Feb 14

‘Love’ly songs!

Okies! So the bug bit me too!! And the week since, I’ve been listening to only romantic and mushy songs giving me an overdoze of feel good factor and heart aches! And as is the vogue, I am gonna spread it out! There are songs that talk of the sweet love, the betrayal of love, the pain of love, and others! Most of these songs talk of how wonderful life is with the better half, and how they mean so much! Then there are songs that talk of promises – the ones kept and the ones broken! The songs that seem to really touch me a lot of times are nevertheless that of the failure of love. It is probably the intense emotions that are portrayed through such songs that cause them to be so touching. This time around, lets look at some of my favorite English Romantic songs. Personally, it is hard for me to categorize my interests when it comes to Western Music. It depends on my mood! Any given day, I do love soft music! But there are moments when I go crazy over 50 cents!!!!
Now the majority of the songs I listen to, when it comes to romance is Bryan Adams (no surprises there..), Enya, Ray Charles, MLTR, and a couple of others.
  • Only Time by Enya :- This is the soundtrack for a wonderful movie “Sweet November” with the charismatic Charlize Theron! Sung by Enya, this song instantly won me over for its deep music that seems to reverberate through the mind!
  • When you love someone by Bryan Adams :- The sound track from “Hope Floats”, I heard this song for the first time when I was in my first year of Engineering. I never got to listen to it later, but the song remained in my heart forever. Most of the people mistake this song to his another famous song “Have you ever really loved woman”. But then, I like this song more than the latter! The words are simply beautiful! The lines go something like..
When you love someone – you’ll do anything
You’ll do all the crazy things that you can’t explain
You’ll shoot the moon – put out the sun
When you love someone
You’ll deny the truth – believe a lie
There’ll be times that you’ll believe you can really fly
But your lonely nights – have just begun
When you love someone
When you love someone – you’ll feel it deep inside
And nothin else can ever change your mind
When you want someone – when you need someone
When you love someone…
When you love someone – you’ll sacrifice
You’d give it everything you got and you won’t think twice
You’d risk it all – no matter what may come
When you love someone
You’ll shoot the moon – put out the sun
When you love someone
  • You say it best when you say nothing at all by Alisson Krauss :- There are several versions of this song sung by different singers, and since I have heard it from Alisson, I am gonna list her here. As for the song, it speaks for itself.
  • You are so beautiful by Ray Charles :- It finally took the awesome movie “Ray” to introduce me to this legend. Bingo! Went searching for his songs, and voila! Fell instantly for this!
  • Moonlight Kiss by Bap Kennedy :- John Cusack’s movie “Serendipity” featured this song. The movie was certainly watchable, and left this song for me as a sweet memory!
  • Let’s Fall in Love by Frank Sinatra :- Here is the thing about singing legends! They sing from their heart to ours! I rarely listened to Frankie, till a friend of mine made me, and then … well I started listening to him! *giggling* My wish though is to wake up on my birthday listening to Sinatra’s “Happy Birthday to you”… as far as the mentioned song is concerned, I’d play it any day for mah gal 😉
  • Breaking My Heart by MLTR :- Since I was young, and could understand English.. there always had a reservation for listening to English Songs. There are 2 groups that I’d really credit with getting me over it – ABBA and MLTR. Their songs were easy for me to comprehend, and certainly made sense! Not to mention the great music! I also like their “Sleeping child” a lot! Then there is “Paint my love”, “Someday Somewhere”, etc.
  • Everytime I close my eyes by Mariah Carey :- The reason I like this song is not just because of its lyrics, but because it features Kenny G! I mean, with that wholesome combination who would not like the song!! Just right for a romantic candle light dinner!
  • Dreams by Cranberries :- This song featured in my all time favorite, most often watched, most fell in love with movie – You’ve Got Mail. I just love the song playing when Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks are walking by on the street during the fall! Ah! It was so picturesque, I instantly felt love!!!

Well.. there are even more and more songs that I’d wanna list here, the sound track of Dirty Dancing – “I’ve had the time of my life”, Lionel Richie’s “Angel”, “Don’t break my heart” by boyzone, “World of our own” by Westlife, and many others. But then, its gonna be tough for me to later get out of that mode! Well.. sinking back to the love tunes..

Feb 13

(No title)

Do you know why I love you so much? Hmm… sometimes I wonder, if there is any need for you to know it too! Probably you know that I do love you!
You always tell me that we are different! You have oft pointed out to the different views we share on various issues. I see that we complement eachother. I know that neither of us are perfect! But I have come to realize that we are not perfect as ourselves. I do know that we are perfect with eachother! We are perfect together! Perfection is not about being without shortcomings. Perfection is about being us! Being what we are!
We have spoken so many times! We have fought, we have laughed, we have teased eachother silly, and there have been moments of silence between both of us. I have heard you even in those moments of silence. I have heard you in the songs that touched my heart. I have heard you in the calm breathe of a deep peaceful sleep. I hear you in the silent bloom of the smile on my lips, when I am thinking of you. I have heard your voice in the babbling of the brooks, in the early morning sun rays, and the silent soothing touch of the moon! I have felt your breathe caressing me in my sleep, like the passing breeze.
We have fought vehemently! We have tried to hurt eachother with words! I have been ruthless to you when you put down my emotions. Am I wrong? They say that true love never hurts. So is this not true? Hey! But then, I never said I was hurt! We both know that we do it, because we need to feel the yearning we have for one another. Your intense retort makes me feel the passion in your heart for me. I feel like getting back to you with an equally acute passion. It is a love-making with a difference.
The happiness you share with me, the sorrows you made me a part of, spice up the dreary existence of this life. I have often felt like lifting you up in my arms, and carrying you off to a far off land, away from any hindrances, and set you free. I want to make you light as a feather – lift every burden off of you. I want to sit back, and watch you playfully toss around in the smoothly flowing breeze. And at the end of the day, I want to rest your head in my lap, smoothing your ruffled hair, under the star lit skies of the dark, talking of nothing! Staring into your eyes, losing myself!
You have called me a casanova! You have wondered how many girls have heard these things from me! There have been words that I have spoken to them too! I have never denied it! You already know of all my affairs! Ironic as it may seem, it is due to them, that I now tell you the same words, with a passion that I had never had till now. It is due to them, that I have now started to love you, respect you, and want you. You still continue to tease me! I still continue to love you.
We have both shared great moments of happiness together. Do you think I remember them? No! I don’t! Do you want to know what I do remember? I remember your hearty laughter at my pranks! I remember the first time I locked eyes with yours. I remember the first time I held your hand and never let go of it. I remember the sweet aroma of yours, when you wrapped your hands around my neck, drawing me close to you!
I have dreams of us. I have dreams that I want to make true! I have dreams that I dream with my eyes open. You are a part of all of them. The family we are going to rise, the children we will have! The things they will learn from you, and from me! The house that we shall build for ourselves. I dream of helping you achieve whatever you aim at. I dream of being a part of all your endeavours, of your dreams, and your life!
Do I know if my dreams will come true? Do I know if our love will travel the path we chose? My heart sighs at these questions. I do not have the answer. All I know is that I am in love with you. I want to enjoy this feeling of being! And for this, I am ready to deny the reality and accept the illusions! The illusion that you are here with me! Yes! I know! I love you so much. But do you know?

Feb 10

Bhaavageete: Soulful songs for hearfelt emotions – 1

The richness of Kannada language has multifarious facets! One of it being the poetic compositions. In order for one to fully appreciate and understand the essence of that statement, they will have to dig deep into the myriad poems written by eminent poets ages since. One can vividly see the emotions penned down reflecting the generic thinking of their decades. Then there are some songs that transcend these time barriers, and present themselves as evergreen songs that seep through the barriers of the heart, crumbling them down and creating a flood of emotions, overwhelming the listener. The beauty of these compositions lie in the expression of the day to day emotions of love, betrayal, happiness, sorrow, etc in words that find a place in the mind of the listener instantly making him relive the moments of the past. These wondrous compositions gain a new dimension altogether when they are sung by eminent singers, with their voice garnishing it with the right amount of feelings, and a background music to collaborate with the efforts!
Several eminent poets of Kannada viz Kuvempu, da.ra.bendre, pu.ti.na, DVG, K S Narasimha swamy, Gopala krishna Adiga, B R Lakshman Rao, Doddarange gowda, K S Nissar Ahmed, H S Venkatesh murthy and others have richly contributed their works for the field of light music – or more aptly Bhaavageete. Some of my favorite songs in this include the following :-
  1. sthavira giriya chalanadaase :- A beautiful poem “honala raaNi” written by shri pu.ti.na that is full of life just as the river that it portrays! The words are playful, rhythmic and continue to stay in one’s mind. The vivid portrayal that describes the running brook as the mountain’s wish for motion, the babbling of the silent forest, [ sthavira giriya chalandaase, mUkavanada gItadaase ] appeals immediately to the listener’s wild imaginations.
  2. laghuvaagele mana geluvaagele mana :- This is a song that I have often heard, another composition by pu.ti.na, that has off late given me new thoughts to ponder upon. The poet implores the mind to lighten off, and be happy, for in the lightness shall it rise out to meet the Lord. He asks it to give up the ego, and in giving up, it shall rise! Further the poet explains to the soul that it shall remain tainted, were it to attach itself to him, (nagaMTalu nInAguve kashmala) but if it were to relinquish the identity with the body, it shall remain pure (nanna toreye nee nirmala nishkaLa)! Dr Rajkumar has lent his voice very efficiently for this song. His another song in the form of a ballad is “Ako shaama avaLe raadhe” – a depiction of the joyous playfulness of the gopis in the company of Radha and Krishna!!
  3. Amma ninna edeyaaLadalli gaaLakke sikka meenu :- A composition by B R Lakshman Rao, this song is all about the craving in the heart of the child to grow beyond the shackles of affection, and explore new frontiers! Though one can feel the underlying force trying to pull off from the tyings of the relations, it nevertheless realizes the everlasting bonding that is not possible to be cut! For finally the poet assures of the return – [ indhana teeralu baMdE baruvenu matte ninna toDege mUrta prEmadeDege ].
  4. Jaali baarinalli kUtu pOli geLeyaru :- B R Lakshman Rao is a poet of the present genre! His compositions reflect the freshness of the younger generation and as such are very popular amongst them. Of special mention is this song, that describes the plight of a guy who goes to a gentlemen’s club for the first time! The simple language, and humorous description of the feelings “gopi”- the character that visits the club, as the dancers entices him makes one laugh heartily! For the many who feel that poetic compositions are all about deep emotions, such compositions are an eye-opener. Deftly set to tune and sung by C Ashwath, Raju Ananthswamy, and others, this song is my all time favorites among BRL’s works.
  5. Naa chikkavanaagiddaga :- At a very young age, I had happened to listen a wonderful English classic song – Lemon Tree. It had stuck in my head ever since, and when I chanced upon the kannada version of this song, evidently, my heart was set on it too! Infact this song introduced me to the compositions of BRL, which I have been thoroughly enjoying ever since. The other songs of BRL that I love are “hELi hOgu kaaraNa“, “neenu mugilu naanu nela“, “nanna hRudayava ninage nIDide“, “nODida avanu heege nODida“, “baNNisale heNNe Enu baNNisale heNNe“.
  6. Hoovu horaLuvavu sUryana kaDege :- Composed by H S Venkatesha murthy, this song was a regular feature in the “geeta chitra” aired by Bangalore Doordarshan. The song is catchy due to the optimism brewed in every word of it! It is rich in its visual description, and beautifully worded. Slightly philosophical that celebrates the wonders of nature, it feeds the listener sumptuously with lines like “giDadiMduduruva elegaLigU muda, chiguruvAgalU oMde hada ….. nelada oDalinoLagEnu naDevudO, elli kuLitahano kalaavida!!” The other compositions of HSV that are among my favorites include “toredu hOgadiro jOgi” (a kannada translation of Meera bai’s bhajan), “hucchu KODi manasu“, etc.
  7. nanna iniyana neleya balleyEne :- A Composition by N S Lakshminarayan Bhatta, this is a beautiful and simple song that show cases the yearning of the loved one for her lover! She describes the abilities of her lover who can listen to the ant crawling, the flower blooming, and the melting of the early morn fog, but yet turns a deaf ear towards her heart! His other compositions include “hinde hEge chimmutittu“, “ninna neeti adaava neeti“, “elli jaaritO manavu elle meeritO”, “I baanu I chukki I hUvu I hakki” and others.
  8. Huvu araLuva munna :- K S Narasimha swamy needs absolutely no introduction for the avid fans of kannada poetry! His poems overflow with the affection and beauty of innocent love and marital bliss! His poems are akin to the fresh april showers that drench the wreatched land, giving rise to the fresh aroma of the wet sand that lingers on for days to come – freshening up the entire scenery! One can go on listing and writing treatises on his compositions! Simple compositions that celebrate the simpleness of life, love, and optimism! One song that I have to mention herein is his “attitta nODadiru attu horaLaaDadiru” – a song that I used to listen everyday before going to sleep. 🙂
  9. ella maretiruvaaga illa sallada nevava :- Every kannadiga would certainly join when singing the song “Jogada siri beLakinalli” – a composition by Shri K S Nissar Ahmed that celebrates the cultural, religious, and geographical richeness of our land! His other compositions are rich in their emotional expressions! This song for example implores the past memories to not return to the present! His other compositions include “mattade besara adE sanje adE Ekaanta“, “nee nuDiyadiralEnu“, “naaDa dEviye kande ninna”, “beNNe kadda namma kRushna“, etc.
  10. KuruDu kaanchaaNa kuNiyutalittu :- dattAtreya raamchandra bEMdre, da.ra. bEMdre, aMbikaatanaya datta – call him anything, use any adjectives, write poems, stories, essays, conduct festivities in his name! And yet, one shall fall short of encompassing the essence of his works, and his life! There are some people on whom we do not even qualify to comment let alone sing their praises! He ranks in that elite group of people whom one can just admire and worship in silence. He is so much a part of our lives, and yet so high in altar than common man, that sometimes even to write of his personality fills my eyes with tears of devotion and admiration. My favorites in his compositions? I would not even dare to list them! For I am afraid, I will not be able to stop.

Some aspects of writing on certain topics include the vastness and variety of the subject selected! After much procrastination, I did decide to write on the bhaavageetes of Kannada. And now that I have started, with much trepidation I have realized that I am trying to muster the vast sea of compositions into my cup of hands! In doing so, I have left out so many of the equally eminent poets and compositions that it reeks the heart of guilt! But then, this isn’t the end! I will surely write more on this pretty soon! Meanwhile, feel free to write in your own picks into this list! I am sure anukta will have a whole horde of them to be listed in here 😛

Feb 09

Off key Tunes….

Feb 1, my idle musings celebrated its first birthday. And then, 8 days later, Feb 9th my musical musings were conceived! And yeah this blog is gonna be a year old now!! Unlike soliloquies, I have not been able to update this blog more frequently! While I already have 73 posts in the former, the latter has hardly 23 to its credit!
Well, what can I say?!! I seem to be good at idle talk, than musical ;). The purpose of this blog has also been to showcase the richness of music – Eastern and Western. For, while I feel that silence is sometimes the best form of conveying the myriad emotions of the human mind, the one to come next is music! Music is the one form of art, that trancends the limits of geography, language, and culture!
On this day of solemn celebration (rather than the outrageous partying happening on the other side.. what with garfield, balloons, et al), I want to treat all my avid readers to a musical treat in the voice of Unnikrishnan. This is a wonderful song composed by Shri Tyagaraja, and sung brilliantly by Unni. The song is Shambho Mahadeva. It is an audio treat that the ardent music lovers must not miss. You can download the song here.
I am looking into including audio files into this blog, that will more effectively contribute to the features of the blog. There are also thoughts of moving the contents and redirect the webpage to my home page. Exactly when all of these will come to effect, is something that I am willing to let the father time decide. In the meanwhile, nevertheless, I shall be singing out praises of wonderful artists, composers, film musics, and albums. So whenever you are bugged by the rigmaroles of the day to day life, and care for some relaxed chit-chat on the musical frontiers of the world, do stop by! Company is much appreciated herein! 🙂

Feb 08

Sudha Raghunathan : A sparkling brook of voice!!

Morning Raaga was a bold attempt in the Indian film genre to showcase the fusion of Eastern and Western styles of Music. The story was thin, but the saving grace of the movie was ofcourse the acting prowess of Shabana Azmi, and the songs (not surprisingly)! The one voice that stood out in all of these songs was that of Sudha Raghunathan. Like the crisp sun rays of early morning filtered from amidst the waking up leaves on the trees, that touch our senses and liven them up – so does her voice flow mellifluously into the ears and awaken the spirit deep within! Don’t believe me? Listen to her rendering of “maatey malayadhwaja paalya sanjaate” from the movie!
Sudha Raghunathan, trained under her mother during her younger days, and eventually excelled in her performance, giving her the lifetime opportunity of learning karnatik music under the great Smt. MLV (M L Vasanthakumari) who recognizing Sudha’s prowess, rightly accorded the honor of being her successor! Since 1990 Sudha Raghunathan walk to fame, has been unobstructed! What with a mesmerizing voice and an endearing personality to couple with, she is hailed as the scion of MLV for Karnatik music in the present days. A mother of two, Sudha Raghunathan has enlivened the musical universe, shining as a bright star! The winner of Padmashri, she has also been drenched with showers of praises, titles and awards at various levels. My personal favorites among her renditions include, “Maha ganapathim”, “Maanasa Sancharare”, “Taaye yashoda”, “Bhagyada lakshmi baaramma”, “Marugelara O Raaghava”, and all the songs from her album “The Dance of Shiva“. She has over 75 albums to her credit.
Her excellence in her field has drawn her to travel world wide rendering exemplary concerts. She also heads the humanitarian “Samudaaya Foundation”.

Feb 07

Divine Conflicts!

Before the phantom of False morning died,
Methought a Voice within the Tavern cried,
“When all the Temple is prepared within,
Why nods the drowsy Worshipper outside?”
– English Translation from Rubaiyat (by Omar Khayyam)
Past few weeks have been time and again spent in the contemplations of customs, traditions, the aspects of prayers, worships and God – altogether. I have not been worshipping or offering my daily prayers like I have to – as directed by the caste system. I have tried to involve in other activities that has to a certain extent gained precedence over my routine worship. Honestly, it disturbed me. It was a tug of war between the ethical directions and the mind. It led to a lot of introspection, thoughts, queries and answers!
I happened to read Bertrand Russell’s “A Free Man’s Worship” – it posed the same questions as in my mind. Was it helpful? I guess so. There are things I have come to realize, but to convince myself of them, is turning out to be a difficult proposition than what I thought! They make sense logically, ethically, and even in the precincts of religiousness.
These days my mind vehemently opposes to subject itself to the drudgery of routineness! The boredom is repulsive! And I have been trying to experiment with varied facets to overcome this. The daily prayers, worships are methods of achieving inner discipline, peace of mind, and tranquility. When methods turn to habits, I guess that is when they start becoming bland! The guilt that is accompanied by such feelings in no way helps, and the situation only got worse. I finally accepted the fact that I for one, am bored of the rituals. Am I being defiant? I think not. I do not find them meaningless. I respect them even to this day. But I am bored of them! This holds true even to the daily attributes. The mind craves variety – variety of people, variety of thoughts, variety of challenges! Am I giving to my senses? Or am I losing my discipline? I felt I was being agnostic! That my mind was clouded by my doubts and I gave them a lot of precedence. I had to stand clear and think! And for this, I had to accept. I accepted that I wanted to explore newer ways of enriching my daily life. To add a new dimension to the mundane activities and thus realize an entire different level of well being. I do not feel I am being anti-religious, or dubious of my religious principles. Perhaps, it is a hint to myself.
One thing is for sure, I will have a tough time in keeping a job! Unless I find ways of making it exciting, and learning new stuffs, I am sure, I will be skipping the jobs like a mad bunny! Heck! I may totally stop working, and rush out to meet life head on! Maybe be an explorer! Come to think of it. Isn’t that what I am doing right now too? Life again seems so exciting and wonderful! Three cheers to that!!