Classical Illayaraja-3.
Lakshminarayana
Classical Illayaraja - 3.
-------------------------
Subhapanthuvarali is a 'bayangara soga' ragam. If you hear it you will cry;
I will cry; 'saraa loag' will cry. Given the conditional event of Rajiv Gandhi
or Indira Gandhi's death occuring, Subhapanthuvarali played on the radio or
TV by some 'thenga moodi' bhagavathar during the days of mourning will make
even those music insensitive indira congress leaders shed atleast 'crocodile
tears'! Can you imagine this ragam being used in the cinema for a sexy scene
like that in 'Hot Shots' in which the hero Charlie Sheen fries eggs in the
heroine's umbilicus as though it was a bunzen burner?! Yes, there is a song
in Subhapanthuvarali for a situation like the above said, in the movie
'Getti melam'. That was the first movie in which director Visu joined Illaya-
raja, starring Karthik and Sasikala. Visu had tried some sexploitation in
that song sequence by bringing Sasikala in swimsuit for few minutes, Karthik
grazing over her all the time! The song is 'dhagamae undanathe, thindaaduthe
manamae..' That was pure subhapanthuvarali. Maybe it evoked sexy mood. Maybe
not! Neither the movie nor the song was a big hit. Perhaps the failure was
only due to the ineptitude of the raga selection. Visu never joined with
Illayaraja after that!
Illayaraja has used Subhapanthuvarali umpteen number of times for sad situa-
tions. His first Subhapanthuvarali came in 'vaigarayil vagai karayil' in
Payanangal modivathilai. S.P.B had done a wonderful job in that, coughing in
the middle of the song as though he himself had a serious disease. The song
was a big hit as were the other numbers in that movie. lllayaraja and direct-
or R.Sundarajan reportedly had a physical fight about who was the main reason
for the movie's hit! Childish fellows! After sometime, R.Sundarajan became a
pal with Illayaraja once again, reconciling to the fact that Illayaraja was
indispensable at that period of time when he was at his peak. Some of his
other Subhapanthuvarali are 'madhavan azhakiraan' in Rajni's Ragavendra, one
song in valli (I forgot the song) etc. Both these songs were sung by Yesudoss.
In 'paadu nilaavae' he used Subhapanthuvarali for one situation in which the
hero and heroine enter into some sort of music competition. That song is
'vaa veliyae intha kootai vittu'. Mano and Chitra. Mano had shown his vocal
gimnastic skills in the thara sthayi sanchara in that song.
Subhapanthuvarali is the 45th melagartha ragam. One raga before that,(ie 44th)
we have Bavapriya ragam. Illayaraja has composed one song in this scale. That
is 'kandupudichen kandupudichen' in Gurusishyan. One of my friends told me that
some carnatic big shot, like Sudha Raghunathan or someone, told in an interview
in MTV that it was a good Bavapriya and that Illayaraja had used this 'soga
ragam' in that funny situation in which Prabhu humours Rajini about his new
love affair with Gowthami. I would simply say that it was a good song in 'Bava-
priya' scale. Thats all! Similarly there is a good song in the suddha madhyama
raga scale of Subhapanthuvarali, that is , Dhenuka. It is the song in 'thooral
ninnu poachu': en soga kathaya kaellu... Let us simply call this as set in
Dhenuka scale (with few slips) and not as Dhenuka ragam.
The sixth raga from Subhapanthuvarali, ie, 51st mela ragam is Panthuvarali.
Illayaraja has conspicuously not produced any good number in Panthuvarali.The
only one that I know is the re-recording in 'Raja paarvai' in which blind
Kamal plays violin with the troup. I forgot what situation that recording comes
in that movie. Sa Pa Ma Ga Ri Sa Sa Ri Ni Sa....That is how the recording goes.
Though people usually quote this as good Panthuvarali, I did not like it very
much. He had tried some fusion in that. Nothing can beat MSV's 'aezhu swarang-
alukul' in Panthuvarali. It is like listening to a katcheri. Vani Jayaram did a
terrific performance in that song. Did she get national award for that song?
Perhaps, it is because of this song that she always says that MSV is the best
music director who gave carnatic music in pure form, forgetting about Illaya-
raja's 'indraiku en intha' (vaidhegi kathirunthal) and other innumerable
etcetras. Maybe, Illayaraja stopped giving her chance to sing in his movies
only because she praised MSV all the time!
Illayaraja was really very prolific in the suddha madhyama raga of Pabthuvarali.ali, ie, Mayamalavagowlai. He should have used this ragam atleast in 100 of his
songs. What a variety of songs in this 15th melagartha ragam! His first song in
this scale is probably 'enna paatu paada' in ?ponnu oorukku pudhusu; or is it
'manjal nilaavukku' (?pagalil oru nila).Since Mayamalavagowlai is a relatively
flexible raga, you can distinctly show the colour of the raga just by travers- ing its notes alone. Not much of gamaka is needed. You can use this for all
kinds of situation like sogam, elation, happiness etc. Illayaraja has complete-
ly exploited this ragam to the point of its fullest use, so that no other music
director can bring out any better than him from this raga. Some of his Mayama-
lavagowlai are: anthi varum neram (munthanai mudichu), madhurai mari kozhundu
vaasam (enga oru paatukaaran, uyirae uyirae urugadhae (oruvar vaazhum aalayam),
illam kaadal veenai (vellai pura onru), rama naamam oru vedamae (ragavendrar),
maasaru ponnae varuga (thevar magan), en thayaenum koyilai (aranmanai killi),
kottu kali kottu (chinnavar), poova eduthu vachu (amman koil kizhakaalae)
there are so many songs in this, quoting all would be cumbersome. Some of
them actually have been tuned in 'tappanguthu' situations. In Bharathiraja's
en uyir thozhan, there is a song 'machchi en mannaru'. It is a pukka Mayamalava
gowlai (even though it is tappanguthu). That song has the following lyrics:
Machchi en mannaru mansukkula bejaru,
Touch pannaru, takkara poanaru,
Davu oru davu naan kaatum naerum...
Sammunu sammunu vaasam sallunu sallunu veesum...
Though I've not seen this movie, from the lyrics I guess that the song situa-
tion should be like this: The poor pettai rowdy hero buys a new autorickshaw
and shows it to his lady love and sings a song! In the charanam of that song
look what the heroine asks the hero to buy for her! Not jewelry! Not house or
'bahuth keemthi property'! Not new silk dresses! Just two tickets for matnee
show for a rajini's movie so that they both can go! Thats all! Also, in the
charanam the hero says to the heroine 'kaaveri aaratam odathae nee mae..
koovam than naamae..' Funny! Isn't it? It is as though these people are just
talking in madras language in that song. Good depiction of poor class life.
Even though the thamizh kaavalargal purists might say that this song
is a kuppai, I liked the lyrics very much. How else can you write for a situ-
tion in which 'pettai rowdi' sings a song? In kottu kali kottu (chinnavar),
he has extracted heavy vocal support from SPB and Chitra going up and down the
scale in beautiful array of swaras. You should have listened to it to appreci-
ate it! One of his Mayamalavagowlai very closely resembles one of MSV's number.
That song is 'anbae naan kandaen' in A.S.Prakasam's Sadhanai. It is just like
'kallellam maanika kallaguma' (alayamani). He should have definitely got the
idea for that song from MSV's above said song. Some MSV fans might call this as
blatant plagiarism! Is it? I don't know.
Considering the panchama varjaya ragam of Mayamalavagowlai, Illayaraja was the
only one who used ever so far! That is Lalitha ragam. Lalitha seems to be one
of his recent attractions. The first song in Lalitha came in 'unnal mudiyum thambi' when Kamal sings a duet with L.A.K.Malam, as the heroine seetha calls
herself derogatively in that movie! 'Idhazhil kadhai ezhudhum' is a wonderful
Lalitha. Illayaraja should have definitely got the idea for this tune from
Muthuswamy Dikshitar's 'heranmayim lakshmim'. To me the movements of both the
song and keerthanai seem similar. But Dikshitar ingeniously starts the keer-
thanai in suddha daivatam. The continuity of the tune that Illayaraja has
maintained in 'idhazhil kadhai ezhudhu', the step by step progression from
one swara to another in melodious tone, the development of sangathis and the
tune on the whole is simply excellant. I would say this song is a milestone in
thamizh cine-music. Gangei Amaran's lyrics is unusually apt for this song
matching his other brother paavalar Varadharajan's 'mannil intha kadal' (keladi
kanmani). He proved himself a poet in this song! Subsequently, following the
hit of his first Lalitha, Illayaraja tried another shot of 'half-boiled
Lalitha' in 'illam kuyilae, kuyil tharum isayae' (priyanka). The start of this
song is like Ma Ma Ma Da Sa Ni Da Ma Ma Da Ma Da Sa Ni Ma Da Ga Ma Ri Ga Sa...
A beautiful start indeed! But the tune gets spoiled in the charanam. Iam told
that there is another of his Lalitha tries in 'veera' too. I understand that
it is like a small virutham sung by SPB. I have not heard it so far.
-Lakshminarayanan Srirangam Ramakrishnan.
Krishna Sivaramapuram
Lakshminarayana <rlak...@menudo.uh.edu> wrote:
>
<STUFF DELETED>
You haven't talked about raja's usage of chalanAtai in panivizhum
malarvanam and some other songs.... Also, one of his best pieces ever is
in madhyamAvathi in the same film "nE dhAnE endhan pOn vasandhAm"...
Simple but excellent tunes... And more importantly, seems to be very pure
(not copied... ;) ).
>love affair with Gowthami. I would simply say that it was a good song in 'Bava-
>priya' scale. Thats all! Similarly there is a good song in the suddha madhyama
I would rather desist from branding this as a song in bhavapriyA... As far as
I know bhavapriyA is a pratimadhyamam of thOdi....
Krish
Mohan Govi
>
>
> Classical Illayaraja - 3.
> -------------------------
>
That was wonderful, LakshmiNarayan. I like all the ragas you covered
in this article. What about the song "rojAvai thAlAttum thendral" from
ninaivellam nithya. Is'nt it set to Panthuvarali? Great song (Raja),
great voices (SPB/SJ), great lyrics (Vairamuthu) and great situation
(young lovers Karthik/GeeGee).
>Illayaraja was really very prolific in the suddha madhyama raga of
>Pabthuvarali.ali, ie, Mayamalavagowlai. He should have used this ragam
at
>songs. What a variety of songs in this 15th melagartha ragam!
Another Mayamalavagowlai song that I like very much: (a Thayagaraja
kriti) "Thulasi thala..." sung by KJY in the movie "UnnAl mudiyum
thambi". Nice song. Raja has used the same song in his composition "How
to name it". A nice fusion.
Is this song from Mahanadhi set to mayamalavagowlai:
"Sri ranga ranganthanin"
This song just takes me right to the Srirangam Ranganathar koil. A
refreshing song.
>-Lakshminarayanan Srirangam Ramakrishnan.
Mohan Govi
Puduhai Sreeram
> Illayaraja has used Subhapanthuvarali umpteen number of times for sad situa-
> tions. His first Subhapanthuvarali came in 'vaigarayil vagai karayil' in
> Payanangal modivathilai. S.P.B had done a wonderful job in that, coughing in
> the middle of the song as though he himself had a serious disease. The song
SPB doesnt cough in the midst of this song. It is "mani osai kettu ezhundhu".
Had to say this.....
-sreeram
Nandakumar Gopalakrishnan
the other stanzas as well) of "Aayiram Thaamarai Mottukale",
a hit song in a movie (?) featuring debutantes Kartik & Radha, in that
scale?
Interestingly, the mood meant to be conveyed by that song, for a lack of
better phrasing, was a fantasy of a pubescent that just discovered love.
And actually the words "Ananda Kummiyai Kottungale" (roughly translates
as do a dandiya dance in joy) figure in the use of this supposedly 'soka'
(tear-jerker) raga!
Also I think amongst Ilayaraja's greatest hits is "Andhi Mazhai
Pozhigirathu" based on Vasanta in the movie Rajaparvai. Is it true that
T.V. Gopalakrishnan (Karnatic musician and mridanga vidwan) sang the alapana
type music that appears in the interludes?
Nandu
Kartik Ramachandran
the ragas.
Some notable omossions with the same ragas , from your
list are as follows , guess I am right.
Subhapanthuvarali :
unnai naan sandhithen , nee aayirathil - aayirathil oruvan
kadavul vaazhum kovilile karpoora deepam - oru thalai raagam
Panthuvarali: ( Yes Mohan , you are right )
rojavai thaalaattum thenral ( SPB, SJ)
Maya malava gowla :
poongadave thaal thidava - Nizhalgal ( Jayachandra)
Kaadal kavithaigal padithidum nerum - Gopura vasalile
cheers ,
Kartik
Lakshminarayana
You are right. I've not mentioned many of those songs in my article. The
reason is, you know, one cannot possibly list all the songs.... Moreover,
I find it a little more interesting to discuss songs like this rather than
just giving a list.
If someone wanted to get a list of the songs in a particular raga, then
ramasubramaniam's compilation is useful. He said he is going to re-post
the list with some additions, in weeks to come.
Anand Kannan
: Another Mayamalavagowlai song that I like very much: (a Thayagaraja
: kriti) "Thulasi thala..." sung by KJY in the movie "UnnAl mudiyum
: thambi". Nice song. Raja has used the same song in his composition "How
: to name it". A nice fusion.
: Is this song from Mahanadhi set to mayamalavagowlai:
: "Sri ranga ranganthanin"
: This song just takes me right to the Srirangam Ranganathar koil. A
: refreshing song.
Sounds like Hamsadwani to me, especially the descent in charanam ( the
line "thenana nenjai ...") . The anupallavi sounds like Mohanam.
Can some knowledgable netter confirm/deny this.?
Cheers,
Anand, Toronto.
: >-Lakshminarayanan Srirangam Ramakrishnan.
: Mohan Govi
Srivatsan Srinivasan
To the best of my knowledge i think "Sri ranga ranganathanin.." from mahanadhi
is based on hamsadwani.
cheers
srivatsan
VARAHAN
Hamsadhwani.
Some of the other Ilayaraja's Mohanam songs are (listing only a handful
out of numerous songs)
Poovil Vandu Koodum - Kadal Oviyam
Ninnukkori Varnam - Agni Natchathram
Nan Oru Ponnoviam - Kannil theryum Kadhaigal
Some of Ilayaraja's Hamsadhwani are
Mayile Mayile - Kadavul Amaitha Medai
Kalam Maralam Nam Kadhal Marumo - Vazhkai
Seer Kondu Vandhavan yarendru solladi thozhi - Enakkul Oruvan
Looking forward to more on this subject.
Lakshmi Varahan