When Aasa Kooda meets Tauba Tauba!

The current hot favorites in the reel world happen to be Aasa Kooda and Tauba Tauba. Both these numbers are instantly catchy & peppy causing a rage in the world of socmed. Almost every alternative sound byte comprises either of these two foot tappers and inevitably one tends to get on to their dancing shoes at the mere listen to these bits.

Catching on with the hype, I simply tried to blend or rather meet these tunes on the veena.  While it initially seemed odd to link the two as they happen to be differently constructed, the underlying punch of the dance element made it apt to bring both of these together within the same umbrella. There is also a musical harmony associated as both these numbers predominantly use the notes from the minor scale of the ever popular raga Natabhairavi.

Hence just a random experiment of playing minor bits of both these crunchy crackling numbers which has taken the nation by storm. Hope I am able to capture the essence of these chartbusters to a wee bit at least.

Mundhinam Parthen - Feel good romance

There was a phase in time when Harris Jeyaraj used to churn out chartbusters that seemed instantly appealing and alluringly catchy. 'Mundhinam Parthen' from Varanam Ayiram certainly vetoes onto that esteemed category.

The entire song is breezy and also forms an interesting backdrop as part of the movie when an older Suriya narrates all his shenanigans to a younger Suriya to woo his lady love. The depiction also travels back in time to show a retro culture prevalent and gives a picturesque feel good vibe.

Tried attempting a bit of the interlude followed by the high rising middle portion and back to the sweetened nectar bit of the opening that is Mundhinam Parthen. This number is also pretty nostalgic as it attracts plenty of high school feels. Fall in love and take a trip down memory lane with this scorching love dripped melody 'Mundhinam Parthene'.

Perfect Play of Beauty & Divinity - Sri Ranga Ranga Nathanin Padham

'Hamsadhwani' is an eternally ethereal ragam. It is a simple pentatonic scale comprising just 5 syllables 'Sa Ri2 Ga3 Pa Ni3' derived from Shankarabaranam but immanently feels like a variant of Kalyani as it is steeped in divinity which more or less falls in the heavenly hegemony of the latter. It has a contagious charm to it and seems like the apt scale to light up an occassion due to it's auspicious effect. Many of us have the habit of inaugurating any new work we begin with a Ganesha symbol and in the same vein most of the kritis pertaining to the Lord tend to usher in only from the resplendent and full of fervour ragam that is Hamsadhwani.

This particular song however is lyrically penned in veneration to Lord Sri Ranganatha Perumal. The Lord's birth star is believed to be Revathi Nakshatra and it's also the star in which Venus gets exalted rightfully at the feet of the Kalapurusha as that's where Goddess Lakshmi, consort of Vishnu is always set to reside and hence becomes extremely powerful. It's a perfect play of beauty and divinity going hand in hand.

The song Sri Ranga Ranga Nathanin though predominantly set in Hamsadhwani uses slight traces to deviate from the same especially in the pallavi portion. But however there is no such compromise in the charanam which is pristinely pure Hamsadhwani and you can starkly feel the essence of it in all it's glory. I attempted a small hand at the middle tranche of this number from where it connects back to the Pallavi. In no way is it anywhere near the verve that this number connotes but I've always wanted to try this miniscule segment out and on what better day I suppose than when the moon lit sky be adorned with the fulcrum of delicacy depicting Revathi Nakshatra invoking the divinity of Hamsadhwani raga and seeking the blessings of Lord Vishnu.

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Hamsadhwani is an eternally ethereal ragam. It is a simple pentatonic scale comprising just 5 syllables 'Sa Ri2 Ga3 Pa Ni3' derived from Shankarabaranam but immanently feels like a variant of Kalyani as it is steeped in divinity which more or less falls in the heavenly hegemony of the latter. It has a contagious charm to it and seems like the apt scale to light up an occassion due to it's auspicious effect. Many of us have the habit of inaugurating any new work we begin with a Ganesha symbol and in the same vein most of the kritis pertaining to the Lord tend to usher in only from the resplendent and full of fervour ragam ie Hamsadhwani. This particular song however is lyrically penned in veneration to Lord Sri Ranganatha Perumal. The Lord's birth star is believed to be Revathi Nakshatra and it's also the star in which Venus gets exalted rightfully at the feet of the Kalapurusha as that's where Goddess Lakshmi, consort of Vishnu is always set to reside and hence becomes extremely powerful. It's a perfect play of beauty and divinity going hand in hand. The song Sri Ranga Ranga Nathanin though predominantly set in Hamsadhwani uses slight traces to deviate from the same especially in the pallavi portion. But however there is no such compromise in the charanam which is pristinely pure Hamsadhwani and you can starkly feel the essence of it in all it's glory. I attempted a small hand at the middle tranche of this number from where it connects back to the Pallavi. In no way is it anywhere near the verve that this number connotes but I've always wanted to try this miniscule segment out and on what better day I suppose than when the moon lit sky be adorned with the fulcrum of delicacy that is Revathi Nakshatra invoking the divinity of Hamsadhwani raga and seeking the blessings of Lord Vishnu. #Sriranga #Mahanadhi #Hamsadhwani #ragam #divine #beauty #eternal #ethereal #blessing #1994 #Kamal #IR #evergreen #goodoldays

A post shared by Rajiv Shankar (@rajiv_revel) on Apr 21, 2020 at 6:58am PDT

Inkum Kavale - The chivalrous Kaapi!

Call me late to the party but I got latched on to the song Inkum Kavale pretty behind time to the mix. The inherent Ilaiyaraaja vintage feel of yesteryear was what smeared me in and you get a zany yet vibrant feel that tailspins on you instantaneously. The number is sashayed with good ol aroma fueled degrees of filter coffee.

Kaapi ragam stands out for me because of the subtle up and down curves as well as the judicious use of alternate notes which usually tends to be the hallmark of most Raaja ish kaapi's. This one by the newcomer Gopi Sundar totally re kindled the good ol fashioned charry charm of Kaapi.

Juxtaposing across notes makes you fall flat unless you've got the grip sorted out through practice and my amateur attempt did see me stumbling a bit on those convoluted potholes. It was however more the joy of attempting this refreshing melody that mattered at the end of the day. Not sure how it came out but it has certainly made me admire and fall in love with this chivalrous coffee (kaapi) composition.

Nostalgic Nila Kaigirathu - 25 years of ARR!

Nila Kaigirathu' from Indira is a song which resonates childhood imprints and evokes nostalgic memories from yore. The song has traversed across 20 years but there is still an impish charm and innocence about it that makes you want to revisit it time and again.

This is a composition which is very hard to pigeonhole on a particular raga pattern as ARR generously alternates between the Gandharam's and Madhyamam's with nonchalant ease which perhaps could also be classified as the beautifying factor in this work of art. There are subtle gamakkas and variations which I wanted to explore and hence tried it on a string instrument.

A number that bears testimony to the magic of ARR of the 1990's. Celebrating 25 musical years of A R Rahman!.
P. S : Headphones recommended

Shape of You - Veena fusion!

I tried experimenting with the immensely popular 'Shape of You' from Ed Sheeran's album "Divide" on a string instrument. A major portion of the notes are clustered around particular singular notes. In fact the opening vocal line uses the same note for a record duration repeatedly tempered across various phrases. It might seemingly tend to denote a dissonance but in essence is such a catchy composition. From a classical parlance, it's based on the minor scale of 'Natabhairavi' with more specific usage of Sa Ga2 Ma1 Pa Ni2 Sa making you look it up as 'Suddha Dhanyasi' which effectively can be considered as the derivative of the former (debatable?) by dropping the Rishabam and Dhaivatam. The excitement of playing this track made me attempt a bit of gimmicks here and there. I'm very much a greenhorn in this oceanic field of music and I hope the rendition wasn't all that bad. Bouquets and brickbats both welcome :).