Even as I am typing this post, I am listening to a wonderful Nalinakanti by Mandolin Srinivas. 🙂 This raagam is one of my favourites. Raagas like this one always fills your heart with happiness and transports you to a state of bliss. 🙂
My first ever memory of Nalinakanti is listening to Ashok Ramani sing Manavyala at a temple near my house. That was more than a decade back and Ashok Ramani’s singing was much better than how it is these days. After coming home, I searched through all the cassettes and found one by Bombay Jayshree in which she had sung this song. I got hooked to it immediately! Today neither do I enjoy Bombay Jayshree’s nor Ashok Ramani’s singing much. 🙂
The next song based on Nalinakanti that I listened to after this one was Manam virumbudhey from the movie naerukku naer. You can call that song as one more than inspired by Manavyala. After all, who is the music director of that song 😉 Both Unnikrishnan and Harini versions of this song are good.
Eesane by Nithyasree Mahadevan is yet another favourite of mine in Nalinakanti. The lines in the anupallavi, each ending with vaasane! Wow! What a wonderful song so beautifully rendered by Nithyasree! Talking about Nalinakanti by Nithyasree, how can I miss out mentioning about the swarams in Nalinakanti sung by her in the movie, Kandukondain Kandukondain, along with Kalyani Menon! I love it! It goes like SGRMP,MGR RMPN MPN PNGR NPMGR. (Those who know Nalinakanti, sing it and enjoy it. Those who don’t, try recollecting it from the movie 😉 ) I don’t have a recording of this with me. If any of you have, please do mail it to me. Thanks in advance!
Finally, there’s one more film song in Nalinakanti that is IMO, one of the best film songs ever composed! It is Yendhan nenjil from Kalaignan. The only sore point in this song is Ilaiyaraja singing the swarams in between the last two paras. Why did he have to make us listen to his voice in between Yesudas’? 🙁 Anyway, I absolutely enjoy every moment of the song.
With this, I conclude the first of the many posts to come in a series in which I will be writing about my favourite raagams and some compositions on it, without getting into the technical details of the raagam. 🙂
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Finally, there’s one more film song in Nalinakanti that is IMO, one of the best film songs ever composed! It is Yendhan nenjil from Kalaignan
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How about young SPB singing a song set to nalinakanti 🙂
Hmm… beautiful Ragam, yes. Manavyala – a neat composition. Haven’t listened to anything other than it. I remember you having written sometime back about an RTP in Nalinakanthi by someone. Would have been nice. Listened partially to the song from Nerukku Ner out of curiosity. Wonder what would have happened to music directors if Thyagaraja/ some of the other composers had patented their songs 🙂 But then, that I guess speaks of their greatness.
My favourite version of Manvyala is by Shri TN Krishnan. I have heard KVN Mama’s version too somewhere – nice.
Sathej
Srikanth,
This song is in Nalinakanti?
Sathej,
Hmmm yeah that Nalinakanti RTP was by Mambalam Sisters. Was too good 🙂 But, it had Bhairavi too.
>Wonder what would have happened to music directors if Thyagaraja/ some of the other composers had patented their songs
LOL
Test: ??????
Nammaku therinjathu yellam, verum “than na nanna, thana na”, thaanga. 🙂 Anyways, good to know all these stuff. Will listen to them at leisure.
Thamizh ikku inge idam illai poalum. 🙂
(pls do delete one of my recurrent comments)
Sorry its my fault. We had a discussion last week on these lines and my friend told me that “anbu vandhadhu” is nalinakanti in a lighter vein – I took it seriously.
“anbu vandhadhu” is a variation of hindustani rag “Tilak Kamod”, now he is telling me.
See this page. Here it is mentioned Tilak Kamod is hindustani equivalent of nalinakanti. I am not familiar with Tilak kamod – so i leave it to the experts.
Nalinakanthi-Bhairavi – interesting combination.
And finding exact equivalents for Ragams such as Nalinakanthi in the Hindusthani system can be difficult. After all, people have long been arguing about how Shri Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer sang Mohanam or Bhoop!
Sathej
Ranjhith,
I thought WordPress generally doesn’t allow duplicate comments. Ok do listen to them.
Let me see what can be done about Tamizh font.
Srikanth,
Oh ok no probs. I have no clue about Tilak Kamod. I will listen to it sometime
Sathej,
Hmmm yeah
Yendhan Nenjil is a very nice song…I dint mind Ilayaraja in between actually…:) Its a beautiful raga…listen to this sample, played by one maami…:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cjsza-QUEDs
Chiroti,
Hey thanks for the link. That was too good 🙂
Hey listened to it. 🙂 Felt the filmi song was better. Maybe, I don’t have that knack of appreciating classical music. But, I liked the songs from Morning Raaga. Infact, I went ahead to buy the Telugu version as soon as I heard it for the 1st. The classical ones has to modernize themselves to impress me. 🙂 Cheers.
Hi [:D]
Manam virumbudhe – Nalinakanthi ???
I thought it sounded like Vasantha (i mean the pallavi of the song)… doesnt it ?
Great going !!! Looking forward to your series of posts on various ragas. [:)]
Ranjhith,
🙂 Maybe yes. Anyway, classical music in some form does seem to impress you 😉 Well if you keep listening to pure classical, you might start enjoying that too
Adithya,
Hi 🙂
Vasanta?? :O I don’t think so. Btw, the effects of orkutting eh? putting all smileys within brackets? 😛
There is another song in Nalinakanthi called Aparna Parvathi, frequently sung by Prof. T.R. Subramanian. The song is really good.
Krishnan,
Welcome to my blog! Oh I haven’t listened to that song.
Raga Nallinakanthi is beautiful raga and palladam sanjeeva rao used to play on flute and around the same time chembai vaidyanatha bhagavathar also sang this,But for me the best raga alapana was by Sri Madurai mani iyer in the late 50s I have recording with sundaresa iyer and palaghat mani iyer. Later on Sri Lalgudi Jayaraman had composed a varnam in the same raga. Sri g.n.b had composed a kirthi and many times m.l.v,kalyanaraman,n.ramani had played/sung in their concerts.Great raga.
Ah, I particularly love that Nalinakanthi interlude in Kandukondain.
Believe it’s Nithyashree and not Kalyani Menon.
i recently heard raga thana in nalinakanthi by ranjani gayatri in bengsluru. it was etherial. i long to jear it again but dont know how. the intervening comment on the sahitya was very inyetesting.