Music is indeed food for the soul. And nothing touches your heart like it does. I've often caught myself in various moods; and oddly enough, when words couldn't describe what I felt - I've seen songs resonate my emotions.
And the more you listen, the more it reveals. Be it the music, or the lyrics.
Here's where I share songs close to my heart. Tune in to check out my playlist. And who knows? Maybe your favourite could be playing here too.
Today as I was walking back to my apartment, from the bus stop, I looked up.
It's natural I think; to observe how the moon's looking today. We all do that.
Is she revealing only half her beauty? (Somehow, I can only personify the moon as a woman - so it's a she!)
Does she look like a nail cutting? (yes, a friend from school actually compared the crescent moon to that!)
Is she beaming in all her glory?
Today was indeed a full moon. And as I felt the cold moonbeam on me, a song immediately came to my lips. And it finds its way onto this blog - Vrishchika poonilave. The poet/lyricist refers to the 'Vrishchika nilavu' and I am quite curious as to why he refers to the moon of Vrishchika (assuming he meant the month). If anyone has a take on this, please tell me.
I find this song both cute and naughty. And also as an attempt by the man to please (impress?) his lady love. After all he's asking the moon, aren't you ashamed of peeking into our privacy? And this being a period film, I felt that the words, metaphors and imagery has been carefully chosen to make it realistic. And the two comparisons I adore in this song -
Vaanathe valarmazhavillu pole
Ente maarathu mayangumee
Mangalangiye ......
(Likening the lady love resting on his chest, to the rainbow in the sky)
Vathilin pirakile navavadhu pol nilke
Vaathayanithiloode nokkaruthe...
(As my lady love stands near the door, coy like a newly wed - don't peep through the window)
Credits -
Movie: Thacholi Marumakan Chandu (1974)
Song: Vrishchika poonilave
Lyrics: P Bhaskaran
Music: Dakshinamurthi
Singer: K J Yesudas
Not the best of prints, but it will have to do.
And the lyrics (P Bhaskaran was one amazing man, I tell you):
It's been quite some time since I created this blog. One fine day, I felt that I just had to start this - but somehow, the maiden post never really kicked off. I tweaked how the blog looks (numerous times). Every time I sat to write, I kept postponing it. I wondered which song to start off with. I wondered what format the posts should take. But looks like today is the day - and I begin this, just as spontaneously as I created this blog.
So....I am no great singer myself, but music means a lot to me. I have, of course grown up on a staple diet of film music, be it Malayalam or Hindi. And I have to thank my Dad for that. He made sure that we (my sister and me) were exposed to music, right since childhood. We were born and brought up in Dubai, and good Indian entertainment was hard to come by in those days.No, I'm not revealing my age here; just so that you know, it was when Dubai wasn't as much a mini- India (or mini-Kerala?!) it is today. So, what he'd do was buy Video Cassettes of Malayalam songs. It was quite popular back then - collections of songs from movies released then. And we still have those back here, in various stages of dilapidation; have to convert them to CDs before all's lost... but I digress.
So as I was saying, we caught up on the goodness of Malayalam songs and movies in our apartment back at Dubai, with the songs unfolding on our mini-screen. The very mention of this brings back memories of my childhood as I watched and re-watched those cassettes in my spare time. And that's how we soaked in the beauty of Malayalam music and movies. As for Hindi songs, my Dad was an ardent fan of Hindi movies and music too. Also thanks to Zee TV and Annu Kapoor's Anthakshari (an iconic show, I tell you - nothing matches that show yet... my all-time favourite), we heard a lot of the old classic Hindi songs. And I love and respect that show because it was the only show where I saw lyrics being given as much importance as the music. I've seen a lot of people neglect the lyrics - but for me, that's anathema! How on earth can you neglect the beautiful thoughts and imagery that a song contains? But that might be an altogether separate rant/post - so let me save it for later!
I remember Dad once taking us to a music store in Dubai to get us some audio tapes and CDs (it was quite making an entry, and was pretty expensive back then). And we saw the shopkeeper's jaw drop when we were spewing out our list of old Hindi songs, and demanding Mohd. Rafi and Kishore Kumar collections. We were barely 9 years of age, and he was surprised to even know that we knew those songs!
Okay, so enough of me bragging. In short, that's how my love for film music began.
So.... why this blog? What's it going to have?
I am not sure of any format yet. I am just going to choose a song I like, per post. And share my memories with it - like: where did I hear it first? Why is it special to me? What do I like about it - the lyrics, the rendition or the picturization?... and so on. So basically, it's going to my personal association with the song; or quite simply a song will be here 'coz I like it! I am hoping that as the blog evolves, it will also find a personality of it's own. Till then, I'll be experimenting.
And since I can't thank my Dad enough for having triggered my interest for film music, I am going to begin this blog with one of my Dad's favourites!
The song is 'Chandrikayil aliyunnu chandrakaantham'. Now I am not entirely sure if this is his favourite, or one among his favourites. But of the rare times that I've heard him sing (rather hum), he used to sing the opening lines of this song. So any time I hear this song, it reminds me of my Dad. Or rather, it's one of the songs I associate with him.
So here's a video of the song I could find on YouTube.
Credits - Movie: Bharyamar Sookshikkuka (1968) Song: Chandrikayil Aliyunnu Lyrics: Sreekumaran Thampi Music: Dakshinamurthi Singers: K J Yesudas, P Leela
And if you feel like singing along, here are the lyrics:
Chandrikayil aliyunnu chandrakaantham Nin chiriyil aliyunnen jeeva-raagam Neela-vaanil aliyunnu daaha megham Nin mizhiyil aliyunnen jeeva megham
Thaarakayo neela thaamarayo nin Thaarani kannil kathir chorinju Varna-mohamo poya janmapunyamo nin Maanasathil prema-madhu pakarnnu
Madhavamo nava hemanthamo nin Mani-kkavil malaraay vidartthiyenkil Thanka-chippiyil ninte thenalar chundil oru Sangeetha binduvaay njaan unarnnuvenkil
