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.