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Monday, May 15, 2006

Kaatrinile varum geetham


I would call this an audacious effort bordering on blasphemy. This is a song which has been immortalized by the legend M.S. Subbulakshmi. MSS was the edifice of divnitiy. Had meera wanted to re-live, she would have chosen MSS's voice for rendering all her songs.

After recording a song for blogswara over a period of two days, my vocals had strained a lot. I rested myself against the chair and was enjoying the quiet night, the silence of which was interrupted only by the gentle breeze. This song popped in my mind from nowhere and wanted to sing. My friend naliniraj helped me locate the lyrics and I just sang with the shruthi.

Towards the end of the song, I had a few tears in my eyes, with my mind garbled by two thoughts. I am a devotee of Baby Krishna myself and the lyrics were moving me. Also the weight of the fact that the divine lady is not among us added more sorrow to my mind and I could not escape the tears.

This may not be my best rendition. The thoughts and the vocal strain have definitely distorted the song at a few places. But it certainly is one that came from my heart. You folks let me know if it is acceptable.

39 comments:

  1. Beautiful! Listening to the song for the first time, but you have sung it very nicely. The bg shruthi also sounds good.

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  2. Nice song, would definitely agree that the magic of MS voice is unexplainable :-)

    tata
    sukku

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  3. well.. one another song which I always get moved with n brings me tears is her

    " kurai onrum illai " song :-). She is definitely a goddess who lived amongst us & we r fortunate to have been in the same time frame she was living

    tata
    sukku

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  4. Murali:
    This is one of my favorite songs of Baby Krishna. Very nice singing.

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  5. Murali!

    Excellent performance and the way you recall the divine lady is quite emotional!

    Nalini.

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  6. As usual, you have used your gifted voice to its fullest potential to bring out the best out of this evergreen masterpiece by the Great MS!

    My only citical comments would be on the pronunciation of the following words. Pl. take it as a constructive cricism. Thanks!

    I have given the actual word first and as it is sung by you, next!

    giitham giidham
    kallum kallam
    nenjinil ninjinil
    vEyngkuzhal vEnguzhal

    Great song again!

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  7. Murali,
    excellent song. beautifulla paadirukeenga. mesmerizing. kann a mudindu kaetunde irukalam.

    Aayarpaadi malaigayil try pannungalen. Excellent song. Naanum try pannalamnu irukken.

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  8. folks - thanks. I was wondering if this would be an unwelcome attempt.

    SK:

    Will all due respects to MSS amma, I believe that the words must be pronounced the way I have done. The reason is the following:

    githam - this word is a sanskrit word. To my knowledge when the letter "tha" comes in tamil between two letters it is pronounced as "dha". If it must be pronounced as "tha" it would be preceded by "th" also.

    Similarly the other 3 words do not make any sense the way they have been written, since when MSS amma sang she has applied some maNipravaaLa and carantic inflections in them. For e.g. the word 'ninjinil' to my knowledge does nto exist in tamil. Thanks for a n intesive listenign though.

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  9. Murali:

    Since most adjectives have already been utilized here, let me deviate a little and be more specific about your rendition (-;

    1.The initial 'Kaatrinilae'(the part where it comes down is a tad shaky). I totally understand that this was post your 2 day long marathon session, but just an observation.
    2. The 2nd & 3rd charanams are extremely well done
    3. 'Neela nirathu baalagan oruvan' sounds wonderful to the ears
    4. Final kaatrinilae is also very good.
    5. Your voice has come out brilliantly.

    Overall, a nice tribute to your 'athmaarthamaana anbu' for kutti krishnar and to one of the greatest singers of the century!

    Kudos...

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  10. very nicely sung murali... mesmersing song... wonderfully executed... amazing recording..crystal clear...

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  11. thanks for this wonderful piece..

    would love to hear more devotional songs from you..

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  12. well sung with bhavam

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  13. very soothing .. dint understand much but yet , very good to hear:)..

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  14. An audacious yet beautifully performed song murali...one of the inimitable compositions.. thanks for bringing it back to the arena.

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  15. semma late pOlrukku....

    newayz, all that has to be said has been said, my only job is to say

    "Amen"

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  16. Anonymous8:34 PM

    MS amma's song rendered by MS. Although the original bhavam and mood are slightly different, you have managed to sing it with a different feel. It was more a "mourning" feel!

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  17. hmm..inime naan yenna sollarthu...kalakkittee mama...very nice job man..

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  18. Murali,
    The song touched my heart! I was a little late sorry.!

    Amazing song.!! I am not a big fan of MS..don't know why. But this song is a superb one indeed.

    You have sung it right out of your heart.!! Enna Raagam idhu??

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  19. radhika:

    I have a theory. Any artist, I am sure, experiences what I call - a zone of bliss - where he forgets himself and his conscious effort to express his art. He becomes the expression himself. At that time, for him the output does not matter since he is not there to witness it as a conscious listener. Hence, any other conoscious listener may find the output not the best, but the artist himself is oblivious of qualifying his art. Depending on how good the artist is, the output that reaches the listener connects with the listener. The artist himself has been connected to a different plane of existence. If it is MS amma, it takes any and sundry listener to the highest plane of divinity. If it is SPB, it takes the listener to the sublime plane of romance. If it is a mortal, like us we may be able to connect at least some of our regular friends, which itself is a great thing to have. I am happy that friends like you, nalini and others could feel a little of what I did when I sang.

    Meera:

    It is always welcome from you to have an honest and detailed analysis. Thanks for your valuable inputs.

    anand, balaji, ganesh:

    I have been planning to sing some devotionals for sometime now. I may choose some of the ayyapan songs of KJY like Gangiyaaru piRakkunnu in malayalam or as sukanya asked - kuRai ondrum illai sometime. It is just that, I need a little disconnection from the listener that I am and conenct to a devotee that I wish to be :)

    annie:

    I feel very satisfied that you could appreciate it without understanding it.

    nyns, bharat,anon:

    thanks for your regular comments.

    NV:

    ragam sariyaa theriyalai. I am surprised you do not like MS very much. But well, you must be liking a similar great who would influence your soul.

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  20. Murali,
    I am a big fan of U.Srinivas,Kadri, Unni Krishnan, TM.Krishna and Sudha Raghunathan.

    Especially U.Srinivas and Kadri-G.!

    I am looking forward to U.Srinivas's concert here this weekend!

    PS - Muralikku Raaggam theriyalaiya..aacharyama irukku.!!

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  21. NV:

    enakku raagam therinjaaldhaan aacharyam. katrukkoLLaadha kaththukkuttigaLil naanum oruththan.

    radhika:

    Wish you good in your vacation. As always, the community will be looking forward to get more more musical inputs from you.

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  22. hi murali,
    dont have any songs online... somehow havent got into audio-blogging yet.. me's more like bathroom-home-street-sing-whenever-i-feel-like singer.. :) will probably give it a shot soon..

    also have been to your blog a lot of times... awesome work dude ! keep em comin !

    cheers!
    arun

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  23. Hi murali,one of my fav songs... nicely sung and luvley voice ,i dont know tamil much... ihve listened in telugu no of times.

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  24. Anonymous3:02 AM

    Hi Murali,
    I am really impressed with your voice. You are really gifted by god with a good voice. Please continue to entrall us with nice songs.

    Shanthi Venkat.

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  25. thank you shanti, nirmala and arun. I shall continue posting songs as you have suggested.

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  26. hai murali ...
    nice singing...nice feelings...
    anil bs

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  27. singing this song without any music has had its wonderful effects. you have a gifted voice murali.

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  28. Amazing rendition. Really touching. Its always hardest when one chooses to sing MSS's songs as the expectations from listeners tends to soar sky-high. But what is important is for the artist to give his/her own honest interpretation of the song. And to that end, you did an amazing job.

    Was looking at your others posts too. You have an amazing voice. I'm adding you to my bloglines feed, and looking forward to more posts from you.

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  29. Anil, kowsalya and PS - thanks. I shall attempt similar songs which I think I can do some justice to.

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  30. HI Murali....this is coming late almost a year after u posted the song,..it has really touched my heart...trust me being a maharashtrian i dont understand even a single word of it..but it moved me to tears...every time I hear it...! kudos to you

    Just one observation though..that the oirignal "bhava" as sung by MS is a bit different....than yours...but no doubt an excellent excellent tribute to M.S.Amma..!!
    She is the one ..whose magic has driven me to learn carnatic music..!

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  31. Anonymous5:14 AM

    Hi Murali,

    Was searching for Kaatrile varum geetham and happened to listen to your version of it.Was moved...Very nicely rendered..Am an ardent Rasika of Carnati music and MS amma.Thanks much.

    All the best,
    Vasumathi.

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  32. Anonymous8:23 AM

    Surfing and heard this..
    I am not easily moved but your song is heavy with emotion. Incredible !

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  33. murali,

    good try by u re. really nice renderation. keep d show goin on murali.

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  34. Hello Mr.Murali,
    Very nice to hear your Kaatrinile varum geetham. I was searching of Smt.MSS but I got your version. Excellent voice.
    My best wishes.

    ShanthiUdayappan.
    Singapore.

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  35. Hello Mr.Murali,

    I was searching of Smt.MSS. But I got your version. Really excellent and very nice voice. My best wishes.

    ShanthiUdayappan,
    Singapore.

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  36. I belong to a pedigree that's oceans away from carnatic and the like, so I dont know the nuances of ragas and swaras. Still, thanks for making the soul inside me weep in ecstasy. Beautiful rendering..

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  37. Wonderful rendition of Katrinilae..! The fact that it comes straight out from the heart makes it even more beautiful. Was surfing to know the raaga of this song but stumbled on your song and the blog. Will keep following you..! :)

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  38. Wonderful rendition of Katrinilae..! The fact that it comes straight out from the heart makes it even more beautiful. Was surfing to know the raaga of this song but stumbled on your song and the blog. Will keep following you..! :) By the way, the raga is Sindhubhairavi (got it from web!)

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  39. Wonderful rendition of Katrinilae..! The fact that it comes straight out from the heart makes it even more beautiful. Was surfing to know the raaga of this song but stumbled on your song and the blog. Will keep following you..! :) By the way, the raga is Sindhubhairavi (got from the web!)

    ReplyDelete