Friends,
To borrow words from Aakarsh, it is raining Ilaiyaraaja this month. Yes, listening to the six tracks of TBI album in the western symphonic oratorio style is like drenching in a spiritual and emotional rain. Understanding the lyrics will definitely enhance the experience. We, casual listeners without much knowledge of music, are not really qulaified to review this masterpiece. It is just beyond our comprehension.
When I started listening the CD for the first time I did not feel anything. I just lost myself in the sheer magnitude of the music. After repeated listenings I was able to grasp track # 5 & 6. I am still trying to grasp other tracks. They are simply too much for my senses. Track # 5 sounds not too new. Ohhh...it's a bliss to listen to this CD. But let me just talk about # 5. I will be talking mostly about the music as I do not totally undestand the lyrics yet.
Have you ever felt like flying in the air, flying like a butterfly over a beautiful flower garden after a drizzle with colorful flowers swinging their heads with shining rain drops? If you never felt like that listening to music, listen to track # 5 of TBI and you will know what I am talking about. Mind you, this is no film music. This is from the sacred text Thiruvasagam written by Tamil poet Manickavasagar in the seventh century. This is a song written praising God Shiva.
The song is a folk song with lead singer asking other girls to get ready for God's Abhiskekam (ritual bathing). The song starts with a grand note with hundreds of instrument complementing the chorus. Then starts the song in a beautiful tone with a lot of instruments playing in the background. Wohhh....pure bliss. With grand symphonic notes playing in the background, friends, it is a divine experience listening to this song. Believe me, you will be spellbound listening to the song and it's interludes. Let me talk about the third interlude. The interlude starts with a slow pitch of symphonic instruments. The symphonic notes starts with an ascending and descending notes and continue in a loop. Friends, I am sure you will loose yourself listening this. When you think this stunning ascending and descending rollercoaster stops, it continues and continues and continues. I thought this music defines the word "Grand". No words in the language to explain the joy!!!
Of course this is just the tip of the ice berg. There are tons of stories about listeners who melted away into tears listening to TBI at Ilaiyaraaja Yahoo group. There are five more astonishing tracks in this album and I am yet to come out of the world of magical music praising the God of Destruction. If you feel like listening to the album, go grab it from TIS or Chennaionline. Buying the CD also will help the noble cause of bringing out our anicient cultural treasures to masses.
Thanks for your time. Best wishes.
-Sudheer.
