The above mentioned are my best expression of the music of Thirivasagam by IR, for words cant say what I feel.
I PROSTRATE BEFORE THE GOD OF MUSIC
Actually I never wanted to write a review for it. The reason is this music is beyond the realms of rationale, of definition, of comprehension, of judgement, of description, of intellectual perception, of boundaries, of good or bad, for only mortal and mundane things can be expressed through words.
Things which go straight into your soul don't find expression through the body.
My five senses made no sense
For years now, this man has given not mere music but joy, inspiration, happiness, tears, tremors, ecstasy, passion and love to millions of people through his music and all the culminates in one unified expression. This is the point when all the music in the man takes the form of the formless and merges into the ether.
From this point on till the world lives on, Raasaiyah .aka. Ilayaraja is omnipresent
The main reason why I write about this album is for someone somewhere to read about it and at least through curiosity listen to it once. Then he would attain salvation while living.
The greatest thing about this album is IR choosing himself to sing. Such is the fervor and divinity in his voice that it is impossible to imagine anyone in the place. Every word gets its due place. Every note in the music gets its due emphasis. Every listener gets his life's quota of bliss.
A must read
At this point I would like to emphasis one crucial aspect.
THIRUVAASAGAM IS NOT JUST A HINDU DEVOTIONAL ALBUM.
The oneness with God is not a Hindu concept. The literature here is the best one can perceive. Every word instantly takes every soul closer to God. Shiva may be worshiped Hindus, Jesus by Christians and Allah by Muslims. But GOD has no religion. MUSIC has no caste.
I would appeal everyone to listen to this music. Allow his nothingness to fill yours.
... He showed me God
Poovar senni mannan:
The heavy drums and the Ohh Ahh chants that open the doors to the path that lead us to God start this quest. Immediately the path becomes a sweet valley with violins flowing. And there a golden voice beckons you instantly. This is how IR starts my journey. I am not even going to say that the instrumentation is top class. How many times can I say that? If we understand the meaning of the song, we'll know the genius in IR choosing the tune that he has. This song is a description initially about how to reach God. Later it starts going into the desperation of being a lowly human in this world. Watch out for the line ''Thaamae thamuku sutramo'' line. The shift in the chords is a great indication of how IR has scored not just a song but has dealt the meaning of every word. The lines mean, ''Are we the only relations to ourselves?'' and IR brings the desperation brilliantly through the chord changes. Watch for the heavy drum roll in the lines ''Adaivom naam sivapurathai'' meaning ''We shall reach the abode of God''. Instantly it evokes a sense of victory and elation. The immediate next line ''Pugaipaturigi potruvom, puyangal aazhvaan pugazhgalayae'' meaning ''Discarding all bondage we shall praise the master of all our sense'' The immediate shift from a dramatic score to a subtle melancholic one indicates the transition of an elated devote so excited on seeing God but immediate calm on realizing him. Already I was amazed beyond my limitations. If you ever thought that was merely coincidental, watch for the next paragraph where he does not stop the dramatic scores because the words don't demand a tone down.
I was well into my journey.
... and then I saw God
Polla vianyin
The voice that took sometime to call me, does so immediately. This is probably the greatest music I have ever heard in my life so far. I still find it impossible to realize how IR must have come up with this. The grand violins and strings with the flute take your sense by hold, if you have anything left.
''I am just a man imperfect lowly. How can I reach for something holy'' The translated rendering almost catches you instantly. There are so many brilliant pieces of orchestrations that it is impossible to write a review.
I can write a full thesis on this song alone. But there are some places that deserve special mention.
The line ''Vedangal Aiyya ena oongi'' meaning ''Ye, who rises as the ruler of sacred texts'' has a score that almost makes you think of a huge light rising from the earth covering the sky and the next line '' Aazhndu agandra nunniyanae'' meaning ''oh ye, the meticulously miniscule omnipresent being'' immediately tones down to a melodic tone. It is in such places that IR displays the sincerity of composition. Also note the growing tiredness in the lines ''So many lives I must bear''. It reveals the frustration and appeal to God. ''Pirandhilaithen'' - Reveals tiredness after so many births.
The next line is a remarkable transition. Note the chord change in the word ''Vallasuraraagi'' - meaning ''a powerful demon''. The line reveals a fearful mood, immediately next word ''Munivar'' meaning sage reveals a divine aura and in the line ''Tahaavarara sangamathul'' the tune beautifully comes into raga Hamsanandhi from a western Chord.
Then the other brilliant turn in the line ''Namasivaaya vaazhga'', the tune brilliantly comes into raga Kalyani. A masterpiece of the raga is revealed in the line ''Ekan anaekan''. The chords that accompany the line is simply out of the world.
The song then takes another deviation in the lines ''Valvinayen thanai'' into an authentic Sindhu Bhairavi , and proceeds into Raga Hindolam in the line ''kalandha anbaagi kasindhu''. The beauty in all these transitions is that they seem so flowing and never once stuffed.
The English lines
''To this man so blind and base. To him,
You granted grace, a glimpse of grace.
So tellingly bring a vision of a huge light of God standing in front of you and from there IR takes over on a rapid fire rendering of a man enlightened by the vision of God and finishes off in full pace with ''Avan arulaalae avan thaazh vanangi,Mundhai vinaimuzhudum Ooya udaipan yaan'', meaning ''With his grace, I shall reach his abode and with that I shall absolve myself of all sins''. These are places where I am left wondering whom should I look at awe, saint Manickavaasagar or IR. Very often after doing something on an emotional front, suddenly we realize the nature of our accomplishment and we dramatically slow down and break into tears. Exactly the same way, IR immediately slows down and renders a soul stirring ''namasivaaya vaazhga''. No one can hold his or her tears at this point.
Note the pitch at which IR takes off ''Aakam alavu irudhi illai''. There is some brilliant chorus vocals in this section. Again tears flow at the namasivaaya vaazhgaa lines.
The ballad that follows almost sends buckets of tears rolling instantly. ''Maasatra jyothi'' is the most soothing music ever to have entered my ears.
The most significant part of the poetry here is the lines ''Nokariya nokae, nunukariya nun unarvae''. Almost impossible to exactly reveal the meaning and the effect but very roughly translated it refers to God as ''The path that leads us to our destiny, and the intricate sense that helps realize the intricacies''.
I felt like I have already attained salvation on hearing the song. Blessed is he, who hears it.
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