Of music & music directors…

So after another 7 month lull, I am back again to fill this space, although it would be fair to say that Rahul 7 months back had oodles of time to spare, as opposed to what I have today. In any case, here I am, sitting still on a Saturday morning, not knowing how to kill the day, and after going through several rounds of doing the self-convincing act, am busy typing something which will eventually end up occupying some space in my blog.

Let me start off with something very random, much like I always do. There has been a lot of talk about the rise of the English cricket team, and the hapless performance by the Indians at the World T20. I am absolutely in agreement with the critics that fault Srikkanth & his committee for their poor selection policies. Firstly, I think the committee should have played one of our IPL teams at the World T20, preferably CSK or MI. I mean, if England was allowed to play a team that it did, then there could have been no reservations about this move by the BCCI. KP, Morgan, Kieswetter, Lumb, and there goes the never-ending list of ‘Englishmen’ that played for England. Perhaps, it’s in our best interests to do that the next time, so that we stand a chance of regaining a trophy that seems so distant in reality.

Talking of England, I think it’s probably as hard to get called an all-rounder, as it is to get Inzamam run out. People talk about the England’s up and coming list of all-rounders, and who heads this list? Luke Wright. Yeah, right. I wonder what would have gotten of England if they’d have produced cricketers such as Shane Watson, who would feature in any list of highly capable all-rounders. Retrospection however, leads us to think that this has always been the case with England, across all sports. Andy Murray. Tim Henman. Enough said.

Truth be told, this may still be one of England’s best sides, for the simple fact that this side contributed to the acquisition of the first of their silverwares, but that doesn’t warrant any undue comparisons with some of the real greats. Further, for all we know, this success story could be short lived, as we will know their real potential once they come to the sub-continent next year for cricket’s biggest event.

My main topic for the day, is something very different though, and something that I can go on for hours, passionately rambling about. Not long ago, did I have this major conversation with a friend of mine, a hardcore ARR fan, about Illayaraja and his compositions. Gradually, it developed into an ARR vs IR discussion, and before long, it grew into being more of an argument than a discussion. While I have absolutely nothing against ARR or his fans, and while I myself am a great fan of some of his songs, when it comes to IR vs ARR, I can’t help but side the former. I can go on and on about IR’s compositions that are absolutely mind boggling both to the purist and to the occasional listener. My friend argued that the carnatic musician in me is that which makes me speak up for IR. While that argument is valid in part, it doesn’t really capture to the fullest my love for IR’s songs. IR has handled some of the most difficult ragas with aplomb, and in some cases, it has been astonishing to note that the song is actually based on a raga. Who else could have possibly thought of infusing Shanmukapriya into ‘Ooru Vittu Ooru Vanthu’,(Karagattakaran), a song that is supposed to capture a comic moment, or a brilliant Kedaram in ‘Sundari Neeyum Sundaran Nanum’, but for IR?

Examples and counter examples notwithstanding, the argument rolled on and on. However, I guess in what was a decisive blow, I asked him if ARR would have been able to compose music for ‘Sindhubhairavi’, and the argument ended there. The answer, most likely, is NO, although the reasons aren’t as obvious as the answer itself. ARR is essentially a fusionist, and to ask him to handle a film like that would possibly have been asking for the moon. This, by no means underestimates the capability of ARR the composer, but just serves to show IR in better light. You might ask if IR would be able to handle a peppy number as well as does ARR, and my answer would probably be in the negative. But a populist composer is not necessarily an exponent, and vice versa.

IR defined and redefined re-recording, over and over again. Also, looking at the sheer number of films and their successes, IR is light years ahead, and no composer, let alone ARR could possibly hold candles to him in this regard. Agreed, IR is not an Oscar winner. Nor does he have the weight of Bollywood directors behind him lined up for films, but I am sure he will go down as perhaps the greatest music director that the Tamil fraternity ever produced.

Again, this post is not to belittle ARR or his achievements. So if you are angered by this, you might do better than to wash your dirty linen here. I maintain that I am a big fan of his, but I will continue to remain a bigger fan of IR, for the simple reason that he was able to captivate and appeal to both the intellectual and the casual listener in me.