Baahon kE Darmiyaan - Dedicated to my father

Song : Baahon ke Darmiyaan
Movie: Khamoshi
Singers : Hariharan, Alka Yagnik
Composer : Jatin-Lalit
Performed by : Sindhuja Bhaktavatsalam, Murali Venkatraman



It may appear unusual to dedicate a romantic song to one's father. But Khamoshi - the album has more connotations in my life than just music.

It was 1997. I was visiting home at tirunelveli from CECRI, my undergraduate college. My father was away for an official trip to Madras.

Hailing from a middle class (lower-middle class - sometimes I wonder how so many varieties of middle classes are there in India) family which stressed emphatically on education, moral values and minimal materialistic pleasures, it was really a struggle to do anything pertinent to music when I was growing up. Even the BUSH radio, which is still religiously serving us, was considered a luxury item. I was rarely allowed to listen to film songs since my father’s doctrine was, and is, that film music hinders studies. And with education being the only rudder to a better life, listening to music was considered a time-wasting-exercise. Nevertheless, my interest never ceased and I registered in my memory most of the songs I heard off and on.

Once I was in CECRI, in the absence of parental control, my listening and practicing of music grew to very high prorportions, however, I did not have a walkman or a transistor-radio to listen to songs. I had silently envied my classmates who had a walkman but told myself buying one of those was just the start of unending expenditures since cassettes were not cheap then (Rs 50 for CD-recorded cassette !). I had asked my father if I could get a walkman sometime and he had answered with a strong “No” since budget would not allow. also, in line with his doctirnes it woudl be a serious deterrent. A good AIWA walkman would cost more than Rs 1000 and he certainly could not afford it since it was a tight-rope walk for him every month with me going to college.

So, I had buried my desires. Dad came back from Madras to tirunelveli, and had reached home at night. I was just relaxing in the bed with some music played on the bush radio. He called me, handed me a package and said : “Open it” with a subtle smile.

And inside the package was a beautiful AIWA walkman.

My eyes gleamed and my heart skipped a beat. I said “thank you” to him (well.. real family situations are not melodramatic soap operas – that was my reaction) and found two cassettes given as a compliment for the purchase.

Needless to say one was Khamoshi. One could not ask for a better album. All songs were good but baahon ke darmiyaan was outstanding and I was really enslaved by Hariharan’s voice. Music and music players have become cheap these days and cassettes and even CDs are long gone, but what my dad bought me at a time he could barely afford will always remain etched in my memories and whenever I hear this song I get reminded of him. (That he has no idea about either the movie Khamoshi or the songs is a different thing altogether).

I also have fond memories of Khamoshi with my friends Srinath, Gump and Ravi in Columbia. In October 1999, I bought my first car, a 5 year old Nissan Sentra. Being the only guy with a car, it was normal to drive friends around. I had not forgotten the Khamoshi cassette. It was a usual routine to go for long drives in the night listening to Khamoshi songs and discussing some junk topics. Once on highway at 70 mph, probably overwhelmed by the gravity of the melody, Srinath remarked:

“indha maadhiri paattu kEttuNdE fast aa car OttiNdu pOy crash aagi seththup pOyidaNum” ( Translated – would like to drive the car fast, crash and die as I listen to these songs )

We looked at each other. I pulled over and stopped.

“Dei..arivu irukka ? ippadiya pEsuvE ?”

were some of the retorts we gave him. But later when I read in an article that Vairamuththu expressed his wish to be listening to “maalaip pozudhin mayakkathile” as he dies, I understood what impact those songs have had on Srinath. Unlike Vairamuththu, Srinath's expression of his admiration for Khamoshi songs was hardly poetic but certainly no less sincere.

Singing a song with Sindhuja is a difficult proposition generally with her razor sharp ears picking up even the most minute of slips. But it is always a good experience. And this is the first hindi song that I have felt mildly comfortable to attempt (As always, I am overly conscious about pronunciation and accent in any song / language). It is u for you guys to decide how good our version is.

Vidhata Talapuna - And an old poem of mine - The channel between the blind and mute

Song : Vidhata Talapuna
Movie: Srivennela
Singers : SPB, Susheela
Composer : K.V.Mahadevan
Lyrics : Seetarama Sastry
Performed by : Murali Venkatraman





Vidhata Talapuna - An old telugu karaoke recording | Musicians Available

I am up from the slumber with a telugu number (ooh..sounds like a telugu movie dialogue ? :-)). I have not been exactly inactive musically since composing keeps me busy. But my singing nose-dived because of severely blistered throat which persisted for almost 2 months and the after effects are still haunting me. I have just started recovering and hopefully this song will dust off my rust.

Research has kept me utterly busy that I have started hating it. (Who knows, in some years, if financial situation permits, I will ditch research for music composing.) And I have also been working on some articles on music which will probably get published in dhool and this blog simultaneously.

How would two lovers - one blind and the other mute, communicate ? This was an interesting question I had when I was in college. It inspired me to write a poem in a modern style without alliterations or rhymes. This poem got published in my college magazine.

To my consternation I learn after coming to USA that the answer that K.Vishwanath had provided was in celluloid ! The movie Sirivennela directed by K.Vishwanath featuring Sarvadaman Banerjee (Blind flautist) and Suhasini (Mute fan) went on to be preserved as an all time classic in telugu. He had chosen to portray the girl as mute and the guy as blind whereas in the poem I had chosen the opposite.

I was introduced to this song by one of my friends who had causally remarked in a conversation :"vidhata talapuna in telugu is a great song". Somehow the two words stuck on my memory. And one day, thanks to musicindiaonline.com ended up listening to this song.

As they say in tamil "uyirodu kalandhadhu" - It just dissolved in my soul and became an all time favorite in the very first listnening. IF melodies were queens, their undisuputed king would be SPB. And this is just another song that proves how soulful a song becomes in his voice.

Somehow with an irrepressible desire to sing the song in entirety I have not shared this any of my favorite lady singer friends. SPB, KVM and Susheela and you all - please pardon me.

Since the Karaoke had to be made by ripping the original mp3 and adjusted, the mixing is not that effective. To ease that, I have tried some voice overs. Hope you dont find it irritating.

Special thanks to Sudhamsu for correcting my pronunciation in the first part of the song. (We could not sit for the rest of the song. So whatever good pronuncition you hear is because of him and whatever is bad is because of me. You are welcome to point out the errors as I believe no song should be sung at the expense of its lyrics)

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காற்றின் மேலுள்ள காதல் தன்னாலே
கடல்நீரும் அலைக்கைகள் நீட்டுதுவோ?
சீற்றம் தாஙகாமல் சிதறுதுவோ மட்டுளிகள் ?
சிறிதும் காணாமல் நீரும் சிலிர்த்து
மண்ணின் மனதை மிதித்து இறுக்கிடுதோ ?

வளியோடு வாரியது விளையாடுங் காலை
ஒவ்வாத நிலத்திர்கென் வேலை ?

நினைந்து நடக்கின்றேன்; நீரில் நிற்கின்றேன்;
நீரலைகள் என்பாதம் நீவிவிட நெகிழ்கின்றேன்;

மண்ணில் கோட்டைகள் மட்டின்றி கட்டிடலாம்;
மனதில் வேட்கைகள் குறைவின்றி கொண்டிடலாம்;
கண்ணில் தெரிகின்ற கனவுக ளையெல்லாம்
மெய்யாய்க் கண்டிடவும் ஆசைகள் வைத்திடலாம்;

காலமெனும் கூற்றுவனோ கண்ணின்றி கருக்கிடுவான்;
கனிகின்ற போதினிலும் கருமை படர்த்திடுவான்;

முன்னே நான்செல்ல முயலுங்கால் காண்கின்றேன்;
ஓரடியும் கால்வைக்க இயலாமல் இடறியொரு
கம்பத்தைக் கையில்கொண் டிருப்பவளைப் பார்ப்பேன்நான்
பனியில் கால்வைத்த அணில்போன்றும் பதைக்கின்றேன்
எழுலுருவாய் என்முன்னே நிற்கின்ற என்பெண்ணே !
எங்கே தொலைத்திடாய் உந்தன் பார்வயினை ?

ஒளியோடு வாழுங்கால் ஒருநூறு நண்பர்கள்
உனைசுற்றி வாழ்ந்தாரே ஒருவருமே இன்றில்லை!
களியொடும் கவினோடும் வாழ்ந்திட்ட நாளுன்மேல்
காதல் செய்தேனே!காணாதி ருந்தாயே!

இன்றோ அன்பனென யார்வந்தும் காணாது
இருக்கின்ற நிலையினிலே நின்றாயே - நின்னைக்

கண்ணின்றிக் காணத்தான் காலமெனை விட்டதா ?
வலியில்லை என்நெஞ்சில் வன்துயரம் தாங்கிடவும்.

சிலையாய் நிற்கின்றேன் சிந்தை கலங்கிபோய்!
சிறிதே அண்டிட்டு மேனில்யிலே சிதறுகிறாய்!
கைதொட்டு உனைத்தூக்கி நிறுத்திடவும் செய்திட்டால் - என்
கரம்கொண்ட வளையத்தால் கணத்திலெனை உணர்கின்றாய்!

"நீங்களா.. ?

முன்னம் வாழ்வினிலே சுற்றம்பல விருந்தார்
இன்னம் விழியின்றி இருக்குங்கால் - ஒரு
கழியே - எனக்கு
விழியே - மற்றும்
வழியே

உம்மனதை வெந்திட்டேன் முன்வாழ்விலானாலோ
தம்மனதைத் "தந்திட்டேன்" எனச்சொல்லி எனையேற்பார்
தாரணியில் இலர்போலும்!உளரோ ? சொல்வீர்நீர்!"

கண்ணே!

கடலின் மேற்புறத்தே அலைகள் உண்டென்றும்
ஆழ்புரத்து இல்லை இதுண்மை;மண்ணில்
மேலொன்றும் கீழ்ழோன்றும் (இ)ரண்டென்று இல்லையடி
என்றென்றும் ஓர்நிலையே தான்!

"வாழ்வு இருந்தக்கால் அன்பை நினைந்ததிலை
ஊழின் பயினிங்கு வாட்டுங்கால் உணர்கின்றேன்
ஏற்பீரோ என்னைநீர் இந்நிலையில்"என்றழுது
நிற்கின்றாள் !நினைவேன் நான்!

நின்னை அடைந்திடவே என்னதவம் செய்திருப்பேன் ?

காமத்த்தால் அன்றிக் காதலினால் மட்டும்
கருத்து ஒருமித்த வாழ்வும் தண்திடுவேன்! - ஆனால்

"இயம்புவதும் இயலாதே தோழி !
என் நாக்கினிலே வாக்கில்லை இன்று"

விழியைத் தொலைத்திட்டு வீதியில் நீ வந்தாய்
மொழியைத் தொலைத்திட்டு முன்னேனான் உள்ளேன்

ஏ வாணி !
என்னருகே வா நீ!

கண்மணி தன்னிடம் காதல் சொல்லிட்டே
கட்டாயம் தருகின்றேன் உன்னிடமே !

ஏ வாணி !
என்னருகே வா நீ!
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