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!”