'Kalyani' with a Twist - Sundari Kannal Oru Seyidhi & Nee Oru Kadhal Sangeetham

Whenever Raaja touches the raga scale 'Kalyani', there is an eerily divine human intervention that is so magical and totally transports you to experience an elevated phenomenon that simple feels out of this world. Every stroke of it is seeped in mastery that exudes magnificence. 

The thing with Kalyani songs of Ilaiyaraaja is that they also tend to be experimental at times. Kalyani is a very pure ragam and used to denote auspiciousness especially. It doesn't really offer scope for twitches as it can go woefully wrong when not handled in the right fashion. But that's not applicable to the Maestro at least.

He has used it in it's most pristine form as well as broken the mould to convey various emotions through this mellifluous ragam that harps largely on the Prati Madhyamam (second Ma). The two songs showcased are not refined Kalyani's by any stretch of the imagination but yet the base of the ragam comes out in full furore due to the strong foundation created.

'Sundari Kannal Oru Seidhi' uses an alternative phrase of Ga and changes to 'Kosalam' for a wee bit which is a pretty rare ragam especially from the film songs parlance. 'Nee Oru Kadhal' breaches upon the Hindustani angle and borders on something called 'Shyam Kalyan' which has a robust Kalyani pedestal yet infuses it's own independent flavour. 

Just attempted a little portion of the charanam of these songs that can be christened exceptional experimental 'Kalyanis' with a twist. The music played maybe pretty amateur but the brilliance is certainly unquestionable.

ஏழிசையாய் - A Kaleidoscope in Kambhoji!

I have always been fascinated and gone on a trance listening to this composition. The way the symphony reaches a crescendo from 2:00 onwards leading to Abhishek Raghuram rendering ஏழிசையாய் at 2:18 is like opening the doors to the celestial abode of heaven. Never heard such a beautiful transition and the way it seamlessly moves from western classical to Indian classical is simply sublime.

If you observe, the symphonic piece is in the 4 beat cycle (4/4) and switches unobtrusively to the 3 note thalam (6/8) within the flash of an eyelid and it all happens serenely without diluting the essence one blotch. The percussion bits add to the delight and the way Abhishek goes back and forth in Kambhoji is so joyous. The subtle phrases adds colour throughout establishing the beauty of the raga. The manner in which the song connects to the Pallavi of Aezhisayai, the wondrous chiaroscuro invoking the fusion and the clarity of thought in doing all this leaves you spellbound. And that signature ending traversing backward across the octave and then going frontal to give the finishing flurry is like the icing on the cake.

There are masters in Western classical music and pioneers in Indian classical music but simply no one virtually blends the two so effortlessly with nonchalant ease bringing out the virtuosity of dimensions like Ilaiyaraaja. Truly an International treasure belonging to India.