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Thendral Vanthu Theendum bOthu - Avathaaram
என்னோட கண்ணா இருந்து இந்த ஒலகத்த பாரு
You would have known the famous Sir Richard Attenborough who made the film Gandhi. I think you would also know his younger brother, a naturalist Sir David Attenborough. Two great brothers of our times. I am a big fan of his BBC Documentaries and Serials. I have collected few of them like Life of Birds, Life on Earth, Planet Earth, Private life of Plants, The Living Planet, The Blue Planet and so on. He has been making documentaries right from 1950s till date. His narration is a joy to hear. The way he structures the episodes is just awesome. The cinematography is breath-taking. In case you have not watched any of these, it is highly recommended. In Blue Planet he explains various species at different areas of the Ocean; The Coastal Sea, The Deep, Open Ocean, Frozen Seas, Tidal Seas... There are lot of astonishing things like how the gravitational pull of moon affects the sea life. How some species evolve over the period of time and how some species does not even change for million of years. How all these relate to the epic composition we are going to discuss. Since the above title, 'என்னோட கண்ணா இருந்து இந்த ஒலகத்த பாரு', it is sufficient enough to get me the hook. :smile:
The song starts in a dramatic fashion. We can write and develop a full movie with just this prelude. It has so many elements in it. If you hear the prelude from a higher altitude/plane all you can say is, it is a very nice and soothing humming, just like the birds view of our land, searching for the music where it comes from. From that altitude all we can see is one color. Once you drill down to say 1000 feet, you can distinguish the female choruses and male voices separately and also know from where the music is coming from. If you further come down to say 100 feet, you can hear the backing guitar, bell chimes and the rhythm. Once you are grounded, you can hear every bit of music separately, that was created for you. Every vibrant color that you can possibly see.
Three separate female choruses start 'thaana thantham' at three different times, one at the zeroth second, second at 1st second and the third at the 2nd second, yet all three overlap beautifully in 4th second and join together and continue to sing the same sandham till the 8th second. Like three separate roads joining together, three separate rivers joining together before joining the ocean, three rivers joining to form triveni sangamam, like three Gods join together. Once the road/river merges, it loses the identity from where it comes from. After this for the next 6 seconds the chorus takes different route. This is because once the rivers merge into the sea, it takes the flow of the ocean and it is not a river anymore. Sameway the tune for the next 6 seconds takes a different route. This can even be said as the time taken to adjust to the flow/pattern of the ocean. Once it completely adjusted its flow, that's where the the lead to the actual sandham (pallavi) on which the song starts, comes in. This real sandham (tune) continues for the next 14 seconds.
This is not over. Still we are scratching the surface of the ocean. So we still see only one color, the blue. These 14 seconds are vital for us to identify different contours of this composition. The previous 6 seconds of female vocal harmony which gave lead to the main melody, is still there, but in the background, if you hear closely. This back vocals serve as the rhythm for the main melody (sung by Raja). This rhythm vocals is very beautiful to hear. Maestro adds backing guitar chords to it and also the bell chime for enhanced listening experience. No other rhythm/percussion arrangements, yet hear how grand it is. Maestro still not convinced. He adds another layer of violins along with the main melody and the backing harmony. On top of this, he also adds another layer of female vocal harmony. Can we call this a counter-point? I am not sure, as it involves four (instead of two) different layers each contradicting and complementing the main melody yet sounds in perfect harmony.
He starts the song with just one female chorus and within 29 seconds into the song, hear how many layers he applies. The top main melody sandham by Raja, supported by female rhythm vocals, group violins, second set of female chorus, well backed up by bell chimes and bass guitar. As I always tell, Maestro's music is not a diluted one. Unlike in a diluted one, where we can hear every single instrument clearly and admire the sound quality. It has multiple dense layers, thoroughly merged and mixed and the unique sound we get out of this is way different from those sounds heard by those single instruments. You can never hear such sounds at all. Remember all this comes mainly from the vocal harmony and the way it is tuned. No instrument can give this pleasure. Hear the amount of hard work and innovation went into this prelude, second after second. Not just a plain humming with guitar strumming. Raja casual singing makes it more interesting and makes us more relaxed.
With this multi-layered prelude, we are now adventuring into the sea, seeing different species of fishes right from the smallest paedocypris to the largest shark, blue fin tuna to axolotl, bizarre sea creatures, various kinds of coral reefs right from sea anemone to sea urchins, all constituting different spectrum of colors opening in front of our eyes beautifully. With all this vibrant colours, one thing is constant, that is the silence of the ocean which denotes that true blue color. The Blue Planet. That's the main melody. These various special creatures serve as the color palette; the orchestral segments and the vocal harmony. The density of the water is more as we go deep down, so is the silence. It is so pure and original. That's the experience you get when you listen to this prelude. Just cut this prelude and listen to it in repeat mode and you will know what I mean. You will never need to go to doctor for any pressure/pulse checkups. We will become 100% focussed. Watching the Blue Planet with this prelude can tell you the depth in the composition. How beautiful this world is! That's the purity of this prelude.
(To be continued)
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The Life of Birds is another interesting documentary by Sir Richard Attenborough which I would have seen umpteen times. He takes us from Sweden to Venezuela to shallow waters of Braziil to Seychelles, to different countries and continents to gather information on various species of birds. How many different species, how many different colors and behaviors. I frequently watch one episode; The Signals and Songs of Birds. How the birds communicate between themselves by some special signals to defend their enemies like Raven and Hawks and even attack them. How they communicate when they are spotted by the enemy. A bird called Kagau in South Philadelphia sings to attract another Kagau from her family and get together as a family. Once they see each other they add visual display by expanding their feathers. It seems the sounds from them can communicate upto 1/2 a mile. For some others birds like American bitchin if they need to communicate to greater distances, they have to sing in their low pitched notes. It gulps the air and throws it out. It echoes and carries over two miles even through the thickest of the forests. There are others birds which can produce two different notes at the same time, one lower and one higher. There are many such wonders in our planet.
The pallavi starts in a lazy fashion, unlike the prelude start which was racy. To make it lazy, he touches only the lower octaves, but extends every line to make it more sweet. Raja's baritone voice when he finishes 'manasula' and 'nenappula' is so haunting to hear. Th pallavi is set in this fashion to even accommodate the lyrics appropriately. The breeze will pass us in a gentle and lazy fashion, so is the tune. Perfectly thought out process. In anu-pallavi he goes little high to give the variation and balance to already sweet pallavi. Wonderfully written too. Every thought has a color, every change of thought is interpreted by the change in color. What a beauty! Another unique aspect of this pallavi is the rhythm arrangements. New percussion, I think it is synth-based percussion, but sounds very fresh, but has a shallow sound to it, which was intentional to backup the lazy tune. At the end of each line in pallavi, there is another synth-bass guitar (?) which extends and asks, 'is it?' every time. At every alternate words in pallavi, a short, quick and subtle flute comes and goes. Very feeble to notice. In anu-pallavi, the flute extends to give the richness. There is also xylophone and piano playing at the back if you notice closely at the end of each anu-pallavi line. Another beauty is I even hear hi-hat played at the end of every line in pallavi/anu-pallavi as as the synth based percussion could not finish it. Again the hi-hat is so mild. See how he balances the synth with the real instruments. The percussion gives an echo effect whenever it is played. See the amount of nuances he adds at every split second. If these are not there, the tune will not get its deserved sweetness, how sweet you sing. That's the Raja we know with his signature.
Right from the start of pallavi, hear the instruments used for arrangements. Shallow synth-based percussion giving echo effect, subtle and short flutes, synth-bass, extended flute, piano, xylophone, hi-hats. Normally these number of instruments will be used for prelude or interludes to show his orchestration skills as that will be heard by most. To our surprise he uses heavy orchestration during the pallavi-anupallavi, which is rarely heard by many, as they would be concentrating mainly on the tune and the singing. When you expect something with Maestro, it will never happen, he is bound to surprise, but unfortunately, these things are not noted at all and he is portrayed as 'template' driven. That is so unfortunate. If you note even with all this instruments, these instruments never overtake the singing. We can hear every word clearly and the orchestration never prevents us from hearing it, as he keeps it mild. Coming to the tune, it is a authentic folk tune to the roots, backed up by heavy western counterparts. Can anyone distinguish these western instruments used in this pallavi alien to the song at any moment? Never! Again see the complex layering, those fresh and compounded sounds drawn out of the orchestration, you can never hear such new sounds in any other composers compositions. It is so original and from his brain. Yet it is so simple to hear.
Whenever I hear the low notes in pallavi or the short flute sounds for every two words, or the echoing percussion, extended flutes, gentle tapping of hi-hats, it takes me to those wild dense rain forests, shallow waters and streams to watch those birds communicate between themselves and sing for their joy and for us. Like how these different species add different color to our planet, Maestro brings the color through this pallavi-anupallavi in the same way. Extra-ordinary experience in that sense!
தென்றல் வந்து தீண்டும் போது என்ன வண்ணமோ மனசில
திங்கள் வந்து காயும் போது என்ன வண்ணமோ நெனப்புல
வந்து வந்து போகுதம்மா எண்ணமெல்லாம் வண்ணமம்மா
எண்ணங்களுக்கேத்தபடி வண்ணமெல்லாம் மாறுமம்மா
உண்மையம்மா உள்ளத நானும் சொன்னேன் பொன்னம்மா சின்ன கண்ணே
(To be continued)
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Life on Earth. We saw Life on Sea. We saw Life of Birds. Now Life on Earth. There is an interesting episode in this series, called Theme and Variation. The title is little close to the music we are discussing, I chose this one. There are so many different creatures on earth, but they all are closely related. They are mammals. By Theme, Sir David Attenborough means the basic or ancestral theme through which variations developed. There are some extreme variations from the main ancestor (say the dinosaurs which existed 100 million years ago) and it becomes difficult to believe that if this variation is really from the main theme. Even when dinosaurs disappeared 65 millions years ago, its descendants still exists in various forms from 'Tree Shrew' of Malaysia, Desman and even bats, squirrels, rabbits to the big blue Whale.
Female chorus start the proceedings closely mimicing the rhythm pattern, while another choir sing on top of this, making it a perfect counter-melody. First two cycles of rhythm followed by the haunting pauses adds more beauty to this interlude. From the third cycle second female choir start on the same rhythm with violin closely following the choir. When we almost conclude that these are the only two female choir in this interlude, there comes a big surprise in the form of third female choir. They continue from where the second choir left them, sparked by sharp staccato violins (along with a wind instrument?) to end the interlude in the same way how it started. Like a Code piece. These three female choir if extended and extrapolated can lead to three beautiful melodies, which is always the highlight of any Maestro's interludes. Short and sweet interlude.
Those female choir mimicking the rhythm pattern resembles the main basic theme which Sir described and the counter choir describes the variations to the main theme (descendants). Different choir patterns (tunes) over the main theme describes the evolving process over million years. As different species born out their parent, violins are suddenly born from those choir, but the underlying rhythm pattern stays the same denoting the main theme does not change and also reminds us of our ancestral bodies. Just Sir describes Life on Earth, Maestro describes Music to our soul.
(To be continued)
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Private Life of Plants. What a beautiful title!. Since they don't speak, it seems 'private' is apt. But this documentary speaks everything about plants and trees, right from how the plants move (:lol:), defend themselves from animals, how do they transport their seeds, what are all the problems they face while transporting, how they make a deal with animals, most of all how do they survive from calamities. This is something very close to our hearts, as they are special being. One episode which I like the most is the Flowering. How wind, birds, water and insects transport the pollen to other plants and trees. The main intelligence is the stigma of a plant/flower can recognize which pollen grain is for them and which one is not for them to fertilize. If the pollen is again from the same plant as they are, they deny and only accept pollen from other plants. There are some flowers like Protea where they don't expose themselves to get pollinated, but they always face the earth and covered by its plants, so no way to pollinate through winds or birds. A little bush mouse pollinate them during nights through its nose which it carried from some other plants. Amazing isn't it?
The charanam sustains and retains the sweetness of the pallavi-anupallavi. The highlight of the tune is it shuttles in middle octaves without going too high nor going too low like in pallavi. Within this, see how Maestro brings the sweetness with the swinging laziness. Especially when ending each line of charanam; veeesuthu, pEsuthu, he extends to the maximum to enhance the sweetness. Lyrics aptly support the tune and its laziness and singing to 'T'. Some best lines for me;
ஒறவும் இல்லாமலே இரு மனம் ஏதோ பேசுது (without any relation, two minds speak to themselves randomly)
எதுவும் இல்லாமலே மனசெல்லாம் இனிப்பா இனிக்குது (I don't have anything/I am not thinking anything, yet my mind sounds so sweet)
நேசம் பொறந்தாலே ஒடம்பெல்லாம் ஏனோ சிலிர்க்குது (I get goosbumps when love is born)
குயிலே குயிலினமே அன்ப இசையா கூவுதம்மா (Even cuckoo's language of music is love)
and the way Raja sings these lines. :notworthy: SJ steals this charanam with the last line; நெலையா நில்லாது நினைவில் வரும் நெறங்களே (Colors which comes to our mind does not stay with us forever), as if she is waiting to win in the last ball through a mighty six. Same way Raja does in second charanam. In fact every line is a sixer by their singing.
எவரும் சொல்லாமலே பூக்களும் வாசம் வீசுது
ஒறவும் இல்லாமலே இரு மனம் ஏதோ பேசுது
எவரும் சொல்லாமலே குயிலெல்லாம் தேனா பாடுது
எதுவும் இல்லாமலே மனசெல்லாம் இனிப்பா இனிக்குது
ஓடை நீரோடை இந்த ஒலகம் அது போல
ஓடும் அது ஓடும் இந்த காலம் அது போல
நெலையா நில்லாது நினைவில் வரும் நெறங்களே
ஈரம் விழுந்தாலே நிலத்திலே எல்லாம் துளிர்க்குது
நேசம் பொறந்தாலே ஒடம்பெல்லாம் ஏனோ சிலிர்க்குது
ஆலம் விழுதாக ஆசைகள் ஊஞ்சல் ஆடுது
அலையும் அல போலே அழகெல்லாம் கோலம் போடுது
குயிலே குயிலினமே அன்ப இசையா கூவுதம்மா
கிளியே கிளியினமே அத கதையாய் பேசுதம்மா
கதையாய் விடுகதையாய் ஆவதில்லையே அன்பு தான்
Whenever I listen to these charanams, I used to wonder how beautifully it was thought out. One of the best lyrics! It explains the principles of life with some terrific analogies and it also tells that all principles are bounded only by love. Fantastic! How the wind (தென்றல் வந்து தீண்டும் போது என்ன வண்ணமோ மனசில), water (ஈரம் விழுந்தாலே நிலத்திலே எல்லாம் துளிர்க்குது) birds and insects (குயிலே குயிலினமே அன்ப இசையா கூவுதம்மா) carry the message of love (pollen) between trees, plants and flowers. When they see their pollen, love is born and they blossom into a beautiful flower or fruit. Same way, whenever their is love the world becomes so beautiful. Since the love is posted by these carriers, they get nectar as a gift. :wink:. The beautiful world we see is only due to love.
(To be continued)
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Planet Earth. This is the most expensive and popular documentary. He explains that 4 months of pitch darkness in Artic and Antarctic with temperatures down to -70c, how trees helps preserve the atmosphere by emitting oxygen, the biggest migration on earth of about 3 million caribous across the arctic tundra, some travel 2000 miles every year, biggest migration of birds from Siberia to South Korea, the change of seasons and how deciduous forests shuts down by losing their leaves and prepare for the winter, and in the tropics where sun hits the earth always, there are millions of species of animals, insects and plants. Sun rays hitting the tropical waters, alters the weather system of the planet and creates storms and rains and the winds sweeping the land across the continents. A sand storm in Sahara fertilizes the Amazon rain forests. Where is Sahara and where is Amazon. What an amazing planet!
Next seven seconds has the most brilliant piece of music, a musical wonder which is a tribute to Bach and his contemporaries. Violins plays tremolo base, while one synthesizer plays a scintillating fugue (??) of one theme imitated by another synthesizer at a different pitch. First is a long theme which is imitated by second synth, second is a short theme played by the first one, imitated by the second synth. Most complicated pieces which you will hardly find in other musical pieces. After this, some new sound evolves out of the synthesizer which continues for next 7 cycles. Maestro takes a short gap and continues the same synth for next 3 cycles. During the 4th cycle, I think vibraphone plays such that we can feel the sound of pearl falling on the floor. Something opens up there, a beautiful smile, a beautiful world in front of our eyes, a beautiful moment. Violins immediately follows the vibraphone. The tune of the violin is in sync with the synthesizer. When synthesizer stops in between (after 7 cycles), the violin just extends during that gap to again follow the same tune for the next 3 cycles. Just this piece alone can extend into a beautiful song. Female choir and guitar sets up a breezy finish to the interlude. Also observe that intermediate duff percussion. Wonderful! One of the best female choir, and what a tune to end the interlude.
To recap, the first two themes and its imitation, 3 cycles of synth taking over from the themes, vibraphone breaking loose at the 4th cycle, violins taking over from the 5th-7th cycles followed by the female choir with guitar. These are the five independent pieces in this interlude. If you hear it separately there is absolutely no connection between each one of them. But how brilliantly Maestro tied all these piece together speaks volumes about this genius and his work and dedication. With all the synth based sounds, guitar, vibraphone, the nativity is not compromised even with these non-native instruments. That last female choir makes a huge difference to bring in the nativity. You will never feel from all these synth sounds that it is actually synth, that's how Maestro uses every instrument not to reveal its true color, instead adapt to our environment. No one cares all these, just taking pleasure to write him down at every minute opportunities. But what a fantastic score this is! Once in a lifetime interlude with great tribute to the western classical era and equally a great tribute to our land.
Just like different parts of the world communicate with each other without even knowing they are communicating, one region's oxygen is transported and absorbed by another region, one region's sand is used by another region, one plant's pollen is absorbed by another planet in a different country, these different contrasting pieces of music in this interlude are tied to each other, but to our ears it is a single entity, as a planet is a single entity.
(To be continued)
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Coming to the visuals, especially the painting in the prelude is done brilliantly with all different colors. The interludes could have done differently, still good. The song is a montage song which runs in the background where it is implied it is sung in their minds, but the best part of the visuals is when Nassar uttering the last line of song, கதையாய் விடுகதையாய் ஆவதில்லையே அன்பு தான். He stresses Love never becomes untrue by singing. Wonderful thought!
I would say this is the song of the thread mainly because when the music scenario is running away from him, Nassar persisted in Maestro , but didn't quite acknowledge initially, but Maestro surprising him during the recording and the rest is history. When everyone is turning away from him and still he makes everyone turn back to him through this song and also registers and reminds firmly once again that he is the only one to sought for this kind of authentic, soul-stirring, innocent, rich, sweet, in-depth melody. Even after we went round the world, the feel we get when we enter into our native place, its narrow streets, our people, our home is totally different. In this context, this composition stands tall as an Ambassador for World Music to show what an Indian heart is and how are its people and their love.
During 90s when the IT industry was booming like anything, not just in revenue, but even the way they approached the employees, the work ethics et al was very new to me. Every HR person/Managers will be reading some kind of inspirational books to update themselves and even use those principles at the interviews and at work. It kind of amazed me and I slowly got into it and discovered two powerful books by Anthony Robbins; Unlimited Power and Awaken the Giant Within. What a title! Just the title alone made me sit back. Tremendous knowledge gained from those books and would also say it somewhat shaped up my career. The reason I am saying this, only after you read the full book you will come to know the power, but this five-minute composition has so much power in it, that it can move mountains, by its love.
As I am away from my country and parents, I long so much to go back to meet them desperately. I feel my mother is exclusively sending her love and affection to me through an extremely caring and affectionate mother in the form of Maestro Ilaiyaraaja's music. In every composition of him, I see my mother. In every composition of him I see my father. In every composition of him, I see my love, brothers, sisters, relatives and friends. I see myself. I see my childhood. I see my future. I see the poor and rich. I see the pain and cry. I see the happiness and smile. I see every creature in this world. I see the nature. I see the sun, moon and the stars. I see the rain, storm and the clouds. I see the rainbow. I see the colors. I see and hear the primitive music of our universe, the Omkaaram. I also see how tiny I am in this world, almost invisible. I see our mother earth from beyond. I feel his music is omnipresent. I feel the silence. I feel my mother.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8qs_...eature=related
என்னோட கண்ணா இருந்து இந்த ஒலகத்த பாரு
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Lyrics:
தென்றல் வந்து தீண்டும் போது என்ன வண்ணமோ மனசில
திங்கள் வந்து காயும் போது என்ன வண்ணமோ நெனப்புல
வந்து வந்து போகுதம்மா எண்ணமெல்லாம் வண்ணமம்மா
எண்ணங்களுக்கேத்தபடி வண்ணமெல்லாம் மாறுமம்மா
உண்மையம்மா உள்ளத நானும் சொன்னேன் பொன்னம்மா சின்ன கண்ணே
எவரும் சொல்லாமலே பூக்களும் வாசம் வீசுது
ஒறவும் இல்லாமலே இரு மனம் ஏதோ பேசுது
எவரும் சொல்லாமலே குயிலெல்லாம் தேனா பாடுது
எதுவும் இல்லாமலே மனசெல்லாம் இனிப்பா இனிக்குது
ஓடை நீரோடை இந்த ஒலகம் அது போல
ஓடும் அது ஓடும் இந்த காலம் அது போல
நெலையா நில்லாது நினைவில் வரும் நிறங்களே
ஈரம் விழுந்தாலே நிலத்திலே எல்லாம் துளிர்க்குது
நேசம் பொறந்தாலே ஒடம்பெல்லாம் ஏனோ சிலிர்க்குது
ஆலம் விழுதாக ஆசைகள் ஊஞ்சல் ஆடுது
அலையும் அல போலே அழகெல்லாம் கோலம் போடுது
குயிலே குயிலினமே அன்ப இசையா கூவுதம்மா
கிளியே கிளியினமே அத கதையாய் பேசுதம்மா
கதையாய் விடுகதையாய் ஆவதில்லையே அன்பு தான்
தென்றல் வந்து தீண்டும் போது என்ன வண்ணமோ மனசில
திங்கள் வந்து காயும் போது என்ன வண்ணமோ நெனப்புல
வந்து வந்து போகுதம்மா எண்ணமெல்லாம் வண்ணமம்மா
எண்ணங்களுக்கேத்தபடி வண்ணமெல்லாம் மாறுமம்மா
உண்மையிலே உள்ளது என்ன என்ன வண்ணங்கள் என்ன என்ன
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Please read at your own leisure. There could also be typos which I will correct it tomorrow. Definitely did not do justice to the composition and did not touch the technical details much, as this composition has to be listened and experienced. Here after I will try to reduce the length of my posts for these songs, as I know it is getting bored and tired.
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V_S :shock: :shock: nAn unnum unga post'ai full'a padikkala... ivLO details'a... epdEnga ungaLAla mudiythu ... :thumbsup:
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A collector's edition, V_Sji!
:applause:
You've outdone yourself!