Very nicely written, Prakash. Each MD has his own space in the musicosphere and they can coexist .
Warm Regards ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Vinayak theregoesanotherday.blogspot.com On Mon, Feb 16, 2009 at 11:18 PM, Prakash Balaramkrishna < prakysn...@yahoo.com> wrote: > http://ursmusically.blogspot.com/2009/02/illayaraja-vs-arrahman.html > > I was reading this beautiful > piece<http://raagadevan.blogspot.com/2009/01/maarugo-maaruga.html> written > by Vignesh on Illayaraja's 'Maarugo Maarugo' song from Vetri Vizha and I > headed to comment section and this is what I read as one of the comments, > > Dear Vicky, > > Long time ago, I used to play the flute in light music troupes in chennai, > though I have been fully focussed on practising carnatic music lately. > > I wanted to listen to the music of the movie "Slumdog Millionaire" today to > see why it's being talked about so much. I searched and listened to it > online. > > It left me with a bad aftertaste. I just felt like cleansing my ears, body > and soul by listening to some Raaja music and landed in your blog. > > Thanks for the wonderful analysis, sound clips. You (and Raaja) made my > day. > > with love, > srikanth. > > > > I really haven't taken such comments that have no constructive purpose > seriously and till this date I have never read or been in a single > constructive argument or debate when it comes to Raaja vs. Rahman. I don't > understand the mind of some people, who call them to be an Illayaraja fan > and who talk more about A.R.Rahman and how bad his music is than about how > great Illayaraja's music is. I don't understand what is their real problem > with Rahman, is it the music itself, or its popularity. > > Irrespective of who is the composer, Music has one single purpose. Is it so > difficult to understand the oneness of music? And who can better teach you > the oneness of music than Illayaraja, who has covered every possible genre > of music in his repertoire and yet makes us feel that it is all music, just > Raaja's music? I guess if you are a fan of Illayaraja, and if you have > really understood his music and its purpose, it is so simple to accept and > appreciate anybody else's music. If not, then you fail Illayaraja, his music > hasn't educated you enough. (In this particular case I am so devastated that > he who commented about the music doesn't know what background score in a > movie is meant for, and he calls himself Raaja fan) > > I get as exhilarated by that worldly interlude in 'Dil Gira Daftan' from > Rahman's Delhi-6 as I get in the thundering coda of 'Om Shivo hum' from > Raaja's 'Naan Kadavul'. The kind of music in the songs that I compare here > has nothing in common in its sound and yet the purpose is the same. > Illayaraja is a way and A.R.Rahman is another way to attain a musical > Nirvana. Everybody has the right to choose his own way but the one who foul > talk about the other ways is no different from those extremists who in the > name of religion, do things which their religion itself doesn't preach. > > I don't believe in religion but I believe in a God and in the same way I > believe in music and I take the best of both to pave my own way to reach its > purpose. I am both a devotee of Illayaraja > <http://ursmusically.blogspot.com/2008/09/journey-with-illayaraja..html> > and a Rahmaniac > <http://ursmusically.blogspot.com/2007/08/rahman-and-me-on-nostalgic-trip.html>and > I find it perfectly normal and rational to be so. And some call it > incomprehensible and eccentric? I don't know how to answer them because they > never really explained to me why they feel so. > > When A.R.Rahman wave was spreading all over India, everyone told that > A.R.Rahman's popularity is not because he is a genius or he has any talent > but because he borrows heavily from western music but it is the westerners > who now say that they have never heard a music score like that of 'Slumdog > Millionaire' before. And so where did Rahman borrow all this long? Nobody > seems to be talking about this. > > And what is this cry about Illayaraja deserving many International Awards > and not A.R.Rahman? These are utterly ridiculous arguments. Oscar or Golden > Globe is not given to greatest music composed by the greatest music composer > of all time from a country. Why can't we be practical and realistic about > these awards? Raaja is contended in whatever he does in Indian films and if > he gets a chance he will definitely do it right in an international movie > too, I believe in it more than any other so called Raaja fan. And do you > mean you want Illayaraja to win an Oscar for his background score in 'Naan > Kadavul' to prove that he is the best background score composer in, the > country? An Illayaraja doesn't want that because he has no intention to go > global or is in no contention with any Rahmans out there to prove his > genius. Now if both Illayaraja and A.R.Rahman were nominated for their > respective scores in 'Naan Kadavul' (though Raaja has slightly overdone it > in Naan Kadavul) and 'Slumdog Millionaire', and if I say A.R.Rahman deserves > it, then I can be crucified. But that is not the case here. I feel > Illayaraja is one of the best in the world when it comes to composing > background score. When I wrote this, I was just trying to understand the > impact of the music in 'Slumdog Millionaire' and explain it to others who > are interested and who otherwise would easily oversee it. I was trying to > illustrate the life that Rahman's vibrant music brought to a movie like > 'Slumdog Millionaire'. > > In this year, even if Thomas Newman wins it in the Best Original Score > category, I wouldn't be disappointed because I have totally fallen in love > with his score for 'Wall-E'. I felt its impact while watching the movie. I > have heard only the audio of Alexandre Desplat's score for 'Curious Case of > Benjamin Button' and I loved what I heard but I don't know how well it > serves its purpose in the movie. A great music needn't always be a great > background score. > > And I can go on and on, I think it is best to conclude this piece with this > video > > >
