Manadhil oru paattu - Song of the moment - Vol 1

oooh! I may not come back from this for a while. There are some songs where we appreciate its beauty from outside as a spectator (but he does not stay there for long), but those kind of songs doesn't last long. There are some songs where we become the core and the song revolves around us, so we don't want any chance of escape. By revolving, it also shapes and cures us. We are arrested by its intrinsic beauty. Almost every Raja song is like that. Even more interesting fact is the joy you get when you sing along or hum along by vanishing ourselves in its intricate beauty. This is that song.

Maestro brings the climate right from the first note. With S Janaki's humming and trees dancing to the heavy wind, we can feel the chillness in the same way the lady in love would have felt having left her lover. Even when words fail to describe her state of mind, there is always one word to even describe that; oomai, which gives a wonderful start to the song. oomai nenjin OsaigaL kaadhil kELaadhO. Maestro again proves why he is a genius when it comes to the structuring the melody. You need not have multiple anu-pallavi lines to give the depth in the tune. Just one line is sufficient. Vairamuthu fills it up effectivtely; manam thaangumO imai thoongumO. With just this one line, how he brilliantly connects to pallavi.

The call and response between violins and flute in the first interlude mimic their mind. They converse with each other even when they were physically present together. The guitar chords which ends the second interlude; Magical hands! Absolute magic!!

Charanam starts totally contrasting to the long line pallavi. The lines are short yet continuous. It tells something. The long lines are an intial outburst, so it is long, but after that she is lost on words where we see these short phrases.

pirindhaai inbath thEnE
veruththEn ennai naanE

SPB acknowledges the same melody lines as:
enakkum adhu thaanE
kalakkam enna maanE

Hear the words how he adds bhaavam in 'enna maanE'. Why SPB is God of singing! Then comes again the long phrase when the mind connect together again. The melody goes to unreachable heights here. Beautiful swing in the melody which makes us sing this line repeatedly.

(F)nee illaamal nadandhu pOga kaalgaL illaiyE
(M)kanavilEnum kadidham pOdu kaadhal mullaiyE (beautiful line by VM!)

If that sweetness is not enough Maestro adds :
(F)
unnai kaaNum andha naaL varai
uRangaadhu indha thaamarai

It is amazing to hear how Maestro tunes a line to put them (their minds) to sleep (please note the same line in 2nd charanam; kaNNE uRangu kanavai vazhangu)
(M)
unnai ninaindhaen uyiraich chumandhEn (superb finish by VM again - uyirai sumandhEn!)
indha oomai nenjin OsaigaL kaadhil kaeLaadhO

The way SPB and SJ sings, it is like a mind war or competition between lovers who sings the best and who has the best tune (like who has more affection towards each other). A tune to die for! It goes way beyond our imagination with unexpected twists and turns but it never loses focus or the sweetness. When you sing these lines, you will feel how complicated the tune is yet how gentle it is! The 'sugam' you get when you sing cannot be described. When we forget ourselves, that's when Maestro shapes us like a sculptor and we becoming artifacts of his music.

Every song in this film is something extra-ordinary in terms of melody alone. He is definitely uttering a statement here through these compositions when people have started moving away slowly, but it was unfortunate no one were even ready to hear these everlasting gems and what Maestro was trying to tell; mEgangaL maraithaalum medhuvaaga vilagum vELai varalaam maanE then. I believe that’s why we are here listening to it.

This is a dream song for anyone to sing like the way SPB sang. From the way song starts (in a semi-classical mode) we can never guess that this interlude belongs to this song. We have heard prelude for songs, but this is a very special precursor to the song in the form of thogaiyaraa (not the video below). Once this is over, we hear a faint female voice of his mother giving a wonderful lead to the song; haunting portion of the song.

When SPB starts (hear that awesome guitar chords!) we expect Maestro will continue and complete the pallavi, but again he springs a surprise by having a mini-prelude before the actual pallavi starts. The prelude chords are mesmerizing. For the first time flute goes up and for the second time it beautifully descends down, pumping a whole lot soul into the composition. My eyes automatically get wet listening to the flute. So soothing to hear that flute. The flute consoles every line of his singing who is singing remembering his mother. Sweet pallavi. I love the way flute ends giving the lead to interludes. wow!

Maestro switches from live instruments to synth in the interludes before returning to live instruments during charanams. Definitely it would have been better if he would have used live instruments, especially for this song (where emotions are abound), as we can hear the whole sound is kind of smeared which takes the emotions out of the song. This is also an example or a demo from Maestro on how synth sometimes could kill the weather of a song. But all these concerns are totally outdone by one of the most sweetest charanams ever composed.

What a start to the charanam! vaazhum kOvil deivangaL unai kaaakka vEnduvEn, soozhum nOi kaakka vEndi theeyaikkooda thaanduvEn Maestro increases the sweetness in every line. I am equally amazed at the lyricist (I think it is Vaali sir?) how he wrote the first two words above. In the first line he writes two complete words 'vaazhum kOvil' while in the second line for the same tune, he writes 'soozhum nOi ka' as he could not complete the whole 'kaakka' for the same sandham, yet there is no break in the words when SPB sings, and catches the remaining of kaakka; 'akka' and adds cleverly to a shorter word 'vEndi' so that it is in sync with the sandham. Great precision in getting the right words knowing that it will not break the words while singing. Wow! Every time I listen to these two lines, I am mesmerized by it. Very difficult to write such lines! Hats off to the lyricist!

When SPB sings this line; 'manam pOla vaazhvellaam varum endru nambu, theLivaaga nee selvaai ethir kaaalam undu', I can only gaze at Maestro on such a beautiful tune and the way SPB has given life to the song. When I sing this line, the amount of satisfaction I get is abound. After this free-flowing line, how he finishes the last line; mEgangaL maraithaalum medhuvaaga vilagum vELai varalaam maanE thEnE, flabbergasted to say the least!

SPB can never be matched when it comes to singing these kind of songs. I can sing the charanam lines continuously and still don't get tired, what a beauty in those lines! No one can compose such a outstanding honey dripping melody with lots and lots of depth. A classic of all time!

True lines of Maestro; thaai thantha aruLaalE naan indru mElE pirar ingu keezhE amma amma!