Energy Bar in S. Janaki's voice

Song: Jal Jal Jal enum
Film: Paasam
Singer: S.Janaki
MD: Viswanathan-Ramamurthy
Lyricist: Kannadhasan

The music directors Viswnathan and Ramamurthy like twin bulls wheeling the cart have given innumerable immortal melodies to the Tamil film industry and this one specially will make my feet and fingers tap even in the grave.

This song is a bottle of Gatorade when you are sapped. A very passionate high energy song with lot of valor and enthusiasm. I had my head phone on when I first listened to this song and I thought it was yet another song by P.Susheela. But later my mother corrected me that it was S. Janaki behind this burst of high energy voice. A very beautiful voice sung in real voice at right sruthi strictly adhering to the notations and great pronunciation. No wonder why Janaki stayed in the field for more than 5 decades.

The very first line is packed is like an energy bar….

Jal Jal Jal enum salangai oil
Sala Sala Sala vena saaliyile
Sel Sel Selungal kaalaigale
Serndhita venum iravukullae

There is so much of resonance her voice which is able to be mimic the exact sound of the block of words like Jal, Sala, Sel. They call this Irattai Kilavi and Adukku thodar in tamil grammer. Kannadaasan is a poet who doesn’t use his poetic license to trespass the rules of grammer.

Definitely this song makes my gland secrete more adrenalin. Even when I on my last lap of the treadmill and exhausted this song is like glucose gives me energy and makes my feet run faster than a bull.

Kaatinil oruvan yenai kandan
Kayyil ullathai kodu yendran
kaiyyil ethuvum illaiyenru
kaNNil uLLathai koduththuvitten

The magical spin that SJ gives when says the word Kayyil gives that extra feel of enjoyment.

Here is the second stanza where Kannadaasan gives away the plot…..

avanthaan thirudan endrirunthen
avanai naanum thirudivitten
muthal muthal thirudum kaaranaththaal
muzhuvathum thiruda maranthuvittaen

MGR plays the role of a thief in this movie. While acknowledging that fact, the lady conveys her newbie naïveté in romance.

Indrey avanai kaithu seivan
Yendrum siriyil vaithuiruppen
Vilakkam sollavum mudiyathu
Viduthalai yenbathum kidayathu

The last line is very nice, she says with conviction that he is imprisoned in her heart for life. Is that what they called TADA in those days? Lol! This song definitely drives us like race bull pumping the heartbeat and at the same time relaxes the mind with wonderful lyrics and sweet voice.

http://music.cooltoad.com/music/song.php?id=41691

Ilakanam Maarutho....Crux of life....

Song: Ilakanam Maarutho
Movie: Nizhal Nijamagiradhu
Director: K. Balachander
Music: MS. Viswanathan
Lyricist: Kannadaasan
Actors: Sumithra, Shoba, Kamalhassan, Saratbabu

Here is the movie jist:
This movie is about how an innocent maid gets sexually exploited by her boss who promises to marry her. His true color shows when she carries his child. When he is forced to marry her, She defies oppressive social norms by refusing to marry him, and choosing another man whom she has subsequently fallen in love with, who treats her and her baby with respect. Quite a bold theme and a message for the 70’s. Hats off to KB.

This film gave Kamalhassan another opportunity to bring out his dance talents on the silver screen. A powerful caste with Sumitra, Shoba, Saratbabu and Kamal interwoven with fine music from MSV kept the audience spell bound.

The first two lines are packed with the philosophy of life. Everybody’s life starts with a high pitch and then floats through lower octaves and then finally settles somewhere in the middle. Same way SPB’s initial high note delves into lower octaves as the song progresses.

These two lines give the message not only in the story but also of our life in a very subtle way…

Ilakanam maarutho Ilakiyam aanatho
Idhuvarai nadiththadhu adhu yenndha vaedam? idhu enna paadam?

The song starts with a very nice question, Ilakanam maarutho Ilakiyam aanatho? I found so many questions hidden in this one line. What is the grammar of life? Who write the rules of grammar? Can we make our own grammar and punctuations? What is right and what is wrong? Who punctuates our life? Can we make it a literature for the future generations?

The next two lines made me realize once again that every life has a story to be enacted and every soul has lessons to learn. How true, huh?

The line below portrays a male chauvanist who can use women like an a** wipe sorry Curry leaves. When there is no direct answer or when there is a need to give an evasive answer it is so easy to blame everything on nature and fate. The twist that SPB gives when he says Vaedam reminds me of the twists and flavors in life. SPB’s smirk in the beginning of the line “Yaar solli thandhar” makes it very suave.

He diligently pulls in the seasons in nature to portray the seasons in their life and the last two lines sounds as though women are species to be enjoyed by man. Very clever depiction…..

Kallana mullai indrenna vaasam
Kaatrana raagam yen indha gaanam
Ven megham andru karmegham indru
Yaarsolli thandhar mazhaikaalam yendru
Manmadhan yenbavan kann thirandhano?
Penmai thandhano?

Sometimes when we analyze why is it that we get attracted physically and emotionally to a person there is no answer on the face but there is definitely an answer deep down. The stupid girl falls for his love….I don’t know which took precedence here, her physical or her emotional need?

A very beautiful way of comparing her life with that of a river and she beautifully questions why shores attract?

Yen vaazhkai nadhiyil karai ondru kanden
Un nenjil yaeno karai ondru kanden
Puriyadhathaaley thiraipottu vaithen
Thiraipotta pothum anai pottadhillai

There is a wonderful twist at the end of this stanza. Tamil language is adeptly used to bring the beauty of the language. A single word with two pronunciations is used to bring things to light and explain - Vilakki

Maraithidum thira thannai vilakki vaipaayo vilakki vaipaayo?

VJ does a great job in differentiating the difference between the two in her voice. She certainly has built an anai (dam) in our hearts and made this song stagnate in our heart and mind.

Thalaattum pillai ullamum vellai
Thaalattu paada aadharamum illai
Deivangal yellam thaalattu paadum
Paadamal ponal yedhu deivamaagum
Marupadi thirakkum unakku oru paadhai
Uraipadhu geethai

The last two lines are very interestingly and beautifully written. It shows how philosophy can be misinterpreted to wash his hands on her future and the kid he fathered out of wedlock.

The stupid girl realizes the entire ploy of life and sums up his attitude in just 4lines. With no way to get out and with no going back she turns to the creator as a final refuge and instills faith in him. She ends the song by tying a philosophical knot to their relationship. Wish we all can be so sportive about our lives.....

Mazhai oosai yenna idi oosai yenna
Yedhu vandha pothum nee kaetadhillai
Nizhalaga vandhu arul seyyum deivam
Nijamaga vandhu yenai kaaka kanden
Nee yedhu naan yedhu yen indha sondham
Poorva jenma bandham

Who else other than Kannadaasan can give the essence of life in a short song like this? Don’t we all get taken for a ride in life? Life sometimes is on the anvil and sometimes in the frying pan. When no medicines work it is Philosophy that heals and brings solace to the wretched soul. I am still lost in the first tow lines of the song….

http://www.coolgoose.com/music/song.php?id=186338

Sugamana Raagam….Gowri Manohari…

Song: Gowri Manohariyai…
Singer: Vani Jairam & SPB
Lyricist: Kannadaasan
Music Director: MS. Viswanathan
Director: Lakshmi (Supervision of KB)


If I have to give the story in just two lines, I will have to use the lines from this song written by Kannadaasan.

"vayathodu vandhalum kaadhal
vayathagi vandallum kadhal"

Who said love happens only in the spring of youth? Well this song disproves the fallacy and makes love happen in second teenage – midlife. Sumithra, an ardent fan of a writer, Vishnuvarthan, who writes under the pseudonym Gowri Manohari, is surprised by the revelation and falls for the writer upon discovering that he is a male.

Gowrimanohariyai kanden
Adavan vadivathiley
Yen peril sugamana raagam
Sridevi sandhikkum yogam

VJ starts the songs with a wonderful depiction of the Raga Gowrimanohari. The spin that she gives in the first line Gowri Manohariyai…. And the squeeze that she gives in that Kanden….She soaks our heart in the essence of love. SPB could have done a better job, there were couple of places where his sruthi and swaram was out of sync.

Both the singers lavishly compliment each other in the song. I don’t remember hearing a song where both compliment each other with so much delicacy and love.

The beautiful lines below show tenderness of women and how women melt for men when in love….
kan munnnbu.. azhagaaanna.. aaanmmai
nan kall allla.. kannivana penmai

The next set of lines... shows the twinge of love caught between time and culture.

pan padu enbargal sillarey
ithil pen padu kandorgal yevarey
yen padu nan thaney arivaen
uyar anbodu manam polla innayvaen

The beautiful lines penned by Kannadaasan contrasting philosophy and realities of life are etched in my heart…..

Ulagathil sila nooru ezhuthu
Aanal uravukku pala kodi karuthu
Un vaazhvai neeyaga nadathu
Idhil oor yenna sonnalum thiruthu

No other raga other than Gowri Manohari can convey the emotions of love and seduction. VJ has done full justice to the song depicting the scale of the raga with an emotive rendition. SPB is far behind in this song.

http://music.cooltoad.com/music/song.php?id=191301

Yaaradhu Sollamal......

Song: Yaaradhu Sollamal…. Singer: Vani Jairam
Movie: Nenjamellam Neeyae Music: Shankar Ganesh
Lyricist: Vairamuthu

Sollamaley thirudivittal.. aval Kalaivani allavo? Certainly Vani stole our hearts once again with this evergreen number.. never ever I have felt my love was ever complete, but only after listening to this song I realize that to love and to be loved is not a crime and it is an emotion that every human must go through to appreciate the sensitivity of this navarsa.

Be it puppy love or otherwise, we’ve all lost our hearts to someone special, but never thought about it in so much detail. The songs starts with a low note where Vani’s voice shows enough thaapam to question about the lost heart. There is so much of searching in her Yaaradhu…. It takes you back on the journey to the good old days of first love. Like a friend her soothing voice is replete with the same question Yaaradhu…..

The song describes how it feels to be a woman in love and tersely describes the feeling. But love doesn’t have to be just for women, men can also feel equally emotional and entangled.

Uma, you definitely need to share your 2 cents here and make us understand if it is different.

The lyrics Markazhi Pookal yennai theendum neramey vaa.. portrays love to be the most beautiful flower like the one covered with dew in the month of December. The hum…. before neramey vaa is really soothing and inviting.

Rojakkal poo medai podum thendral varum parthalum bothai tharum – certainly her voice gives you enough endorphins to keep you high and levitating.

Thamarai oodai indha vaadai veesuthey vaa…the fragrance of love is so powerful like the pond of lotus and attracts bees.

Pon idhazh oram indha neram inba chaaral thuruthey…. The unexplained smirk on the brink of the lips probably explains the feeling of love inside?

Aalanathaal vandha thollai, kannodu thookam illai…. This line says the very feeling of coming to age and understanding the pangs of love has deprived the beautiful eyes of sleep.

The lyrics are sweet but Vani’s voice makes the song as tender as love. For those of you who’ve never fallen in love and experienced it, you must listen to this song. There is no cloying how many times you listen to this song, just like true love.

I don’t know the context and the picturization of this song, may I request avid readers and bloggers to post some information on this piece.

http://music.cooltoad.com/music/song.php?id=191232

Treat and Teaser

Song: Ennullil engo Movie: Rosapoo Ravikkaikari

Singer: Vani Jairam Lyricist: Kannadasan

I have not seen the movie nor watched the song and hence don’t know how it is picturized. But my soul gets pinged when I hear VJ sing this song. Whatever time of the day I hear this number my eyes automatically close, my mind disengages from other thoughts, my breathing goes slower, and my heart beat gets to normal. This is so therapeutic. Don’t ask me what is therapeutic about this song? Is it the voice, lyrics or music? I would say all of the above.

The guitar bit at the beginning of the song sets a very somber mood. The first six words “Ennullil engo yengum geetham yen ketkiradhu” instantly establishes connection to my soul. The question throws no answers but makes you dig deep within for answers. The last line Aanal athuvum anandham makes is sound a little masochist. The charanam is so prodding that it almost takes you on a picnic to your previous birth.

I would love to hear this song while on the seashore with the sun setting to my back and walking towards the deep blue ocean with memories and desires lurking in my mind. The beautiful humming in the pallavi and anupallavi evokes the emotion from the pit of the heart. Sufferings of a common man with that Kaamam, lol! I could see my emotions frothing more than the waves. The churn of emotions within and churn of the ocean makes it very soothing and interesting. Can our waves of desire ever stop?

Merging with the elements of nature - Manjalai Poosiya Megangale, Margazhi Maadhadhaththu Kaalaigale Solaigale, En Mana Gangaiyil, Pongidum Poompunalil.

The burning desire becomes clearly visible wish I can dissolve my desires in the ocean and come back empty minded and hearted. I am waiting for a nature's cure for my desires.

Kannadaasan’s lyrics and VJ’s voice makes this song on top of my addictive list. This song has become my Prozac and I can’t sleep without it.

http://music.cooltoad.com/music/song.php?id=193727