Raja's Gems - the latest one you heard...Part 3

raagas, thanks for the detailed post.
Yes, this is a good time to highlight good Telugu lyricists - especially since they dont have enough limelight as the Vairamuthus and Javed Akthars.

I propose you take IR telugu songs - as they are of interest to us in this forum - and highlight good lyrics as a series. off my head, I can pop out atleast 10 songs that can be dissected right away:
1. Laali Laali - Swathi Muthyam
2. Siva Poojakku - Swarna Kamalam
3. Om Namasivaya/ - Saagara Sangamam - specifically, this kind of "devotional" is a rare specimen elsewhere. Atleast after the days of Kannadasan in Tamil, we dont have this type of lyrics.
4. Vedam Anuvanuvuna/Nadha Vinodamu - Saagara Sangamam. Really, dubbing constraints conceded, still the dubbed version in tamil was a hack-job
6. Thakita Thathimi - not heavy on meaning but my favourite concept - lyrics bouncing smoothly of the tune. Heavenly!
7. Manasu Palike - what a beety! It deserves a discussion
8. Andhele Ravamidhi & Akasamlo Aashala Harivillu - Swarna Kamalam - again, top favourites of mine.

I notice I have quoted all K.Viswanath movies. The man perhaps had an input given the consistency across decades in lyrics in his music

The 10th one would be 'ninna choosinA" from Chinnabbayi, again KV, but a minor KV movie.

We could do it as a colloboration between you, me and Suresh -if you think you dont have enough bandwidth to do it. Why I suggest this instead of taking it up myself is that I cannot do full justice myself although I fancy I can chip-in quite significantly if you start it off...

Plum,

K.Vishwanath is one film-maker who gave equal importance to lyrics.

Infact, even K.Balachander gave high importance to lyrics, in films like Rudra Veena (Sirivennela's flights to Veturi's ilk). His "Tarali raada thane vasantham" wraps up the whole damn philosophy of "service to mankind is service to god" effectively in each and every line. Every line in that song is a gem i must say. I mean, what can we say if he writes:

Tarali raada tane vasantam (does not the spring come...)
Tana dariki raani vanaala kosam (for the gardens that cannot travel to it..)
Gaganaala daaka ala saagakunte (if the waves do not stretch to the sky..
Meghala ragam ila cheruthunda (will the songs of clouds reach here..?)

The lines express the situation in the film in such a simple way... bloody genius!

I love the lines:

Prati madi ni lepe prabhaata ragam (the morning raaga that awakens every mind..)
Pade pade chupe pradhaana margam (the path that always points to destinations...)
Edi sontam kosam kaadanu sandesham (the message that says that there is nothing that can be owned by oneself..)
Panche guname pote prapanchame shoonyam (the world will be a naught or zero, if we lose the virtue of sharing...)
Idi teliyani manugada kadha dishanerugani gamanamu kada (the living which is not aware of this... is equal to a journey without a sense of direction).

I think he just nailed the whole philosophy of living...

He further writes:

Bratukuna leni shruti kaladaa .. (is the sruthi of art non existent in life?)
yeda sadi lo ne laya leda (is there not a laya in the throbbing of the heart?)
Ye kala(dream) kaina ye kala(art) kaina (For whatever dream, for whatever art-form) - killer liner.. usage of Kala, dream & kala, art (pronunciation is different)
jeevita rangam vedika kaada (is not life a big stage...?)
Prajaa dhanam kani kalaavilasam (The flourishing of any art that doesnt amass the wealth of ignited minds)
Ye prayojanam leni vrudha vikasam (is equal to a useless and futile exercise)
Koose koila pothe kaalam aaginda (did the seasons stop changing, when a koel left them?)
Paare yere paade maro padam raada (dont the new words flow when the old ones flow away...)
Muraliki gala swaramula kala pedavini vidi palakadu kada (even the art of swaras beheld by a flute, will not flow out without human lips)

One needs to be an intellectual to write like that. And must say, Ilaiyaraaja also justified the lyrics with equal aplomb. He composed a very simple tune, with less complexities woven in it. This is one of those songs where the musical ideas do not dominate the lyrical worth of the song and both play out well in equal measure.. or should i say, infact, that lyrics come out highlighted more than musical ideas. And it is good that Ilaiyaraaja allowed that!

Sivapoojaku chigurinchina from Swarna kamalam is also wonderfully written song. A brief analysis of its lyrics at http://musicmavericks.blogspot.com/2...rivennela.html

Raagas, brilliant start. If you allow me, I'll probably re-work your post and start the series. Oh yes, I was supposed to mention Tarali Raada - it is one of the best, and I have always wondered at the brilliance of its lyrics viz-a-viz the movie's (not just situation but) theme and philosophy. In other threads, I have spoken about Rudra Veena vs Unnal Mudiyum Thambi and why I prefer the former and quoted a few other reasons. The lyrics in Telugu are yet another reason for the preference.

The underlying theme is humanitarianism vs Art is Supreme.
As you observed, to bring out that philosophy in lyrics must have been achievement enough.
But what we have here is a perfect bigamy of the tune with the lyrical meaning as well as the lyrical flourish(which is the term I am coining now for the cocnept I have been boring everyone with - lyrics bouncing smoothly off the tune. From now on, this will be the term I use).

:salute:

Although I was one of the regular Tamil folks making fun of "Golty" before I stepped "north of Poovirundhavalli"(as app put it), years of exposure to Telugu have made me turn 180 degrees, and assume the Bharathiyar position - sundara telunginil pattisaithu.

Really, chaps who limit their thinking about Telugu to "-lu" jokes - you guys are missing a lot. It is one of the most beautiful, lyrical, musical langauges that ever existed. I am blessed enough to get out of my prejudice and taste the nectar that it is...

Let me take tarali raada.

Tarali raada tane vasantam
Tana dariki raani vanaala kosam
Gaganaala daaka ala saagakunte
Meghala ragam ila cheruthunda

vennele deepam kondaridA?
-----------------------------
ellaru lEni sallani gaali
andhari kOsam
andhun kaadaa?
Prati madi ni lepe prabhaata ragam
Pade pade chupe pradhaana margam
Edi sontam kosam kaadanu sandesham
Panche guname pote prapanchame shoonyam
Idi teliyani manugada kadha dishanerugani gamanamu kada


Bratukuna leni shruti kaladaa ..
yeda sadi lo ne laya leda (is th
Ye kala(dream) kaina ye kala(art) kaina
jeevita rangam vedika kaada (is not life a big stage...?)
Prajaa dhanam kani kalaavilasam
Ye prayojanam leni vrudha vikasam
Koose koila pothe kaalam aaginda
Paare yere paade maro padam raada
Muraliki gala swaramula kala
pedavini vidi palakadu kada

raagas/sures - can you fill in the blanks/mistakes so I can opick this up tomorrow

Plum and raagas,
Wonderful, awesome, superb posts :notworthy: I hate myself not knowing telugu to appreciate it's lyrical beauty by Vetturi sundararama murthy, Sirivennela sitarama sastry and many others. Your translation helped me a lot. Thanks for that.

I would prefer these treasure posts and your analysis be carried out in separate thread. Please continue your service, very very interesting!

superb stuff Plumgaaru and raagas..
Someone please educate me on sumam prathi sumam's subtleties too..
Cant get enough of this song in the past 2 days..
the entire song has been made only for SPB

Plum and raagas,

Lovely start. Given my current tight situation I am not sure how much I can contribute but will surely put in my best whenever I can. Till then do keep the flag flying :)

Great start Plum and Raagas :clap: Thoroughly enjoyed your insights on Urakalai Godavari. Very much looking forward to your posts on more Telugu gems.

Listening to Maayakannadi after a while. Ulagile Azhagi on the loop. Completely blown away by the prelude, what a majestic start and to end it with that soft guitar piece, superb stuff. The orchestration is just brilliant throughout with nice IR touches in various places. Lovely song and wonderfully rendered by Vijay Yesudas & Nandita.

kuLiradikkkudhadi jagaNa magaNa jam....

Not sure if it was intended to be funny but it made me laugh as I heard it. Not the intended reaction possibly. But it was weirdly satisfying in a way.

Jagadaanandha dharaka ringing in the ears...
Rama Rajyam ochE varakku Akali rAjyam mA hrudayAlalO!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiKcrwaxT7c

slight resemblance to 'Aayiram Malargale'

Aagaym Bhoomi from Saamanthippoo

App always talks about his disdain for unna Nan nenachEn as derived from pattu vanna selaikaari. And one more Radhiga-Rajesh Song of Sangar Ganes too.
This song seems to be in the same template too.

Wht is the chronological order?

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Originally Posted by Plum

App always talks about his disdain for unna Nan nenachEn as derived from pattu vanna selaikaari.

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I don't remember talking about this connection :confused:

BTW, Samanthippoo MD is MV :-)

Also, 'nAn onna nenachchEn' (kaNNil theriyum kathaikaL) by S-G predates 'pattu vaNNachchElaikkAri' of IR (engEyO kEtta kural) and I don't see much similarity.

If anything, I get irritated when I hear 'pattu vaNNa rOsAvam pAththa kaNNu moodAthAm' (S-G, kannipparuvaththilE) which got heavily inspired by 'uchchi vahundheduththu' of rAsA...and I've mentioned this quite a few times.

Ah yes that's the one App. I got confused sorry. I vaguely remembered saamanthippoo as MV but thiraipaadal said IR.

This song(aagayam bhoomi) also reminds one of thirumaalin thirumaarbil by MSV

konjam thiRa konjam thiRa kaNNE - oru nAL oru kanavu. Haunting. Melody thy name is Raja. :notworthy: :notworthy:

Shreya G ku one muahhhhhhhh!

uttAlakkadi from MDM on loop for the last couple of days on car.

I can't have enough of it yet. Actually, this morning I had a "engine-off-parking-lot-high-volume-blast" of this number, thoroughly enjoying SPB and the drums exclusively :thumbsup:

Any male singer who wants to do cine playback has to FIRST listen to this song, IMVSO! ennenna variations :shock: In the saraNam a few lines are repeated, obviously these are sung with some difference the second time - but with what difference :shock: The best thing is the last syllable of last word in each line where he adds a mild 'garjanai' - superb! Ofcourse, the hurried 'appA' after the kattil line is the top most!

(Since it will be ages before this song gets posted in the SPB-IR thread, brought it here :wink: )

The hava nagila part is surely a bizzare choice, being Jewish folk song and all. But I guess if you can have English songs going Govinda Jeya Jeya ithu okay.

I have reason to believe Fiddler in The Roof may have something to do with the Jewish connection. John Williams, IR's English-movie watching during the 60s being the connection

I see. Haven't watched the movie. Being Bond fan, I tend to view his sound (jazzy, brassy) more John Barry, hence my suggestion that he composes for a Bond film (Vikram-la pArthOm, but athu veru vishayam).

Well, mine is not a surmise, Grouch. I have seen him talking specifically about John Williams, and the influence of Hollywood biggies and their BGM in the 60s.

My memory goes vague at this point but I suspect I have actually heard the man talking about Fiddler in the Roof specifically and the Jewish revelry song.

'Mukkana' A kuravan/kurathi song, which incidentally falls in En uchi mandaila surrunguthu, territory. Shows many supposedly wierd song of Raja can be reworked to a mass appeal kuthu song.

http://download2.tamilwire.com/songs...ilWire.com.mp3

In between listening to 'Thandavakone' and "Sreeramarajyam', managed to hear the Kannada album, "Hare Rama Hare Krishna". Slowly the songs are making an impact on me. The Jesudas song is good but I still feel Raja adjusted the tune keeping in mind Jesudas's current voice limitation. The title song is terrific, so is 'Angel Angel'. "Kampany" is a super kutthu paatu.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Plum

Well, mine is not a surmise, Grouch. I have seen him talking specifically about John Williams, and the influence of Hollywood biggies and their BGM in the 60s.

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AhAAA....John Williams prominent Anathu 70s-la, definitely an influential figure everywhere.

But sixties-la Barry and Henry Mancini pOnrOr jazz genre use panni kalakittirunthAngga. That explains his affinity for jazzy numbers.

FITR was definitely 60s no? 67-69 I suppose. John Williams is supposed to be a huge influence - avarE sonnAr. I guess he became prominent in the 70s just like our man.

70s have been great for the world, no, grouch? adhuvum 1973...

Awesome decade. Awesome year. For both Hollywood and TFI.

FOTR ("on" not "in", enikkum ithe prashnam) - 1971, two years before the greatest year ever arrived. Check out this credentials I swiped from wiki, "Williams has won five Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, seven BAFTA Awards, and 21 Grammy Awards.[1] With 45 Academy Award nominations, Williams is, together with composer Alfred Newman, the second most nominated person, after Walt Disney."

Definitely a big influence for the composers all around the world. Though a contemporary, nice of IR to mention him.

Listening to 'Vietnam Colony' now. Ofcourse, 'kaiyil veenai' was a well know song. Jai had later recommended a couple of other songs but somehow I missed listening to them then. Now I am hearing them and wonder how I missed them earlier. Especially since I have seen the movie!! I only remember the Mano solo!! Anyway, the Sivaranjani based 'margazhi maasam' is an absolute WIN. What a tune. And add to that the awesomeness of 'yenakku ulladhellam'. In both the songs Swarnalatha shines. What a singer she was!! Do go and listen to these songs once again. It is worth it, I tell you.

http://www.thiraipaadal.com/album.ph...R00731&lang=en

Quote:

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Originally Posted by layman10

'Mukkana' A kuravan/kurathi song, which incidentally falls in En uchi mandaila surrunguthu, territory. Shows many supposedly wierd song of Raja can be reworked to a mass appeal kuthu song.

http://download2.tamilwire.com/songs...ilWire.com.mp3

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Deva is the MD for this one. There is one more song in the movie which became hit ' Metti metti velli metti' by SJ, picturized on Parthiban and Oorvasi. I had the misfortune of watching this movie in theater when it was released. :-(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4LUZmASUQM
What a Gem :D

The night is still pregnant with the floral fragrance of the rain drops and the adolescents’ infatuation threatens to tear away the thin veil of innocence. The Guitar God who only knows all these too well decides to rescue from the embarrassing predicament. He doles out few pearls from his sacred guitar and thus waving his magic wand, the queen of seductress and a new kid on the block start "poovaadai kaatru vandhu aadai theendume" . Now its the same night rife with flashing neon bulbs from the disc and the prince of keys belting out "No Money No Honey da" for the know-all :)

thumburu,
Beautiful poem for one of Maestro's lilting duet. Amazingly written! :clap:
I already read this around 20 times.

Listening to "Magudi" album...randomly came upon it...seems the best way to find gems...the unexpected treat is always so much more sweeter

"Neelakuyilae" is the gem of the album IMO..it sounds similar to another song...sad how I come upon this realization but never the song it sounds similar too...:???:
The staccato part in the first interlude is unexpected since the rest of the bgm flows without interruption...
The second interlude is a violin lover's paradise...

Thinamum Kalyanam...with the song opening after the bitter drenched words spoken it was a little odd to hear such a lilting birdsong music follow before again the words are resung...as if to emphasize the innocence lost with the contrast of the music and the frustration of the character's plight...
first interlude belongs to the flute...a soothing element to the otherwise apathetic situation...the shivering synth chimes that follow again lead us back to the melancholic theme with the flute replying sorrowfully..

En Machan - a frolicking folk song with MV and ?? doesn't say...

Karatoram Moongil Kaadu - such charm...like glimpsing into a small instance of purely improvised singing rather than a skillfully composed song

it starts with the calling flute asking you to follow it until you hear the Maestro's soft voice...
I like the humming that follows certain lines:

kaattach chuththi vandu parakkudhu-ehe-ehe-ehe-ehe...

nee-ee-ee-ee-ee...thottha pudikum with the bell accentuating his words in the background

the sounds of cattle and wooden drum sounds following
seemayilae saedhi sonnaa
inga vandhu paesudhillae

even with the uyyaaraa uyyaaraa uyyaaraa uyyaa
...he starts it before it goes into a female chorus

the next part is my fave with IR speaking to a crying baby...
summaa aen ma pottu kuzhandhaya pottu
adichittrukkae paavam adhu paar azhuvudhu (spoken to a lady who has just scolded her baby)
nee azhaadha da kannaavaa daa (to the crying enfant)

(spoken in sing-song fashion...so sweet)
annan adichchaa akkaa irukkaa
azhuvaadhae....
akkaa adichchaa aththai irukkaa
azhuvaadhae....
aththai adichchaa ammaa irukkaa
azhuvaadhae...

andha ammaavae adichipputtaannu
azhuvuriyaa kannaa kavalappadaadha raa (spoken again)

en paattu irukku azhuvaadhae
adhu kaettu urangu pozhudhodae...leads back into the song, and infant's crying stops :) too cute..


http://www.thiraipaadal.com/album.ph...R00330&lang=en

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rajkumarc

Wow... what a song... :bow: :bow: Can't thank you enough Querida for introducing me to this song.

Any such discoveries of gems just makes you wonder how many more are there.. this makes it very special for me because it's sung by IR. The video has some wonderful pictures of IR.

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How on earth did I miss this song all my life...! I must have heard this in my child hood..! I could connect to this song immediately...! Just made my day...!

Introduced to this song by fellow hubber 'eagle' on twitter (Nowadays he doesn't turn up here), slowly this has become one of my favorites. Thiraipaadal only has Raja version. The Swarnalatha version is nice as well.

http://www.thiraipaadal.com/tpplayer...4'&lang=en

wow what a coincidence..
months ago .. San_k (is it sanjeevi?) introduced me to this song (Sivaji - Prabhu - Ramayan - Deepika movie).
Fell in love with this song - pure emotional bliss.
Two nights back used this tune to put my new born to sleep (only for 40 mins though).. the tune is sheer emotional magic that Raaja alone can pluck out of his hat.. (phrases like Raja only possible are too short to attribute to a genius like him). will stay with me forever..

This CD (don't know where it came from) that contains MMKR / MDM / mounam sammadhan has been running for weeks on the car...

MMKR songs this morning, ennA oru variety appA...

-pEru vachchAlum vaikkAmappOnAlum malli vAsam
-kadha kELu kadha kELu
-ram bam bam Arambam
-siva rAththiree thookkam Edhu
-sundari neeyum sundaran gnAnum

Interestingly there's no 'Adippattam' song, thankfully :wink:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4LUZmASUQM
What a Gem :D

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Romba naal aachu indha paatta kaettu.. thanks for reminding:)