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Saturday, August 19, 2006

*** R e v a t h i ***

A young girl longing to meet with her beloved, full of desires andexpectations, a little fear lurking in the mind, trying to overcome itwith joy at the imminent meet, not able to bear more separation andeager to reach early the appointed moment - that is how this ragashapes. A base sense of fear and insecurity underlines the raga, asoutwardly it is lined with passion.
Revathy, called Bairaghi in HCM, is the raga we are talking of. Amelakartha raga, it is suited for riyaaz at morning.


Aorkan : S r M P n S
Avro : S n P M r S

The minor r and n bring out the longing while the successive major Mand P provide the flow.
The chanting of Veda was based on Revathy: nsrsnsr - srrsss
The signature tune of DD news was also on Revathy.
This beautiful raga has not been much utilized by the MD of eitherHindi or Tamil filmdom. Surprisingly, the one who used it in filmformat was Bappi Lahiri in the picture Aitbaar (starring Raj Babbar,Dimple - a take off on Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder). That a personotherwise known for the gimmick compositions for the gyratingJeetender, Bappi Lahir, somehow could switch his mind to a totallydifferent wavelength for this semi classical song is a matter ofwonder. The lyrical beauty, the musical composition of the Bairagi inthe gazal format and the support by the actors was wonderful. WhenSuresh Oberoi sang "Ki nazar ko tera intezaar aaj bhi hai" and Dimplesang back "woh pyaar jis keliye humne chhod de duniya", you wonder, youcould join to sing in your rejoinder "yeh gana is kelilye hum bhi choddenge duniya"
In Tamil one song identifiable to Ravathy was "sangeetha jaathi mullai"by the Maestro in Kaadhal Oviyam. The intervening viruthams and chitaswarams are beautifully woven into the fabric of the song that itbrings it about in its utmost elegance.
As lovers of music, we understand there is no good or bad music. It isonly what we like or do not like, which of course, would beyond anydiscussion being based on individual values. A point in illustration-"choli ke peeche kya hai" is anybody's guess. But what were the sursbehind the line. We are surprised to find they are the same which formthe basis of the vedic chanting:
nsrsssns - nsrsss
Howzthat!!!

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