The Golden Era of Dr.IR and Dr.SPB

[rajkumarc]

Breathtaking posts App Loved your writeup about the eye-to-eye thingy (aka "looku vidaradhu") which lost its charm after coming to the US as it's kind of common to look and greet strangers here KRS dam and Brindavan are lovely places, brings back lots of good memories for me.

[V_S]

Aye Zindagi Gale Lagale - Everlasting composition, as Jai said. The prelude violins, second interlude violins, flute and santoor just gently caress our heart. Most of all the tune and singing. Silky smooth tune. Suresh Wadkar's voice perfectly suits this composition, compared to our dear SPB. His voice is more softer than SPB which is apt.

Please watch these links. See how the judges and audience are enjoying the composition.

The best comment by the second judge (from 3:13). This song has speed, handwork, emotion, sangathis, everything. The way the judge finishes his comment is just stunning!
Unless you lose yourself, you cannot become this song.

(Marati Sare gama pa)


Hear the judges comments in second video, especially the third judge, explaining where the soul of the song is.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x64...-lagaa-l_music

(Shankar and Shaan singing the song ).
There are many more links which says why this classic song is popular and timeless at the same time.

Some great tributes to this outstanding composition.



This song has been chosen for singing after 25 years. Still they remember this song. Please remember Maestro has only composed handful of Hindi (original) songs and they remember everyone of them, that's the beauty!
Whoever knows Maestro Ilaiyaraaja in North, they know this song.

[raagas]

I vehmently condemn the slandering against "yeh zindagi" - that one is an everlasting gem...

Same here! Yeh Zindagi is a classic and if people in North India know Ilaiyaraaja, it is through this song. Popularity stats aside, even as a composition, it is a very rich composition. I'm 100% sure that if the same Poongaatru had been dubbed/rehashed into Hindi - it wouldnt have clicked that well. And Yeh Zindagi is one of those songs which doesnt carry the southie-ness that most North Indians find in Ilaiyaraaja's music. I know it is difficult to choose the best out of poongaatru and yeh zindagi but on any day, i wouldnt ignore yeh zindagi.. it carried the 'breeziness' in the mood - which is absent in Poongaatru, although Poongaatru has its own beauty.

[Bala (Karthik)]

I know it is difficult to choose the best out of poongaatru and yeh zindagi but on any day, i wouldnt ignore yeh zindagi.. it carried the 'breeziness' in the mood - which is absent in Poongaatru, although Poongaatru has its own beauty.

You must be kidding, surely
Yeh Zindagi, while being a very good song by itself, is not even in the same planet as "Poongaatru". Any comparison is blasphemy. The orchestration of the latter is at a totally different level

[Bala (Karthik)]

Recently, a Singapore band did a hard rock cover of this song. That accentuated what one already knew but somehow didn't appreciate/realize - this is a song bursting with the spirit of rock (guitar and effects throughout the song, the staccato pallavi phrases pausing for the guitars, could have lent itself as easily to some thundering drum work but that's not what this song wants) and yet this works out as a simple heart-touching melody. And the interludes, every moment is packed with turns and surprises. Genius.

[KV]

Some songs have a certain quality to them that make it one-of-a-kind. In a way, such songs also assume a landmark status, like someone decided to make dogears in the history of music.

Poongatru is one such songs, IMO. I can't think of any other song before this that sounded anything close to this style, for such is the innovation in the usage of the bass, violins and rhythms in this one. It was then, like a new dimension.
More than a decade later came another one. Thee thee thithikkum thee (thiruda thiruda). Again, completely new design, new dimension.

Yeh Zindagi, to me, while it doesn't quite fit the landmark category, is still an awesome composition. Moodrampirai is among Raaja's best works, ever. Sadma, already weighed down with this legacy, is severly underrated (only in the hub, mostly). Yeh hava, Yeh zindagi et al chanceless guitar and bass marvels. Surely a standout of sorts in the Hindi film music scene then.

[raagas]

You must be kidding, surely
Yeh Zindagi, while being a very good song by itself, is not even in the same planet as "Poongaatru". Any comparison is blasphemy. The orchestration of the latter is at a totally different level

I am comparing the mood difference in both the songs. Aye Zindagi was engaging, "more" through its tune. Poongatru is more about the overall execution that is baffling. It is the orchestration and the "ahead of its time"-ness that amazes. No wonder that people in fusion bands still try to do cover versions, by jamming on this number. Aye Zindagi is that "apt for morning/evening walk" kind of song. Poongatru makes us play guitar in the air...and even would let us fancy about playing the song on guitar one day. Aye Zindagi makes us feel the freshness and warmth of the composition. I hope I am articulating well enough to explain the mood-difference between both and why both are unique in their own way. Whats in One.. is not in the other. (a common interlude not withstanding, now thats genius)

[KV]

App, very enjoyable posts... esp the KRS one (I think I'm hearing this song - vAnam adhu vAnam - for the first time, what a beautiful song. Essperts, what ragam is this song set to? Shades of PanthuvarAli can be seen, but it looks like there's another rAgam weaved in somewhere, the usual mastery sleight of hand)
By the by, Bangalore boringaa? No eye-to-eye aa? Cosmopolitan, forward-thinging, ippidi ellAm nenachuttrukkOm, neenga ennanA ippidi solliteenga saar! Podhuva figars ellAm kooda nallAvE nOttam viduvAngalE? Unga baEd tiyum pOla!

And guess what, I remember watching Nallavanukku nallavan on TV, as a little kid and the song that stayed with me for many years after that was Namma modhalAli! Back then, I had no idea about music/composer/singer et al, but the catchiness of the song would keep me humming it. Hell, I like the song even now!

[jaiganes]

You must be kidding, surely
Yeh Zindagi, while being a very good song by itself, is not even in the same planet as "Poongaatru". Any comparison is blasphemy. The orchestration of the latter is at a totally different level

There is some convenience Raaja had in "Yeh Zindagi" that he did not have in poongaatru - it is the language.
Urdu in its abstract form offers a lot more scope to have "breezy" free wheeling phases in a song that thamizh with its strict meter doesnt allow.
This is one reason, why a rock song in thamizh is near to impossible (you can bring in some rock elements - but the language will not bend itself for music - period). That is the difference between yeh zindagi and poongaatru. Raaja uses the relative freedom and does some freewheeling which he was not allowed to do in Thamizh version - finally it ends up sitting well on both the songs - the only odd one is "En vaazhvile" - that song ends up like Mohinder amarnath asked for a second run by dileep vengsarkar only to end up stranded - Run Out... no fault of his..

[app_engine]

nanRi rajkumarc & KV I'm glad if the posts rekindled some of your own childhood / youthhood memories

jaiganes,

poRuththaruLka

poongARRu made such a strong impression in me in that age that it was so irritating to see it getting replaced with something else, however good it could have been. (It was almost like a personal rejection). South or north, I strongly feel there was no need to replace it. (My northie collegemates were in astonishment when poongARRu appeared in 1982).

Which is why the bias ...kani iruppak kAy kavarndha BM'kku oru kuttu. 24 carat irundhum kalyANi covering thAn vENum apdeennu adam pidichcha kuzhappavAthi yArunnu theriyalai.

Possibly I would have liked the 'irumbAka ninaiththEnE / karumbAka iniththAyE' song had it appeared as just another number in a TF, with no sadmA tag