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ARR's music is generally very rich in imagery, they evoke vivid images when you listen to them. Sometimes he conveys through music, what the lyricist tries to express through words. Please use this thread to discuss about what you felt/visualized while listening to his music, concepts and themes communicated in his music. Be warned though, that we may never be able to fully appreciate the divine depths of ARR's creativity and imagination, but this is just a feeble attempt.
I will start this thread with a very beautiful analysis by Dasun Abeysekara in yahoo groups on Uyirum neeye song from the film Pavithra.
:bow: :bow:Quote:
As promised, here's the write-up on Uyirum Neeye.
I just wanted to share this awesome experience about one of my all-time
favorite songs. Some of you may have already felt this sense of jubilation, but
I wanted to share my process of discovering the magnificence of this divinely
inspired song.
Rano, once in this forum, mentioned the beauty of the song Azhagu Nilave from
Pavithra (1994). In the process of going through Pavithra's songs on the iTunes
Music Store to find Azhagu Nilave, I found Uyirum Neeye as well, in my opinion,
easily the best song of the album; and I came to that conclusion with no
knowledge of what the lyrics meant. It was a purely gut response to the
scintillating music and Unnikrishnan's enviable voice. Unnikrishnan apparently
won the 1995 National Award for Best Male Playback singer for his rendition of
this song along with another incredible song - 'Ennavale' from Shankar's
Kaadhalan; and Ennavale was his first film song? Unbelievable! Divine
interventions aside, the music spoke of something special that I was so
determined to discover, for I knew well by then, that there is something deeper
than the notes and Raagas which ARR tries to convey through his music; and if
the intuitive discovery of that, as is well known, takes time, the intellectual
discovery, for the crazy Rahmaniac who yearns to dive the depths of his
imagination, takes even longer! I must have posted a couple of requests on this
forum begging for a translation of the song, but did not get one for a while.
Then on 6/3/06, one of our members here posted the translation. I usually write
down the date and source when I make a copy of anything, but unfortunately, in
this instance, I forgot to write down the name of the member who posted it; so
my apologies for not crediting the source. Please do let me know your name if
you see this message.
After I read the lyrics, my wonderment of this song reached new heights. It is
a given that the poetry by Vairamuthu is in a class of it's own. Wikipedia
states Pavithra and Karuthamma (both with ARR's music) fetched him the National
Award for Best Lyrics in 95 as well (I don't care much for Filmfare Awards, but
a National Award carries merit!). What the lyrics expressed was obvious. It was
a grand tribute to a mother; but, the music was not the usual music you hear in
a typical son-to-mother song. So, I listened carefully to what the music was
trying to say for the longest time. Usually, most music directors will get the
inspiration for the song from the first verse (mukhda); so I focused on the
mukhda and how ARR might have thought about capturing this in the music.
Uyirum neeye, udalum neeye, uravum neeye...thaaye (II)
Thun udalil sumandhu, uyirai pagirndhu, uruvam tharuvaai neeye (II)
Un kaNNil vazhiyum oru thuLi podhum, Kadalum urugum thaaye (II)
Un kaaladi mattum tharuvai thaaye, Sorgam enbadhum poyye
* source = http://www.geocities.com/promiserani/tamil/t1036.html
My life, My body, My binding...my Mother (II)
Bearing me in your self, bestowing your life to me, and embodying me (II)
A single tear drop from your eyes and oceans drown (II)
Gift me your feet and the heavens seem a lie.
* source = member of this group
First I thought the guitar introduction was inspired by the phrase, 'a single
tear drop from your eyes,' as the first two notes of the bended B and the F#
feels like a drop of tear as it escapes the corner of a mother's eye and lands
to drown an ocean; and that phrase does bring out a beautiful change in line 3
of the mukhda as well. I wish I can give you a musical analysis of this, but my
knowledge of Raagas is almost non-existent. I know the song is based on Raag
Kamas. If someone can provide that, it will be awesome and I would be very
grateful! I'm trying to analyze the music with my knowledge of western music,
which might not be the best way to approach the musical analysis, but it will
be interesting to see the results. I'll share it when I have it ready.
I kept thinking about the teardrop inspiration, but the flamenco-influenced,
but Carnatic-flavored guitar solos interspersed with the Saraswathi Veena were
too mesmerizing to be inspired by only a teardrop. I have not yet seen the
movie - Pavithra, so I don't know how this song had been picturised. Sometimes
the picturization can offer hints about how the music was inspired. So, I stuck
with the lyrics and moved on to the second verse (anthra).
PeNNai padaithaan, maNNai padaitthaan
Katrum, mazhaiyum, oliyum padaitthaan (II)
Boomikku adhanaal nimmadhi illai (II)
Sami thavitthan...
Sami thavitthan thaayai padaitthan
He created the skies, He created the sands,
The winds, the rains, the light, He created,
Yet, peace reigns not on Earth,
He struggled in anguish...
He struggled in anguish and created Mother
This anthra is as powerful lyrically as the mukhda with a magic touch added
with the pause and the single F# on guitar playing following 'Saami thavitthan'
to portray God, the Master Perfectionist, in anguish sensing that something was
missing in his creation...and then creating mother, the source of creation
itself! If the teardrop served as the catalyst within the mukhda for the music,
the Creation of Mother was the catalyst within the anthra.
Then one morning, I realized that it is Creation that ARR is trying to capture
in the background, possibly from the bended first note itself! If you close
your eyes and try to imagine God's hand painting earth on His canvas, that is
what the musical depiction appears to me now! This might have been also
inspired by the 16th century Renaissance painter/sculptor Michaelangelo
Buonarrotti's masterpiece - The Creation of Adam - which is painted on the
ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, Italy.
The bended B that starts the song now feels like God giving a moment of thought
before he starts creating the earth, slowly laying down its framework. And then
while He is in the process of creating, a son pays a tribute to his mother. The
second interlude on Guitar and Veena suggests that God is now heavily involved
with the process of creation, with the rapid Guitar lines depicting His
incredibly fast hands moving across the framework to paint various things of
magnificent colors. And then the Veena backed by the Thavil strikes five mighty
brush strokes anticipating the anthra's first two lines... creation of the
skies, sands, wind, rain, and then light!
Incredible imagination on Vairamuthu's part; and just what he needed to give
ARR to come up with unbelievable music. Talk about integrity in music and
lyrics!!! What magnificent creativity! Michaelangelo, what say you?
Very beautifully written indeed, how many of us even cared to listen to this song. But still, Thalaivar has oozed his creative spirits all over the song.
Very true.. but slight nitpick, the instrument is Mridangam and not Thavil.Quote:
And then the Veena backed by the Thavil strikes five mighty
brush strokes anticipating the anthra's first two lines... creation of the
skies, sands, wind, rain, and then light!
Also notice the phrase:
Un kaNNil vazhiyum oru thuLi podhum, Kadalum urugum thaaye (II)
Un kaaladi mattum tharuvai thaaye, Sorgam enbadhum poyye
The translation posted above doesn't translate this accurately. But you can see that both the verses are similar in structure. Most MD's would have set the same tune to both. But there is a vast divide between them in terms of impact and lyrical quality. The phrase "Give us your feet, another heaven seem a lie" carries the impact of the stanza. Rahman simply elevates the lyrics by tweaking the tune and Unni's rendition is the icing on cake. Just listen to how he says "Sorgam enbadhum poyye" [1:25 to 1:32]
Brilliant lyrics, beautiful composition and an excellent rendition :clap:
Another beautiful review by Dasun Abeysekara. Do Kadam from Meenaxi.
Do Kadam – A Sublime Journey and A Sorrow that Lingers
Quote:
As promised..here's my take on Do Kadam. Enjoy! :)
Do Kadam – A Sublime Journey and A Sorrow that Lingers
"If a music artist wants to blossom into a full-fledged person, it's not enough
if he knows only classical music; nor is it enough if he is well-versed only in
raagas and techniques. Instead, he should be a knowledgeable person interested
in life and philosophy. In his personal life there should be, at least in some
corner of his heart, a tinge of lingering sorrow."
When I first read this profound quote by ARR, it sparked, deep inside of me,
something very sincere and beautiful; these words may have been that little
pinch the sleeping artist within me, who I had forgotten due to the constant
pursuit of survival instincts and was consciously trying to restrain by
offering traditional societal expectations as excuses, needed to rub his eyes
and wake up! I had a natural interest in life and philosophy; it was as if
these subjects were written into my genes, and I was always grateful to my
parents and to my Buddhist upbringing for inculcating that sense of
understanding and intuitive wisdom so early on in my life which made my life a
little easier and more balanced during the typically turbulent teen-ages,
though it often seemed to outsiders a very difficult and restrained one. It is
this same intuitive sense of balance and understanding, now I realize, that
drew me to the naturally symmetrical music of my life’s early heroes - ARR and
Yanni - at the age of 13 and made me appreciate and grow with their exquisite
music. But, until the moment of reading this quote, I had not made the
connection between these natural interests of mine and the awe-inspiring and
divine profession of the true artist. What is lacking within this dormant
artist that keeps him from getting out of his cozy bed? What is this tinge of
lingering sorrow that ARR has in a corner of his heart? What sorrow could lie
in the heart of this man, who, to me, embodies all that is beautiful, happy,
and heavenly? Is it this sorrow that I lack?
Years passed as an uninterrupted supply of beautiful music and incredible
artistry from the maestro continued to subconsciously alter my spiritual state
of being for the better while I contently lived with my latent artist trying to
figure out what this sorrow is and how and where is it that he is going to find
it. Then, in early 2004, I bought an album I had anxiously awaited for quite
some time; it brought together India’s foremost painter – M.F. Hussein – in his
second directorial venture with India’s foremost composer – A.R. Rahman! I knew
I was going to get magic from this album well before its release! The music was
true to expectations, very colorfully crafted, and quite deftly and intricately
woven with ARR himself attempting to reach the abstract heights of an M.F.
Hussein painting in the two instrumental pieces; however, one song stood out
every time I listened to the entire album. It was something very special and
the sounds and emotions spoke to my heart directly; yes, this song was divine!
Do Kadam gave me so many goose-bumps each time I listened to it that I started
to skip all the other songs (except, perhaps, for Rang Hain) and play only that
over and over again; that is a high compliment given the quality of the entire
album! I did not understand the Hindi lyrics (by Rahat Indori) fully at first
except for a phrase here and there, though it was enough, I thought, to put
together a rough sketch of what the song was about. I was wrong! This song
could not be enjoyed in its fullest being by putting together its pieces in a
haphazard manner like I did. In fact, to this day, I find some deeper meaning
to the creativity in this song. As with any divinely inspired song, the first
few notes and sounds captured my attention: it was synthetic, it was mystical,
and it was vintage ARR! Enter the classy Sonu Nigam…
Lyrics:
Zindagi, haath mila; saath chal, saath me aa;
Umr-bhar saath rahi
Trans:
Life, take this hand; come, come along with me;
We will walk together forever
And a gentle synth base guitar lick in the background picks up volume lifting
you up as if you were in a helicopter taking off from earth.
Lyrics:
Do kadam aur, sahi, do kadam aur, sahi II
Trans:
two more steps, all right, two more steps II
…and a happily persistent string section leads the protagonist, (given the
movie’s context, an artist: a writer), in a casual two step walk, guiding him
down a sun lit path towards a golden land as the music bathes you in brilliant
bright light.
Lyrics:
Koi suraj ki dagar, koi sone ka nagar
Chaand ke rath pe chale, jahan tehre yeh nazar
Trans:
Some sunlit path, some golden city
Walk in the path of the moon, where, this gaze would freeze
And the synth lead guitar applies a slight break along the way followed by a
wonderful panoramic scan of the scenes, which beautifully sets up the next
lines.
Lyrics:
Dhoop Daryaon mein hain, phir safar paon mein hain
Dil ka awara diya, doosre gaon mein hain
Aaon, chale hum wahin
Do kadam aur, sahi IV
Trans:
There’s sunlight in the rivers, there’s journey in your legs
This wandering heart’s lamp is in a different village
Come, let us go there
Take two more steps, all right IV
Just listen to the magic created by the tangent chord that is touched just for
‘doosre gaon’ before returning immediately to the base. And the same persistent
string section, almost turning around toward his follower from time to time,
gesturing with his hands to make haste, never stops saying come on, two more
steps! All right? Now as they get closer to this mysteriously beautiful place,
the grand Timpani starts to roar from a distance and the majestic horns can be
heard trumpeting its glory. Leading up to the next narrative, the walk’s
momentum picks up with a lively conga layering over the soft cymbals.
Lyrics:
Khwaab dalte hain jahan, dil pighalte hain jahan
Aaon chalte hain wahin, woh zameen door nahin
Dosti hogi wahan, roshni hogi wahan
Us ujaale ke liye, jal chuke laakhon diye
Ek hum aur, sahi
Do kadam aur, sahi IV
Trans:
Where dreams are fulfilled, where hearts melt
Come, let us go there, that land is not too far
Friendship will be there, light will be there
to light this place, many lamps have been burnt
We might as well be one of them
Two more steps, all right IV
After this narrative, the string section returns with the conga drums, but the
background synth sounds fade out almost to a nightly silence, quite
appropriately setting up the mood for the next verse.
Lyrics:
Kisiki awaaz hai? Sun. Yeh naya saaz hai, sun
Koun rehta hain sada? chalke dekhen to zara
Raah viraan, sahi, raath sumsaan, sahi
Har ghadi saath rahe, kitne gham saath sahe
Thor ghum aur, sahi
Do kadam aur, sahi IV
Trans:
Who’s voice is calling us? Listen. This is a new melody, listen
Who goes on forever? Come, let’s go see
The path is lonely, agreed. The night is silent, agreed.
We have been together all along, we have suffered so much
Just a little more suffering, all right
Two more steps, all right IV
The silence of the first two lines is nicely contrasted with the conga beat
picking up the momentum again for the difficult final stretch where ‘the path
is lonely and the night is silent’ providing the additional impetus and
enthusiasm needed to carry on the remainder of the journey; but, the most
beautiful moment of the song comes during ‘kitne ghum saath sahe’ when a high
pitched synthetic harmonica lingers almost clinging by a thread to the artist’s
soul, as he reaches this worthy final destination; and now loud and clear, the
horns blow majestically, the timpani crash triumphantly, and a choir of angels
welcomes him to this mystical place of infinite grandeur, sublime beauty, and
immortality; and he knows that he has achieved every artist’s dream, and that
all his struggles are well worth the reward: he has created his own heaven in
his mind!
It took me, at the very least, a year to interpret all of this mind-blowing
creativity and truly come to grips with the deeper meaning of the song; but
after I had fully understood the lyrics and listened to the lingering harmonica
sound during ‘kitne ghum,’ I knew I found the answer to my question: what is
this lingering sorrow which ARR has in a corner of his heart that is essential
to being a great artist? To create such heavenly beauty, divine feelings, and
immortal masterpieces on earth, the true artist and the sincere creator has to
remain pure and warm at heart no matter how vicious and cold the rest of the
world may seem, he has to use in its fullest capacity his imaginative powers,
which he knows he is blessed with, but requires him to let go of himself and
find, and many-a-time, wait, for those moments of divine inspiration, knowing,
still, that after all that mental and physical energy is spent, there is no
guarantee that somebody would have seen, read, or heard his creation and had
been able to enter his heart, mind, and soul and become one with him; for that
is his divine duty: to create a spiritually beautiful heaven on earth so that
even a single person, searching for a higher spiritual state, or maybe, hoping
for a way out of some meaningless existence, or even just looking for a
momentary escape from a hard day’s pain, will see, hear, feel, and begin to
wonder, how is it possible? Where is this possible? I certainly did; and to
express my heartfelt gratitude, for ARR’s 40th birthday, I wrote him this poem.
A Sorrow that Lingers
I look through the window; it's another cold winter morning.
The skies are so gloomy, and I see no flowers blooming.
I pour myself a hot cup of coffee and turn on the TV,
but I see nothing of hope I was hoping to see,
and when I sip my coffee, it is as cold as what I see!
So I get into a hot shower, ponder the day ahead as it draws near,
but I snap out of it before the hot water runs clear.
I jump into my driver's seat, crank up the engine,
and while it warms up, I slip in my favorite CD.
Tinkling drops of water, a saccharine female voice,
little splashes of water, and then a Ghattam grooves with spice.
I feel a cool shake on my shoulders, and a snappy tap on my fingers
my heart is full of warmth and I am already in motion.
Then a moment comes which words cannot describe:
a man leaps in joy and I feel its vibe.
I too cry my heart out for I long to feel that joy,
it sends a thrill up through my spine, and I know very well why
I see a 13-year old boy in shorts and shirt on a new day to start.
He's got a spring in his step, and a cassette in his hand,
no, he had a Rose in his hands, and it had bloomed in his heart.
He puts it in play and says, 'dad, that's A.R.Rahman!'
I wake up to the calling of a soothing voice, he says
'Zindagi haath mila, saath chal saath me aa, umra-bhar saath rahi he..
Do kadam aur sahi, do kadam aur sahi,
do kadam aur sahi, do kadam aur sahi'
And I am in motion again as I hear them beckon,
those crashing timpani and those majestic horns,
to a golden land where there's friendship and light
and to the peppy conga beat, I forget life's plights
and take two more steps with renewed delight
I never knew a sorrow that lingers
could bring this much happiness
until I heard the beauty of your wonder
and felt the depth of your greatness
http://www.mail-archive.com/arrahman.../msg37122.html
Thamizh,
Great job :clap: :clap:
Ada, ezhudhunavaruku claps podunga. I am still searching for few other reviews.
There are lots of other songs as well, where I have felt and noticed similar factors, but ezhudhuravanga ezhudhuna thaan nalla irukkum.. If you find any stuff, please post it.
I wrote this for one of my write up. Too much a irundhaa mannichchikonga :)
The prelude of Minnale nee vandhadhEnadi always gives me a feel of the moment of seperation. Kaiya vittu oru paravai parandhu pora maadhiri :)
And the prelude of Anbe Sugama reminds me of slow moving clouds!
The prelude of Anbe Sugama reminds me of Jewel Tetris :?
Mano, please post the writeup :)Quote:
Originally Posted by AravindMano
Very true regarding this song. The fast violins running throughout the song depicts the "thavippu" perfectly and who better to emote than our own SPB. 2nd interlude is lovely too!