அரிதரிது - What Raga is this song rendered by KBS?

Random FM station hoping during run this morning got me reconnected with this enthralling song.  The booming voice of KBS combined with amazing lyrics got me curious to know more.  Thanks to Google, learned that this song is from கந்தன் கருணை, released in 1967 and the lyrics were penned by கவியரசு கண்ணதாசன்.

I have two questions and hoping someone would be able to help..

1. Lyrics - Who wrote the original lyrics ? Did Kannadasan adapt it from ஔவையார் writings?
2. Ragam - What ragam is this sung by KBS?

அரியது கேட்கின் வரிவடி வேலோய் அரிதரிது மானிடர் ஆதல் அரிது மானிடர் ஆயினும் கூன்குருடு செவிடு பேடு நீங்கிப் பிறத்தல் அரிது கூன்குருடு செவிடு பேடு நீங்கிப் பிறந்த காலையும் ஞானமும் கல்வியும் நயத்தல் அரிது ஞானமும் கல்வியும் நயந்த காலையும் தானமும் தவமும் தான்செயல் அரிது தானமும் தவமும் தான்செய்வ ராயின் வானவர் நாடு வழிதிறந் திடுமே. கொடியது கேட்கின் நெடியவெல் வேலோய்! கொடிது கொடிது வறுமை கொடிது அதனினும் கொடிது இளமையில் வறுமை அதனினும் கொடிது ஆற்றொணாத் தொழுநோய் அதனினும் கொடிது அன்பிலாப் பெண்டிர் அதனினும் கொடிது அவர்கையில் இன்புற உண்பது தானே பெரியது கேட்கின் எரிதவழ் வேலோய் பெரிது பெரிது புவனம் பெரிது புவனமோ நான்முகன் படைப்பு நான்முகன் கரியமால் உதிரத்தில் உதித்தோன் கரிய மாலோ அலைகடல் துயின்றோன் அலைகடலோ குறுமுனியின் கையினில் அடக்கம் குறுமுனியோ கலசத்தில் பிறந்தோன் கலசமோ புவியிற் சிறுமண் புவியோ அரவினுக்கு ஒருதலைப் பாரம் அரவோ உமையவள் சிறுவிரல் மோதிரம் உமையோ இறைவர் பாகத் தொடுக்கம் இறைவரோ தொண்டர் உள்ளத் தொடுக்கம் தொண்டர்தம் பெருமை சொல்லவும் பெரிதே. இனியது கேட்கின் தனிநெடு வேலோய் இனிது இனிது ஏகாந்தம் இனிது அதனினும் இனிது ஆதியைத் தொழுதல் அதனினும் இனிது அறிவினர்ச் சேர்தல் அதனினும் இனிது அறிவுள் ளாரைக் கனவிலும் நனவிலும் காண்பது தானே.

Tags - Tamil, Movies

Million Dollar Arm - FDFS and FT too..

I saw a movie on the first day first show (FDFS) for the first time (FT) ever. All it took was 50+ years!!!  Make no mistake,  I have tried to watch some of the Diwali releases on the first day during my school days.  Most of the times I wouldn't get tickets and when I did get one, was driven away.

One Diwali, I spent more time standing in the movie line than bursting crackers and managed to get the prized ticket for 'Enter the Dragon'.  But my euphoria of winning the 'lottery' lasted hardly 10 minutes.  The 'gatekeeper' by theater entrance drove me away saying the movie was 'Adults Only'.  I was crestfallen, but was more bitter because my friend and classmate Venkatesh got in.  Needless to say, he gleefully went in, saw the movie and gloated for ages.  Venkatesh - wherever you are.. I finally managed to see a movie on FDFS..

Now back to Million Dollar Arm..
I saw this movie over the much more hyped Godzilla for AR Rahman and the Tamil Song.. but was disappointed on both fronts.  Though it was the first day, there were hardly 10 folks in a theater that could easily hold 250+.  This pretty much sums up the popularity of this movie in US, I guess..

The only similarity with the other wildly popular Slumdog Millionaire ends with the title.  This Million neither has the drama or the engaging story that made the Slumdog a hit.

This apparently 'true story' is about two Indian kids making it big time in baseball in US in 2008.  Not sure what happened to them after that or what they are doing now.  But the story about the discovery and the transformation of the Indian kids into major league baseball pitchers.

First half of the movie happens in India.  An out of luck US sports agent comes to India and launches a million dollar contest to discover the next big thing in baseball.  I kept hoping that the story would move to Chennai and would get to hear the Tamil Song.  But, the story stuck to Mumbai and North India and never moved to Chennai.  So the wait for the Tamil Song continued..

Second half moved to LA where Indian kids get baseball training.  After some predictable twists movie ends in சுபம். Still, there is no sign of the song I was waiting for..

AR Rahman's score was distinctly Indian and would even say distinctly South Indian.  However, I couldn't connect to the music.  It may be because, I was expecting more or possibly because the score was neither Indian nor Western and the fusion didn't jell well.

So what happened to the Tamil Song?  It did not come till the movie pretty much ended and people started walking out.  But I hunkered down and waited.. and then it came.  It came along with the credits at the very end.

So, if you are planning to watch this movie for AR Rahman, you could safely skip it.  There are plenty of other movies where he has done better job.

But, if you are planning to watch the movie for the Tamil song in a Hollywood movie then indulge, but wait for the credits to appear in the very end.

Naan Kadavul - Well Below the Mark

நான் கடவுள்
Bala has a penchant for showing the underbelly of the society without adding any color or sprucing it up. Whether it was his depiction of mentally challenged people (in Sethu) or depiction of an orphan growing up cremation ground(in Pithamagan), Bala has always taken the less trodden path and has made a mark for himself.

However, Bala has missed target by miles in Naan Kadavul. In this movie, Bala deals with a Agori (sect that calls themselves God) in Varanasi and moves the story to a town in southern Tamil Nadu. Bala then interweave the unsavory dealings of begger mafia with the Agori and has tried to provide an interesting mix.

Bala must be congratulated for his guts in taking a story line that many wouldn't touch even with a mile long pole. However, Bala could have scripted the story tightly. Arya was asked (by his Guru) to go back to his family to disengage from all 'blood relationship' and return. However, once Arya returns to his family, story takes a different line and his family abruptly disappears from the story. Also, Puja is shown going to a church and being preached.. but what is not shown is how that relates to the story. Similarly the climax fight between Arya and Thandavan wasn't 'story lined' well. In summary, Bala started would well in the first half but struggled to keep the story line in the second half.

In the acting department, Arya as Agori and Puja as a blind begger have done commendably. More than these two, kids were wonderful. Don't know where Bala got those kids.. but they have done exceptionally well. It must have taken a lot to get them to 'act'.

In the music department, Illayaraja has produced some great numbers but two of them did not come in the movie. While the 'Om Sivoham' song seems to be the highlight of the movie, another good song/s 'Matha en kovilil' seems to have been omitted from the final version of the movie. While the songs were good, background score left much to be desired. It sounded jarring and disconnected at places.

In the Art department, the 'sets' in 'malaikovil' could have been better.. the inferior sets show their color and reduce the intensity of the movie.

It is said that Bala took 3 years to get this movie out.. he could have done lot better in the story department.

Net - I give this movie a "B" and that being very generous..

Bala: We expect a better movie next time and he sure will.. but let's hope he doesn't take another 3 years for it.

வல்லினமே... மெல்லினமே

I have always been puzzled about our eerie silence towards the horrors of partition. While we celebrate Independence and Republic days with much aplomb, we fail to recognize and remember the countless million who perished just trying to live. Millions of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs were uprooted from their homes because of their religion and the political arrangement to create a new country called Pakistan. Suddenly, people on both sides the new border found themselves aliens in their own home and became easy prey for the religious zealots. The little I know about the horrors of partition, I understand it is comparable or worse than the Jewish holocaust that occurred during the second world war. That being the case, why is it that we don't talk about it?

Is it because 1) it is comfortable ? 2) our own culpability? 3) politically inconvenient? 4)? Whatever may be the reason, We owe it to ourselves to remember them and build fitting memorials in many part of India, particularly in New Delhi.. Lest we forget..

Now coming to the title of this post.. I am avid follower of (வாஸந்தி)Vaasanthi's writings. I latched on to her after reading few of work in Kumudam TheeraNadhi (குமுதம் திராநதி). Now, I see her writing a story in Ananda Vikatan (ஆனந்த விகடன்) called Valliname Melliname (வல்லினமே... மெல்லினமே) and in that she talks about the horrors of partition in a soft but forceful way. woven in to the story, she starkly describes the how we humans heaped the worst on our fellow humans in the name of religion. Eventhough it is just a story, what I read it (Friday, June 20, 2008), it brought me close to tears..

Here is a snippet from her story (9th installment which hit the stores today)
வாஸந்தியின் வல்லினமே... மெல்லினமே தொடரிலிருந்து....

''இப்போது யாருக்கும் பழசைப் பற்றிப் பேச விருப்பம் இல்லை'' என்று அகதி குடும்பத்தைச் சேர்ந்த மதன்மோகன், பூரிக்கு அப்பளம் இட்டபடியே ஒரு நாள் சொன்னது நினைவுக்கு வந்தது.

''ஏன்?'' என்றான் பிரபு.

''ரொம்ப கஷ்ட காலம் அது. முஸ்லிம்கள்தான் அட்டுழியம் செய்தாங்கன்னு சொல்ல முடியாது. இந்துக்களும் செய்தாங்க. மோசமான காலகட்டத்திலே மனுஷத்தனம் ரொம்பக் குறைவா இருக்கும். எல்லா மிருக குணங்களும் தலைதூக்கும். பெத்த குழந்தைகளைப் பட்டினி போட்டுட்டுப் பெத்தவன் வயிற்றை நிரப்பிப்பான். பெத்தவளை விப் பான். கூடப் பிறந்தவனை ஏமாத்து வான். வேற்று மதப் பெண்னை பலாத்காரம் செய்யறதை வீரமா நினைப்பான். யாரும் யோக்கியம் இல்லை. எப்படியாவது உயிர் வாழணும் என்கிற வெறியிலே யாருக்கும் மத்தவங்களைப் பத்திக் கவலை இருந்திருக்காது. அதனால தான் இப்ப யாரும் அதைப் பத்திப் பேசறதில்லேன்னு நினைக் கிறேன்.''

தசாவதாரம் - Kamal ALL the way..

Kamal tends dominate his movies and in Dasavatharam, he dons 10 different roles to overshadow everyone and everything else in every second of this 3 hour long movie. One might question what was the need for Kamal to play 10 roles and I have the same question. But, he does them to perfection and carries the entire movie on his shoulders. Others, including Asin doesn't have any solid to role to play, they just come and go, including the Bollywood glamor girl, Mallika Sherawat.

From George Bush to Vincent Poovaragan to Avtar Singh, Kamal simply excels in all roles he plays. It is not just the makeup that differentiates the roles, but from body language to dialog delivery, Kamal has simply become the character he portrays. Kamal deserves an national award just for efforts.

But, unfortunately, Kamal's herculean effort is wasted with a weak story line which he himself has penned. The story is about a small vial inadvertently shipped from US to India triggering an international hunt for it. Its the usual good guy vs bad guys (two avtars of Kamal) chasing it. Sounds familiar ? It did to me.. looked lot similar to MGR's ulagam suttrum voliban (உலகம் சுற்றும் வாலிபன்). In that, MGR after inventing a 'nuclear' bomb MGR will run around the world to prevent it from going in to the hands of the bad guys, in Dasavatharam, Kamal does the same to prevent the bad guys from getting to his invention, a biological weapon. While trying to do that, the good Kamal chases the shipment from DC to Chennai to Chidambaram and all places in between with a Japanese twist.

But, the weak storyline has been well masked by the brilliant acting of Kamal and excellent production. All aspects of production looks impressive. From cinematography to art to editing, all departments have contributed and played well together to make this slick end product.

Yet, I am unable to understand why Kamal chose to start the story from the 12th century Saivaite, Vaishnavaite clash. What is the relationship between the (மூலவர்) big idol that what thrown in to the seen then and the (உத்சவர்) small idol that kamal chases around in the 21st century? What is the relationship between the 12th century King and the happenings now? The savior of a weak storyline again is Kamal (and crazy Mohan) with this witty and intelligent dialogs.

In all, Dasavatharam is a different kind of Tamil movie and a welcome one, even with its weak and non-existant storyline.

Direction - KS Ravikumar has done a good job of bringing the best out of Kamal. This is certainly a different kind of movie for him and will figure in 'life long' directorial achievement list.

Acting - Kamal at his best and everyone else don't seem to matter. I don't see a compelling reason by Kamal donned 10 roles.. but then I guess he did because he can.

Music - Liked two songs - 'Kallai mattum..' and 'Mukunda, mukunda..' rest is just passe..

Grade - B+ for a different theme and a slick production.

Bottom Line - Watch it.. Once..

ps: Thanks to KK, got to see this movie on the first week of its release. I wouldn't have gotten to see this movie without his connections and offer. So, once again Thanks KK.

My Favorite Writer Sujatha is No More..

My favorite Tamil writer Sujatha is no more.. but his writings will always be..

I have followed Sujatha for over 2 decades and have been fortunate enough to meet him twice (1 2). Each time, I left the wondering how come this guy knows so much stuff..? I wouldn't get another opportunity to meet him as my favorite writer Sujatha he is no more..!!

It was his versatility that first attracted me to him. I still vividly remember his கரையெல்லாம் சென்பகப்பூ (Kariyellam Sengabbpu) in Ananda Vikatan where he mixed science and rustic village background in to a Tamil thirller that I got hooked.

I also remember his கறுப்பு வெளுப்பு சிவப்பு in Kumudam which created a huge backlash from vanniyar community forcing the magazine to abandon the story. But it did reappear later as ரத்தம் ஒரே நிறம் (Rathham Oree Niram) in the same magazine somewhat diluted in its vigor but nevertheless gripping enough.


Yes, my favorite Tamil writer Sujatha is no more.. but I will be reading his writings for long time to come and he will always be my favorite Tamil writer.

My thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time and may god give them the strength to tide over this loss.

புதுக்குறள்

புதுக்குறள்*

வள்ளுவரின் குறள்
வருமுன்னர்க்காவாதான் வாழ்க்கை எரி முன்னர்ர்
வைத்துறு போலக்கெடும்

விவேக்கின் சென்னைக் குறள்
பஜார்ல உஜாரா இலலெண்ணா
நிஜார உருவீடுவானுக

* Heard in VijayTV today (4/14/07)

Mozhi - A Must Watch

Finally got to see Mozhi last night. We have been wanting to see this movie for a few weeks now but couldn't get tickets online, hence the decision to go in a weekday. I was mildly surprised to a full house even for the late show on a weekday but then that shows the popularity and the success of the movie even after 4-5 weeks.

Mozhi is a path breaking effort by director Radha Mohan and actor / producer Prakash Raj on several counts from the typical Tamil Cinemas:

1. There are no fights or 'item numbers'
2. Women are portrayed as equals and strong
3. No vulgar / double meaning dialog that makes one cringe
   
4. Simple story line handled with much finesse and told in a entertaining way.

Jyothika is the anchor for this movie and has been so, without saying a single word. Yes, she plays the role of deaf and mute person in this movie. She is strong and just wants to be treated like 'normal people'.

I understand this movie wouldn't hit the screens if not for Praksh Raj's timely intervention. He rescued the project by stepping in to become the producer when the original production team went belly up. I am glad Prakash Raj took on teh producer mantle and i sure hope he feels the same way too. Mozhi is doing well commercially and is bound to bounce him from earlier failures including the one he produced for his Guru K. Balachander.

The gap in production does show up in few places in Jyothika and Prakash Raj. Both of them appear in different hair styles at different parts of the movie and it show.. Also, I would have liked to see fewer songs but then, they aren't as abrupt and intrusive as other movies, so will ignore that..

Rating:
Direction - A (For Radha Mohan's wonderful and clean story telling style)
Casting - A (For selecting the right person for the right character - except for Swarnamalya who appears to be kind of out of place in that movie)
Acting - A (with the best coming from Jyothika)
Music - B (VidyaSagar is good but was discordant and loud in some places)

Bottom Line - A (Must Watch with the family)

What's Your Definition of Success?

What's your definition of success?

Try answering these questions for yourself..

Very interesting & incisive article in Vetri Vikatan by Sujatha

Cool FireFox Addons

Even though I use Firefox for most of my browsing, I am forced to jump to IE for browsing some of the Tamil sites like Vikatan, Kumudam & Dinamalar etc., because these sites use proprietary fonts that work only with IE. But thanks to Saravanan, I am now able to browse these Tamil sites through Firefox itself.

Saravanan pointed me to Padma font and a greasemonkey script both of which helps to view the proprietary Tamil fonts in Firefox.

Now I have one less reason to use IE.. Thanks for making that possible Saravanan.

மீண்டும் பாலகுமாரன்

மீண்டும் பாலகுமாரன்



After a long hiatus, Balakumaran has started a short story series called கண்ணால் கண்ட காதல் கதைகள். In this, he will talk about his favorite topic love and lust. In the first short story, he handled unwed couples living together in his own style.

I used to be big fan of his mesmerizing writing, but lost track of him in the last decade. Regardless, will follow this series in Kumudam.