Hi Gopal
Though many would have similar experiences, Suresh has
written it very well ...I think we should share this
with Rahman and I cannot imagine how happy he would
be.
Cheers.
--- Gopal Srinivasan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
http://ursmusically.blogspot.com/2007/08/rahman-and-me-on-nostalgic-trip.html
Rahman and Me on a Nostalgic Trip
What
was the first musical note of Rahman that hit my
senses? What was the
first rhythm of Rahman that shook my body? These are
the questions I
often ask myself, for which I never had a proper
answer. I could
vaguely recollect watching a song from Roja in DD
and thats it.
Unlike others, who have many a times exclaimed and
explained, how they
were stunned by that new sound of Rahman, I dont
remember me, thinking
anything of that sort about Rahmans music in Roja.
The answer for my
no immediate reaction is simple, because at that
time, I didnt have
enough exposure to either film music or Illayarajas
music to compare
with. I didnt know anything about the kind of music
being made for
movies before Rahman came. Both Rahman and I entered
into film music at
the same time, only difference was that he had
started to compose and I
had started to listen. I was just 8 years old.
I was born and
brought up in a small town, in a lower middle class
family. We couldnt
afford to buy a Tape recorder or cassettes then. We
had a big old radio
in which I dont have any memory of listening to
film songs. We didnt
have a TV either. We use to go to our neighbors
house to watch TV. I
think, after Roja, Rahman did Pudhiya Mugam,
because I remember
liking Kannukku Mai Azhaghu so much to an extent
that I wrote my own
lyrics for the song, a few insane lines of which I
still remember. It
goes like, Vetrikku Mei Azhaghu, Tholvikku Poi
Azhaghu. I dont know
where I listened to that song first. More than the
songs, the
background score of Pudhiya Mugam (which was earlier
used as title
music for a teleserial Revathi) drew my attention.
I was
going for a private tuition every evening to my
class teachers house
where they had a good audio system. They use to
listen to the songs
even when we study. I remember seeing the lyrics
booklet (a first time
for a Tamil soundtrack) that came with a well
designed Thiruda
Thiruda cassette. One day, instead of reading my
lessons, I started
reading that lyrics book while they were listening
to the songs. The
song that hit me like a hammer blow was Veerapandi
Kottaiyilae. I
couldnt believe what I was listening to. I couldnt
understand
anything in musical terms but I was wonderstruck by
the energy of the
beats and the unexpected variations in its tempo.
The freshness, the
energy, the innovation and the experimentation in
Thiruda Thiruda
music is still an unparalleled achievement. The
lunacy of Rahmans
music making style in that soundtrack is still
unbelievable.
One
fine evening, one of my school mates asked me
whether I heard newly
released Arabic kadaloram song. He said that it
was going to be the
song of the year. I didnt understand what he meant
by saying song of
the year. I just forgot about it. By that time, we
had bought a small
black and white Onida TV. In DD, they use to air a
count down program
called Ek se Badkar Ek in which I saw
Kannaalanae song for the
first time. We were then a big joint family with 15
members. My uncle
(my fathers brother) had bought a small tape
recorder. He often played
Bombay songs. Since, my father had a fight with him,
I was not allowed
inside his room to listen to the songs. I still
remember how I would
plead my grandpa to ask my uncle to increase the
volume so that I can
listen to the songs from the hall itself. That was
the amount of
interest in music Rahman kindled in me. I use to beg
him to play the
songs again and again.
It was at that time I started buying
lyrics book. A lyrics book is a small book made of
low quality paper of
grey in colour, which will have lyrics of all the
songs from a movie,
printed in it. In the front cover, it will contain a
picture of the
hero and heroine of the movie. Inside, the song
lyrics would be printed
along with the name of the lyricist and the singers
at the right hand
top corner. They use to sell it outside our school.
I bought it for 25
or 30 paisa. I use to listen to the song with lyrics
book in my hand
and sing along with it. Bombay was the first
soundtrack for which I
bought this lyrics book and use to keep it in secret
between my school
books. From then on, I bought the lyrics for all
Rahman soundtracks
that I got a chance to listen to. I use to steal
money from my Dads
purse for buying these books.
Kaathu Kaathu ena Kaathu from
Uzhavan brings me the memory of those days when I
was in a crush with
a girl called Sheela,
