Ah! It's been really long since I blogged! But, I knew I wanted to come back! It was as though I was saying to myself "Naan varuven, Meendum Varuven" ("I'll be back") :D

So, before I start writing about the song which I've been listening to a LOT in the past few days, here's wishing everyone a very happy new year!

Ok, now... the song is "Naan Varuven" from Raavanan. This song wasn't there in the audio CDs that were released initially, but was included in the Raavanan collectors edition pack (which has a DVD with making of the music + a CD with 5 additional tracks, including Naan Varuven).

To me, Naan Varuven is the best song of the album. After having listened to the song a couple of times at the cinema (if you are not aware, it's the end credits song) and the unofficial rips several times, I was waiting for the official release! And, so overjoyed was I when I got the collector's edition disk, for just this one song.

What's so special about the song, you ask? The music, the lyrics and the expressive singing - all just so perfect for the situation.

Let's look at it from Veera's point of view, shall we? This song plays in the movie, just as Veera (Vikram's character) is shot, and is dying. He just got to know that Ragini (Aishwarya Rai's character) likes him. As he is dying, his life, his desires, his dilemmas, his love - everything probably flashes before his eyes.

Now, lets look at the lyrics. The song starts of with

He's just realised that his sweetheart likes him, but he doesn't want to go away, he only wishes to come back and live with her - at least in spirit (probably, as a spirit, even... who knows? :P)

Then, spring the dilemmas in his mind. He is clueless as to how everything changed so suddenly. Ragini, who didn't heed to his love all these days, has suddenly turned around. He has so many questions about his life, but doesn't have answers. Just as he begins to get some clarity, the entire game changes. He's won her heart, but he's going away from this world! He feels all his dreams are making a mockery of him and are jeering at him! Look at how elegantly, Vairamuthu has brought this out in his lyrics:

Sheer brilliance, no?

Now, lets come to the musical brilliance. This song's mood is in contrast to the film's entire score, which has a tribal flavour with heavy rhythms, to show the crudeness/roughness of the character. But, this song is so soft? Why would that be? I think, it is to show the peace and calm that engulf him, as he embraces death. He is happy knowing Ragini's feelings, but he also knows he is dying. He is not angry, but he is disappointed and confused!

And then, we have the African vocals. The African sounds were used throughout the movie to bring out the tribal feel. And, it flows into this song too, albeit in a softer form. To signify that his rough animal qualities have toned down, and love has made him softer? That's my guess!

Notice the mystic ambience that Rahman has created with his music. Right from the mellow opening piece and the unique ARR voice which bundles in so much of emotions, to the twisting flute pieces interspersed through out the song, Rahman knew what he was doing, and did it perfectly.

It was said that this song was not planned initially, and was composed and added as an afterthought. I think, nothing else could have been better to end the movie. The song adds so much emotion to the climax. When three wizards like Mani, ARR and Vairamuthu join hands, you expect extra-ordinary magic! This song is one such - a true masterpiece.

Song: Naan Varuven
Album: Raavanan (Collector's edition)

Singers: A.R.Rahman, Jali Fily Cissoko
Lyrics: Vairamuthu.

One instrument that has fascinated me a lot is the bass guitar. That's because of just two people - A.R.Rahman and Keith Peters! I'm so very enamoured with Keith's talent that I exclaimed "Sir.. You are the reason that I love bass guitar", when I met him at the TOI concert in April!

In Indian music, there was hardly any importance for bass guitar. Composers have been using bass guitars for decades, i'm not denying it... But, it was more like it was pushed to the background. Rahman brought that change - he made bass guitar an important part of his compositions. And, thus Keith's extraordinary skills were exposed to the world, and elevated him to such a level that he is arguably the most wanted Bass guitarist in the country!

I'm planning to write about some of his exemplary work in Rahman's songs, and here's the first one!

The first song that comes to my mind is Thee Thee Thithikkum Thee (Thiruda Thiruda), one of my top favourites of AR. Everything in the song - be it Naveen's flute, or Thumba Raja's powerful jathis or the sensuous voice of chinese girl Caroline or the innovative percussion - is out of the world! But, let us push everything else aside for now, and focus on Keith's work.

Bass Guitar is definitely one of the main pillars of this song, which is very unusal in Indian music.
Right from the start when he plays the bass by plucking the strings hard(right at the start), then the normal bass guitar sound in most parts of the song, then the slap bass (during the swaras ma-pa-ni-sa.. ri-sa), Keith shows his class throughout the song.

The emhpatic fusion between Keith's bass and Naveen's flute (second interlude) is such a bliss, and takes me to a different world every single time I listen to it. The song ends with another brilliant bass piece accompanying the jathi.

This song is one of my all time favourites, for many reasons, bass guitar being the most important reason!

After searching for it in many music outlets including Landmark and Music World, I finally got managed to get hold of the "A.R.Rahman - Greatest Hits" MP3 CD, jus this weekend. This is under Sony-BMG label and was released last month! The album was sold out completely in most stores!!

I bought it for jus the one song - Shauk Hai, rendered by Sowmya Raoh (The same singer who sang Kamma Karaiyile along with Naresh Iyer in Varalaaru(Godfather)). For the uninitiated, Shauk Hai is the song which comes in the Background, as Vidya Balan's (Meenu's) Theme music in Guru.
This track is truly magical! The song is about the desires of a person who is counting her days and who requires someone's help for everything, as she is suffering from multiple sclerocis. She wants to break from all this, reach out to her desires and aspirations. She knows her fate, but she doesnt want to be depressed. It is essentially meant to bring out that "longing" feel, but without the sadness. ARR captures this mood perfectly in the song, with the lyrics adding to the beauty. The piano chords running throughout the song, add to the simple but elegant beauty of the song.


This is, without doubt, one of his all time best songs!!! It is a pity, this masterpiece wasn't released with the Audio CD of Guru!!

Raat ka shauk hai
I aspire of the night

Raat ki saundhi si khamoshi ka
That earthen silence of the night

Shauk hai
I aspire

Subha ki roshni
That light of the morning

Bezubaan subho ki aur gungunati
Humming toward the mum morning

Roshni ka Shauk hai, ho shauk hai
I aspire of light, oh…I aspire

San sani navlon ka
Of those interesting novels

Ke ishq ke banwlon ka
Of those crazyness of the lovers (I aspire to have)

San sani naavle
Those interesting novels

Ke ishq ke banwle
Those crazy lovers

Barf se khelte badolon ka
Of those clouds playing with the ice

Shauk hai
I aspire (to touch)

Kaash ye zindagi Khel hi khel mein kho gayi hoti
I wish this life ended playfully

Raat ka shauk hai
I aspire of night

Neend ki goliyon ka
Of those sleeping pills (I aspire)

Khwab ke loriyon ka
Of those lullabies of dreams (I aspire to listen)

Neend ki goliyan
Those sleeping pills

Khwab ke loriyan
Those lullabies of dreams

Bezubaan aus ki boliyon ka
Of those (unsaid) words of mum dews (I aspire to listen)

Shauk hai
I aspire

Kaash ye zindagi binkahe binsune so gayi hoti
I wish this life had gone to sleep without saying or listening
anything

Subha ki roshni
That light of the morning

Bezubaan subho ki aur gungunati
Humming toward the mum morning

Roshni ka Shauk hai, ho shauk hai
I aspire of light, oh…I aspire

A.R.Rahman has always said that he wants to break all barriers like religion, language, nationality etc., with his music. And, here is an instance - people in Uzbekistan may be dancing to "Kaadhal Sadugudu/Aye Udi Udi (Alaipayuthey/Saathiya). yes...Iroda Dilroz, a famous pop-singer from Uzbekistan has used this tune for her song, Sevgi Sedosi. Of course, with due credits to A.R.Rahman!

PS: Does anyone know what language is it? Found the lyrics here

My song of the month - Azhagiya Cinderella from Kangalaal Kaidhu Sei, rendered by Hariharan.
The slow but strong western beats with piano chords set the tone for a soft melody. When Hariharan starts with "AruvigaL meley nokki paaigiradhey", you just reach another world. Both the interludes are so fresh and new. The konji konji chorus keeps haunting me all the time! And, the sax interlude - Jus brilliant! I dont think anyone else in TFM uses sax as beautifully as ARR does.
The backing harmony during the two charanams (at very low volume, can be heard prominently if the main vocals are removed) are perfect examples of the maestro's attention to even minute details. If you listen carefully, you can actually listen another voice apart from Hari's and this is a slightly different tune altogether - it is more like a recital than singing! These add a totally new dimension to the song when listened to in a 5:1 speaker system!

One of my all time favourites!

This is a masterpiece composed by A.R.Rahman, for the Chinese movie "Warriors of Heaven and Earth" (Tian di ying xiong). There are 3 versions - the English version sung by Sunita Sarathy, hindi version sung by Sadhna Sargam and the Chinese version sung by Jolin Tsai (known as the Madonna of China).

I just love Sunitha's rendition of the song. Blaaze has done a great job with the lyrics. Few of my fav lines from the song:

Call me when you need a friend
To be with you until the end
As the mountains crumble to the sea
Share your loneliness with me
Trouble always finds a way
To keep you further everyday
if only the end justified the means

For the complete lyrics, go here (this is a blog of a foreigner who has fallen in love with A.R.Rahman's music after listening to WOHE.)

Listen to the english version here.


Upload music at Bolt.

For the hindi version, click here.
It's a pity that this album which won the hearts of many worldwide is hardly known to people in India! However, many might have heard the tracks of this album because these tracks have been copied by many Indian composers including Yuvan (Oru Kallooriyin Kadhai), Vidyasagar (HulChul, Maja) , Niru (kalaaba kaadhalan) and are also being used as BGMs in many TV serials, as title music for many game shows - none of them credit the tracks to A.R.Rahman!

I have been repeatedly listening to "Poongatrilae" from Uyire (Ae Ajnabi/Dil Se) of late. And, this doesnt bore me even if I listen to it 10 times a day!!!

The song startes of with a rustic feel to it through the simple beats, and then when Swarnalatha starts of with "Kannil oru vali irundhaal" it takes you in to that mood of sorrow and pain. That heavy, base voice of Unni Menon fits the song aptly (though, I feel Udit's rendition of Ae Ajnabi is better!)

ARR excels with the music for the song, but Vairamuthu is not far behind with the lyrics, thus making it a perfect song. This is one of my favourites of Vairamuthu. The fact that the song is played on the radio by Shah Rukh, is brought out in many places in the lyrics, without losing the essence of the song.

Kaattrin alaivarisai kaetkkindradhaa ?
Kaetkkum paattil oru uyir vizhum kanneer vazhigindradhaa ?
Nenju nanaigindradhaa ?
Idhayam karugum oru vaasam varugindradhaa ?

Kaattril kanneerai yaettri
Kavidhai sendhaenai oottri
Kannae un vaasal saerthaen
Oyum jeevan odum munnae ododi vaa ...

Picture this... The hero works in the radio station. He has no clue about the whereabouts of his love. The only way he can reach out to her is through the air-waves. He transmits his feelings to her, by airing this song on the radio... and the song's lyrics capture not just the mood, but also the medium though which he reaches her!!! - "I add my tears to the air, with some sweet poetry, and deliver to your house!"
Just brilliant! What more could one ask for! Vairamuthu is Vairamuthu!

One of my fav songs - for the music, lyrics and the rendition!!!

Raaga.com link:
http://www.raaga.com/channels/tamil/movie/T0000185.html

I am starting a new section - Song of the month... NOOOO.. this is not the "No.1 song" thats topping the charts for the month, but this is MY song of the month. (Many a time, I get stuck to sone song and listen to it even 10 times a day and this continues for many days before I shift to another song! So, the song featured will most probably be the song that had haunted me recently!) I will discuss one A.R.Rahman song each month. So, here's the first one.

"Uyire Uyire" from Bombay - The beauty of this song lies in its simplicity. Unlike most ARR songs, there is very minimal usage of instruments. ARR once said in an interview that, to make a song successful, what is very important is to know which instrument should "stop" and at which point, and also, which instrument not to use for a song! And very rightly ARR struck gold with minimal instruments for this song.

Hariharan and Chitra weaved magic with their voices. The sorrow, longing and pain is so beautifully conveyed by Hariharan. The point at which Hari stops and Chitra starts off for the first time - oh... brilliant... I get goosebumps at that point, every single time I listen to this song! As always, Naveen mesmerises with the amazing flute interlude!

This song remains fresh after more than a decade, and will remain fresh forever!

Raaga Link:
http://www.raaga.com/channels/tamil/movie/T0000035.html