June and the Music connection!

June is the month when the International Music Day is celebrated which falls exactly on Jun 21st. It also marks the summer solstice and said to be the longest day of the year. In the Tropical Zodiac the month of June consists of both Gemini & Cancer whereas as per the sidereal zodiac it includes the month of Taurus and Gemini coined locally as 'Vaigasi' and 'Aani'. 

From a constellation perspective the Sun traverses the 3 Nakshatras of Rohini, Mrigashira and Arudra during the month of June. Rohini happens to be the Nakshatra of Lord Krishna and everything associated with beauty comes under the ambit of this star and is there anything more beautiful than music? Mrigashira is said to be a soft & tender star and as per muhurtha it's said to be ideal to start learning any new activity like music on this day. Arudra or 'Tiruvadirai' as it's termed in the South is denoted itself by the symbol Veena, hence music and this star tend to blend really well. 

Apart from all the astronomical gazing, taking a cursory glance of some of the finest musicians many of them incidentally happen to be born in the month of June. Some all time favorite names that pop up include Maestro Ilaiyaraaja, SP Balasubramaniyam, Mellisai Mannar MS Viswanathan, Kavignar Kannadasan, Rahul Dev Burman, Madan Mohan, Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson etc. Though the Music Day was just chosen to be one of the days in the year, the fact that it's in June seems to bear exemplary significance and relevance. 

The song dedicated for this music month happens to be a partnership of two legends who formed an irreplaceable musician cum lyricist duo churning out some of the most memorable hits from the bygone era. And the one who rendered this number has a repertoire of the greatest ever songs to be sung on celluloid running into plenty of '0000 multiples. And all these 3 legends were born in the month of June - Kannadasan (24th June), MSV (24th June) and SPB (4th June). 

Just tried attempting a small portion of this song. The way swaras alternate adds a diminutive touch giving it an extra zep. This jewel is almost half a century old and still lingers on merrily as ever in it's own dashing style. A truly evergreen number from the golden era of Tamizh cinema.

RDB's honey soaked melody - Pyaar Hua Chupke Se

There are certain songs from Hindi Film Music of the bygone era that I've thoroughly enjoyed and taken a liking. Inevitably a majority of those seemed to be composed by Rahul Dev Burman.

He can be considered a trendsetter with his unique retro style chartbusters not to forget some of his softer songs deeply steeped in soul. RDB also revolutionized hip hop and can be said to be a pioneer in Hindi film music raising the bar many a time.

His last movie 1942 A Love Story was brimmed with such mesmeric compositions that each number will make you want to feel in love with it. Within this oeuvre I chose one of my perennial favorites Pyaar Hua Chupke Se.

Wishing a very Happy Solar Return to the trendsetter of Bollywood - Rahul Dev Burman

A Magnum Opus masterpiece - Poo Malaye Thol Serava

I was introduced to a major part of Maestro's music only much into the 2000s and one of the initial compositions that completely blew me bonkers was Poo Malaye Thol Serava from Pagal Nilavu. All sorts of pyrotechnics were happening and it seemed too unreal to be true.

This song taught me the meaning of counter point and how call & response lines should blend so bewitchingly. It feels like a western symphony smothered with a native element and the output created is nothing short of histrionic. 

Have always been awestruck as to how these counter melodies keep going side by side with the harmony uniting to create such a picture perfect unison. This is song construction at such an astounding level. The song IMO can be used as a typical illustration to teach a finance student the effect of how synergies are construed from the various layers at play. 

Today being World Music Day and all, I just tried attempting the prelude, postlude and interlude of this jaw dropping composition. This was difficult for me personally as it's way beyond my scope as the notes gallop and throttle around all over the place. But the sheer joy of attempting is what makes it worth it at the end of the day. #WorldMusicDay