The Golden Era of Dr.IR and Dr.SPB

[app_engine]

#330 தளுக்கித்தளுக்கி வந்து
(கிழக்கு வாசல், 1990)

'thaLukkiththaLukki vandhu' of kizhakku vAsal

Very enjoyable folk number that can boast of some brilliant rAsA arrangements and kuRumbu singing by SPB. The second interlude with shehnAi / flute and mild straying away from tablA into other kinds of drums is quite interesting. One should contrast this song with all the songs of kAsi to appreciate what value SPB (or MV) can typically add to rAsA's folk numbers. (BTW, I like the kAsi songs despite the gloominess they can throw one in ; but have the opinion that HH was a very poor choice for that album and he single handedly massacred the songs).

Not just that second interlude, I think in many ways this song is a forerunner for the kAsi album in construct & feel. As I don't know the song's background in the movie, I don't want to comment about the sichchuvEshan or reasons for the style / construct. As this movie is in one of my longtime "to watch" list, I don't want to read any spoilers also. (Why "to-watch"? It should be obvious from my next post - for my most fav song from this album which is also one of the all-time top favourites among ALL IR/SPB songs).

Much like pAdippARantha kiLi, this song too was listened to only on PA systems when they were hot. I never had it in any of my personal collections. An OK song but not among the best of IR-SPB that demands a lot of repeat listens...

[app_engine]

#331 பச்ச மலைப்பூவு நீ உச்சி மலைத்தேனு
(கிழக்கு வாசல், 1990)

'pachcha malappoovu nee uchchi malaiththEnu' of kizhakku vAsal

AhA, what a sweet tablA-flute delight from the masterly combination of rAsA & SPB! An evergreen fantastic melody that had been many times posted about in the 'last heard rAsA song thread' by me. I learnt from Sureshji that this has a Malayalam avatar also as 'enthu paranjAlum' in a Sathyan Anthikkad movie (which itself is a big recognition for this number, as not many rAsA numbers get transported from Thamizh to Malayalam while the other way around happens all the time).

The song has superb visuals too (Revathy on oonjal and Karthik singing to make her sleep on a moonlit night) and that is the reason I want to watch the rest of the movie! Well, I'll get to that some day I'll rate this song among the best solos of SPB under any MD and will definitely include this in the top ten of IR-SPB solos of all-time. Such a sweet delight that can go on repeat for days and weeks on my car! SPB's performance in this song is another text book in playback singing! Raja beautifies it with string sections too and makes one take an emotional trip to never-visited-places and creates rOmAnjam in many places in this song! I will even go to the extent of calling this song a "life-time-achievement" by the legends!

The obvious question now could be - if I have so much of liking for this song, how come I don't even know the year of its release...well, I got connected to this song so strongly very late - only in the year 2000 On a lazy evening in that year, I picked a cassette named "IR's tabla hits" from a small shop in kal maNdapam of Palakkad (an area where lot of Thamizh people live) while waiting for a friend or something like that. It was years after even tfmpage relationship From that time onwards, the song had been heard 1000s of times on the car! (That cassette itself was a big hit even while in India, during long rides on the Indica).

How did I miss getting a personal copy of this beauty in 1990? Well, it could be that the movie / songs arrived during the time when I was out of action due to an accident for 3 months (kAl odinja bedla thAn kidakka mudiyum, kaiyum vERa in plaster - due to bike-truck heads on...with access to only hindu paper that didn't carry much TF/TFM news...family, phone calls and visitors were big entertainment anyways with strictly no TV. Visitors typically came sadly but went back happily (seeing me alive & convalescing and cracking dry jokes - e.g. one fellow's Q: "did you lose a lot of blood" ; my ans: "irundhA dhAna lose paNNa")

Possibly this movie & songs came and went during that time...what followed in life was quick ramp-up at workplace followed by the big-life-event (kAl kattu of a different kind, not made with plaster of paris) and movie-TFM-songs-their-stats-etc weren't big priorities ever after

[V_S]

App,
Beautiful posts on Kizakku Vaasal songs. You said it all. Big favorite for everyone, no exceptions. We mainly went for Kushboo. Not sure you will like the movie now, but still should be watchable.
Sad to know that you got hurt during that time.

[groucho070]

appadi illeenga, I thought the movie is shot in Malaysia and it may be in your language (much like 'ennuyir nee thAnE' of Priya)

Well, now I know that's not

So, it's one of those 'jingu chakkA, jAngu chakku jajakku chakku' stuff...

Shot in Singapore like Priya. And yes, we share the same languages. It's definitely one of those things IR conjured up that the lazy lyricists would include, methinks.

aNNan: Ithu entha oor? Singapoore....

By the way, not exactly aNNan's best comedy. Missed opportunity.

[groucho070]

e.g. one fellow's Q: "did you lose a lot of blood" ; my ans: "irundhA dhAna lose paNNa")

Glad you came out of it fine.

[Plum]

I remember the accident story app. You have written about it. I think you mentioned you were abandoned on the road and some co. Owner in a car finally took you to hospitaal. Horror tale!

[app_engine]

nanRi, V_Sji & groucho!

Yes Plum, I remember mentioning about that accident in the hub before

Chandrika soap company owner family's car took me to KG...and there was this amateur magician - who got out of his bus, stopped the traffic and took charge of the whole situation. He convinced the people in the car...well, there were a bunch of good samaritans that day, including the head of KG who came to the gate, hearing the noise I made when the security wanted me to be taken to Gov H & instantly agreed to take me in...(Interestingly, the ortho doctor who did complete "repair" of bones still remembers me and has even recently enquired about me - when my father visited a patient in the hospital and happened to meet him in the corridor)...eththanai eththanai nalla manidharkaL!

my fav hospital website

I shouted "Dr please give me anasthesia"

He (who is in the picture below) said " How can I do that if you're in the car? Come inside!"

[Sureshs65]

app,

'pachacha mala poovu' did get a Malayalam avatar in 'endhu paranjalum'. The beauty is the way Raja tweaks the tune so that it sounds completely different and give a totally different perspective. It is a song which touches the heart. 'pachamala poovu' is a favorite of mine but since I heard 'endhu paranjalum' I more titled towards it

Here is 'endhu paranjalaum':



Didn't know about your accident. As groucho says, glad that you came out of it fine.

[rajkumarc]

Great posts App on all the 90s songs far. Lot of them are personal favorites. Shocked to know about the accident you had, bike-truck headon is the worst thing possible, glad to know that you are hale & healthy after that.

KG hospital was definitely famous in the early days before the arrival of other private hospitals like KMCH etc in CBE. It did come down in standards a lot, the dead body admission scene in Ramana was rumored to have happened for real in KG hospital. Not sure how true that rumor is.

[groucho070]

Here is 'endhu paranjalaum':

Jeez guys, if you have not mentioned it I would not have known its relation with Pacchamalapoo. It's really different. Wow.