Musical Impressions of the season – Jan 2015

I doubt whether it is anything unique  –   most of us keep experiencing this  –  a song getting suddenly stuck into ourselves and never leaving us for some time.   While i frequently flip around Carnatic music and contemporary regional Tamil movie songs, it is quite some time that i experienced this….  Suddenly, i have three songs stuck in me…

It all started with “Bho Shambo”  –   Dayanad Saraswathi’s impressive creation rendered by Sudha  –  the moment i heard it, i knew i need to hear it again and again and again!…..this is to the extent that i woke up to this song and listened to it through the day and slept over this song …this song was nostalgic –  reminded me of those spiritual moments one experience growing up in the mystic temple town of Shiva – Chidambaram!  And to some extent, the obsession on Shiva and the mystic experiences of the south indian ancient temples stays in me… (is that why i liked Shiva Trilogy of Amish?)

When I thought, i am all done with my song of the month, at an unexpected time of the day, another song jumps into me (i think i asked for it!!!)-  a regional contemporary song from the tamil movie Paiyya-  it still rings inside me even when i write this post – this is again a very unique experience considering i have heard this song in the past and did not give it much of a thought than the nice visuals. Unlike the song of 80s, the current songs are more dominated by the background music than the lyrics and i sure did not listen into the lyrics before. But then, when a song is destined to be getting into you, it somehow gets you at whatever state you are in –  it is like another life incident which you are destined to go through!  ” Better late than never!!”  –  the scripts are from na.muthukumar  –  the way this song got stuck now with a focus on the script is extremely surprising and surreal…

And when i really was all done for this season, jumps the other powerful script of Vairamuthu –  from the Tamil movie Ravanan –  so very pragmatic and honest !

While i really have to wait on whether I will get over these songs sooner, I am not complaining at all!!  I am also 50% through in learning the songs and scripts!!

OBSESSED AND LIKING IT !! 🙂 🙂 

Ed sheeran – A team by Janani Ram

Singer – Janani Ram

Done well for a début!!!…. and she is confident enough to ask me to publicise this too!! 🙂 🙂 so, here we go!!

 

 Lyrics

White lips, pale face Breathing in snowflakes Burnt lungs, sour taste

Light’s gone, day’s end Struggling to pay rent Long nights, strange men

And they say She’s in the Class A Team Stuck in her daydream Been this way since eighteen But lately her face seems Slowly sinking, wasting Crumbling like pastries And they scream The worst things in life come free to us Cause we’re just under the upper hand And go mad for a couple grams And she don’t want to go outside tonight And in a pipe she flies to the Motherland And sells love to another man It’s too cold outside For angels to fly Angels to fly

Ripped gloves, rain coat Tried to swim and stay afloat Dry house, wet clothes

Loose change, bank notes Weary-eyed, dry throat Call girl, no phone

And they say She’s in the class A Team Stuck in her daydream Been this way since eighteen But lately, her face seems Slowly sinking, wasting Crumbling like pastries And they scream The worst things in life come free to us Cause we’re just under the upper hand And go mad for a couple grams And she don’t want to go outside tonight And in a pipe she flies to the Motherland And sells love to another man It’s too cold outside For angels to fly

An angel will die Covered in white Closed eyed And hoping for a better life This time, we’ll fade out tonight Straight down the line

And they say She’s in the Class A Team Stuck in her daydream Been this way since eighteen But lately her face seems Slowly sinking, wasting Crumbling like pastries They scream The worst things in life come to free us And we’re all under the upper hand Go mad for a couple grams And we don’t want to go outside tonight And in a pipe we fly to the Motherland And sell love to another man It’s too cold outside For angels to fly Angels to fly To fly, fly For angels to fly, to fly, to fly Or angels to die

Songwriters SHEERAN, ED

Why this Kolaveri di

Only one word to describe the song – it is CRAZY!!!……You should hear this song (99% you would have already?)  ……….to appreciate why i wrote “CRAZY”  in red, bold, underline!!

Though I was aware of  this song for the past couple of days, I bothered to listen in only today –  major reason being that it was covered in the first page of Times today morning.  Read the article here……….TIMES OF INDIA .  When i heard it first time –  it was unbelievable……..!!!

It sure is a crazy song, cannot be classified as great music……..but then, I heard it four times already and recorded the song in my phone so that i can listen in later….I started analyzing on what made me do this………..catchy music, simple words, all in english but tamilized (mark it…..this make become  a word in Oxford dictionary like baptized) …….romantic flavour,.it is very easy to sing along……….easy beats……….explains the maximum hit on you tube  in two days ………

Am sure, lot more accolades are yet to come in for this song !  Congratulations to Aishwarya, Anirudh, Dhanush and Shruthi!  LISTEN  🙂 🙂 🙂

Unique prayer – KURAI ONRUM ILLAI

Music is a way of life…….it is the meaning of life for many

It made a big difference……..when u hear such a positive song, especially from the legendary karnatic singer MS…

If you understand the lyrics, the uniqueness hits u on the face that there is nothing requested to the great Lord……there is no sorrow that he did not grant the wishes, he did not come in front of you…………nothing , nothing at all……

You hear the song and you feel that these can be words which can come only from a sage…..or a person who has understood life, seen the ups and downs, understood the purpose of it…….a great song to listen and lose yourself to

If you are interested in the lyrics…here it is!!   The lyrics are by the great leader Rajaji and this song is rendered by none other than the legendary MS.

Pallavi (Sivaranjani Raagam)
KURAI ONRUM ILLAI MARAI MOORTTHI KANNAA
KURAI ONRUM ILLAI KANNAA
KURAI ONRUM ILLAI GOVINDAA

Anupallavi (Sivaranjani Raagam)

KANNUKKU THERIYAAMAL NIRKINRAAY KANNAA
KANNUKKU THERIYAAMAL NINRAALUM ENAKKU
KURAI ONRUM ILLAI MARAI MOORTTHI KANNAA

Charanam 1 (Sivaranjani Raagam)
VENDIYATHAI THANNTHIDA VENKATESAN ENRIRUKKA
VENDIYATHU VERILLAI MARAI MOORTTHI KANNAA
MANIVANNAA MALAYAPPA GOVINDAA GOVINDAA

Charanam 2 (Kaapi Raagam)
THIRAIYIN PIN NIRKINRAAY KANNAA, KANNA
THIRAIYIN PIN NIRKINRAAY KANNAA, UNNAI
MARAI ODUM NYAANIYAR MATTUME KAANPAAR
THIRAIYIN PIN NIRKINRAAY KANNAA, UNNAI
MARAI ODUM NYAANIYAR MATTUME KAANPAAR
ENRAALUM KURAI ONRUM ENAKKILLAI KANNAA
ENRAALUM KURAI ONRUM ENAKKILLAI KANNAA

Charanam 3 (Kaapi Raagam)
KUNRIN MEL KALLAAKI NIRKINRA VARADAA
KUNRIN MEL KALLAAKI NIRKINRA VARADAA
KURAI ONRUM ILLAI MARAI MOORTTHI KANNAA
KURAI ONRUM ILLAI MARAI MOORTTHI KANNAA
MANIVANNAA MALAIAPPAA GOVINDAA GOVINDAA

Charanam 4 (Sindu Bhairavi Raagam)
KALI NAALUKKIRANGI KALLILE IRANGI
NILAIYAAGA KOVILIL NIRKINRAAY KESAVAA
KALI NAALUKKIRANGI KALLILE IRANGI
NILAIYAAGA KOVILIL NIRKINRAAY KESAVAA
KURAI ONRUM ILLAI MARAI MOORTTHI KANNAA

Charanam 5 (Sindu Bhairavi Raagam)
YAATHUM MARUKKAATHA MALAIYAPPAA – UN MAARBIL
EDUM THARA NIRKUM KARUNAI KADAL ANNAI
ENRUM IRUNTHIDA EDU KURAI ENAKKU
ENRUM IRUNTHIDA EDU KURAI ENAKKU
ONRUM KURAI ILLAI MARAI MOORTTHI KANNAA
MANIVANNAA MALAIAPPAA GOVINDAA GOVINDAA
GOVINDAA GOVINDAA
GOVINDAA GOVINDAA

“Jalajakshi ninne” varnam in Hamsadhvani

While we started this varnam in today’s class, master wanted us to list on the characteristics on  Hamsadhvani…As always, he gave the answers…here are those for starters like me!!

1. This raga is sung mostly as the first one in concerts  – it is suppose to warm up the musician.  You may notice most of the Ganesha stutui are in Hamsadhvani

2. It is the born from the 29th Mela Kartha – Theera Sankara baranam (suddha madhyama ragam)

3. It is ‘OUDAVAM’ ragam  – it has 5 swaras

Count your blessings!

The nuances and intricacies of Carnatic music are many, it may need multiple lives to master the art. This tamil month of “Margazhi”  (mid December to mid January) in Chennai  is a great time for the Carnatic music lovers –  people in and around Chennai , people from other states in India and even people from abroad flock Chennai during this time to enjoy the music season  – veterans in the field and the budding artists perform in various ‘sabhas’ (theatres) in the city.

While witnessing a live event is the best way to enjoy any performance, viewing the performance telecast in a television has its own advantage –  we can continue with our daily schedules and catch up these telecast in our own living room.  Jaya TV , a regional TV in Tamilnadu has made it possible for lakhs of viewers across the country to listen and view the performances of many great Carnatic music artists.  Every day during this month, they have a telecast of one hour of these concerts titled as a program called “Marghazhi Maha Utsavam”.  To make it more interesting, there is a short interview with the performing artists of the day – the questions are pretty much standard  –  your best moment, worst moment, etc.

Last week (having taken a vacation from work), I was watching the performance of Aruna Sairam. For beginners, Aruna Sairam is one of the greatest Carnatic musician – what makes her unique is that she started her career very late (After she married off her kids and completed her so called “parental duties”) and made it to the top in no time.  She was completely involved in her singing which catches up on the viewers also.   She looked so cheerful and happy!

Towards the end of the program, there was the short interview session – one of the questions was “What is that one important blessing you have got without asking?” and “What is that one blessing in your life which you are still awaiting to happen to you?”….She did not even wink a moment before she answered – she said “there was this sportsperson who won the highest order of the country and later in his life became bedridden at his young age.  One of the reporters asked him “do you feel bad that you have ended up in this situation after all your successes in life?”  The sportsperson said “No, I never questioned when I was the best sportsperson and how can i question now?.  I can never question now and no rights to complain”.   I also feel the same way.  I think whatever I have got so far in my life are all blessings – you as the carnatic music fans are the best gift andthere is nothing like which I can ask for more.”  –  She reinforced that we can only COUNT OUR BLESSINGS!!!

note  – this video is in the regional language ‘Tamil’

Though it is a well established fact to celebrate the blessings, it is always nice to hear it again – proved that her smartness reflects in things outside her art also!!  God bless!!  🙂 🙂

Guru

I was watching  this karnatik concert of Vijay Siva, and the following question was asked to him. 

“When does a person become a ‘Guru’ and start teaching?” 

He responded -” a person is a ‘Guru’ only when he continues to learn and realises that he is also learning along with his pupils”

As RK commented , it is indeed,  “So profound!!”