On June2,1943 a musical marvel called Daniel Rasayya graced upon this earth only to rule the hearts of hundreds of thousands, with his mellifluous music. Saluting the legend of Ilaiyaraja and wishing him a Happy Birthday!!!
Raja, Vazhga pallandu..pala kodi noorandu...
Kamal Hassan, is very well known as a multi-faceted actor, hell-bent film-maker, and an avid dancer. But few people must have adored Kamal Hassan as a singer. It might raise an eyebrow, if I were to tell you that Kamal has sung close to 75 tracks, and as it turned out be, most of the songs were runaway hits. Lot of the people though denigrate Kamal, accusing him that, he forcibly persuades music directors to have him sing at least a track in films he's casted on. But people, fail to understand Kamal is qualified enough to do the singing himself(occasionally). Why???
Kamal under the tutelage of Dr Balamurali Krishna has practiced carnatic music and Mr. Krishna was so impressed with Kamal, that he asked for 2 and a half years while Kamal continued with him, and he would make sure to get Kamal on stage with him. Kamal engrossed with movies couldn’t really afford the time! Dr. Krishna was so fond of Kamal, in the Miley Sur Mera Tumhara short film, he wanted Kamal to sit next with him on the Tanpura, but Kamal humbly declined saying it'd be unfair.
Ilaiyaraaja was the first MD to spot the singer in Kamal and gave him ample opportunities to sing all-along in their long term illustrious association. Memorable films include Aboorva Sagotharargal, MMKR, Virumaandi and the recent Mumbai Express. Kamal has also sung for other music directors which includes ARR, Karthik Raja, Bharadwaj, Vidya Sagar, Yuvan Shankar Raja…
I thought it’d only be befitting a post to come out with a compilation of my personal favorites
Kamal has sung for Ilaiyaraaja and other Music Directors…
So here it goes for the ultimate connoisseur of music!
Yesterday, I bumped into this word called 'Counterpoint'! I had absolutely no clue what this word meant and I started wading through innumerous websites and journals to get the hang of it... Here you go!!!
Counterpoint is often defined as the art of combining independent lines. The term derives from the Latin contrapunctum, meaning ‘against note'. When there is more than one independent melodic line happening at the same time in a piece of music, the music is said to be contrapuntal. The independent melodic lines are called counterpoint. Bach's counterpoint, often considered the most profound synthesis of the two dimensions ever achieved, is extremely rich harmonically and always clearly directed tonally, while the individual lines remain fascinating.
The Musical Saint, Mr.Ilaiyaraaja, know for his out-of-the-world novel compositions, has incorporated the counterpoint technique during his prime (Late 70's and 80's) with élan. The brilliance lies in the fact that the counterpoint technique is so native to western music and Raaja has adopted that into the musical patterns of Tamil songs nonchalantly. The way Raaja has blend the western music with east is simply riveting. Sheer Genius!!! Raaja has also experimented a two-voice counterpoint in conjunction with a third voice, amid mellifluous interludes … Also, Raaja celebrated this Bach-smitten- technique with instrumental counterpoints in his illustrious musical journey!
Here are some of the songs which has shades of the counterpoint technique, and all these years we've been listening (at least I've been listening) to them without actually understanding the technical nuances of it!!!
But do we need to really understand them to appreciate Raaja??? Well, yes… We'd appreciate him even more!
P.S: Am not an expert in music. This is just an honest attempt to exemplify, counterpoint technique and glorify the brilliance of Maestro. Please let me know if you find something incorrect!
My all-time favorite numbers strummed on Ilaiyaraja's harmonium!
I was not keeping well for a couple of days… So, I decided to avail a comp-off on Wednesday (yesterday) to doze-off and take rest. An effort to recuperate!
But I must admit it was such a fuckin wonderful experience to stay at home on a business day. I woke up at 9 am, had hot-strong-filter-coffee, dwelled long hours with THE HINDU newspaper, treated my ears to the music of perpetual RAJA (read Illayaraja) melodies…
A perfect forenoon recipe to break-free from the mundane clutches of the dog-eat-dog world.
Lunch time!!!
My mom prepared an average lunch (read Vendakka Sambar, Enna Kathrika). But I felt, it was just beyond compare with the hefty lunch that I normally get at work. The caterers (at work) line-up an array of dishes (much to my dismay), which does really promise (a first timer) to treat the taste-buds…But, it's just a promise-broken, for the rest!!!
After tasting the home-made lunch I couldn't resist from shutting my eyes. Took a nap… Dived deep into a slumber land… As I woke up, my mom delighted me once again with a strong coffee. I started sipping it and overlooked my window… Two young boys unkempt, clad in white shirt and khaki trousers, with jumbo-sized shoulder bags and Tiffin boxes hanging precariously in their muddy hands, immediately caught my attention. Instead of taking the road, the boys were walking on tortuous pavement…I guess they did that just for fun… Perhaps they were playing a game… They were talking indistinctly, and vanished in a jiffy…
I was suddenly thrown into an abyss of nostalgia… Reminiscing my good 'ol school days...
I would trade anything on this god-forsaken world to get those days back…
As the day faded to night, I was a curiously killing my time, looking at my mom, who had supposedly lost all her senses watching these run-of-the mill soaps day-in-day-out…
I quietly read couple of chapters from 'SAM WALTON'… And dozed-off again for rest of the night!!!
What-a-break!!!
