‘Maharaajjanodu..’ from ‘Sati Leelavati’(1994) is yet another example of how the mind of a genius works. Based on Sarsangi, the song has a very soft beginning. The Keys and the Bells announce the arrival of the spring season (and of course the romance). The guitar wafts fragrance and the second guitar that enjoys it. The finely textured Sax enters with the passionate percussion playing the ‘ta ka dhi mi’ in its own style. The Pallavi in the voices of Unnikrishnan and Chitra is lively with the resonant Bass guitar and the sweet electric guitar following them very closely. Even as the third and the fourth lines are rendered, the strings skate on thick ice. Icing on the cake! The Raga flows gently in the first interlude. The synth violins move with poise with the Sax holding their hands, warming the cockles of our hearts. The Bass Guitar starts singing as if it is in a trance. The eloquent flute sketches the raga in style in its own inimitable way. The CharaNams are very aesthetically structured. The first two lines are followed by the exquisite flute taking short freewheeling flights. The next line is feisty with a gap for the guitar for a whole avartanam (cycle). The following two lines exude the beauty of the Raga while the last line has some leisurely oscillations. All this is fine. But it is the second interlude that shows his innovative, inspirational and intelligent splashes and proves as to why ILaiyaraaja is one of the greatest composers of all times. Listen to the sax piece just towards the end. Does it not sound somewhat different? It is because of the graham bedam on ‘pa’. As per graha bedam theory, if the ‘pa’ of Sarasangi is made as the ‘sa’, it becomes Chakravaagam. The Master does it first. Now, please read this carefully. The structure of Chakravagam is sa ri1 ga3 ma1 pa dha2 ni2 Sa/Sa ni2 dha2 pa ma1 ga3 ri1 sa. Therefore the Raga should logically be Chakravaagam..But the Master Innovator goes one step further. He uses six swaras from Chakravaagam- sa ri1 ma1 pa dha2 ni2- but instead of ‘ga3’, he uses the vivadi swara ‘ga1’ and the raga we get to hear is Vanaspati, the 4th melakarta. Doing the unthinkable- Is it not the Hallmark of a Genius? divshare/download/17562113-09b
Posted on: Sat, 20 Jul 2013 13:22:15 +0000
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