Hi, This piece was written by my friend Vani, who is a Rahman fan too :) I'm sharing it with the group for the benefit of everyone. So, here goes:
At the end of what I thought was a day so crazy that it makes me laugh to think about it, I hereby write a note in praise of the song that dramatically picked up my moods and made me smile, even at the end of a racking 14-hour long day. This post is an attempt to put in writing the hundreds (ok, no, dozens) of lines that are speeding through my mind in one moment in praise of the humble song from Kizhakku Cheemaiyile, that I’m making myself listen to in repeat mode just so I don’t lose the mood to capture all those crazy lines. First, the strings in the beginning. Rahman teases you a bit, making you wonder what the song is going to be like, and Mano’s voice does complete justice – is it a gentle melody? A taunt? A song brimming with love? Surprise (moondraam piraiye nee muzhu nilavaanadheppo!)? And then the gentle strings just rush to strength towards the end and you can literally feel the guitarist completely enjoying himself, grinning, and just strumming the guitar in full joy. And the song tells you that it's all of the above emotions - and more. And Mano launches into the song – simply LOVE the pickup of the beat. Sheer genius. Just listen to the strings behind ‘Ulla sondham enna vittu pogaadhu’. Subtle, and yet, brilliant. And Sujatha joins in, her voice also doing perfect justice to the song, responding beautifully to the tone and mood of Mano’s voice. The guitar, meanwhile, joyfully cruises throughout, until Rahman jumps in and croons his bit, as he is often wont to do… and after a punchy pause, while in the background throughout, the guitar picks up again at ‘Kaagam thaan katthi ponaalum’ – simply love the turn it takes at the end of ‘Un mugam paarka odi vandene’ Oh, oh, and also after Mano sings the pallavi again, just before the second interlude, listen to that unexpected bit that surprises you! Of course, look out for that casual, unexpected entry that the guitar makes again when Sujatha starts wrapping up the song, and all through while Mano takes on from her. And just when you thought you couldn’t get enough of all this, Rahman perfectly ends the song, crisply, with no unnecessary notes, just right! Oh, ain’t I lucky to be enjoy such bliss from a tune so simple, yet so brilliant! Hail music, hail Rahman, and hail God for creating him and bestowing him with all this genius!! Aravind Rahmania show interviews: http://rahmania.4shared.com Yahoo! recommends that you upgrade to the new and safer Internet Explorer 8. http://downloads.yahoo.com/in/internetexplorer/
