise - is right), while Raja then sang the Tamil version:

Yeazhezhu kadal kadandhu, ingu vandhu vaazhbavarey,

Endrendrum unakkenave, isai koduppene

Engoar mannilpirandhaalum, yeadhoar mannil vaazhndhaalum,

Unaiyum enaiyum inaippathellaam, uyirin melaam isaithaane!

Un vaazhvil sila nodigal, en vaazhvil sila nodigal,

Endrendrum ninaivil nirkum, innodi thaaney!

Theeraadha sogham enna, thaalaadha thuyaram enna,

Sollaamal thudaippadhu nam isai thaane, en isai thaane!

There was not a hint of pride when he sang that - the only thing visible to me was the amount of satisfaction this guy has achieved by composing music, and then giving to us! It was such an emotional moment, and it could not have completed without the original lyrics. Finally, he sang the original song with his most-emoting voice ...

… and the concert was actually over with that - none of us could actually believe that it was! Raja was about to leave, but there was absolute silence in the crowd - some were just waiting for the next song or some (like me) knew it was over but was neither able to accept it nor know what to do next! Raja did not know what to respond to such strange behavior - SPB had to step in and talk: “See, this is not a full-stop, this is only a comma. We will meet again” - blah, blah. Almost of us stayed until Raja walked off - he paused before exiting the dais and raised his hands above his head, thanking all of his fans, and disappeared.

I am truly blessed to have witnessed such a mind-blowing concert. Who else gives a full-fledged orchestral performance in concerts these days?! SPB even went on to say that the shows (which are performed these days) are merely for entertainment purposes and people only like to dance on stage; the actual song will be recorded while singers pretend to sing by lip-syncing. I am not sure how much this is true, but it must be to an extent, given that SPB has made such a statement. However, as Raja repeatedly said, his’ was not a “show” at all - it was a musical concert. That is why he expected complete decorum - I also realized how little value does Raja give to entertainment. To him, this is art and hence, divine, period. In fact, during the entire evening, very little time was spent in talking or chit chatting (which has become so common of shows in our culture). It was music, music, and music all the way.

I had actually taken a bus (yes, public transport) to reach the concert from my home. While I was waiting at 1 AM to board the bus, I met a gentleman who had flew from Seattle just for the sake of the concert. He made a comment which summarized my thoughts as well: “I feel that I was part of history!” 

Live in San Jose - the Prince of Music: Part 2

Wait: Have you read the prelude and the first part?

Having given atleast one song to each of the singers, Raja returns to singing, with Idhayam Oru Koil, which I believe is the song he first wrote! If you think I was going to say this is set in Mohanam ragam, I am sorry to disappoint - I still love the way how Raja deviates from Mohanam and comes back to it! Back to the concert, one of his troop singers started off with the humming, and Raja then stole the show. He laid special emphasis on lines like:

Paadalgal oru kodi, edhuvum pudhidhillai (there are a crore songs, none of them are new)

Raagangal kodi kodi, edhuvum pudhidhillai (there are a crore ragams, none of them are new)

Enadhu jeevan nee dhaan, endrum pudhidhu (you are my life, always new!)

En paadalin jeevan edhuvo adhu neeye (you are the life of my music)

Neeyum naanum ondru thaan  (you & I are the same)

Engey Pirivadhu?! (how can we be separated)

There was a mistake in the orchestration before one of the three charanams, he himself sang the wrong charanam at the wrong time and Raja simply stopped - the orchestra repeated it. This is an example of wanting to achieve perfection in every direction. At New Jersey, Raja had said, “We make too many mistakes in our concerts. You may not identify them, but mistakes hurt me a lot and I am not able to accept it. That is one reason I hesitate doing live concerts.” When somebody corrects a mistake on screen, it is so good as a member of the audience to see that the mistake is acknowledged and corrected (more on this later). Would pride or arrogance even let Raja do such an act - what nonsense?! This guy is such an amazing person, and those who fail to see his true traits miss something significant. The interlude had to start from the Shenoi, which Balesh had to do it thrice. He was applauded specially at the end of the song!

At this point, I have to mention the calibre of all the chorus singers. Though I remember some of their names such as Priyadharshini (whom Raja teased as “Periya Dharshini”, i.e, Big Dharshini), Priya Himesh, etc., I am not able to connect the names to faces, and hence don’t remember who sang what! All of these people are independently established playback singers and even have wikipedia entries (really!?)! Its only my lack of remembrance that has led me to such a big sodhappal (i.e., failure) in not remembering who sung what. Sorry guys and girls - you were all awesome!

At the end of "Idhayam Oru Koil", SPB spoke about Raja's lyrical skills, and asked him if he had written any  sahithyam in Telugu. Not so surprisingly, the answer was "yes". Raja hesitated a lot before answering the question, and mentioned that he did it simply for personal satisfaction and would not talk usually about it in public. He ended up singing the Pallavi of the song which he had written and composed before Thyagaraja's jeeva samaadhi in Thiruvaiyaaru. Since the lyrics were in Telugu, I did not understand a whole lot. It went something like "He who believes that he knows everything, actually knows nothing. He, who believes that he knows nothing, knows a lot!" Apart from figuring out that it was set in Vasantha (name of Ragam), I don't remember much about it. So, here is a guy who composes classical, devotional, philosophical songs just for his own pleasure. Marketing - what's that?! Advertiment - what's that? I can say beyond doubt that, if alone he had a better voice with hardcore classical voice-culture training, he would have become a big shot in the Carnatic field as well.

Another beautiful melody to follow: Enno Rathri (Movie: Dharmakshetram), performed by SPB and one of the chorus girls. The original of this song was sung by KJ Yesudas and Swarnalatha (we miss you, dear! why did you have to leave us so early!) in Tamil in the Rajinikanth movie Dharmadurai. Raja recounted how Rajinikanth walked upto him and requested a song like “Thanni Karuthiruchu” from the Kamal-Rajini starrer Ilamai Oonjaladugirathu (again, composed by Raja). Though still very erotic (for those times), I think that “Maasi Maasam” or “Enno Raathri” has an extra class in it, in comparison with “Thanni Karuthiruchu”! Wait, wait - is this another Suddhya Dhanyasi - that is where the class comes from! Wait again, is there more to this story - hum the tune of the first line of this song and slightly alter the metering (thalam), you will actually the tune of the first line of “Vizhiyil Vizhundhu”!!

How many of us remember Raja’s description of Kavingar (the one and only Kannadasan) writing for his “Aayiram Malargale Malarungal” and the way he used to spit out cigarette ashes on his ash tray!! Raja had more to say about him at San Jose. He mentioned how he hummed a line, and how Kavingar gave lyrics: whenever Raja’s mouth would be open (and by how much), Kavingar’s words would exactly fill that space (by that much amount). It is not that easy to write lyrics for tunes, says Raja! The song in contention: Elamai ennum poongatru (Movie: Pagalil or iravu), sung by none other than SPB. The chorus was simply awesome in this song - note that this song requires constant second humming right from line no. 1 all the way until the end!

Yaar Angey (Hey, Somebody): Please bring me a thesaurus and give me a list of adjectives which can be used to praise art and music. I am running out of them :-)

Second surprise of the evening was again given by Hariharan. When the song started off with heavy Tabla and Mirudangam, I was perplexed as to what such song has Hariharan song. I was not able to think out of the box that he would be performing somebody else’ song, and that too a Bharathiraja Classic - Maancholai Kilithaano (Movie: Kizhakke Pogum Rayil, Radhika’s first movie) - written by Kannadasan, and originally sung by Jeyachandran. While the orchestration was excellent, I felt Hariharan only did about 80% justice to the song. Still, I have to salute him for singing somebody else’ song, and more importantly, for getting all the 2nd speed lines (“Minnal Oliyena” part) correct.  Remember when I had spoken about returning back to Suddha Dhanyasi - this song starts in beautiful Suddha Dhanyasi, and then superbly transitions (right from the interlude after the 1st charanam, i.e., before Minnal Oliyena, the 2nd speed) into Karaharapriya, and finally comes back to Suddha Dhanyasi for the 1st speed in the 2nd charanam starting from “Melaadai Maangani”. I feel Raja alone can perform such seamless transitions - this is what I mean by saying “teasing your intellect”!

Before leaving the stage, Hariharan wanted to sing one particular song, saying that he considered himself lucky that Raja chose Hariharan for that particular song - Nee thoongum nerathil (Movie: Manasellam), and quickly sang that Pallavi. Though the orchestra was not prepared, he was backed up aptly by keyboard and chords. The way Hariharan sang that song was absolutely blissful.

Drumroll - SPB and chitra back for the repeat of a National award winning song - Lalitha priya kamalam (Movie: Rudraveena, later remade into Unnal Mudiyum Thambi), originally sung by KJ Yesudas and Chitra; however, the transformed Tamil version was sung by SPB and Chithra. SPB mentioned on stage that he is thankful to Raja for giving him the Tamil version. Let us talk some technical stuff. Boy likes girl, asks her name and she replies it is “L.K.A. Malam” (Malam, meaning faecal matter). Boy is shocked, and finally relieved when she says it is “Lalitha Kamalam”; in telugu, she actually dances while humming the ragam which is called by the name “Lalitha” (basically, Mayamalavagowla sans “Pa”). Wow, Really?! In fact, the tamil version of the movie has this song right at this juncture. See the beauty - how the screenplay, lyric, and music intersect with this single name called “Lalitha”. This is when happens when genuises (Balachander for screenplay, Raja for music, and Sitarama Sastri for the lyric) meet - I am still wondering why the Tamil lyric did not feature the name “Lalitha”! We can in fact talk more about Raja’s use of this Ragam - thirumagal un magam kaana (Movie: Veera), parts of “Vanakkuyiley” (Movie: Priyanka).

Next is a song which Raja almost unfailingly repeats in almost every concert he performs: Naan thedum (Movie: Dharmapaththini), with Chithra. When Raja started off the prelude humming, it was unfortunate that something got stuck and it did not come out very well. And then came the proof that Raja is a perfectionist - he repeated the humming. It is very important to understand that live performances are performed by humans who are prone to error. A very common culture in Carnatic concerts is that people, at times, try really crazy things (difficult sangathis, challengingly high swarams, complex thalam constructions) and at times err - when such mistakes happen, they have to continue and then shortly come back and do the same crazy thing, this time properly. This is a purist culture, and it is so good to see that Raja has imbibed it. He did the same thing when it came to the violin prelude to “Senthoorappoove” in the “Andrum indrum endrum” concert. In the entertainment industry, I have not seen anybody accept (and rectify) mistakes on stage, anybody other Raja.

More salutes to Hariharan - he next sang a song which was originally sung by S. Janaki - Azhagu Malaraada (Movie: Vaidehi Kaarhtirundhaal) - the climatic dance jathi and swarams were actually not performed, if I remember correctly. The song was OK, I thought - not the best of the evening.

Hariharan was followed by a medley by different singers. SPB started off with “Keezh Vaaniley” charanam of Naanaaga Naanillai (Movie: Thoongaathey Thambi Thoongaadhey). I often say that Raja’s music appeals to me very much because it stirs my soul (in addition to Raja teasing us intellectually) - I rarely get this feeling from others music (Rahman and MSV being the only other two which have consistently created this feeling in me). It was in 2003 when I was 17 and used to study in IIT Madras while my parents lived in Pondicherry.It was the first time I stayed away from home, and me being the only son, it was difficult for both me and my parents, especially my mother. After I moved lock, stock, and barrel to my hostel at IIT, the first time I saw my mother was in Kalpakkam (where my uncle still lives) - it was just 90 minutes from both Madras and Pondicherry, and hence I went there in about 15 days. I was just sitting in my Mama’s bedroom, everybody were sitting around me - we were just sitting there - each of us were working on something individually. Sitting on the bed, I was doing my homework (yes, we had homework in college, and I did it regularly - atleast in my first semester), my Maami and my mother were cutting vegetables for brunch, and my Maama was reading his newspaper. This song was featured in radio at that time, and I started singing along (I sing pretty decently) with the radio. It was just any other song until the lines “Manimaaligai maadangalum, malar thooviya manjangalum, thaai veedu poal illai, angu thaalaatta aal illai” arrived when my voice completely broke down, tears started pouring out of my eyes, I moved out of the bed, went to my mother, buried my eyes into her lap and cried whole-heartedly - she did too! Even now, as I write this, I am moved to tears. This is soul-stirring - mind you, I was 17 at that time!

The medley was then followed a really rare piece: Aanandha then kaatru (Movie: Manipur Maamiyaar). It was sung by one of the chorus guys. It was really refreshing to see such a rare song being performed on stage. I am not sure how many people appreciated this song (my wife had not heard of it) but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Next in the medley was a song I was not very familiar with: Balapam patti (Movie: Bobbili Raja), performed by Chithra, SPB, and Mano. I just checked out the video of the song on YouTube - Divya Bharathi, really? It was very lively to see all the three singers perform actively on stage - just one word to describe: fun-filled performance. SPB was teasing Mano all along the way and even kissed him at a point!

The medley enters and then entered Yuvan Shankar Raja, to sing Raja Kaiyya Vacha (Movie: Abhoorva Sagodharargal). We all know how Yuvan sings; at times, I feel Raja is obliged to make him sing in concerts just because he is Yuvan’s father. The orchestration was amazing, and it was at this point I felt something - Raja needs to give a concert without any lead vocal support, just using his instrumentalists. Why does not he perform tracks from Nothing but Wind or How to Name it? Mind you, I love lyrics in songs and without lyrics, a song may not be fully complete. But as an outsider, I feel his music arrangement and orchestration is near flawless (if there is a mistake, he corrects them), but he can rarely ask senior singers to correct their mistakes. At some point Karthik joined Yuvan, and when Karthik left the stage, he encouraged the audience to shout louder and louder. I felt, what he did was not good, especially when the host Raja hates shouting. This became a huge issue a few minutes later!

The next song was stated by Raja as a rare performance, which they particularly prepared for this concert: Naan porandhu vandhadhu (Movie: Mayabazaar). After announcing the song, Raja walked off the stage, probably to take a break. The highlight of this song is that it is an A-capella, i.e., a song with only human voices and no instrument. Have we heard of Penn Masala? In Tamil cinema, music director Mahesh performed an A-capella for Kamal Hassan’s Nammavar. AR Rahman’s Rasaathi (Thiruda thiruda) resembles an A-capella on listening, but I am not 100% sure and I may be wrong. As SPB rightly said at the end of this song, the chorus deserved a special round of applause for this song! SPB also said, “It is not easy to sing chorus for Raja’s songs”. I have heard from many of my instrumentalist musician friends that it is neither easy to play instruments or give chords.

Mano came on the stage, and started singing the next song: Botany Patamundhi (Movie: Shiva). I believe SPB joined him for this song too. As a kid, I had seen the Tamil dubbed version of this movie, and the only thing I remember till date about this movie is the cycle-chain fight. As a four year old boy, I had just started following movies and my first question before watching any movie would be: “How many fights are there in this movie?!” Hell yes, I loved Shiva. Even when this movie aired on TV, even though I would be sleeping, I would still ask my mother to wake me up before this famed cycle-chain fight. Even today when I have graduated to watching movies like Mulholland Drive, if Shiva is screened, I would still want to watch that cycle-chain fight. Since that movie, Ram Gopal Varma has deserted the Tamil movie industry, Nagarjuna has changed a whole lot, and so many things have changed. But the moment I listen to this song, it is Raja who brings so many great (some of them personal) memories to me - right from when I was three or four years old. Is not this absolutely brilliant! If this is the case for me, I can only envy those who were born in late seventies - those who saw Raja grow up with them.

Let us welcome back Raja on to the dais! The next song features Karthik and another lady singing the beautiful song: Mayanginean Solla Thayanginean (Movie: Naane Raaja Naane Mandhiri). I am still amazed by how certain scripts come up with certain situations and how music directors like Raja respond. Its a triangular love story: Radhika loves Vijayakanth, while Vijayakanth loves Jeevitha (I think). The situation demands Radhika and Vijayakanth to sing alternatively; while Radhika is sad that Vijayakanth does not love her, Vijayakanth happily tries to woo Jeevitha. So, this song conveys alternating emotions from line to line. How does Raja respond to such a strange request? Of course, by giving this song. While P Suseela sings the pathos part, Jayachandran sings the happy-part, both alternate beautifully. I can’t stop wow-wing!!

SPB comes back for another beautiful song: Adhe Neevu Adhu Nenu (Movie: Abhinandhana). You must just see the interaction between SPB and Raja when the former sings the first line, which literally means “Its the same you, its the same me, lets sing the same song!”. Sometimes, I wonder how Raja choses such songs aptly for each concert. I only hear him say, “it has been so difficult for me to select a bunch of songs”. But frankly, I would have been happy with any selection!

The next song was performed by Mano: Chukkalu Themanna (Movie: April 1st Vidudhala). This was the first time I heard the Telugu song, but I am quite familiar with its much older Tamil counterpart, i.e., “Chithira Sevvanam” from the Tamil Movie “Kaatriniley Varum Geetham” which was released way back in 1978 (13 years before April 1st Vidudhala) - it was shocking to see Raja reusing his songs after so many years. Of course, these days he is re-using his old songs (on request from directors) in Hindi, after 20-25 years!

The next was a song I had never heard of before: Priya Priyathama (Movie: Killer). It was performed by Mano and Chithra, and made me go onto YouTube to look for the video of the song, featuring Nagarjuna and Nagma (seriously?!). I was just reminded that you remember some people not for what they actually did, but because they are connected to a more famous third person. No, I am not talking about Nagma’s interaction with the Indian cricket captain Saurav Ganguly! I am just wondering how many heros and heroines have come and gone, and their faces we would not remember if they had not been featured in some amazing songs by Raja. For example, there is no way I would remember this movie called “Killer” if it did not feature this song. In Tamil, I can give so many examples - take a sample of the movie “Kaadhal Oviyam” (I still don’t know the hero’s name, but remember his face very well).

It was just before the next song was when Ilaiyaraja got extremely upset due to the noise from the crowd. He basically shouted at the audience and hoped that we would stay quiet. From then on, the volume of shouting did go down, but never did dwindle down to being fully silent. The songs kept coming in full throttle to keep those interested in listening entertained. The next was an orchestral treat by Karthik and Bhavadharini: Oliyiley (Movie: Azhagi). Right from start, Karthik’s voice was very good, Bhavadhirini’s voice had warmed up (well, it was still not great and all that) and it was a very good listen. The highlight of the song came at the completion of the song when Raja requested Sekar to play his Cello part separately - which sounded divine-o-divine. So, Raja basically writes music (is he probably the only music director who fully writes, arranges, and orchestrates music?!) for each of his instruments (25 violins at the least, cello, viola, guitar, etc.); this guy has the ability to imagine how each instrument will sound individually and then imagine how all the 100 odd instruments will sound together. This is why SPB often calls him a Rakshasan... (literally, a musical demon)    

The next song topped of the previous treat through better explanation of the orchestration. First, SPB and Chithra fully rendered the song O Priya O Priya (Movie: Geethanjali, original of the later dubbed Tamil movie “Idhayathai Thirudaathey”). At the end of the song, SPB decided to demonstrate the full power of the orchestra. SPB asked Raja the amount of time he took to write the music score for this particular song: 30 minutes! He sang one charanam fully without any orchestration (only with mild percussion and flute). The orchestration is supposed to kick-in in the middle of that charanam. Then, SPB repeated the entire charanam from first, but muted himself (actually, reduced his volume to a bare minimum) from the point at which the orchestration kicks in. Then, the audience could hear only the complete orchestra. The beauty of it - you need to experience it :-)

Please continue reading Part 3.

Live in San Jose - the Prince of Music: Part 1

Wait: Have you read the prelude!?


As I entered into the concert hall at about 6:30 (that's when the gates opened), the tracks of “How to Name it” were being played faintly on the hall speakers. The hall was almost empty, and I got myself seated in about 10 minutes. Slowly, the seats started getting filled, all the ten tracks of “How to Name It” were played, and then repeated once again after which “Nothing but wind” commenced. Meanwhile, Raja’s troop started occupying the stage - all of his usuals including Shenoi Balesh, Flute Arunmozhi alias Napoleon (singer of “Arumbum Thalire” from Vijay’s Chandralekha - What a song!!), Cello Sekar, et al. There were about 30 violin-like strings (violins, cello, etc.), 3 keyboard players, 5 percussionists, 3 guitarists, one lady on the sitar (not sure if it was the sitar, could not figure out since I was sitting quite far), 3 people taking care of clarinets and saxaphones, and about 10 of them on chorus. The hall was pretty decent, but not the best one I had been in the US. I had an OK view and thankfully, had nothing to complain regarding the sound quality.

One of the several best things about this concert was punctuality. Sharp at 7:30 (the announced time), the event organizers came up on stage and greeted the audience and said, “We know that many of our friends are stuck in traffic, but Raja sir wants to start on time”. Almost immediately, the troop played the introduction score at the end of which the Maestro walked on to the stage. What a scene that was!! He slowly walked on to the dias, paid his respect to the audience and without much further ado, opened his harmonium. Right away, he started off with the now-famous verse from Adi Sankara’s Soundarya Lahari and continued with Janani Janani (Movie: Thaai Moogambikai). It has always been my dream to listen to Raja singing this song live and my joy had no bounds when it came true (though I was in Chennai 15 months ago, I had to narrowly miss his Endrendrum Raja). It is indeed an experience to listen this song with full orchestration (strictly speaking, I should be repeating this sentence for every song), as Kalyani (the name of the Ragam) reverbrates in your ears and oozes into your heart. I must say something about Raja’s use of Kalyani. Kalyani is a very commonly used Ragam in Carnatic, where most songs start on the higher end of octave (higher “Sa”, as they say it) - like in the “Vanajakshi” Adi tala varnam or Thyagaraja’s “Ammaraavamma” or sometimes, on the middle “Pa” (“Vanajakshi” ata tala varnam or “Nidhi Chaala Sukhamaa” of Thyagaraja). Raja too has composed songs which follow this tradition - Vandhaal Mahalakshmiye (higher “Sa”), Arul Thavazhum Karunai (higher “Sa”, in album “Ramana Malai”) or the arohanam-only Kalaivaniye (middle “Pa” or “Ma” depending on how you sing it). His “Nadhiyil Aadum” (in case you did not know, this song too has a verse from Soundarya Lahari - what's with Raja, Kalyani Ragam and Soundarya Lahari verses!?) starts somewhere in the middle (around “Ga”). . However, I feel Raja’s agmark Kalyani’s are two songs which start around Sa - “Janani Janani” and “Amma endrazhaikkadha”. Even with the limited scope of his voice, he is able to bring out so many emotions beautifully, and when he sings “Sakthipeetamum Nee” for the third time when he effortlessly sweeps over the higher octaves, you ought to feel one with the divine. The experience is only enhanced when you listen to this live, in comparison with the recording.

Almost as soon as the song got over, the percussionists took off with the “Udukkai” and the chorus stormed off into “Hara Hara Mahadev” with phrases from Sri Rudram. Enter Karthik to render Om Shivoham (Movie: Naan Kadavul, originally sung by Vijay Prakash). I should say Karthik performed really well, and the chorus added so much power to the song. When I first listened to this song when the movie released, I was blown off by its technical content, because I had never been fully satisfied with Raja’s use of Panthuvarali (name of Ragam) by Raja. His “Piraiye Piraiye” and “Rojavai Thaalaattum Thendral” deal more in the lower octaves, which is not a very good characteristic of the Ragam. Do you remember “Enna Varam Vendum” (Movie: Nandavana Theru, which featured the more-famous “Velli Nilave” song)? There, the “thogaiyara” (i.e., prelude before the song) starts in agmark Panthuvarali but the actual song reverts back to lower octaves, sigh! May be Raja thought that light music cannot bear this feature of Panthuvarali, i.e., the feature which gives it weight! For this devotional song, he breaks those shackles, and adheres to tradition - what a song, what a composition!

Karthik leaves, enter SPB. Huge roars and still none of the artists on stage have spoken a word - only music so far. One of the young ladies (is this Geetha Madhuri?) joins SPB to render Jagadha nandha Karaka (Movie: Rama Rajyam); the song was originally voiced by Shreya Goshal (and of course, SPB). This song is a beautiful, filmatic rendition of Suddha Dhanyasi. If alone you had heard this song in its pure carnatic form, you would understand how difficult it is to give a light-feel it. But such a task is cakewalk for Raja, is it not? While he can tune a not-so-light “Ragavane Ramana Ragunadha” (another song on Rama, in the same Ragam?!), he can also give us a “Vizhiyil Vizhundhu” or set Thiruvasagam in Oratorio to Suddha Dhanyasi (I am talking about Pooveru Konum) - western looks at Suddha Dhanyasi. Hell, he can also make Trisha (imagine her in a skimpy vest and tight pants) dance to his Suddha Dhanyasi in “Ilaya Nathi” (Movie: Manasellaam). Damn, he has even composed “Punjai undu” in Asuddha Dhanyasi (as Gemini Ganesan calls it in Unnal Mudiyum Thambi - for Telugu friends, it would be Hamsadhwani to Himsadhwani in Rudraveena). Such is the range of this guy!! Lets proceed now and get back to this Ragam later in the concert.


So, the first three songs were devotional, and then Raja greets the audience with this speech, alternatively in Tamil and Telugu - “You all think that you have come here to see me, but the truth is that I have come to see all of you!” Man, take a bow! Based on some blogs I have read about Raja’s previous New Jersey and Toronto concerts, there were some Telugu-Tamil tensions. None was apparently present here at San Jose. In fact, SPB and Raja made deliberate efforts to prevent such tensions by conversing in both languages. SPB (who sometimes chose English to talk) even went on to say: “Don’t go on to the Internet and write that the number of songs in one language was more than that in the other, and hurt people’s sentiments!” Having said that, I am a Tamilian, and don’t have the same amount of knowledge about Telugu songs, as I do about Tamil songs, and hence have written this from the perspective of my knowledge alone. Limited references to Telugu music is reflective only of my poor knowledge about the Telugu music/film industry.

The next song was the biggest surprise of the evening to me. Hariharan walks up on stage and pays his Namaskaram to Raja, and then, I believe Raja requested him to do a quick Aalapana, and Hariharan obliged. I knew the ragam (Hamsanadham, which uses S R2 M2 P and N3) immediately and began wondering what song has Hariharan sung for Raja in that Ragam! However, the percussion that followed immediately solved the puzzle, it was the greatest pleasant surprise of the evening - Isaiyil Thodangudhamma (Movie: Hey Ram, originally sung by the great Ajoy Chakraborty). I couldn’t enough appreciate Hariharan for singing somebody else’ song; I don’t think anybody else that would have been able to do enough justice to that song. Hariharan’s rendition was actually very good. However, I did notice one thing, and I am sure Raja noticed it. At the end of the 2nd Charanam, there is a short swaram sung beautifully by Ajoy, but Hariharan decided to change it (I am sure that he did not forget the original or something like that, but only wanted to show his creativity), but ended heavily deviating from the Ragam (he introduced “Dha” into this swaram), and that fact did not go well with me. When Raja himself fits the entire song in this Raga, a foreign “Swara” seems odd, and Ajoy uses only S, R, M, P and N. Raja was too surprised for a second, but given that Hariharan metered his own swaram well into the thalam, ended up clapping for him. I too clapped! So, is it true that even some genius like Hariharan has to struggle to contain one’s singing within that Ragam!? Another unrelated thing is that, I have been told Hariharan does a lot of unnecessary gimmicks in live concerts and these gimmick adversely affect his singing. Well, there was none in this concert - his singing was simply superb!! Also, I really enjoyed the “thana thim dhim, thana dhimdhimdhim” chorus in this song.

Hariharan just sat behind Raja, and enter stage, Bhavadharini (Ilaiyaraja’s daughter). Raja stated that the day was a music festival for all us (as fellow blogger Sirumazhai points out: all those who are quick to point out Raja’s pride and arrogance, what are you still doing here?!), and hence the next song was Idhu Sangeetha Thirunaalo (Movie: Kaadhalukku Mariyaadhai). I had an inkling as to why Hariharan had not left the stage and was just hanging around behind Bhavadharini - it was to immediately sing the more-famous Ennai Thaalaatta Varuvaalo, from the same movie. Both these songs have almost exactly similar tunes, and were well executed by the orchestra. I felt Bhavadhirini’s voice had not warmed up fully in the beginning and she struggled a bit - her singing improved significantly (of course, within her bounds and limitations) over the course of the song.

Next song, enter (Chinnakkuyil - literally referring to small Koel, while actually the Koel is much much smaller than her!) Chithra and we are treated to blissful orchestration as we hear the prelude of Ninnukkori Varnam (Movie: Maniratnam’s Gharshana, dubbed version of Agni Natchatram). One particular thing I noticed was Chithra’s extra efforts to reach the higher notes and land on them perfectly - even after so much singing, she knows she has to go that extra distance (for example, she has to touch higher “Ga” to sing “Raguvaraney” correctly) to attain perfection - Wow!! The song is set in Mohanam Ragam (well, doesn’t the Mohanam Varnam start with the word “Ninukkori”? This, obviously is not a coincidence and is a showcase of Raja’s knowledge in the carnatic arena, and his ability to chose lyrics!). The best part of Raja’s live concerts is that, some of the instruments which sound so little in audio recordings are so well audible when sounded from stage. That is such a pleasing experience. You will understand this even if you grab the recordings of “Andrum Indrum Endrum” or “Endrendrum Raja” from Youtube and listen to them. If alone you listen to it live, it will blow you off. This particular song (and many others which followed) did!

Enter Mano, and starts off with “Pattu Pattu Poochi Pola” and Arunmozhi lends his ever-soothing flute, as we sail into Shenbagame Shenbagame (Movie: Enga Ooru Paattukkaaran) - set in Sindhu Bhairavi (Ragam name). Somebody tells me that Asha Bhonsle was moved to tears on listening to this tune. Mano sang it very well, just like the original touser (a.k.a. Ramarajan) version. The last line of the Pallavi goes something like “Searndhirundhaal Sammadhamey”. Mano, in many stage concerts, sings the “Sammadhamey” part a bit oddly. The “ma” in “sammadhamey” needs to be short, but Mano often elongates it, because it easily fits into the rhythm. Raja is too much of a purist and perfectionist, and he caught it this time; for Raja, both the lyric and the tune has to be impeccable! He corrected Mano on the spot.

First big duet of the evening - SPB and Chitra on stage! Song: Mounamela Noyi (Movie: Sagara Sangamam, the original Telugu version of the Tamil “Mounamaana Neram” -  both Tamil and Telugu versions were originally performed by by S. Janaki). This song turned out to be a lilting melody, but unfortunately, the audience would not stay true to its meaning and kept on shouting. There was particular one crazy person who constantly shouted “Balu Balu” whenever SPB came on to the stage. Raja wants to have absolute decorum during his concerts (he started the concert prohibiting whistling in any form), and was visibly upset by the unruly crowd. He even shouted out saying, “Is this how you behave in this country?!” Even after all this, the “Balu Balu” rants did not stop, even until the end of the concert.

Having given atleast one song to each of the singers, Raja returns to singing - to be continued in Part 2.

Live in San Jose - the Prince of Music: Prelude

Having born in a remote village in India with little exposure classical music of any kind may lead to inexplicable command over Indian folk music, but what does it take to (1) become the first Asian to compose a symphony; or (2) be praised as a "Maha Vidwan" (a.k.a. "great scholar", in the context of Indian classical music) by one of the greatest stalwarts of Carnatic music, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. Whatever it takes, we may never know, but it is true beyond doubt that Ilaiyaraja has conquered immeasurable heights from most humble beginnings. His name may simply mean that he is a "prince", but so long as he keeps churning out tunes such as this and this, he will remain the untold King of music. 

Given the musical genius this person is, it is very surprising to learn that he hates any sort of publicity or marketing. Worse, he has given only 6 public concerts over an illustrious career of over 35 years - two in Chennai (2006 and 2011), one in Dubai (was it in 2007 or 2008?!), one in Canada and two in the USA (the three North America concerts in early 2013). As a result, a modest, reclusive introvert has been commonly mistaken for a narcissistic, arrogant egotist by several who hail from the same place as Raja does. Hence, at this juncture, I am extremely tempted to repeat fellow blogger and Ilaiyaraja passionate Sirumazai’s disclaimer at this juncture: those who tend to associate “pride”, “arrogance”, “running after awards”, “extremism”, and all other negative feelings to Ilaiyaraja, may stop reading this post any more. On the other hand, in order to continue, you really don’t have to be a die hard fan of Ilaiyaraja (referred to as Raja, hereon) - all you need to have is some passion for music and/or ability to appreciate certain technical aspects of music (which you may already know and/or are willing to learn). I am not an authoritative expert in music, but in all humility, believe that I possess some technical knowledge to understand and appreciate music, in general. The rest of this post is a rather long account of his latest concert in San Jose, CA. Have your cup of coffee/tea and some snacks ready - you may need it simply on the account of the sheer amount of your time reading this post in entirety may consume!

I was originally scheduled to attend a research conference in the aerospace industry in an exotic skiing location in northwest USA from Mar 1st until Mar 10th. I was supposed to give a talk on the morning of Mar 4th, spend the following weekend in Yellowstone National Park and return back after ten days of sulking in the cold. Exciting, is it not!? Frankly, I was looking forward to the trip. A couple of months ago, I had booked my tickets to leave San Jose on the evening of Mar 1st and return back on the evening of Mar 11th. Almost as soon as I booked my tickets, it was confirmed that the Raja concert (which was previously scheduled to be held in November 2012) was going to be held on the evening of Mar 1st. My first thought was that I felt sorry for myself - sorry that I had booked my tickets too early and made plans for my trip to Big Sky. But on Feb 28th, folks higher-up at my office pulled the plug on my conference trip, and I went immediately running to HP Pavilion to secure two tickets to witness the legend in action. As a result, I had to miss out on all the expectation build-up to the concert, and I just went there just like that, carrying two pairs of binoculars (one for wife and another for me), and my iphone to record the entire thing (I have and would not share any part of it, since its purely personal!).  

Before I begin, let me declare some prejudice right away and try to provide technical reasons for such prejudice. Well, if I can reason it out, it is not prejudice anymore, is it?! I am a very ardent fan of Raja, period. I sing his songs everyday, hum his Nothing but Wind and How to Name it, and know by-heart every string of Thiruvasagam. I have shown keen interest in all of his ventures. I am still dying to listen to his (secret!?) symphony composed at London. Being a Tamilian also helps me to understand and appreciate his writings (sample “Pichai Paathiram” in your mind) better. I first thought of writing this post in Tamil, but later changed my mind so that this write-up is accessible to all music lovers. For those who would be interested in reading such items in Tamil, here is Sirumazai’s beautiful post on Raja’s previous concert in New Jersey.

To appreciate Raja's music in all depth, it only helps that I am a student of Carnatic music. Amongst so many other reasons, I find Raja’s songs most appealing to me because his music is extremely intelligent that understanding them would actually require deep thought; even better is the fact that I learn/observe something new every time I listen to the same song. It is no surprise that, with his impeccable technical expertise in Carnatic music and Western Classical music, he is able to intellectually tease our brains. On the other hand, what is surprising is that he is equally able to reach out to the common man who is uninitiated in any form of classical music. That is what I believe has made Raja truly amazing. What I still don’t understand is Raja’s ability to fuse all of these music forms together and produce music enjoyable by almost everyone. For example, let us look at Raja’s use of Mayamalavagowlai Ragam (this is the first ragam taught to those who learn Carnatic music). I can write about Raja’s usage of this Ragam for several pages, but let me give a quick observation, and move on to the concert. He is able to tune a song like “Rama Nama” (from Sri Raghavendra) with enough Carnatic expertise. On the other hand, he churns out folkish melodies like “Madhura Marikkozhundhu” or even better (or worse, depending on who you are), “Machi Mannaru” (my father would question: Why does he compose such ridiculous songs, when he can tune other gems?!) from En uyir thozhan. He uses the same Ragam in a philosphical sense in “Appan Endrum” from Guna, and can give soothing romantic melodies like "Kaadhal Kavithaigal Padithidum" or “Allah Un Aanaippadi”. On the other end of the spectrum, he also gives azhuvachi songs (i.e., pathos - sorry, it just sounds better in Tamil) like “En Thaayenum Koyila” for the great (pun intended or not, depending on who you are!) Raj Kiran in the same Ragam. I can only say one word - “Wow!” The fact that his music is absolutely soul stirring is an altogether different story.


Please continue reading about the concert here! By the way, do you know that STARVijay uploaded Ilaiyaraja's entire concert (Part 1 and Part 2) in Toronto on Youtube?!