Musician Ilayaraja’s music was released in 1990’s movie ‘Arangerana Paya’. The film is directed by Basil. All the films of the Basil-Ilayaraaja combo are filled with evergreen memories. This is the next film from Ilayaraja – Basil combo after 16 films like Poove Poochudua, Poovizhi Vaasalile, En Pommukutty Ammaku. Out of the four songs in the film, ‘Aagaya Vennilave’ is a bedtime favorite of music fans till date.
Every time this song is heard, the mind of the listeners will melt. Set to music by Ragadevan, this song is carved by the poet Vali, as he carves sculptures. He would have made the listeners fly in the sky by layering each line with a flourish. Uma Ramanan has sung this song which has cooled the minds like a traditional poem along with Jesudas. Uma Ramanan’s singing along with Jesudas’s deep voice gives one the feeling of watching silver glittering in a still blue color.
Jesusdas would start with “Agaya vanilla came on the floor” and Uma Ramanan would follow with “It’s time to get dressed up and take the stage”. From there the opening music of the song starts. Ilayaraja has played the guitar as smooth as a veena for this soft song. The refrain of the song begins with the smooth guitar and its accompanying tabla complimenting each other, with a few bells timing the song.
“Agaya vanilla came on the floor
It’s time to get dressed up and perform
Flowering hair is like a rain cloud
Vali has described the heroine with beautiful Tamil words like describing the moon, sky and stars in the ballad lines of the song, “The eyes of the couple dance like two silver fish”.
The interlude before the first stanza is played with violins, flute and tabla. The song is picturized as an old man and the hero and heroine singing from the perspective of the trio. Accordingly, as the song begins as the hero and heroine sing in the old man’s imagination, the king would have composed the first interlude in such a way as to recall the olden times. And the opening solo of the violin will blow the minds of the listeners.
This counterpoint musical form can be realized in this composition. Counterpoint is two different musical notes played simultaneously. A musician excels in composing music in this form. In the first interlude, a set of strings plays the notes of another while the sola violin is going through a course. The flute at the end of this interlude is a top note that will resonate with listeners. From there the first stanza of the song begins.
“There is a breeze that sings daily with Devar Chandam
When he came to the door with his head burning hot
Mr. Maini said that he was the king of Tenpandi
When the woman who lives upstairs comes down the stairs
Fresh water, milk and honey should be bought separately
Love should be yearned for even if it is given
Madal Vaai Mani dances with desire like the sea
The listeners of the song can know the difference between poets and poets only when they hear the lines “Nadu sama mai nedu saam nenjame khao”.
Gnaniyar would have started the interlude before the second stanza from the keyboard. This part of the song is from the heroine’s point of view. As a back-up to the guitar, the wave-like violins soak the listeners’ minds, while the flutes that come in a few seconds answer the questions raised by the violins and charm the listeners’ hearts. From there the second stanza of the song begins.
“Devadi Devar is the form of the deity who sings praises
The temple lamp that shines all over Badati Kasam
The color of the walking feet
Unheard Venu can be heard in parrot speech
A slave’s life is what gives power
Ankara Deva Devi incarnated
Music veena revives the withered hands
The second stanza of the song reads, “Sugamana Ragame Katta”, the second stanza of the song. The poetry of the lyrics, the mesmerizing music of the maestro, the charm of the vocals of Jesudas Umaramanan, every time this song is heard, the musician has set the nights of the listeners on fire with his musical color.
‘Cross Rhythm’: The most important aspect of this song is the tabla rhythm. A lot of people complain that there is not much talk about Gnaniyar’s rhythm pattern, which is forgotten by many people who sneer at Raja’s songs and musical tastes. To Ilayaraja in a TV show, how do you set the rhythm pattern differently for each song? will be asked. To that, Raja casually says, Ilayaraja would have said that he would finalize the rhythm pattern based on the musical talent of the artists who had come to play the instrument that day. Khannaiya and Prasad were Ilayaraja’s main tabla artists. The drummer was Puru called Purushothaman.
Written in a simple poetic style and pleasant to listen to, this song has a very complex rhythmic pattern. Two different rhythms are used in harmony in this song. While the singers are singing in one rhythm, the background music and interlude are in a different tempo.
Playing like this is very challenging. This is called ‘cross rhythm’. Musician Ilayaraja is adept at handling all such musical challenges. The pride of bringing music, that too, based on difficult ragas and talas, to countless common people who do not know about ragas or rhythms like Satushram, Rupakam, Thisram, rests on the single mantra word ‘Ilaiyaraaja’. King’s music will be long…
Aagaya Vennilave song link is here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAATPa49obw
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