Phenomenon from Pannaipuram and the Lost Violinist

My recent pseudo-single life has made me turn back to my favorite recourse in times of solitude - music. As I gouged through my huge collection for songs that I had less listened to in the past couple of years, I stumbled upon the theme song from Raja Paarvai, and it had that familiar effect that vintage Illayaraja always has on me - a feeling of high without a stimulant, banned ones at least. His compositions have this magical element that makes you forget everything but the dulcet tune and this one is no exception. In this era of techno thuds and the hodgepodge that is euphemistically referred to as remix, it was refreshing to listen to creative music at its zenith, albeit from 1981. It is sad that such originality, apart from an infrequently inspired Rahman, is too rare to find these days.

The piece is a gem as far as fusion goes, starting off as a carnatic duet comprising of violin and veena (ragam: pantuvaraali - Google can make even me look like a virtuoso) leading to a pulsating violin solo and then meandering into western classical (with drums) before culminating into a fusion crescendo that leaves you suddenly waking up from a trance. It has to be said that the ending crescendo is just as hair-raising as the beginning one in Poongathave from Nizhalgal. The format of the composition is very similar to the ones from How to name it?, particularly Mad Mod Mood Fugue. That being said, it is the violin, played by V.S. Narasimhan of the Madras String Quartet (who had played the instrument in How to Name It? as well), that elevates the piece to dizzying heights.

One of my greatest peeves with Illayaraja has been the recognition (or the lack thereof) that the performers in his orchestra have received. Musicians like VSN and Sivamani had played for him for years but it wasn't until Rahman changed this trend in the 90's that some, like Sivamani, got their deserved due.

Though I am well diversified when it comes to music (Rock to Rahman, Rap to Raaja, Bach to Burman - anything goes), if there was one music that I am allowed to carry with me to my grave it will have to be Illayaraja's compositions from the stone age - Raja Paarvai, Payanangal Mudivadhillai, Nizhalgal, Sindhu Bhairavi, Mouna Ragam, Johny and the likes.

P.S: Listen to this piece by VSN and the Madras String Quartet - absolutely transcendental!

Right to Click

Rock star Mick Jagger once signed his autograph with an expletive, aggrieved that one day the recipient might make a profit from auctioning it without paying him a royalty. Years later he concluded that it was only fair if others made money from his name; after all, he had made millions out of it himself.

Maybe cricket administrators need to think the same way.

The latest move by the Australian Cricket Board to demand a fee from news agencies to cover the games and publish photographs is a classic case of "if-you-make-money-because-of-me-I-need-a-share". While a commission based system might work for TV broadcasting rights, it will not do so for news media. An analogy would be the NYSE charging the Wall Street Journal for publishing stock quotes or market updates. Royalty in the media is most definitely a No.

While such mercenary ideas usually originate from the BCCI and its bean-counting coterie, the Aussies have proven that they are not far behind in this regard. Unfortunately, while every such move by the BCCI has been widely criticized by the cricket pundits, the current crisis in Australia has hardly evoked a response from the pen-wielding experts, especially since it concerns the media. Surprising yet understandable, since all things Aussie are usually revered in Cricket.

Marketing is the key to any event and sport is no exception. By alienating the media the game might be deprived of its primary vehicle to reach to the masses. Sport and media share a symbiotic relationship where one cannot survive without the other and the administrators must realize that they are already the recipient of free marketing through newspaper coverage and the media is paying them through increased ticket sales. Hence charging them for coverage is definitely double-dipping.

Also, if newspapers start paying for the sporting event that they are covering they might want to play a role in influencing its outcome too, much like in Irving Wallace's The Almighty. After all they will then have become investing stakeholders and might rightfully want games to end the way that their returns are maximized. This will be a clear throwback to the doldrums that the game found itself in with the match-fixing allegations in the late 90s.

Sports and its organizations need to make money but they might be better off doing so with better quality of games and increased market share rather than resort to such ludicrousness. On the lighter side, they could at least be creative and subtle about their motives, like Shaq, who once said - "I'm tired of hearing about money, money, money, money, money. I just want to play the game, drink Pepsi and wear Reebok"

Azhagiya Tamizh Magan - music review

Arrite, I am trying my hand at music review now. Why not? Isn't being a critic easier than receiving criticism.

Reviewing a Rahman album is a difficult thing to do because you don't want to make the mistake of doing it too soon. It is a well known fact that his music grows on you; 20-30 hearings is about an optimal period to start thinking about dissecting the notes. Having gone past that threshold, let us see how the Mozart from Madras fares with his latest offering, keeping in mind that it is for a mass hero.

Lets start with Ella pugazhum. You can't miss the striking resemblance to 6.5 kodi pergalin oruvan from A Aa; Rahman's vocals only strengthens the feeling of deja vu. Needless to say, it is Vijay's intro song. Nothing much to write about the lyrics - as usual glorifying the protagonist and advising the youth (as if they haven't heard it before). Nothing creative.

Kelamal Kaiyilae: This song is full of techno beats and resembles those songs that usually feature in side B as a remix of the most popular song of the album (For e.g., Chaiyya Chaiyya - Thaiyya Thaiiya from Dil se); only this time this is all you get. That being said, it is a very nice melody with soft beats in the background. If you choose to ignore the strong resemblance to "Then merku paravu katru" especially in the second interlude, it is a very nice song. Sung by Sriram Parthasarathy and Saindhavi - two new singers.

Maduraikku Pogathadi: This is currently my favorite. Classic folk beat that we have heard a million times, it is Rahman's throwback to his Kilakku Cheemayilae days. Sung by Benny Dayal, Archith, and Dharshana, it is a very peppy number that keeps you excited throughout the time and tempts you to shake a leg or two despite a touch of doli saja ke rakhna a.k.a. Jodi.

Nee Marilyn Monroe sung by Benny Dayal and Ujjayinee is a romantic song along the lines of shaka laka baby or hey hey enna achu unakku that seems to be growing on me. This song has a very fresh and catchy start, especially the "boom shaka lak" piece. The beat, techno sounds and the metallic guitar are very mellowed giving the vocals deserved prominence and the effect is mind blowing. Soft and peppy, this song is like vanilla ice cream over hot fudge brownies. Forget the calories and enjoy it!

Ponmagal Vandaal The song starts out with a strong statement - slow strong beats and Aslam's retro vocals transitioning to rap. The mixing is absolutely spot on. One of the best remixes that falls slightly short of Thee pidikka from Arindhum Ariyamalum (the best Tamil remix I have heard so far)

Valayapatti: Clear resemblance to Avalukku enna ambasamudram iyer hotel from Jillunnu oru kadhal, be it the thavil or the pitch of the male voice. Where the song stands out is the interludes where it transitions into serious Hindustani and Carnatic, a sort of ragamalika. The singers Naresh Iyer, Ujjayinee and Madhumitha have done a good job at a fast paced classical song. Lovable.

Overall, Rahman has tried to be creative within the realms of satisfying the masses. Personally, I think he achieved the perfect mix with Sivaji, but falls short of those high levels this time. While the songs, will definitely become chart busters, but for a couple of songs, it will be hard to listen to them beyond the initial freshness - definitely not a Pudhiya Mugam or Bombay. With plenty of resemblances to older Rahman tunes, I will have to say Azhagiya Tamizh Magan has too many twins to stand out in a crowd of Rahman classics.

GPA: 3/5

P.S: To download/listen to these songs go here.

Cricket Bloopers

How to name it?

Naming cricketing trophies after two greats from the respective countries has become a fad over the last few years. Australia plays India for the Border-Gavaskar trophy and their trans-Tasman rivals for the Chappell-Hadlee trophy (Don't ask me which Chappell and Hadlee, as I can remember at least 3 of each kind donning their national colors). Sri Lanka and Australia recently realized that they didn't know what they were playing for and decided to name their trophy after their two most popular (controversial?) cricketers. A little northwest of there, bitter rivals battle it out for an anonymous trophy, while one of them faces an emergency in their country. Some battles are definitely more interesting and important than a constitutional emergency. (Will the cricketers end up spending a month in the Mumbai Airport a la Tom Hanks in The Terminal?).

Isn't it high time that the rivalry that arouses the most extreme of emotions in the game got a name for its battles. Even the most one sided of them all has one. Yeah, I meant The Ashes.

Let's think through the various combinations of names that could rightfully adorn a trophy of this stature.

1. Imran - Kapil: two of the greatest all rounders ever and world cup winning captains.
2. Qadir - Kumble: two great tweakers, one who kept the art alive amidst towering fast bowlers in the 80s and the other who took all 10 pins down in a bowl.
3. I could be tongue in cheek and call it Manmohan - Musharraf trophy; after all what is cricket in these countries without politics. But then you will have to rechristen it every now and then to reflect the volatility of the governments.
4. Talking of politics, a political way of settling it could be calling it the Kashmir trophy - didn't Imran Khan once openly suggest that the Kashmir issue should be settled over a game of cricket, knowing fully well that for the best past of the 80's and 90's Pakistan had a much superior team.
5. A dark horse could be Khushwant Singh- Zia ul Haq for their contribution to numerous "sardarji" jokes in their respective countries.

I could think of numerous such pairs, for cricketing or humorous reasons, but if there was one moment that turned India-Pakistan cricket by its head- it wasn't Kumble's perfect 10, wasn't Imran or Kapil's exploits with the red cherry, wasn't Sachin's towering six over point off Shoaib Akhtar or the latter's twin strikes at Kolkatta - it has to be Miandad's last ball six off ChetanSharma at Sharjah . That moment marked the dominance of Pakistan in Indo-Pak encounters for nearly a decade and a half until India became more competent - India just couldn't recover from that momentary lapse of reason. More importantly, the two sides graduated from playing out dull draws to dishing out edge of the seat nail biters - a trend that has continued on till the recent 20/20 WC final. For the sheer impact of the moment on the rest of the games between the countries, the trophy should be named the Chetan - Miandad trophy.

Nevertheless, I am pretty sure that at least in the near future, the trophy will continue to be named after Pepsi or Samsung or whoever the sponsor is since neither board cares beyond what the sponsors bring to the game - money.