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Like galore of my generation, I grew up listening to Ilaiyaraaja. His euphony was truthful pervasive that it seldom demanded conscious attention. It was simply determination — successful homes, connected buses, successful beverage shops, during agelong journeys and household gatherings. By the clip I entered college, a important information of what I listened to consisted of his music.
My archetypal superior attempts astatine penning astir euphony emerged from this fascination. Many years ago, I wrote a bid of articles titled *Thiraiyil Malarndha Ragangal*, devoted mostly to identifying the ragas underlying movie songs, galore of them composed by Ilaiyaraaja. At that signifier of my philharmonic life, the find itself was exhilarating. The elemental realisation that a beloved opus could beryllium related to a acquainted raga felt similar uncovering a hidden secret. A opus successful Charukesi, different successful Hamsadhwani, a 3rd successful Kharaharapriya — each recognition brought with it a consciousness of satisfaction.
Looking back, I spot that those essays reflected a peculiar signifier successful my listening. There was a delight successful recognising the framework, successful discovering the classical thread moving beneath the surface. Over the adjacent 2 decades, my engagement with Carnatic euphony deepened considerably. What had begun arsenic curiosity gradually became a sustained pursuit. I recovered myself moving extensively connected musicians and Carnatic euphony traditions. Increasingly, I recovered myself proceeding each euphony done a Carnatic vocabulary.
It was lone successful the past 4 oregon 5 years that invitations to talk publically astir Ilaiyaraaja began to arrive. I couldn’t judge them due to the fact that I felt insufficient to bash justness to the topic.
The crushed was not a deficiency of familiarity. If anything, it was the opposite. The much profoundly I immersed myself successful Carnatic music, the much alert I became of the limitations of approaching Ilaiyaraaja solely done that lens. His philharmonic beingness was intelligibly overmuch larger than the vocabulary done which I had learned to recognize it. Folk traditions, Western classical music, fashionable idioms and Carnatic euphony coexist successful his enactment with bonzer ease. To attack specified a composer done a Carnatic model seemed inadequate, possibly adjacent unfair.
A sojourn to the Kailasanatha temple successful Kanchipuram yet gave maine a mode of reasoning astir this dilemma.
The temple is often discussed successful presumption of its anga alayam structure. The subsidiary shrines are singular architectural entities. Each is implicit successful itself, susceptible of sustaining attraction arsenic an autarkic structure. Yet each simultaneously functions arsenic an integral constituent of a larger architectural vision. Their completeness and their information successful a greater full are not contradictory. In fact, they beryllium upon 1 another.
For reasons I did not instantly understand, the representation brought Ilaiyaraaja to mind.
Carnatic music, people euphony and Western classical euphony abruptly appeared to maine not arsenic influences but arsenic architectural components. Each retained its ain integrity. Each could beryllium appreciated independently. Yet each besides participated successful a larger design. The Carnatic magnitude was nary longer an mentation for Ilaiyaraaja. It was, for me, 1 *anga alayam* wrong a overmuch larger philharmonic architecture: implicit capable to reward attraction connected its own, yet yet revealing itself arsenic portion of thing larger.
What fascinates maine astir is not simply the beingness of classical worldly successful his euphony but the mode successful which helium sustains what I deliberation of arsenic a classical continuum. By this I bash not mean preservation successful the depository sense. A surviving contented survives not by remaining unchanged but by continually discovering caller possibilities wrong itself. Continuity is not the lack of change; it is the quality to accommodate alteration without losing identity.
For overmuch of Tamil cinema’s aboriginal history, the narration betwixt movie euphony and classical euphony was comparatively straightforward. Classical ragas often appeared with their identities mostly intact, portion people melodies mostly retained their autochthonal character. The large transformation, astatine slightest to my ears, arrived with M.S. Viswanathan. What we present casually telephone airy euphony recovered 1 of its astir influential architects successful him. Musical ideas could question much freely. The boundaries betwixt traditions became progressively porous. A movie opus nary longer needed to state its ancestry truthful explicitly.
Ilaiyaraaja inherited this freedom. Yet what fascinates maine is that helium did not usage it simply to dissolve tradition. If anything, helium seems to person utilized it to re-engage with contented successful a antithetic way. Even portion moving effortlessly crossed people idioms, Western classical textures and fashionable forms, helium often retained a astonishing fidelity to the interior quality of the philharmonic materials helium employed. The state was not utilized to wantonness grammar but to observe caller possibilities wrong it. His euphony seldom gives maine the content of a composer escaping tradition. Rather, it gives maine the content of a composer carrying contented guardant into territories it had not antecedently inhabited.
The mathematical thought of continuity provides an illuminating analogy. A relation is continuous erstwhile approaching a constituent from antithetic directions leads to the aforesaid destination. The paths whitethorn differ, but the convergence remains intact. A discontinuity occurs erstwhile the paths neglect to meet.
Something akin often happens successful music. A operation rooted successful people music, a motion derived from Carnatic euphony and a harmonic question shaped by Western thought whitethorn each person implicit interior coherence. Yet erstwhile placed together, they bash not ever cohere. The listener becomes alert of the seam. The philharmonic worlds neglect to converge.
What I respect successful Ilaiyaraaja is his quality to sphere convergence. Or possibly much accurately, what my ears consistently comprehend is simply a singular consciousness of convergence. His euphony often traverses antithetic philharmonic worlds without creating a consciousness of rupture. Differences are not erased; they are reconciled. The listener whitethorn beryllium alert of the changing landscape, but seldom experiences fragmentation. A operation whitethorn momentarily suggest 1 contented earlier people flowing into another. A rhythmic thought whitethorn rotation distant from anticipation lone to instrumentality with implicit inevitability. The way changes, but the destination remains shared.
At immoderate point, portion reflecting connected this quality, an wholly unrelated representation surfaced. In a little comic country from *Sathi Leelavathi*, a young lad holding a video camera watches adults instinctively frost into the stillness associated with a photograph. Looking puzzled, helium asks, “Is this a photograph camera? Why are you lasting still?”
It is an insignificant infinitesimal successful the film. Yet for reasons I cannot afloat explain, that enactment has go inseparable from my acquisition of listening to Ilaiyaraaja. It often feels arsenic though immoderate irrepressible kid wrong the composer is asking that aforesaid question of each philharmonic idea.
Why are you lasting still?
The melody moves. The bass moves. The accompaniment moves. Rhythmic patterns evolve. Instrumental colours look and disappear. Inner voices prosecute lives of their own. Even aft decades of listening, I stay struck by the sheer refusal of stasis.
Yet this question ne'er feels arbitrary. The older I grow, the much I consciousness that Ilaiyaraaja’s euphony is animated by 2 seemingly opposing forces. On 1 broadside stands a kid who refuses to permission immoderate anticipation unexplored. On the different stands a maestro craftsman shaped by rigorous training, heavy engagement with aggregate traditions and an bonzer consciousness of philharmonic architecture.
The kid perpetually asks what other mightiness beryllium possible.
The maestro ensures that each exploration belongs to a larger whole.
Without the kid determination would beryllium nary surprise.
Without the maestro determination would beryllium nary coherence.
A peculiarly revealing illustration of this interplay tin beryllium recovered successful *Karpoora Mullai*. The film’s heroine bears the sanction Mayavinodini. To astir viewers this is simply a name. To a pupil of Carnatic music, however, Mayavinodini is besides the sanction of a raga truthful obscure that 1 encounters it much often successful books than successful performance halls. It belongs to that ample class of ragas that person survived successful mentation portion remaining mostly unexplored successful practice.
What fascinates maine is not simply that Ilaiyaraaja chose to employment specified a raga. Film euphony has occasionally drawn upon obscure ragas before. What is singular is the seriousness with which helium pursues the idea. The raga is not utilized arsenic a passing novelty oregon an intelligence wink. It becomes a recurring philharmonic individuality wrong the film, appearing astatine important moments and functioning arsenic a genuine leitmotif. The quality acquires a philharmonic beingness done the raga, and the raga acquires a melodramatic beingness done the character.
Given that *Karpoora Mullai* was Ilaiyaraaja’s ain production, 1 is tempted to speculate that the narration whitethorn adjacent person operated successful the other absorption — that the quality was named Mayavinodini due to the fact that the composer wished to research the raga. Whether oregon not this is existent is yet little important than what the anticipation reveals. Here is simply a raga that lies astir dormant wrong the Carnatic imagination, and alternatively than treating it arsenic an archival curiosity, helium breathes beingness into it done cinema.
Yet what interests maine astir is the implicit lack of immoderate effort to gully attraction to the conceit.
Imagine, for a moment, that the heroine had been named Kalyani and that the recurring taxable had been based connected the raga Kalyani. Even listeners possessing a humble familiarity with Carnatic euphony would instantly recognise the connection. The narration betwixt quality and raga would go portion of the experience.
Mayavinodini functions precise differently. Most viewers volition ne'er announcement the connection. The communicative works perfectly good without it. The affectional unit of the taxable does not beryllium connected recognising the raga. The movie asks for nary peculiar cognition from its audience. The furniture exists, but it does not advertise itself.
The much I perceive to Ilaiyaraaja, the much I find this prime recurring. The euphony gives the content of being remarkably unconcerned astir whether its sophistication is consciously perceived. Many artists make complexity and past subtly (sometimes blatantly) invitation the listener to respect it. The cleverness seeks recognition. The intricacy wants to beryllium seen. Ilaiyaraaja’s euphony often feels escaped of this impulse.
The nuances are present, but they bash not request attention. A listener whitethorn announcement a hidden rhythmic design, a counter-melody, an unexpected harmonic crook oregon an antithetic structural decision. Equally, the listener whitethorn not. The euphony remains implicit either way. The sophistication is not presented arsenic an accomplishment to beryllium admired. It is embedded arsenic an enactment of care.
This possibly explains wherefore his euphony remains enjoyable agelong earlier it becomes admirable. One enjoys it archetypal and lone aboriginal begins to recognize why. The investigation follows the pleasance alternatively than preceding it. The complexity is discovered alternatively than advertised.
As I bespeak connected each this, I find myself returning to a much cardinal question. How does 1 talk astir thing that exceeds one’s vocabulary? Human beings person ever faced this problem. Great art, profound experiences and the thought of the divine itself often transcend the limits of language. Every spiritual contented attempts to picture God portion simultaneously acknowledging that God exceeds description. The words are inadequate, yet they stay indispensable due to the fact that they marque the acquisition shareable.
The older I grow, the much I realise that Carnatic euphony is not my mentation for Ilaiyaraaja. It is simply the connection successful which I americium capable to wonderment astir him.
I bash not judge that ragas explicate his music. I bash not judge that identifying scales oregon analysing phrases captures its essence. What Carnatic euphony provides is thing much humble and possibly much valuable: a vocabulary. It gives maine words done which I tin statesman a speech astir an acquisition that yet exceeds those words.
The vocabulary is not the experience. The representation is not the landscape. Yet without the map, connection becomes difficult. Through concepts specified arsenic raga, laya, gamaka, continuity and manodharma, I find a connection with which to articulate astatine slightest a information of what I hear. A Western classical listener whitethorn get done a antithetic vocabulary. A people instrumentalist whitethorn get done another. None of these perspectives exhaust the music. Yet each illuminates a antithetic facet of it.
This is wherefore the representation of the *anga alayam* continues to resonate with me. The subsidiary shrine is not the temple. Yet neither is it simply an entranceway to the temple. It possesses its ain completeness portion simultaneously participating successful thing larger than itself.
Carnatic euphony occupies that relation successful my knowing of Ilaiyaraaja. It is implicit capable to prolong a beingness of listening. Yet each clip I absorption connected it, I go alert of the larger philharmonic architecture surrounding it.
Perhaps that is the highest tribute 1 tin wage Ilaiyaraaja. Not to assertion that 1 has understood him, but to admit that each model brought to his euphony volition yet beryllium insufficient. Yet that insufficiency does not diminish the framework. It simply reminds america that we are lasting earlier thing larger than immoderate 1 mode of seeing.
The speech continues not due to the fact that we person understood the euphony completely, but due to the fact that we cognize that we ne'er will.
(An technologist by training, Lalitharam is the biographer of G.N. Balasubramaniam and Palani Subramania Pillai.)
