In Reverence...

With voice smooth like a soft gel,
And words strong like a brass bell,
Sound alluring as a sea shell,
And expression deep as Honey well,
You came to this earth as an Angel
And showed that your halt in people’s heart is eternal.
As long as the day is bright
And the night is quiet,
Your tone will fill the space
And captivate the entire sphere.

Good Morning Raagas

The wonderful feeling of waking up with a Raaja song is not something unusual for me. The song stays with me through out the day and keeps playing at the back of my mind like a bgm. Even when I wake up with one, I meet the other charms in the latter parts of the day and they allow the bgm to remain at its place.
Often I am greeted by, ‘Idi swathi jallu ’in the morning. A song from ‘Jamadagni’...
For me listening to it is like slowly getting into a pleasant twister that sets me free only after giving extreme delight. The base guitar in the prelude... the second interlude...just feel for yourself:-) and also the rhythm.. Great,fantastic...Are these two words adequate to show our appreciation?
You decide...

Classical music teacher, my eye opener.

When my curiosity was noticed, it was decided to send me to an accomplished classical trainer for upgrading my ability. After formal procedures I was accepted as a learner. With great excitement my face turned bright when the question that I expected came from her. With out frittering away a single moment I took out a jewel from my collection and gifted her, being clear in my mind about the laud I would receive in return. Her stern voice ordering me to discontinue rehearsing film songs in order to continue training lessons came as a revelation. After a short and snappy oration I was introduced to the seven swaras and was told that any piece of music is made up of these swaras and was asked to run through these swaras. There was a sense of innocence in my question when I asked her if the music that I followed also contained these swaras. ‘Yes’ was her answer with an imperious smile. Homewards I couldn’t stop being appreciative of my teacher for she was the one to awaken my mind by giving two options. One was to savor the raw material and the other was to savor the creation. I chose the latter as it was unworkable for me to relinquish the creation and the creator of my music. Now I was able to define melody as something formed of swaras to treat the ears of the listener, even though I couldn’t get any answer to my question, that why I should stop practicing my music to learn her music. When the time came for the next class, it was my people’s turn to take by surprise when I stated that I do not wish to learn her music. It was my fortune that I was not at all required to do something that I did not enjoy.

Mood Progressions!

Raaja’s arrangement of BGM for the movie ‘Sagara Sangamam’ is surely exceptional. It’s so easy to understand the feelings of the characters when His music speaks; this is what I could make out. Not one scene to mention or one movie to recall, there are n number of movies where He has worked wonders with His BG score. I feel, a life time is not sufficient for a detailed study of His music. Tears roll down automatically whenever I listen to this BGM.



These scenes cannot be imagined without His heart squeezing background score. We can feel the music letting us know the dissimilar moods of the characters at each move.
Watch at.0:00 Madhavi (name of the female character) entering with some pictures. At 0:16, the music tells Balu’s (name of the Male character) happiness. When at 0:44 it shows Balu’s gratefulness to Madhavi for the pictures, at 1:39 in a lighter mood, it proves the progress of friendship between the two characters, 3:11 is granting assurance and proceeding towards a stronger relation. 4:45 the chorus shows Madhavi in a mixed mind-set where she is in a state of uncertainity and happiness. At 6:10, it is love acceptance, and at 8:12 it is separation. OMG ! Who else other than Ilaiyaraaja could have created such heavenly music!

Great Apetizers!

When my world was greeted with the tunes from 'Preminchi Pelladu'(Telugu), for a long time it became a practice to sit for meals only after listening to this song. Mom calling out for lunch or supper, but me totally immersed in relishing the first course, it was truly enjoyable. This mind blowing tune spreads tons of happiness in the air and drives us crazy. What a beautiful prelude and the chorus too is splendid.
Songs like this are examples of purity!

Malayalam Pearls

Since my childhood was adorned with more friends from Kerala, Malayalam was always nearer to me. Even though there was a liking for the language, I never tried to explore its beauty unless and until I was greeted with ‘Thumbi Vaa’ from the Maestro, which was my first Malayalam song. In due course, in my pursuit, I came across many Malayalam pearls of Maestro. At all times I had a doubt whether my friends from Kerala had this chance because they too were staying away from their land. I still have the curiosity, and yearn to share these pearls with them.

A pearl from the film Aa Rathri for you. I love the Bass guitar work in this song!