Devaru Hoseda Premada Daara

Ever so often, when I am caught up with an  existential angst that seems to have taken precedence in my extended quarter life crisis(of course assuming I make it to100), I find myself listening to Devaru Hoseda Premada Daara from Muthina Haara. This masterpiece of a song takes me through a myriad of emotions every time I listen to it. It does not offer the answers I am seeking, however it offers comfort and a sense of belonging perhaps, reiterating the fact that we are all fellow passengers on this journey! Hamsalekha has done a wonderful job with the amazing lyrics whose mood changes as the season and of course with the orchestration that embellishes the emotions. Balamuralikrishna’s voice takes the song to a whole new level and overall just listening to this song feels like a new experience each time to me! This song is such an excellent example of how important both the music and the lyrics are to achieve brilliance! The lines that stand out to me are these: "beDayendare naavu suDade iruvude novu" and "bisilo, maLeyo, chiguro  himavo, aLuvo naguvo, solo geluvo, baduke payaNa, naDiye munde, olave namage neralu hinde". As the song ends with these lines, it leaves me comforted with a bit more optimism, hope and strength than before, and that is why to me this song is a masterpiece.

Veena In Vienna

I am so high! So obviously high! So insanely high - or maybe this is true sanity - smiles and smiles and more smiles! I sing on in oblivion - pa da ga ma sa , sa da ri sa ni, pa da ga ma sa, ga ri ni sa! sa sa ga ri sa ni da pa da da ni sa ni, sa sa ga ri sa ni da ma ma da da ma pa! Veena In Vienna it is called. There is beauty in the name too. Reminds me of An Equal Music. A wondeful book set in Vienna. And my favourite instrument. Of course there is beauty in the name. I write in a trance! I pause now and then to hum my favourite parts. This could go on forever. This is magical. I am ecstatic. Have been. It is amazing how music has been the only thing consistently creating such magic for me. I feel it now. I may not though, the next time I am reading this post. But I feel it now, and this is my true love and I am glad :)

PS: This is the piece - :) http://soundcloud.com/madnohan/global-gear-veena-in-vienna

You can buy the album at http://www.muzigle.com/album/veena-in-vienna

Image Courtesy : Here

Neenillade Nanagenide?

That sadness is beautiful is exemplified by M N Vyasa Rao’s poetry, “ನೀನಿಲ್ಲದೆ ನನಗೇನಿದೆ”, and the “ಭಾವ” in the poetry is exemplified by Pallavi Arun’s rendition of the same. The beauty in this sadness is an enriching one, one of acceptance and hope! On quickly scouring the web, I failed to find any translation for the song, so decided to give it a try myself. There is immense beauty in these words penned together and I hope I do sufficient justice.  Attached is a Youtube link for the song and a MusicIndiaOnline link as well :- http://www.musicindiaonline.com/#/album/171-Kannada_Bhaava_Geethe/27207-Live_Concert_Vol_1/

ನೀನಿಲ್ಲದೆ ನನಗೇನಿದೆ?

neenillade nanagenide

What do I have without you?

ಮನಸೆಲ್ಲ ನಿನ್ನಲ್ಲೇ ನೆಲೆಯಾಗಿದೆ

manasella ninnalle neLeyaagide

My mind is immersed in your thoughts

ಕನಸೆಲ್ಲ ಕಣ್ಣಲ್ಲೇ ಸೆರೆಯಾಗಿದೆ

kanasella kaNNalle sereyaagide

My dreams are imprisoned in my eyes

ನಿನಗಾಗಿ ಕಾದು ಕಾದು ಪರಿತಪಿಸಿ ನೊಂದೇ ನಾನು

ninagaagi kaadu kaadu paritapisi nonde naanu

I bitterly regret after having waited long for you

ಕಹಿಯಾದ ವಿರಹದ ನೋವು ಹಗಲಿರುಳು ತಂದೆ ನೀನು

kahiyaada virahada novu hagaliruLu tande neenu

The pain of this bitter separation is what you have brought me day and night

ಎದೆಯಾಸೆ ಏನೋ ಎಂದು ನೀ ಕಾಣದಾದೆ

yedeyaase yeno yendu nee kaaNadaade

You failed to see what this heart desires

ನಿಶೆಯೊಂದೆ ನನ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ನೀ ತುಂಬಿದೆ

nisheyonde nannalli nee tumbide

Darkness is the only thing you have filled in me

ಬೆಳಕೊಂದೆ ನಿನ್ನಿಂದ ನಾ ಬಯಸಿದೆ

beLakonde ninninda naa bayaside

Light is the only thing I aspire from you

ಒಲವೆಂಬ ಕಿರಣ ಬೀರಿ ಒಳಗಿರುವ ಬಣ್ಣ ತೆರೆಸಿ

olavemba kiraNa beeri oLagiruva baNNa teresi

Casting a beam of affection, you opened up the colors hidden inside

ಒಣಗಿರುವ ಎದೆ ನೆಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಬರವಸೆಯ ಜೀವ ಹರಿಸಿ

oNagiruva yede neladalli baravaseya jeeva harisi

On the barren heart’s ground, a hopeful life you let flow

ಸೆರೆಯಿಂದ ಬಿಡಿಸಿ ನನ್ನ ಆತಂಕ ನೀಗು

sereyinda biDisi nanna aatanka neegu

Take me away from this imprisonment and lessen my anxiety

ಹೊಸ ಜೀವ ನಿನ್ನಿಂದ ನಾ ತಾಳುವೆ

hosa jeeva ninninda naa taaLuve

A new life is what I expect with(from) you

ಹೊಸ ಲೋಕ ನಿನ್ನಿಂದ ನಾ ಕಾಣುವೆ

hosa loka ninninda naa kaaNuve

A new world is what I will see because of you

Did Video really kill the Radio Star?

Every time I hear the song "Video killed the radio star", I wonder how much it applies today or at least in the last decade, when radio has been largely popularized by FM channels. It is actually surreal to think that it was about 7-8 years ago when FM started off in India. Radio City, the then only channel in Bangalore, was one of the main reasons I would even get up in the morning. My mom would come and switch on the radio in my room, and being pleasantly surprised by one of my favourite songs playing on the radio, I would wake up with a smile on my face. This would really set the mood for the entire day. In fact, it is this surprise element which I like most about radios. You have absolutely no idea what song will play next, and more than one of these songs are definitely bound to cheer you up. This small thrill is definitely not experienced when you play a song off your playlist :)

I have been a radio listener all my life and I have to thank my mom completely for this. I know as many kannada songs as I do, only thanks to the radio playing in our room all morning when we were kids. I have grown up listening to so many kannada songs and bhavageethes, which led way to English and Hindi music when FM started. I remember completing all my record work listening to Jonzee during sleepy afternoons. I remember work math problems, one after another, during my 2nd PU, listening to the music Barker played all night long. My fondest memories of radio are definitely from 2nd PU, when my parents cut the cable connection and I would listen to the radio day in and day out while studying. I remember phases that radio stations went through, first playing English and Hindi. Then playing only Hindi, and then only Kannada. And through that last phase, where they played only kannada songs, radio was my only source of getting to know new music. Working full days, coming back and apping left me no time to watch Tv and the radio shows I heard on my way to work and back were serving to complete the music quotient for my day. After all, music is the magic that moves my world :) :)

Thanks Sindhu for the Radio City link, that brought back a lot of memories and totally made my day :)

It's just music!

It's just some words, the way they form a line. It's just those lines, the way in which they are sung. It's just the singing, so seamlessly blending with the music. And it is just that music, that gets me high, and is sheer magic to me!

How To Name It

Imagine a small kid, just running all around this huge beautiful mansion, coming across a room filled with all the chocolates and toys he could possibly ask for, accidentally! That is how I feel now, having come across this amazing piece of composition by Ilayaraja, all by chance! Although I have been a huge fan of Ilayaraja, I had never before set out to read his biography, or particularly look for his compositions. This is true for any music I have heard and loved. It has all been chance! And for the first time, I actually am regretting not looking for music. I came across the most heavenly piece of music composed by Ilayaraja for the album How to name it. Dedicated to Tyagaraja and Bach, it is the most compelling piece of music I have heard yet. Fusion at it's best, and way ahead of it's time.

Iddlyic. Bangalore weather. Smelling strong coffee beans. The smell of the ground after the first rains. The dew drops on leaves early morning. Sound perfect? This song is even more perfect than that, or so it seems to me!

Music captivates me easily. I am instantly hooked on to a good song. But this particular song, is, taking music to an entirely different level. A level where I am feeling so much that I do not think anybody will understand even if I do express it and I feel lost in translating this ecstacy into words. I wonder if any other person will actually feel the very same way I do about it or come close to understanding what I feel. But it doesn't matter, I am in bliss and Bliss shall be it!

It's Just Love...

It was one of those jobless evenings, book in hand, music streaming in through the radio. The time when i still didn't own a comp. And then.....it was love at first note! Fell in love with the beautiful melody that was more vocal and acoustic than any of the music oft played on the radio just the instant i heard it. The name of the band was unfamiliar and rather amusing. The very next time i got hold of my bro's comp, i searched his itunes for the song. My bro gave me a look that said is-this-your-"ooooohhhhhhh-u-Must-listen-to-it"-song ?? But dunno what it is about some music and me; the appeal is so immediate and lasting, so brilliant and compelling, so exhilarating and completing! Music is just the Magic that Moves my World!

ABSOLUTELY EVERYBODY

Jusssssht an amaaazing song :) So simple in it's lyrics, yet so true! One of the songs that pep me up todally!!!




Absolutely everybody,

Everybody needs a little loving,
Everybody needs somebody thinking of them.
Everybody needs a little respect,
And whatever it takes,
I’m gonna get it.

Everybody needs a hand to hold,
Someone to cling to
When the nights are getting cold.
I’m no different,
I am just the same,
A player in the game.

Absolutely everybody,
Everybody, everybody.
Absolutely everybody
In the whole wide world.

Absolutely everybody,
Every boy and every girl,
Absolutely everybody.

Everybody needs a human touch.
I can’t live without it,
It means too much to me.
Everybody needs one true friend,
Someone who’ll be there ‘til the very end.


And absolutely everybody breathes,
And everybody, everybody bleeds.
We’re no different,
We’re all the same,
Players in the game.

Absolutely, everybody,
Everybody, everybody.
Absolutely everybody
In the whole wide world.
Everybody breathes,
And everybody needs.
Absolutely everybody.

Absolutely everybody.

Every boy and girl,
Every woman and child.
Every father and son.
I said now everyone,
Yes now everyone.

Everybody needs a human touch.
Everybody, everybody needs love.
I’m no different,
I am just the same,
A player in the game.

Absolutely everybody.