Hi Thinesh, Nice to see u after long time man! Nice review! These days 'Man Mohana' is my favourite track, and kept ringing in mind whole day! And It's really bringing back my childhood memories, growing up with Konkani prayer songs in Church (I am Catholic & Konkani is my native language :) ). The first interlude and whole song follows the similar devotional songs structure which is really sounds of heaven! It's Rahman at 'Simply the Best'
And It's really amazing to see how Rahman suddenly switches between 'Athiradee' & 'Oru Koodai' gener to 'Man Mohana'... Pure Genius!! -Avinash --- In arrahmanfans@yahoogroups.com, "Thineshan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Sounds of Heaven > > First of all, I would like to say hi to this group once again. I > have been an active member, but due to some problems I had stopped > posting for two years (no its not because of this group, I got busy > etc). However, I have been a devoted reader of all the posts here and I > have to admit, Dasun your analysis on Rahman's music and your > parallelisms with Mozart - that both composers have a connection with > the universal spirit - are a delight to read. > > Now to the subject of my post. There are only some things that > instill so great an emotion into your heart, that you feel compelled to > share it with others. I feel honored to post once again and I am even > more honored that my post will be about the song in Jodha Akbar that is > "the lesser", "the inferior", more commonly heard "the weakest!" Before, > I start sharing my emotions about this song, I would like to mention > that I have no hindi background and I have not read translations or any > such things, all I know is from the picture on my lyrics booklet that it > is a bhajan to Lord Krishna. Therefore, this is a review based on just > the music, just Rahman. > > Mann Mohana: > > The prelude is blank with a soft thumping on the mouth of the > ghatam. It shows the void in the character's life, that there is a gap > that needs to be filled. > > When the singer first begins her desperate plea with the words > "Mann Mohana", the melody strikes you. It is as though Rahman > intentionally composed the tune so that the notes rise, rise, rise to > the heights of divinity, to God. After this celestial ascension, she > sings Mann Mohana once again, but this time a much more confined melody > as if to personalize herself with God. > > Then comes the interlude that traverses the classical raaga with > unbelievable ease that it becomes the raaga itself rather than a > representation of it. The beauty of this string arrangement is that it > can be either Western or Indian depending on your perspective. Although, > the instrument is orchestra based, Rahman uses it in a way that it > becomes a voice of an Indian raaga, that's Rahman. In this interlude, > the strings sound as if they are lamenting especially at 2:00. Then > comes the reply of a flute, a voice of Krishna, as if to pay condolences > to the misery. > > The same beauty is maintained in the second interlude, after a > heart-melting saranam, the flutes once again replies at 3:00 and then it > is as though the reply of a flute has christened a new found energy. The > strings rather than "lamenting" as in the first interlude, now "jump" > with power and energy. This conversation between the voice of the > worshipper (strings) and the voice of the Lord (flute) shows that this > is the language of the Divinity - music. > > Then, the orchestration becomes a minimum as the singer conveys > her final words to Lord Krishna, a personal moment. And, the way she > ends that conversation with just "Meraa mmhmmmhmmmmm". Wow! That's > beauty. It is as though she has become so close to her faith that she no > longer needs words to express her feelings, that somehow it will be > understood. > > All in all, Mann Mohana is a song that creates a spiritual aurora > that soaks you in its brilliant colors. When I visit a temple or pray > whole-heartedly, I become renewed. When I listen to Mann Mohana, I > become renewed. Its sound rinses me like the Ganges River. Its sound > helps me soar high into the sky. Its sound belongs to Rahman, to God, to > heaven. >
