The Unheard Years : Raja in the mid 90s

[Sureshs65]

V_S,

Not your fault. The thiraipaadal link that I gave gives the name of singer as Chitra but other sites mention them as Lekha, Subha and Sindhu. I guess you were mistaken seeing the thiraipaadal link.

rajkumar,

Nicely put about the overall effect of the song

Plum,

You don't say?!!!! SPB in love with that young gerl? Shabba, ippave kanna kattudhe !!!! Good that I didn't see the movie

[Plum]

Is Lekha the same girl from KolangaL. Then I am not sure it is her. Who is this Sindhu? I havent got a definitive answer on this one yet. It most certainly is not PTC Bus Subha.

[Sureshs65]

Song No: 26
Song: Solai Malare
Film: Paatu Vadhiyaar
Singer: K J Jesudas
Lyrics:
Link: http://www.thiraipaadal.com/tpplayer...9'&lang=en

Today's song is a request of Venkateswaran Ganesan (VG). I would request him to put forth his views on the song and why he liked it.

'Paatu Vadhiyar' is a K J Jesudas delight throughout. He is the singer in every song sans one. This album is also a typical Raja 90s album and a tabla delight. Ofcourse, as we were discussing anything which was a 90s tabla delight was generally set aside by the city folks who had by now got used to the funky rhythmic loops. This album also has the lovely Swarnalatha and so for a typical 90s Raja fan this album is an absolute delight. Whereas for others, it would take some getting used to. This album also had the song, which would in due course of time form the template of most S A Rajkumar songs, 'nee dhaane naa padum'. (Atleast the pallavi part) 'nee dhane', by the way, inspite of the 'tabla only' album was a great hit everywhere. The song has two versions and my favorite is when Swarnalatha sings it. Super song.

The song selected for today is very much equivalent to 'thenral katre' from 'Adharmam' which we had discussed earlier. I say it is equivalent because this also talks about the interaction between the singer and nature. It starts with the same high as 'thenral katre' and when the tabla joins in at the end of pallavi line (first time) the song picks up speed. The flute, the violins and the other instruments keep the pace going in the first interlude. The charanam immediately takes us to a village in Tamil Nadu. You don't need words to know that the song is about a village. That is the beauty of Raja's tune. Especially the way the rhythm changes after the first two lines and then how it wonderfully merges back to the pallavi. Again observe how Raja takes out the tabla when the pallavi is repeated after the first charanam. The second interlude is lovely. An interaction between what sounds like a mandolin and the chorus. Later flute and violins and finally santoor? Everything gives you the impression of being in a village with a cool breeze blowing. And immediately you see that the second interlude is talking just about cool breeze!!! I want you to listen to this song with your ears open to hear how he is able to get that pastrol feel. How can he makes us feel the breeze? (Without any special effects going whoosh) How can take us so casually into the bylanes of some remote village? As one veteran in this forum had mentioned once, Raja is a 'transporter'. (Forgot who used that word)

Did other songs catch the fancy of the public. In Chennai I would think 'Nee Dhane' was the one which was played the most. What about in other places? Do tell. As I said, given that it was an album which represented all that the youth of those thought of Raja: old singers, village songs, tabla based etc, I will not be surprised if many of the songs were not well known in Chennai. I am not sure about the fate of the movie either. I don't think it was a hit.

Thanks to VG for asking for this song. I am enjoying it thoroughly.

[Sureshs65]

Plum,

No clue actually. I heard the song first. Realised it was not Chitra. Searched in raga.com and got the names. Lekha must be the 'kaathirunden thaniye' girl I though (and the 'Kolangal' one) It is definitely not Malgadi Subha. No idea on Sindhu

[skr]

Suresh ,
Kodi punyam to you for bringing Poonkatrile ..Its a classic of the highestest order ..
The scale changes are so mysteriously constructed , all sorts of crazy things are happening in the interludes ..
[I think its in Charukesi and the Dha of it is made as the Sa in Charanam and it results in Shankarabaranam]
Songs like this deserve to be branded under the tag All time classic and here we are classifying it under rare songs ..sorry state of affairs..

How could people ignore songs like this ??? Just cannot imagine.
Anyway i just feel privileged to have figured out a song of a lifetime ..Aakarsh i totally endorse your statement man , this is a composition of epicness..
Thank you Sureshji for introducing this gem and also spoiling my sleep in the process

[udebaqifoz]

Nice camera work by B.R.V who is also the diratakkar of the movie.. (BTW if annan destroyed wet eye epics, thangachi did in 'come for singing').

She says all her 22 films ran for 100 days in an interview with Hindu here: http://www.thehindu.com/arts/cinema/article2396942.ece

[Shank]

Suresh65, thanks for Poongatrile and the ensuing discussion. It's great to see many of our friends appreciate a terrific, but hidden, song.

I have another song request. I'm hoping you can review "Thatthi Thatthi" from the film Periya Kudumbam. The song itself feels like a traditional Raja tune but when one listens closely, there is a grandness to it. The prelude and chorus work is really good. The first interlude is beyond words...I have a hard time following the intricacies of it...simply superb.

[rajkumarc]

Shank - +1 on Thathi Thathi. It's a synth delight from IR. Love that song.

Suresh - My request would be Mangai Nee Maangani from Innisai Mazhai, not sure about the year, but 90s for sure. I love it mainly for the laidback rendition by IR contrasting with that of SNSurendar's. Thanks. BTW, I'm loving Solai Malare and totally get transported as you described, beautiful song.

[V_S]

Great pick again Sureshji from Paattu Vaathiyaar. This film songs were complete KJY riot. NeethaanE NaaLthOrum Paada KaaraNam (both versions) is my favorite.

[V_S]

Therke Veesum is a stunner every way you look at it ..
I would categorize 95-97 as the complicated years if Raaja where he was experimenting and doing lots of fascinating things which somehow escaped the attention of the normal music listener..Songs such as this one , Nil Nil Badhil Sol (Where there is a Graha Bedham in the prelude in almost every line) , Shiv Shainya , the entire Guru Album ..
But what i like is that he keeps the overall tune simple but plays around in the other elements ..(Some scathe Sharath that he deliberately tries to compose tough songs)

Coming to this song ..i have been humming this tune since last night and been bazooked and taken aback by the rhythm pattern and there is also G.Bedham happening..
Arun Mozhi has done a decent job , but for konjal songs like this would have preferred SPB who wud have elevated the song even further ..

The song begins with a bright rhythm followed by the guitar strumming and then a nice jazzy sax element..
The stanza of the Pallavi is very long , not sure if ive heard such a long passage ..

Magic #1 - Rhythm
The magic of the rhythm begins in the Pallavi itself..The song is in Adhi Thalam , count every syllable as 1 beat and you will decipher some mystery..It goes like this

Sa Sa Ni3 Da2 | Pa Ma2 Pa Da2 | Ma2 Pa Ga3 Ma1|Ri2 Ga3 Sa Ni3 | Sa Ga3 Pa Ni3 | Sa ~ ~ ~ | ~ ~ ~ ~ | ~ ~ ~ ~ || [~ indicates note sustainance]
When you count each swara as one syllable , you get 32 totally ..divided into 4 in each bar which is the Chatushra Nadai ..
These are the swaras from Therke Veesum to Solla Solla ..One 32 for male and one 32 for female resulting in 64 totally ..

Now from Enna Vendum onwards , there is a shift in Nadai and it changes to Waltz in Tisram Pattern ..As it goes as Ta Ka Ta Ka , dividing it as 6 instead of 3
|Ni3 Sa Ri2 Ni3 Sa Da2 | Ni3 Sa Ri2 Ni3 Sa Da2 | Ni3 Sa Ni2 Da2 Pa ~ | ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ||
You get 24 here and when Chitra sings humming a similar passage , i expected another 24 which will be 24+24=48 and thought he will do 16 with Chatushra Nadai and come back to square one but expect the unexpected with Raaja and there i was crackling my head and thinking something was missing and going haywire ..
When Chitra sings , you get a total of only 22 and not 24 ..you will know it when you count it manually by tapping your hands..
The swaras when Chitra sing are as follows ;
|Ni3 Sa Ri2 Ni3 Sa Da2 | Ni3 Sa Ri2 Ni3 Sa Da2 | Ni Da Pa ~ | ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ||
When both of them sing Yeeen , you would see that Arunmozhi has an extended part with 2 syllables extra as compared to Chitra ..So we get only 22 notes when Chechi sings as compared to the 24 when Napolean Sir renders ..so now we have 24+22=46 ..how it becomes 48 is when Arunmozhi sings Inum which is 2 syllables ..after that he sings 4 bars of 4 notes each to make it 16 , thus resulting in 64 (24+22+2+16) ..This is a pure masterstroke ..Do try it out , you will be mesmerised , i guess shd do a small audio humming the swaras for easy understanding ..

Magic #2 - Graha Bedham
The Charanam is jaw droppingly brilliant where there is a pattern evolving..It starts off in the original scale (C Major - Shankarabaranam) in the first 2 lines and then shifts scale making the Ga as the Sa resulting in a minor scale (Natabhairavi) and then its back to the original scale , then again swinging back forth to the new scale and here new notes also get introduced making it look like Bahudari/Karnataka Khamas ..
I feel the song overall is based on the raga Suddha Sarang as it uses both the Ma's quite judiciously and also draws a little parallel to Adhi Bhagwan from the album Baba Pugazh Maalai..

Apart from the magic of the rythm and scale change , we get an overdose of brilliance in the interludes ..Its just too much to take but no complaints whatsoever ..
Indha madhri ellam epdi ideas flow aagardhunu therila ..Kuduthu vechurkanum for listening to songs like this ..Been listening to the same song for the past 2 hours

A periya Kumbudu to Raaja Sir for conceiving such a landmark song..
infinite times

skr, kalakkitteenga, phenomenal analysis. With your write-up I could now get the rhythm part correctly. Brilliant find! Graha Bedham, I could atleast hear the scale shifts, but again great analysis with clear details. Maestro, indha maadhiri ethanayO. Please continue to write often for us know the intricacies.