Raja '09 - A summation

[Plum]

raj, nice enjoyable post.

[Raj4376]

Thanks a lot Plum

[naarayanan]

welcome rajendra, to tfmpage. It would be great if you migrate some of your great posts here.

[Sureshs65]

Raj,

Nice perspective about Rabindra Sangeet. Never thought that way but once you mention it, it makes sense. Yup. You can hear the strain in the voice of that great singer but he effectively conveys the emotion. 'Nandalala' is an album which grows slowly and steadily, occupying a special place in your heart.

Waiting for you to write about 'edeya bagilu', 'rangu rangu' and 'chinna polike'. Three unique and fresh songs from Raja's stable.

[app_engine]

Yup. You can hear the strain in the voice of that great singer but he effectively conveys the emotion.

I read somewhere that there's going to be a charity show in a few days to collect funds for doing heart surgery to 70 people, to commemorate the 70th BD of KJY. (MSV / SPB / IR and many celebrities to attend).

For that age, he sounds a lot younger!

[Raj4376]

Thanks Naarayanan..Nice to know that you are following my writings in other forums .

Thanks Suresh!Shall write about those songs soon...

[Raj4376]

Situated at the edge of the Western Ghats in North Karnataka, Dharwad is a very interesting place.It is at the cusp of two geographical divisions-Hilly land with red soil and Plains with Black soil. .

Because of its unique location, it acted as a resting place for people climbing the mountains and therefore was called as the ‘Door to the Town’.Dhwara, meaning Entrance or Door and Wata or Wada, meaning Town combine to form Dharwad.

Maybe this unique location is also responsible for the rich Culture the region is known for.Yes, at least two Gnanpeet award winners hail from this region.

And some of the greatest legends of Hindustani Music hail from Dharwad.
Sawai Gandharwa, Kumar Gandharwa,Bhimsen Joshi, Gangubai Hangal, Mallikarjun Mansur..
The very mention of these names gives me goosepimples.

A very different nasal tone coupled with a very deep voice..That is what make the music of Dharwad unique.

‘Budu Budu Kayya’ from ‘Bhagyadha Balegaara’reminds me of the Dharwad music.One could even call it as Dharwad folk.

L.N.Shastri has done an admirable job in rendering the song.

‘Budu Budu Kayya’ is the tamizh equivalent ‘Gudu Gudupaikkaran’(where are these people now?).

The song set in Mayamalawagowla has an air of poignancy.The repetitive interludes are simple and have the native flavour.

The high-pitched plaintive rendering, the rhythm with pauses, the string instrument that follows the voice in the Pallavi, the rather continuous Charanam and above all the ‘Budu Budu Kayya’-that makes us sway- make us listen to this song again and again and again..

The Pallavi starts with the line ‘I shall tell you the future..’

Is it not a fact that the past(from 1976), the present and the future belong to the one and only Raaja?

[jaiganes]

The Music of Bengal is unique.

Rabindra(pronounced as Robindra) Sangeet is part of the culture of Bengal.Written and composed by Tagore, these songs are very deep and touch one's soul even if one does not understand the language.

The songs deal with varied themes and form the foundation of the Bengali ethos.

Apart from Robindra Sangeet, there is Baul Geet- a kind of gypsy/folf music-that deals with the philosophy of life in a go-easy manner.Bauls are people who do not believe in any particular religion and who believe that God resides in everybody's hearts and not in temples/mosques.

There are also Boatman's songs and general folk songs in bengali.

The Burmans adapted some wonderful songs and used them in Hindi films.

ILaiyaraaja, a great fan of S.D.Burman paid tribute to the culture of Bengal in 'Odam Ondru'(ThuNai IruppaL Meenakshi-1978) , and 'Soorai kaatril aaduthe'(Poottaatha PoottukkaL-1980) or for that matter the 'Ganga maa' song in Mahanadhi(1994).

His more recent song 'OnnukkoNu ThuNai Irukku' from Nandalala has a beautiful Bengali flavour.

Listening to this song gives a sense of peace, calmness and tranquility that is rather difficult to explain.It has to be experienced.

The prelude with the subtle but powerful percussion(a combination of ghatam and modern instruments) and the flute-again a combination of long and small sets the tone.

Yesudass' charming voice(though it sounds strained, it is not jarring!), the very simple and beautiful interludes, the special Raaja effect of the Flute playing in between the lines, the meaningful lyrics...all these make this another jewel in the crown of the Emperor!

The song reminds some people of 'Kanne Kalaimane' maybe because of the similar rhythmic pattern and the Raaja-Yesudass combination.

But it would surprise many if I say that the same pattern was used in that eerie song 'Vaazhve Maayama'(Gayatri-1977).

That is Raaja!!

It never struck me to connect rabindra sangeet with this song.
One thing that always has my mind on a tizzy while hearing this song is the way the soft cymbal crashes on the drum set are programmed. The beat pattern is very unique for a slow melancholic song and yet is being employed here.

[app_engine]

the way the soft cymbal crashes on the drum set

Raja is a specialist in employing this kind of high frequency sounds in unexpected places (either the way the instrument is combined with others which could be unconventional or the mood that the sound creates which is opposite to the traditional employment).

My cousin used to get a huge kick out of the "ching-chaw" instrument being played along with electric guitar (orE nAL unai nAn 2nd interlude, AnandhaththEn kAtRu thAlAttudhE 1st interlude for e.g.)