Upcoming Concert of Kaumudee on March 8th: India Literacy Project presents ILP Fest 2009

My friend Kaumudee's concert is on March 8th for a noble cause of improving Indian literacy. Please support her in this effort by attending this concert. Kaumudee is a brilliant singer and add to it the satisfaction of helping a good cause. More details at :

http://www.kaumudee.com

PS: She has sung in front of Stalwarts like Drums shivamani and Pt. Hridayanath Mangeshkar !! Cheers !!

Beggary of the Disabled

பாலாவின் "நான் கடவுள் " படத்தில் காட்டிய பிச்சைக்காரர்களின் வாழ்க்கை மனதை விட்டு அகல மறுக்கின்றது. அதன் பிரதிபலிப்பாக இதோ எனது சிறுகவி.
(இது பாடலாக வர வாய்ப்பு உள்ளது)

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கால்கள் வளர்ந்தது காலளவே -மன
ஊனம் வளர்ந்தது முழு அளவே
கரமாய் சிரமாய்
திசைக்கு ஒன்றாய் தசைகள்

ஊழ்வினையோ ? பெற்றோர் வினையோ ?
இயற்கையின் ஓர வஞ்சனையோ ?

எண்சாண் உடம்பில்லை
ஒரு சாண் வயிறுண்டு
வயிறு வாழ நிதம்
உயிரைக் கரைக்கிறது

ஊனம் ஒன்று தான்
விற்கும் பொருள் இங்கு
விற்ற பின்னாலும்
விட்டுப் போகாமல்
பற்றிக் கொண்டு நிதம்
விற்கும் பொருள் இங்கு

இணையம் கணினி என
இகமோ இன்புறுது
இதயம் பணி விட்டு
இருண்டு உறங்கிடுது

சதையின் அவலமாய்
சடலமாய் வாழ்கின்ற
ஊன வறியார்கள்
உய்ய வழி என்ன ?

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uDalin thiriyaalE - Tribute to Mother - My composition sung by Pradip Somasundaran

 Buy this song from Amazon or iTunes ! 
All proceeds go to Akshayapatra !

Song : udalin thiriyaalE
Composed by : Murali Venkatraman
Lyrics : Murali Venkatraman
Singer : Pradip Somasundaran
Cover Design : Chondryma Chakrabortti


uDalin thiriyaalE - Tribute to Mother - My composition sung by Pradip Somasundaran | Music Upload

A mother's contribution toward's a child's life is immeasurable. This is a song that I wrote and composed as a tribute to my mother.

Kanakaangi is the first mELakartha or "janana" raagams. That is, it is the first among the mother ragams. It is one of my favorite ragams and I believe it epitomizes an emotional tension. My first tryst with Kanakaangi came unsurprisingly with "thom thom" of Sindhubhairavi and then followed "shree gaNanatham bhajamyaham". There are purists who feel that this raga was artificially derived when assembling the Venkatamahi scheme but one could always argue what is natural and what is artifical. To me, kanakaangi evokes a deep feeling which ragas like bhairavi and thoDi do. It may just be a personal feeling.

Every song when conceived by the composer innately comes with the image of the voice which would sing it. The composer has a construct in his mind about the song and delivery. It is the responsibility of the composer to convey the image properly to the singer. It is only some singers that grasp the mental image of the song, polish it and take it to the next level at which point the composer sits back and just enjoys his work being savored.

I can understand how Raveendran would have felt when "souparnikamritha veechikaL" was delivered by Yesudas. When I ended up listening to Pradip's version of souparnikamritha veechikaL I felt equally mesmerized that I ended up listening to it 10 times in a day. And I knew none other than Pradip can bring the required bhaavam for a soulful tribute to mom.

That he is a singer par excellence has already been nationally acclaimed through Lata Mangeshkar award. But what is more rewarding and pedagogical to a younger musician is his untiring effort towards precision. Precision as in clinical precision and not the engineering precision. As the lyricist, I felt my lines had come to life in his absolutely soothing, expression laden voice with appropriate emphasis on the syllables.

பல்லவி
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உடலின் திரியாலே
உயிரின் தீயாலே
ஒளியும் கொடுத்தாயே
உனக்கிணை யார் தாயே ?

அனுபல்லவி
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ஆலய தெய்வமும்
தாயில்லை என்றேங்கி
கருவறை என்று தன்
வசிப்பிடம் தன்னை சொன்னதோ ?
என் தாயே - நீ
நந்தாயே என்றும்
நந்தாயே

(உடலின்)

சரணம் :
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பரமனைப்பார்த்தொரு நாள்
பரிகசித்தேன் - அவன்
'பதரே எதற்கிந்த
ஏளனம்?' என்றான்.

'அண்டமோ உனது உன்
ஆயுளோ நெடிது - ஆனால்
கண்டதுண்டோ நீயும்
தாயன்பின் அமுதை ?' என்றேன்

இல்லை என்றான் - தலை
நாணி நின்றான் - பரமன்
நாணி நின்றான்

(உடலின்)

For those who do not understand tamil a loose translation:
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Oh incomparable Mother !

With the body as the wick
and soul as the fire
You gave birth to light that is me.

Even the deity which resides in the temple
Felt it was lifeless since it did not have a mother
And chose to call its residence "garba gruham" (the womb or karuvaRai)
Oh my mother - Your greatness will never cease !

I bantered God the other day
He retorted : "You puny creature ? why are you mocking me ?"
I replied : "The universe is yours. You have infinite lifetime. But have you ever tasted the nectar of a mother's love ?"
He felt humbled and bowed down replying : "No"