Always ARR

Yesterday (Oct 24th) Rahman performed at Berklee School of Music, Boston, where he was also conferred upon an honorary doctorate. He also conducted a master class at the performance center. I saw this ad back in July and immediately thought that I should be there, but for many reasons I decided against it. I have been to the Jai Ho tour concert at Chennai in 2009, but this would have been an exquisite experience. The sound quality and occasion it would have made it more electrifying.

Last week I drove up to San Franciso with two of my colleagues and the car we had rented happened to house an excellent sound system. We played some of Rahman's classics like Anjalai Anjali, Mettupodu (Duet) and other songs from an SPB-ARR combo playlist on my phone. Suddenly, I remembered about the Berklee concert and amidst all the fun a gush of void filled my heart. I felt really bad about missing the opportunity to see the Mozart of Madras in such live action. When I got home the below promo video was waiting for me on FB. It literally broke my heart.

All these events got me nostalgic and I've been listening to some of his brilliant works from the 90's all week. Those were the days. My family was the main reason I got so hooked to his music. They introduced me to many of his classics like Duet, Minsara Kanavu, Sangamam, Lagaan and Taal. I won't forget the day my cousin played Ghanan Ghanan and Mitwa from Lagaan for me at 11:30 in the night (when we stopped at his place for 10 mins after a day trip to Palakkad). There was a time when Mana Madurai from Minsara Kanavu used to play in a loop in my uncle's car and he used to be so much in awe about those beats. Whenever I listen to Margazhi Thingal from Sangamam I can visualize my cousin Srikanth and my sister Swathi dancing for it in every party we've had since the track came out (including the latest party we had in Nov'13 - they are both married and have a kid each yet they danced as gracefully as ever). I can keep quoting from my big family scrapbook and won't be tired of it. Listening to Rahman is like being with my family.

A few days ago I was driving around El Camino Real with my classmate Kannan, late after dinner just to listen to ARR and he kept on playing wonderful tracks - Kannamoochi (Kandukondain Kandukondain), Pudhu Vellai Mazhai (Roja), Nahin Samne (Taal) and so on. That's when he mentioned, "Man, he has stopped making such music, that's what I told you when we spoke about I". Earlier that evening when we met we started the conversation talking about the tracks of I (which had released couple of days back) and he was disappointed. He wasn't psyched about it on first listening. That has been the story for the past couple of years. I'm not so sure though maybe because I experience the vision bleach equivalent of hearing when I listen to his music. I immediately connect to the sounds that only he is capable of producing.

2014 has been one of the best in a long time now. After so long, there have been back to back releases of albums scored by Rahman. The year started with Highway, an emotional drama and he's been on a long and wide ride since then. After Highway came Kochadaiyaan a period animation drama about a king, then came Lekar Hum Deewana Dil (a crappy romantic movie which I'm not sure why he signed). Kaaviya Thalaivan followed which is again a period film about stage artists from Madurai in the 1920s. Finally came I which supposedly is a romantic thriller and I expect Lingaa (a commercial Rajini film) to release next month as well. Phew! Rahman had this many releases in one year last in 2004. Apart from these, he had two Hollywood releases as well (Million Dollar Arm and Hundred-Foot Journey) and an album called Raunaq. The varied genres, a Shankar movie, period films and a thalaivar movie means he has composed genres ranging across classical songs, fun no brainers like Mawwali Qawaali and Mersalaayitten, an Opera number (Aila Aila) and the list goes on. Extreme stuff.

I would rate Kochadaiyaan and Kaaviya Thalaivan as one of his best albums in recent times. It feels so great to see Rahman back to the basics and in both these albums, he has gone core classical. Idhayam from Kochadaiyaan is my pick of the album and one of his all time best scores - the percussion has been engineered in layers and they tie with each other so beautifully. Medhuvaagathaan is yet another SPB-ARR classic and the mridhangam flows like a pleasant river in that song. The use of KM conservatory choir in the title track Engal Kochadiayaan is awesome - again the classical rendition and the transition between high and flat notes is Rahman's touch. I'm seriously bewildered that the people who made tracks of Sivaji and Endhiran such huge hits didn't find Kochadaiyaan meeting expectations. What did they expect - Kochadaiyaan the king singing Kilimanjaro and Athiradee?

I'm not sure which track to pick from Kaaviya Thalaivan. After a long time, I had an album (even from Rahman's collections) in loop for so many days. Sandikuthirai is a surprise package - so fresh and yet so vintage. The 10 min theater track in Kaaviya Thalaivan titled Alli Arjuna is a collection of 5-6 songs that play out situations from Mahabharatham and the freedom movement, where he takes you back to the age old classical music in Rahman style. Again, the percussion is brilliant for all the tracks. Haricharan and ARR are gradually becoming an epic combo as a close second to SPB and ARR.

It's not just the movies. Raunaq is an album where he composed tunes for six poems written by ex-union minister Kapil Sibal. There was no big hype of hoopla and I'm not sure if many even knew about this quiet album, but what a pleasant experience, especially this one track called Kismat se rendered by Shreya Ghosal - what a master piece.

I just hope 2014 repeats itself every year, but that's the thing about classics - they happen once in a while and that's why they are unique. 

I've traveled with Rahman all along. All my successes, failures, good times, bad times, friendship, heartbreaks, highs, lows, sickness and everyday happenings can be associated with a Rahman number. It'll be ringing in my head no matter what. Be it late night maths practicing during 10th and 12th standard or the all night chats during college, hectic work days/nights in Madurai, Chennai, Shanghai and US, Rahman has kept me company. It's not just the song, it's the memory associated with the song. Always ARR. Forever ARR.

Raining Music

I'm not a big fan of the Chennai rains. It is nothing but flooding roads, more humidity, mosquitoes and the thickest of anxiety-attacked traffic. Back in Coimbatore, I can't keep count of the number of days I have reached home drenched. Never have I parked and waited for the rain to subside. I even remember playing cricket in the rains. The waiting habit started only in Chennai. Until today.

Like any other day the sudden outburst of shower ceased in a matter of seconds. As I turned towards the Kathipara flyover near Olympia, I pushed away the droplets off my helmet visor and moved it up letting a gush of rain-cold air gently touch my face. Phenomenal! I looked up at the sky which looked back at me, untouched as a boulder. Like an atheist who prayed once, I wished that it rained.

And, It did. Not just an outburst, not gently, not slowly. It rained like it would never ever rain again. And I was in the middle of Kathipara, nowhere to go, nowhere to hide.

My hands loosened its grip on the accelerator, feet pushed gently at the brakes and as the bike slowed down, my body eased into a relaxed posture. One after the other, vehicles overtook me on both sides, leaving me on my own. I felt like I had all the time in the world, like how I feel when I'm travelling, or when I'm sitting online on a Saturday night - chatting with my favorite people. Either way, the best company I keep is music.

I have heard about how Tansen used to sing the Megh Malhar raagam in Akbar's court, to bring rain showers. Myth or not, belief is that the raagam Amritavarshini also brings down rains, especially, the song Dhyaname Tharume Paer Inbame. In the 21st century, with the Ozone layer hole and all, music and rain still co-exists, only there is a change in the order of occurring as in - it rains and you sing. So, I began to sing. Loudly. One by one, all my favorite rain songs.

I'm listing down five songs below and their specialty.

5) Ennai Konja Vaa Mazhaiyae - By Vidhyasagar (Movie - Aadhi)

Flute, I believe can notate rain (rather nature) best and the highlight of this song is the background flute (the second interlude) accompanied by the fine strokes of tabla and keyboard. I have a ringtone of that bit. The captivating genius is the duet of the base and shrill notes seamlessly following one another. The keyboard backing (and chiming) of the song brings out the feel of rain. A jugalbandhi of folk and classical. Hari's brigaas run a chill up your spine. I wish I get a chance to perform this one, someday.

4) Ghanan Ghanan - By Rahman (Movie - Lagaan)

An invitation to a thunderstorm. Though it ends in a disappointing note (of no rain) in the movie, the song is full of rain. A very emotional depiction of the yearning for a heavy shower, this will stand out in the genius' compositions forever. Excellent backing vocals.

3) Oho Megam Vandhadho - By Ilayaraja (Movie - Mouna Raagam)

When keyboards started replacing the harmonium and many other instruments in the industry, Raja sir came up with some of the best pieces ever composed. As the prelude BG starts, you can just feel droplets of rain falling. P.C. Sreeram's camera has left no magic unveiled in capturing this one. Raining freedom and happiness is written all over the song. Again, the BG flute, blending with keyboard and violin forms the backbone of the orchestration.

2) Chinna Chinna Mazhai Thuligal - By Rahman (Movie - En Swasa Kaatre)

This track is living proof of how much the composer relies on percussion. Try humming the song without the backing orchestration and you'll know how much life of a song is from the BG music. How it clicked to get M.G.Sreekumar to sing this song, I'll never know. The chorus effect on the same voice works the trick like the reverberations of the drops that hits the ground. The following lines from the song convey it all.

Siru poovinile vizhundhal oru thaen thuliyai varuvai,

Siru sippiyile vizhundhal oru muthu-enave mudhirvai,

Payir veriinile vizhundhal navadhaniyamai vilaivaai,

En kanvizhikkul vizhundhadhanal kavidhayaga malarndhai.

(Roughly translated to)

Falling on a flower, you come as a honey drop.

Falling on an oyster shell, you blossom as a pearl.

Falling on crops, you grow as the nine special grains.

Since you fell into my eyes, you were born as a poem.

And the last, but best of all.

1) Indian Rain - By Colonial Cousins

With their first contemporary album, they announced themselves very loudly, yet in a soothing manner. The low volume but effective droplet effect along with the chimes makes this one special. The 'Dheem tha dhirana' and the chitta swaram rendering by Hari is the touch. Swaying elegance between the blues and classical genre is one of its kind and depicts the amount of passion that has driven the composer duo. Man! Was I lucky to see them perform this one live last year! Love for this tracks is never ending.

Want to share your rain favorites too? I'd love to make a compilation of it all. Language, Genre, Composer bar - drop your picks in the comments section. Thanks.

Murphy strikes. Music saves the day.

November 19th 2010. I selected this date from the calendar box of my online CAT application, after consulting my official calendar, to be sure about taking off for a couple of days around this date. This was back in the second week of September. Right from then, I knew it was going to be an important day in my life. For what I should have either developed the habit of being a genius from my childhood or focused for the past couple of months, two days off from work is no solution. I comfortably put the blame on work and "no-time" and was aware that all my hopes lay on channelizing my focus during the mind-boggling 135 minutes on the big day. So, the two day leave was all about keeping my cool and going with a clear mind. I was partially successful in doing that and since it was me, that's a BIG achievement. Kudos to me. But, wait. Little did I know that Murphy had his plans for my big day, clearly charted out.

I should have guessed when, a couple of weeks ago, I saw that Colonial Cousins were performing on the same day in Chennai. My exam was scheduled till 6:30 PM in Sriperambadur and I would have to drive down 40 kilometers to the concert in Chetpet close to 30 kilometers through the thick of Friday Chennai traffic. Now, why on earth is a concert so important, one may ask. To know the importance, you have gotta be me. :) Though I was almost about to give up on the concert (which is a freakishly generous sacrifice), I just couldn't resist it. So, amidst little anxiety about the exam and total excitement about the concert, finally, 19th November 2010 dawned.

We had to be at the venue by 1:30 PM. The pain-in-the-a** planner in me started by 11:30 AM and I picked up a colleague who was also taking the test. Twenty minutes into the drive, fortunately or no, when we were still within the city limits, first strike of the day - puncture. We found a shop that was named, "Punjar kadai" (Puncture shop), close by. It was a small shop with a neighboring welding shop and a two-wheeler mechanic garage. I called out for the guy and a balding, more than middle-aged man came out to tell me that he can mend it, but would be doing it patiently. I had no much choice and with my approval, he started work. Murphy just opened up the showers from His sky.

We never knew that patience meant completely unaware of what is called mending puncture. He knocked the tyre off the bike with a hammer after unscrewing some nuts and bolts. We never knew doing it slowly meant fighting with the tyre to get the tube out, as if he was delivering a baby. After half an hour of "war" with the tyre, he pulled the tube out and examined it for 5 minutes. He neither filled air nor immersed it into water to find out if there was a puncture, but he knew for sure that we needed a new tube. I wanted to yell right away, but with tyre-less bike and the idea of this "skillful" soldier mending the puncture, I preferred to put a new tube and get the hell out.

He went into the shop and brought a new tube. After breaking open the cover, he checked if it was the right tube and I was not going to let him decide. While I made sure that its the right one, he was checking the tyre for any nails or whatever and that being the only work he seemed to know, he repeated it for so long and after I raised my voice telling him to stop checking, he started the war all over. This time it was to get the air nozzle into the tyre's hole. He'd push it out and pull his hand out of the tyre, when the nozzle goes back in. This went on for about 10 minutes when I lost patience and took charge to put it out myself and initiated the tube fitting process for him, which took him another 15 odd minutes. Finally, we reached the stage of fitting the tyre back in its place - in the bike.

With me helping him to hold the bike, push the rod that held the tyre, and after trying to fit it the other way round once, he wasted more time than was left to reach the venue. I felt it was time to request the worker in the mechanic shop for help and he came to the rescue. The rest of the fitting process was done in 2 minutes. I paid the "labor charges" and for the tube and started. It was already 1:20 PM and we had to travel another 20 kms. My Hunk made up for the mishap and I sped at 100 kms/hr (once again my personal best), without even constantly checking it my colleague was still sitting behind or had flown off. We reached the venue close to five minutes past the scheduled time, and I was all touched up with grease and dirt. However, all thoughts about the test I was going to take up had been lost along with the air that went off the tyre.

The next two hours involved formalities for half of it. A security check that involved someone feeling us up. My colleague had a better anecdote to share after her check which I am cutting out here. Our finger prints were recorded, identities were triple checked, our belongings were seized and sealed up in covers, which left us with one and half hours of silence in front of the allocated system. My family would have loved to see me sitting there with nothing to do and still keep quiet. But, I had fun, as an even more restless colleague was sitting next to me and my entire office would have actually paid to see him sit silent for one and half hours. He was sitting and virtual typing on the keyboard (only he knows what it was) - TOTAL FUN. :P

Sharp at 3:30PM the exam commenced and I did the mistake of taking up a tutorial that taught us how to use the mouse, click and double-click with it. I sped past through it and clicked on start exam. It took 5 minutes and some anxiety to finally look at that first question. The next 135 minutes passed like in movies where they show two shots of the clock. It was 6 PM and was much earlier than I thought. So, good news was that we needn't miss the start of the concert. Me and the colleague I picked up that morning left as fast as possible. Oh! I forgot. The exam went okay I should say. I don't think it would help me get an admission in any of the colleges I have in my mind (including but not confined to the IIMs). Other comments reserved till Jan 2011.

Then followed a 40 kilometer odd drive. I was not sure about the route to take (there were many and I had no clue which is the shortest). Somehow or the other, I ended up taking the correct route and as we approached the venue (close to 7 PM), we realized we were so hungry and took a quick frankie bite from Nilgiris, Chetpet and refreshed with Limca (you know how refreshing that drink is???). I guessed that the concert would anyways start at least 15 minutes late and so we took our time to eat and at 7:30 PM, we set upon the last five minutes of our journey before we stepped into heaven, or so we thought. :(

We got stuck in the signal just close to the concert hall and had to take a U - turn in a never ending stretch and when we got to the U turn, we had to wait for four cycles of the signal, to get out of it. We reached the hall by 8:05 PM and exchanged the online receipt for the tickets and rushed to the balcony. When I handed the passes to the guy at the door, he said, "Sorry sir! There are no seats. People are sitting on the steps". "What the hell!", was my exact response. After arguing for few seconds, I realized we had no more time and with our backs completely gone, our seats pricking badly from the long ride, a completely bad opinion about the hall and a banal concert in our minds, we stepped in.

"Deemtha Dheemtha Dhirana..." (Indian Rain), the music magician's voice echoed around the most wonderful concert hall I have seen till date. We sat down on the clean steps between the neatly arranged seating system on both sides. There were no one in front of us, which helped adjust our posture every two minutes. I couldn't feel my torso because of the pinching back ache and was a bit restless at the start. They announced that the next song was the one they had always hidden because the record companies did not like it at all. I was dumbstruck when Hariharan started with, "Vakrathunda Mahakaaya...". Which bloody record company did not like that song? Till date, I have not met anyone who doesn't. I made a mental note to call up my cousin Srinath as soon as I got home. We had performed that song once on stage; and that's what you call timing, when my mobile rang and it was Srinath calling to ask me how I did my exam.

Hariharan said "I hate this list man. Right after SaNiDhaPa, I have to sing Teri Meri Ankhon Mein", and the audience went "WOoooooooooooooo". After that, Hari took a break and Lesley commented, "He is much older than I am". He took up the stage for a while during which time, a blessed seated couple decided to leave and the good man signaled to me that their seats could be taken. I thanked him for the gesture and we rushed to the seats. Its one of those thanks where you really mean it. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh", I sighed loud as my back hit the rest of the chair and my colleague gave a little laugh. Lesley performed few of his compositions (out of Colonial Cousins) including 'Pal' (from the first Indian Idol), a funky (as he called it) version of 'Kannum Kannum Nokia' (Anniyan) and the song he composed for the maiden album of KayKay. All of them were good, but the crowd loved Hari more and when someone shouted, "Hareeeeeeeeeeee please take over", Hariharan came in again.

What followed was one of the best moments of my life, when he sang his ghazal 'Ye ayine se' (Kaash) in a Blues format (Aaromale style), which was top notch. After many people shouted for 'Tu Hi Re', he sang the Tamil version 'Uyirae'. I don't know why they ask him for it. He always kills the song on stage, which he did again, but the flute saved the day by playing a beautiful interlude in between. Then followed the exquisite 'Feel Alright' for which percussion was amazing and the beautiful rendition of a ghazal of Ghulam Nabi Azad and few more of their tracks. The concert ended with 'Krishna Nee Begane' (with an awesome Tabla thani avardhanam at the last interlude before Govinda Bholo Hare) and 'Khal Zhala' (which I was hearing for the first time). Almost everyone were sad that it had ended but did not hesitate to give a standing ovation to the duo that had swept us off our feet and kept us in the air for a while. I came back to senses. Except for the information about the song I passed on to my colleague when the song started, I was totally imagining an empty hall with only me in it. I loved it.

It was 10:00 PM and we walked up to the bike, our hearts filled with I-don't-know-what. Well, you just read about the electrifying day we had. As I dropped my colleague off and drove home, my mind went about all that happened and I knew I had something huge to write about. What a day! :)

PS: When I said you have got to be me to realize the importance of the concert, I did not mean that, if I had missed it, I'd have cribbed about it all my life. :)

Murder of the soul - Part I

The list was down to two and the committee was equally split on whom to vote for. Both the candidates had scored the same in all the categories and now it was up to the chairman of the jury to cast his vote. "And then I did something that is not normally done. I used a criterion that is never used. I decided to vote in favour of Rahman simply because he was a newcomer. I know what a national award means to a newcomer.", quoted Balu Mahendra, noted Cinematographer, Filmmaker and the chairman of the 1993 National Awards jury. As a result, it was Ilayaraja who missed out on a national award for Devar Magan. Balu Mahendra says that Ilayaraja totally backed his decision when he confessed later.

The national award meant that Dileep now known as A.R.Rahman, had arrived with a bang. The young chap who used to play keyboards for all of them including the likes of Mr. Karadi (TR) had not only composed an album that broke all existing chart buster records, but also had won the biggest honour of the nation for his debut film. Since then, there has been no looking back for the Mozart of Madras. He has been winning successively, statewide, region-wide, nationwide and after Feb 22nd 2009, worldwide. Throughout this stupendous journey, he has been this silent person who has not boasted of his work or talked ill about others' works, and has been very generous and truthful when it came to dividing the monetary benefits of his works among his musicians and more.

A certain so-called "management" guru wrote extensively that Rahman had sinned by scoring the music of Slumdog Millionaire (SM), which turned the spotlights towards India's downtrodden side. Well, all that made me wonder was that we are living in an era where cheap stakes who confer awards on themselves are given the chance to make crap talk. Yes, SM did throw light on the other side of India, but can anyone claim that it was a false depiction? Say what, SM was a positive movie that talked about choosing the right path and still emerge successful. When a section of people in Tamilnadu never missed out a chance to complain that Rahman doesn't care about Tamil as a language, he did not miss out on a chance to make the entire world listen to Tamil, when it mattered. "Ella Pugazhum Iravanukke!".

Earlier this year, when the audio of Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya (VTV) was launched, the first track that caught my attention was Aaromale. I was amazed right away because I have lived through the genius' journey and I understood that its going to hit the chords right there. That night, I was on a voice-chat with my sister and I excitedly claimed, "Aaromale is my pick of the album". My cousin, who was in the next room shouted in response, "How the hell do you like that yucky song?" He thought I never heard it. Its just that I chose not to retaliate. Two weeks later, I came back from work and I noticed that he was playing Aaromale in his player. I freshened up and understood that he is repeating it again. After a couple of hours, it was still Aaromale and throughout the night. VTV received only lukewarm response soon after its release. One month later, wherever I went, it was Omana Penne and Hosanna all the way.

The same scene repeated for Raavanan. The most foolish review I read about Raavanan's songs was that they were not as good as Guru or Alaipayuthey. If only a tribe living in a deep, interior village could sing "Pachai Nirame" to express his love, I'm sure it would have been a cake-walk for any composer. The challenge lay in bringing out emotions that are difficult to understand, which was faced pretty well, maybe not the best. I couldn't stop wondering about how healthy the communication between the director and composer should be, in order to get the minute details right.

One big disappointment was the theme composed for the Common Wealth Games (CWG). It did not even take a second hearing for me to fall in love with the track. The song sends positive energy, sportsman spirit and commitment, what more would one expect from a theme for a sporting event. Yet, it was degraded extensively.

I'm not at all claiming that my little (very little) knowledge of music helped me appreciate the beauty of his songs. Its pretty ordinary to figure out this stuff. Yet, it goes unnoticed because of one evil feel that is created without sense, one that props up because of the greed to claim appreciation using another person's work. The word is hype. The best example was to have publicized the CWG theme song as one that is going to break the records of Waka Waka.

Taking a deeper dive into the subject, has any movie before 2009 had any of the following titles for Rahman?

1) Music by: 4-time National Award Winner A.R.Rahman

2) Music by: 10-time Filmfare Award Winner A.R.Rahman

Post Feb 22nd 2009, its only been Music by: "Oscar award winner" A.R.Rahman. A banner/hoarding that is placed outside India having this title makes sense. Its a good marketing strategy. But do we Indians identify him as an Oscar award winner? The answer is no. The icon is just being used as a selling point. Of course, there are sensible people like Gautam Menon who launched the audio in London, where the phrase Oscar winner is a worthy selling point. He did not waste time marketing the music here, only because he knew it would sell without force.

What we don't understand is that amidst all the hype created around Rahman and his releases, murder is happening. Murder of the underlying soul. Murder of the music.

From Roja to Jhoota Hi Sahi, I've listened to all the tracks that Rahman has composed. Calling him my favourite musician is an understatement. As a die-hard fan of Rahman, rather a sincere lover of music, I hope he turns down offers that expect out of him the hype more than music. Jai Ho!

A thought put into action in a postive way, is a blessed thought - A.R.Rahman

PS:

1) I wanted to write lot more things as well. But, the post is way too long already. I will write it some other day. That explains the part number marked in the title.

2) Some people who read the title would have thought that I'm back to my emotional best. :) Sorry for the disappointment.

3) Big relief. I came out the 55-word fiction fever. When I looked at my blog and said, "No. This is not a 55-word fiction", it looked back at me with gratitude.

Music - Technical & Blunt

Disclaimer
My thoughts and me are absolutely harmless. Suing would be absolutely unfair.

Warning
Keep away any fragile items. If you love your hair, I'd not recommend this one.

These days there is technology in everything. Especially, music and technology are intertwined is an understatement. Instances follow.

Human-Computer Interaction

If humans understood zeroes and ones (binary digits), there would be no need for programming languages (like C, C++) to interact with the computer. Binary digits are the nature of how a computer works.

Movie - Mozhi

Song
"Iyarkayin mozhigal purindhuvidil,

Manidharin mozhigal thevai illai."

Translation
If the language of nature is understood,
There is no need for human languages.

Common Admission Test

For the newbies, its called the CAT - something you write right, to get into the top B Schools in India. Once you get a clean shave in that, you are entitled to steal the best mermaids enlisted in Matrimonial websites.

Movie - Kandasamy

Song
"Meow Meow Poona, Meesai Illa Poona,
Thirudi Thinga paakiraiyae Dhimsu Katta Meena"

Translation
Oh Mewing Cat, Clean shaven Cat,
You are trying to steal a beautiful fish.

Redundancy (The best of all)

The concept is simple. Basically, it is an active and standby mechanism. One link is active. If it goes down, a redundant link takes up.

Movie - VTV

Song
"En idhayam udaithaai, nee norungavae,

En maru idhayam tharuven nee odaikkave"

Translation
You broke my heart into pieces.
I'll give you my other heart to break.

I waited for quite long, but couldn't find a fourth song yet. I'll try to keep adding to it. :P

PS: Just when you thought this was all. :) I've labelled this post as "Bluntest". It is derive from mokkai (PJ), in Tamil, meaning blunt.

Margazhi Special

Margazhi - Tamil month that falls between Dec 15th and Jan 15th

December has its own charm. Holidays, End of a year, christmas, Newyear, pending leaves taken at a shot and so many exciting stuff would always be round the corner. For me, December has always been a musical month. I can never forget the many years I've spent singing Carols in my school.

One of the biggest months for the classical music field, December sees the busiest of schedules in all sabhas and music academies. With all the tv channels telecasting concerts of various legends, the maamas and maamis of most homes catch every single programme so that they could go like this at a family function, "Avan ennama padaraan diiiiIIIIII?" (How good is he singing?), "Aruna Sairam odu Abang kettiya???" (Did you listen to Aruna Sairam's Abang) and "Maami, naan jaya tv mattum thaan paarpen" (Mate, I see only jaya tv).

I was never too much into seeing core classical music. But, I love to see different stuff that is quite out of the ordinary. My favorite year was when Star Vijay came up with an innovative show of legends performing in a fresh but fantastic experience of a mix of classical, devotional, tamil literature, classical based film songs and more.

Take a sneak peak at this video, where Hari ji sings Suttum Vizhi Sudar kannama from the movie kandukondain kandukondain. Its a Bharathiyar song that was tuned by Rahman. The natural portrayal of rain and nature in the video, blended with his majestic and silky voice made this one popular. The highlight of the below performance is when he compares the cry of a child to that of a raagam and sings that immediately. Hats off to him.

Long live Music and its maestros. :) Have a musical end to 2009!