"MSV CLUB" - The Discussion Forum of MSVTimes.com

[madhuraman]

Dear Mr.Vatsan ,
While you were Melody negotiating with MSV, I had to melancholy negotiate with my computer which is an aristocratic astrologer choosing the most opportune time for a let down too deep to climb up. Hence the delay in my response. Absolutely fantastic is the minimum guarantee I can vouch right away on your writing. Keep going and enthuse us to write. But we are not willing to risk with our write-ups that would cast a poor light on us. Congrats.
Warm regards. Prof K.Raman Madurai
_________________
Prof. K. Raman
Mumbai

[tvsankar]

Dear Vatsan,
I am a silent reader of ur writings.
"Manamedai" padalukanga ungalin ezhuthukal miga arumai.
Padlai kettu kondu ungalin ezhuthukalai padikum podhu - padaluku
pudhiaya parinamam kidaithadhu.

Thank u to your Nice Writings.
Indha padalai patri sollum podhu, sila padalgalin
azhagaiyum, ungalin unarvugalaiyum sonnergal.

About Chittukuruvikenna kattupadu

"marathhil padarum kodiyE” (savalE samALI) , “kodiyE” takes me around the world for its all encompassing expansive portrayal. But what about the childlike tender observation at “maNNil nadakkum nathiyE”……sorry, beyond the ambit of this discussion, to wean oneself away from the song takes some effort..Whew !!! "

Enru sonna ungalin karuthae ennudaiyadhum.......

Indha list il innum oru padal adikadi vandhu pogum..

"Ohho Odum megangalae " - indha padaluku ungalin writings ai
edhir parkiren......

With Love,
Usha Sankar.

[sriramp]

Vatsan,

Great writeup on "maNa mEdai malargaLudan deepam". Honestly. I did not remember the song when I read your posting. So, I went back to MSVtimes songs listing and listened to the song.

I then read your posting again, every word of your song description made sense. Your lucid explanation of the song immediately remainded me another famous MSV song "Manithan Enban Theivamagalam" from Sumaithangi. I really don't know what are the similarities between these two songs (could be the piano or the swing beat or the flute interlude and the jazz touch) but your writeup was so powerful that it remainded me about Sumaithangi song too.

Thanks for writing on maNa mEdai song.

[S.Balaji]

Dear SL,
We all know that MANAMEDAI is an extraordinary composition…exceptional orchestration…but honestly, I was struggling to put the apt phrases to give it the most befitting tribute and only you can give it . You have dissected every facet of this glorious song . Indeed its an out of the world number….like you, I always used enjoy this special song breaking into as many parts as possible.....in isolation and that too in the nights so that the desired contention I get. Now tell me, which part of the song we can leave it out as ordinary ?! spellbinding work no ? For this moment, I cherish that……Naan iravil eriyum vilakku….all in minor scale….& suddenly like a thunder…P.Susheela roars in high pitch to…..Nee enkaathal manimaligai !! & that finishing touch to the charanam…..Nam illam engummmmmmm….followed by Chords !!
Why did he gave a pause at the MANAMEDAI ? God only knows ! the progressive chords give you in advance, whats going to follow ! an amazing artistry . Again, why P.Susheela repeats the Manamedai nonchallantly ! I imagine for a moment, MSV wielding the stick like Zubin Mehta to a large orchestration giving instructions ! Albeit his achievements, this Little wonder remains a mystery to fans !
Thanks SL for a glorious writeup on this song….Professor Sir…Pls shortlist this ..

[Vatsan]

Thanks Vaithy, Ramki for the feedback.
SRS, thanks for mooting this idea and thanks for the good words. Glad you liked it.
Prof. Raman I do not agree with a part of your posting Please do contribute and write more...more the merrier
Usha Shankar and Balaji, thanks once again for your feedback. "Odum megangaLE", yes...you are so right..about the import of this song, so very right. The other day, for some reason, the "chittukkuruvikkenna kattuppAdu" sank into me and I stepped out for an early morning walk with the very same song waiting to burst out through me. Spring in my steps, almost walk-dancing my way through. As I hummed "marathhil.....unnai padaithhavar ingu padaravittAr' I felt almost forced into indulging in the "tatadatattadda..." wordless expression of joy that underlines it. It was a natural follow through, you had to let your joy culminate through that expression. MSV went through all that seated inside an A/c room I honestly did feel that the song shouldn't be labelled a work of art, that would be diminishing its value. To me, its the chirp of a bird waking me up, the gentle sound of the gurgle of the stream that you cannot see and the sun shining through the delicate dew drops on the leaves....all rolled into one. What a soul nourishing treat !!! Usha, I am glad you resonated with it, as I felt I did. A sunny piece of creation that was!!!


"ohhooo....Odum megangaLE", I will introduce this in, as appropriate. Maybe into a segment that deals with unpredictable, almost discordant starts to charanam, given the pallavi the songs started with it.

[Vatsan]

..And for my namesake with a "P"ost additive Thanks Sriramp for your feedback. 'maNamEdai' and 'manithan enbavan', apart from being set to a swing beat-piano backdrop are songs aptly held on a leash. A wee bit held back by the composer to let the aura permeate the listener rather than misplaced musical overindulgence. Probably you vibed with that commonality. 'manithan enbavan' is almost an undercurrent of a song , crooned by PBS. Crooned as in, subdued, allowing the throat (and ofcourse the proverbial heart:) participate in the singing as opposed to the entire torso coming into the act, the open throated way Subtle Sreenivos is a master at understating. His entire singing apparatus is so, his usage of his sweetest of sweet base voices can be likened to that of a pickle amidst the array of main and side dishes sprawled out. Never has the tune been allowed to completely rest on his base voice, it subtly comes to act when needed and then the 'crooning' part takes over, allowing him to knit the tune with his most unpredictably placed sangathis.
His sangathis 'happen', leaving PBS himself at times wondering where it all came from Quickly run your finger through, on the teeth of a comb, you have a PBS sangathi except you start yearning for PBS' 'continuous stream of oil' vocals and the base voice that has the etiquette and decency to know where to play its part.

Sorry couldn't resist writing on a hot favorite, PBS.

[Vatsan]

Managed to squeeze in some time, despite mundane hinderances Trust you all would enjoy the write-up as much as I savoured each piece before depicting it here. Many thanks for the enthusiasm.....please read on

Fun and frolic time again after sensuousness !!! A bright, sunny number, light hearted, festive. The listener stops taking himself/herself seriously, time to rejoice, aroma of jasmine flowers, broad smiles and was it a Friday evening ? The weekend mood setting in ? Did you see a few of your colleague’s children trickling through ? Did you overhear your colleagues talk about where to purchase the camping gear ? and the boat they were going to load into the trailer, to follow them around in their weekend escapade ?

oorgOlam pOgindra kiLI koottam ellAm
oorArkku sollungaL ondru

Such is the feeling the tune set to the above lines can evoke. Joy ride…our minds stick out like the arms sticking out of the vehicle feeling everything the ride has to offer, shafts of wind, creepers, leaves and twigs for the sheer fun of it. As we start receiving the melody …………SPB’s “just-stepped-into-manhood” voice arrives with a humming, the wings of the song have begun to flutter, preparation for a ride. MSV, for such numbers, insists on an ice-breaker of a pallavi, the listeners can vouch for the “energized”, upbeat start and nod in concurrence to its aptness. As the mood sinks in, yet another facet stands out

oru kOdi inbangaL ondra kANum
oru jOdi kiLI nAngaL endru

Sameness of meters, same as those for the “oorgOlam…” piece, written for the significant “other” in the man’s life, could have easily coaxed the composer into composing an identical tune. Furthermore, the lyrical import is that of an affirmatory continuation of the first piece, MSV tunefully agrees…..abstains from the temptation of letting the tune for the tail piece measure up to the piercing start of its parent and lets it gently nod in assent, in agreement. The sheer flow of dynamics taps on your shoulder for special attention, an emphatic statement made right at the beginning and an amiable consent offered, all tunefully…. through different tunes….for the same meter.

The song rides on, a joy ride afterall till the sentimental “Indianness” greets the listener in the charanams

The tune for the pallavi that “flew”, flew like a cotton caught in a wind is
“disciplined” here, given an ethnic make-over as the tabla displaces the bongos, congos ensemble with a violin counter-melodic presence.

poochhoodum nila mangai nANam
pozhuthOdu uruvana vAnam
ondrOdu ondrAga koodum
nam uLLangaL viLaiyAda Odum

A part of the listener suggests that the lyrics happened first, a part that the tune was dished out first and the last part that the tune filled up what the words opened up or vice versa. But being joy partakers in the joy ride, let’s make a time-travel into the studios, being endowed with gift of recreating instances in the past to our liking….Let’s hold the transparent cup aloft, filled with the intoxicating number and subject it to a scrutiny from every angle, but a heartfelt scrutiny . Scrutinizing it against the instance of pre-written charanams awaiting a musical retinue….. fair enough, “mangai, nANam” warrant induction of grounding, plunging an anchor to the gay pallavi abandon through a melodic nature that rests in a common Indian heart.

rathiyenum dEvi
ragasiyam pEsa

Measuring up, MSV hurries the first word through as the hushed ‘ragasiyam’ gets the treatment it deserves with a “see I did it” “pEsa”. “Now, that’s alright, but the pallavi was all too different and the charanam sounds like the start of a new story” , the listener’s lament, wondering how the composer is going to re-direct the flow of music back to the Pallavi without a hint of sounding contrived and without sweating his way through

mathanenum dEvan
madi viLaiyAda

We have all seen compositional “shifts” from MSV when confronted with identical meters and short ones at that. On each occasion, the composer had induced the savoriness that was never common place, never hackneyed, never predictable but always exuded freshness. Nothing different here, the tonality set forth at the start of the charanam remains intact despite MSV dropping the melody like a plumb line, plummeting !!!! Aesthetic resolution to an aesthetic plummet of a probe….as “madi viLaiyAda” completes a chapter in the short story. Now we see that each line in this ostensibly “at odds” chapter, punctuated with expressions of subtle and hushed wonderment and appropriate responses and offshoots……”That’s alright ” minds still wonder, “yet the pallavi is in another paradigm “

nAthaswara mELam
nathigaLidum thALam
thAlAttum mEgam
thALavillai mOgam

Mind you, MSV is still confronted with the same meters, not really malleable, and furthermore, a start of sorts of a new “chapter”. A quick glance at the words will certainly indicate so, “nAthaswara mELam” has been pitchforked in, certainly not as a continuation to its preceding lines but a commencement of new lyrical, independent block, at least poetically speaking. “Two worders” lines and a start to a new chapter of sorts….but the composer’s eyes light up, he imparts the bounce in the tune that characterized the pallavi, sheds the slight weight of emotions gained until now in the charanam, the tune is well and truly on its way to resolving its “differences” with the pallavi, on its way to joyful light-heartedness. A “beatless”, soft repeat of the last line very comfortingly lays the tunes worst fears, worst anxieties and listener’s curiosities to rest, the song has been dealt its completing flourish. A wonderous process this, the flavor of the tune underwent a major metamorphosis, and yet was made to feel a part of the “big picture” , seamlessly. The creator of differences and the ambassador who resolved the differences, blissfully forgets this melody “drama” he enacted and forgets the composition itself !!!! And we like to call the process as melody negotiation.

Pass on a piece of lyric with words of varying shapes and sizes, words that stick out of the meter, stubborn words that are not pliable and MSV’s melody negotiating skills will overflow into “word negotiating” skills to which the “wordy” obduracy will have to give in. All of that happens whilst we listeners enjoy imbibing the process of the tune enlivening each word it runs through.

Now, back to cup and yes, with the intoxicant and all, turn it around a wee bit, getting to peer into it from the “Melody first” angle….a little later when I have more time at my disposal.

Cheers

[Vatsan]

And...oops long after I have listened to the number, the effect lingers on, the spirit gushes forth, every energy infusing phrase on the ascent, in steps, in the pallavi, adding fresh packets of life to the spirit...please enjoy listening to the song.

[Venkat]

Dear Vatsan,
No words.
Ippo naan Thiru MSV and his orchestra, SPB, LRE - ellorayum parthen...
Your write-up took me back some 30 years and shown me the live recording of this song...

The song starts with a beautiful humming of SPB and a lovely whistle (is it whistle or any instrument) and the peculiar LRE joins.

I am giving the first stanza also for the readers pleasure...

kalyana pen pondra maalai - SPB
kanivaaga nadai podum velai - SPB
uravada idhamana solai - LRE
idhai ariyathu nagarathin salai - LRE

idhu oru vaazhvu inimaiyai kaana - SPB
amaidhiyai naadum iruvarukkaaga - LRE
MSV uses SPB and LRE separately

thennaiyile keetru pinnalidum kaatru - LRE
konjuvathai parthu kovai rasam ootru - SPB
MSV uses SPB and LRE separately

Stanza - 2
poochhoodum nila mangai nANam - SPB
pozhuthOdu uruvana vAnam - SPB
ondrOdu ondrAga koodum - LRE
nam uLLangaL viLaiyAda Odum - LRE

rathiyenum dEvi - SPB ragasiyam pEsa - LRE
mathanenum dEvan - SPB madi viLaiyAda - LRE
MSV uses SPB and LRE alternatively

nAthaswara mELam nathigaLidum thALam - SPB and LRE
thAlAttum mEgam thALavillai mOgam - SPB and LRE
MSV uses SPB and LRE together

Thats the greatness and uniqueness of the Great Shri MSV.
_________________
Meendum Santhippom Viraivil...
Regards,
Mahesh

[Venkat]

Dear Vatsan,
A separate thread can be opened for the duets of SPB-LRE.
Oorgolam pogindra is one of my most fav. of SPB-LRE.

Some of the songs apart from the above are:
Maranthe Pochu romba naal aachu... Athaiya Mamiya
Aarambam indre aagattum... Kaaviyathalaivi
Angam pudhu vidham azhaginil... Veetukku Veedu
Kalyanam kacheri... Sollathan Ninaikiren

I will be very happy if you could analyze the above three songs in your unique way, so that I can see the recordings of these songs also... (Nalla maatindeengala... )
_________________
Meendum Santhippom Viraivil...
Regards,
Mahesh

[tvsankar]

Dear Vatsan,
MSV in isaiyil - SPB and LRE - miga vidhayasamana MSV yai
parkalam,

Thanks for the song "OOrkolam pogindra"
Ungalin writings udan padalai ketka vendum.

Avasaramana padithu iruken. Endha vidha disturbance
illamal amahidyaga padithu padalaiyum ketka vendum....

one more rare gem of SPB and LRE.

http://myspb.blogspot.com/2008/08/680.html

Ullam po enradhu nerungi par enradhu...

With Love,
Usha Sankar.

[sriramp]

Vatsan,

Again I did not remember this SPB song all that well, but found out to be a very well written analysis at the end.

While I would still consider this song to be an average song among MSV's hundreds and thousands of hit songs as per my taste, your analysis of the song is a joy to read as it did not need any great knowledge in music and at the sametime extremely well communicated. I admire professor's and others detail song postings, yet I feel that sometimes we cannot describe MSV's Meter- Matter - Melody in words but not in your case; I find your style as a pleasure to read.

If MSVTimes starts something like a monthly news letter, may be you can start a serial. Thanks for writing about PBS voice and you have a gift. Please continue to write.

One request -- If you find time and it is relavant to your thread, please write about Enginruntho Asaigal(Chandrodayam), Ullam Enbathu Amai, athil unmai enbathu umai (don't know which movie). I am often stupified with the tunes, orchestration(use of voilins etc..) and the backdrop music. -- just to name a few.

[Venkat]

Dear Usha Madam,
Ullam po endradhu is yet another gem by our MM with SPB - LRE duo.

Dear Sriram,
Ullam Enbathu Amai is from Parthal Pasi Theerum.
Engiruntho Asaigal - wow what a classy.
And FYI, I have already placed some requests to Vatsan...
_________________
Meendum Santhippom Viraivil...
Regards,
Mahesh

[Vatsan]

Thanks Venkat, Usha and Sriramp for your appreciation....another one let loose for you all....hoping you would all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed reliving with it here....

As a facet of “oorgOlam pOgindra” song remains yet to be explored, another song rolled over from the lower rungs of memory almost admonishing me for relegating it so…into the lower rungs. The innards of the song reveal a host of poetic gesticulations and lyrical depictions of various modes, the chief protagonist wades through. The music composer’s innate sensitivity, being sensitive enough to “feel” the “shifts” in the lyrics and the corresponding musically reciprocal adroitness are aspects to be sprayed across the hall of fame. Yet another number that belongs to the “charanam-improbables” category, where the charanams undergo a very conspicuous change in character and yet when the composer pulls out yet another melody resolution rabbit from the proverbial musical hat, shed their assumed disharmony with the Pallavi and merge into oneness.

Clearing the rubble accumulated over memories of the song ,finally a rendezvous with the song happens in the deepest recess of the heart, the audio version of the song unfortunately being unavailable. The sense of familiarity deepens, solitary bongos,mesmeric shehnai passages, female humming and the song shows its face finally……. “engEyO pArthha mugam”. The subtle crooner, PB Sreenivos was entrusted with executing the song and reaching it to the listening public by MSV. A prolonged wait for the crooner did not matter to MSV….PBS was in Mumbai recording a ghazal when the composer had weaved out a melody that longed for the velvet vocals of the “underplayer” Sreenivos. Atleast MSV had indicated so to the singer, the composer couldn’t imagine the melody befriending any other singer . PBS finally did return to home base and we have the song I personally resonate with, for numerous reasons. Exploring the reasons…..

engEyO pArthha mugam
iru vizhi mEdaiyil
ezhuthiya Oviyam
puthu nilavO, poochharamO, mathumalarO, mANikkamO

“engEyO pArthha mugam” would repel conventional melodic advances and contemptuously at that, but certainly would dance around the expansive throw imparted to it, which is characteristic of a “Eureka” melodic leap. When the following two lines get put through identically, the seasoned MSV listener knows at the back of mind that this is an announcement of an impending….well, impending something , something that will catch him/her unawares. The listener will not have to wait for long, “iru vizhi mEdaiyil” gets interweaved with gentle jerks and gamaks and the tune takes note of the “juicy” “Oviyam” in the following line. Words such as these lend themselves to musical spreads owing to them being, musically better halves of their “under-accentuated” other versions…..in this case , lower case “o” “Oviyam” stretches in admiration at the girl being singled out for this special eulogy, such is expression built into it and such is the fine grasp by the singer of the “sinister” intentions of the composer, who plugged it in there, in the first place Did this serve a dual purpose, that of a variation too, a sangathi too ? For sure, yes. This admiration rubs off on the tune around “mAnikkamO” and admire…yes with a laudatory gesture …….”mANikkamO” admiringly rounds off the metaphorical praises heaped on the pampered girl. Admiringly rounds off, yes, as the listeners smitten by the same bug live through the melodic spurt each metaphor receives, having been separated by the lyrical punctuation. Now, the listener’s praises would certainly extend to the chords that descended each time a simile was put forth, with their root notes adorned by a gentle tap on the xylophone/ mallet, played in sync with the root note of the chord. Good stuff !!!

The “lovers tiff” drama that happens in the charanam, when the tune changes face / its course, it is all about the hero being completely done with hopping and skipping about, pulling up a chair and settling down, assuming a more serene, reflective disposition, to enjoy the sight of the girl from a deeper dimension. Certainly the lyrics suggest so but more interesting is to note how MSV’s composing psyche has measured up to the “shift” and musically interpreted it.

ezhunthE nadanthAl
mayil thAn ivaLO
kanivAi mozhinthAl
kural thAn kuyilO
kalaikkoru kOyil ivaL thAnO

The interlude, a Shehnai dominated one does not give a hint about the what is in store for the listeners in the charanam and happily bounces on, the bongos beats simple and simply apt, no excesses here. The song does not demand it !!! Did we discuss the MSV “saw tooth syndrome” sometime in the past ? That comes into play through the Shehnai and lo the charanam starts.

Exit bongos, a more serious, a weighty melody on its way and therefore, enter tabla “ezhunthE nadanthAl” almost conceals a sigh, a sigh when the beauty of the spectacle sinks in, pleasure imbibed and felt deeply. As the sigh settles down into an extended expression of passionate relish through “mayil thAn ivaLO” , a vision of a ghazal artiste temporarily freeing his bellows depressing hand from his harmonium and flinging it towards the girl in question, an approbatory gesture, runs through one’s mind..…ofcourse, the ghazal artiste’s eyes half closed The commendation gets serious through “kanivAi mozhinthAl…..kuyilO” a lightning MSV special birka specially created for PBS flashes through “mozhinthAl”. Now, the lyricist thinks, praises heaped alright, now it’s time for something that caps it all, an emphatic praise, a summation of all that preceded it and pens “kalaikkoru kOyil ivaL thAnO”. Emphatic alright and gives the lyrics a tone of finality but that was a sudden introduction of “unmetered” amidst the “metered”, as is evident The harmonium bellows in the studios remain depressed and released , maybe vigorously so as the meter disharmonious line gets adorned with the most subtly tuned melody culmination act. In “oru nALilE uravAnathE” (pOthum ena koorum varai poovE viLaiyAdu) we witnessed, “the final nail in the coffin” kind of an emphatic melody culmination exercise, but here, this feature exists as an undercurrent, the listener remains unruffled as the flow of the musical block has been shifted, or was it ? It was all so subtle. As the mind yearns for a repeat of the line, MSV obliges through PBS, a singer naturally given to improvisations and a composer who improvised so much that he lost sight of the original version at times. Here, the ability of the two great artiste’s to lend themselves to being regulated by aesthetics comes in handy, a mild “PBS brand” accentuation at “kOyil” leaves the following words pining for a PBS special sangathi. A PBS sangathi can zip through a casual listener’s ears leaving the listener’s a wee bit non-plussed. Now, was there a sangathi or not ? How could one forget how the Shehnai conveyed its total enjoyment of the phrase by underlining it !!!! Melody helped to culminate and yet sensitive ears and hearts discern a semblance of a protest, the charanam has only gone half-way through to reconciling its differences with the pallavi. The estranged charanam, now uses MSV as an instrument to bridge the chasm and MSV belts out a stuttered phrasing as a response, which is on the descent, each praise taking the tune down the scale somewhat.

“oorvasiyO, mEnakayO, vAnpirayO, thAragayO”. The final stroke, all matters settled, there is not a whimper of a protest from the melody as a part of the “pallavi” aura has been borrowed by the phrasing The phrasing around this piece of lyric ended all overtones of disparities between the pallavi and charanam, helped the charanam seamlessly cascade into the pallavi/anu pallavi, by exhibiting the characteristics of the two warring melodic fronts put together, the abyss between the two components bridged !!!!

As an aside, it’s interesting to note that the “head” piece of the charanam has to be set to the tabla, the nature of the tune is such, whereas the piece discussed above, the “diplomat” of a phrase, has bongos in addition jumping into the fray, all to lead to gradual withdrawal of the tabla with bongos monopolizing eventually…. as the pallavi demands it to be !!!

One is also reminded of “bongo-tabla-bongo recession” act of “nALai intha vELai pArthhu Odi vA nilA”. To be very concise, please enjoy, the dominance the bongo strikes are awarded when the tune recedes to the pallavi, “thenrale………”, within the charanam. The melody flows assumes a sense of serenity here after a fairly “busy” time in the mid of the charanam

Back to return of the “Eureka” leap… the face of charanam has been lovingly turned towards the pallavi, held by the chin , a roll on the bongos as the pallavi and charanam lovers kiss and make up , the tune emanates a scent of familiarity now….”iru vizhi mEdayil….” . Familiar terrain as signified also by the unostentatious bongo beats that gave in to the tabla, now witness the tabla recede , we are into the pallavi. Melody negotiated, differences resolved and the LR Easwari humming pierces through, yet another “lover’s drama” in the offing, namely the second charanam. Please listen to this number and enjoy the various faces of melody tuned for various phases of lyrics and how seemingly irreconcilable pieces of melody can co-exist, if there is a sensitive melody generator to help them celebrate their intended union… after creating them in the first place:) Melodies of all shapes and forms flowed those days…….

[tvsankar]

Dear vatsan,
Ungalidam irundhu PBS padal - nichayam
Inimaiyaga irukum PBS in voice pola..

Ungalai ice vaika solalvillai.
2 days munbu dhan indha padalai download seidhu
konden.

2 naal munbu ketta padaluku unalidam irundhu
kadidham - SWEET SURPRISE.........

Thanks a lot.
Writings ai padithu vittu adharkoru bhadhil podugiren.

With Love,
Usha Sankar.