Thread by @carnatic101

[SPB Classical Ragas Thread] Good Evening folks. This is @Raaga_Suresh and I will be doing a thread on songs sung by SPB which were based on classical ragas

SPB, beyond doubt, was one of the greatest singers in Indian Film Music. Film singing demands a lot from the singer. SPB shined in all aspects of film music singing. Classical ragas being just one aspect of it.

SPB was not formally trained in Classical music. Many felt that it would be a disadvantage for him but he showed that when it came to film music singing, that was not necessarily a disadvantage.

He understood the idiom of film music completely and clearly knew how classical ragas fitted into it. He knew when to be very classical and when to provide the light touch. With this preamble, let us get going.

Let us start with a morning raga, the raga associated with sunrise, Bouli. Many mistakenly call this Bhooplam. From the movie, 'Seetaramulu' here is 'tholisandhya velalo' which is based on Bouli.

IIRC the lyrics are by Dasari Narayana Rao, the director of this movie. Music by Sathyam, who was a friend and mentor for SPB.

Just to be clear, I will be playing songs where the raga is quite explicit. Also the thread will contain Tamil, Telugu and Kannada songs

One of the ragas which is used to open concerts is Nattai. Here in the early part of our thread we play Nattai. From the movie Swati Kiranam 'pranathi pranathi'

According the comments, the amazing lyrics are by Sirivenella Sitarama Sastry, for whom SPB had great regard. Music, nominally by KV Mahadevan. SPB and Chitra

I say nominally by KVM because according to SPB in many shows, KVM was very ill during this time. The songs were composed by his long time assistant Pugazhendhi, who refused to have his name as the MD and insisted it must be KVM's name.

Next we take up a song from the movie, which made people note of the fact that he can sing classical raga based songs quite well, 'Sankarabaranam'. The title song, 'omkara nadanu'

A K Vishwanath film. Lyrics by Veturi, whom SPB considered as one of the greatest lyricist. Music by K V Mahadevan

It was Pugazhendi who insisted that SPB must sing all songs. K Vishwanath wanted Balamurali for the songs. BTW, Vishwanath was SPB's cousin.

If a song in raga Sankarabaranam started the movie, its prati madhyama counterpart, Kalyani was the ending song of the movie. 'dorakuna ituvanti seva'

These song achieved two things: it showed SPB could sing a song in a classical setting and it highlighted the voice acting abilities of SPB. This 'coughing in a song' was later used in other songs as well. Vani Jayaram joins after the coughing :)

The same Kalyani for a different purpose. 'vandhal mahaakshmiye' from 'Uyarndha Ullam' Music by Raja

Of course there are huge number of Kalyanis sung by SPB for various composers. Since I want to cover many ragas, I will typically be playing one song per raga with one or two exceptions, where I may play two songs

Vasantha is a ragam not too often used in film music. Here are SPB and Susheela with a Vasantha ragam based song, 'natanam aadene'

This is another K Vishwanath film with music by K V Mahadevan. Lyrics could be Veturi but I am not sure. Not sure whose idea it was to make Chandramohan dance here.

Let us now take up some ragas which are sung at the end of the concert. Starting with Sindhu Bhairavi. 'unakkenna mele ninrai' from 'Simla Special'

Lyrics of Vaali and music of MSV. SPB had great regard and love for MSV since he was the one who encouraged him when he entered the Tamil film music world. This song is such a nice modern Sindhu Bhairavi

Sindhu Bhairavi is one ragam which has been used effectively by lot of music directors. Raja himself has a lot of songs in this ragam. This is just a sample.

Shivaranjani is a raga made for film music. You will not find it much in concerts by film music directors have used it effectively. Here is 'abhinavo tharavo' from the movie, 'Sivaranjani'

Lyrics by CNaRe ( C Narayana Reddy) and music by Ramesh Naidu. It changes raga in the charanams but returns of Sivaranjani. This song later came in Tamil with music credit given to Shankar Ganesh

While that song can be called more a ragamalika starting with Sivaranjani, here is a complete song based on Sivaranjani. 'sivaranjani navaragini' from 'thoorpu padamara'

The same combination of lyricist, music director and singer. This song though came earlier.

Next couple of songs are based on ragas which didn't appear on screen till Raja came along. First, Amrithavarshini, 'vanin devi varuga' from 'Oruvar Vazhum Alayam'

'thoongadha vizhigal rendu' is probably Raja's most famous song in Amrithavarshini. This one is no less. The favorite Raja pair of SPB & Janaki

From the same pair of SPB and Janaki, 'om namaha' from the Telugu movie 'Geetanjali' Based on Hamsanadam ragam, which before Raja no one had used in film music

Lyrics by Veturi, the songs in this movie are everlasting classics.

One of Vidyasagar's most famous songs is based on Darbari Kanada. 'malare mounama' from the movie 'Karnan'.

SPB and Janaki again. SPB has sung many songs based on Darbari Kanada and this is just a sample.

Kapi is a ragam which is used effectively by many music directors. Here is Rahman with 'kadhal rojave' from his debut film 'Roja' in SPB's voice

Another Rahman song in SPB's voice. This is a request by Meera. Based on Behag

SPB with Chitra in this song

If the ragam was shifted to a folk setting, it made SPB even more happy. 'oranjaram' from 'Kakkai Chiraginile'. Starts with Kaapi and morphs into Desh.

Ofcourse you will know when it changes to Desh :) Music by Raja.

This song is based on Arabhi for most part, though in some places it can sound Suddha Saverish. 'mannavane mannavane' from 'Thanduvitten Ennai'

SPB and Janaki for the tuning of Raja.

Let us now play some pentatonic ragas. Starting with Mohanam. Here is an absolutely energetic Mohanam, 'madhura murali' from 'Oka Radha Iddaru Krishnulu'

Raja's music. Lyrics of Veturi. The best possible pair on screen and the best possible musical pair of SPB and Janaki behind the scenes

Next pentatonic we take up is Sudha Saveri. 'radha radha ne enge' from 'Meenduum Kokila'

The same pair on screen and off screen. Lyrics of Kannadasan and music by Raja

Next pentatonic we take up is Hindolam. 'na pata panchamrutham' from 'Allari Mogudu' Here SPB gives voice for both the contestant in the competition !!

Not sure about the lyricist. The music director is Keeravani.

Next in the pentatonic scale, Madhyamavathi. 'shankara nadasarirapara' from 'Sankarabaranam'

Amazing lyrics by Veturi and wonderfully tune by K V Mahadevan. This is what you can call a competition song. Used to be sung in all competitions once upon a time.

We round off the pentatonic ragas with Sudha Dhanyasi. 'punjai undu nanjai undu' from 'Unnal Mudiyum Thambi'

Deliberately tuned in a 'lighter vein' (those who have watched the film know why), the Telugu counterpart of this song was based on Hamsadhwani

Music for both Tamil and Telugu versions of this film was by Raja.

A song which took advantage of SPB's love for drama. 'thakita thadimi' from 'Sagara Sangamam'. Based on Shanmukhapriya.

Lyrics by Veturi and music by Raja. All three of them hit this out of the park

Ofcourse you cannot forget Kamalhasan who brought this song to life on screen.

Next we play a Neelambari based song, 'venmegam vinnil' from 'Naan Sigappu Manidhan'

Not sure about the lyricist. Music by Raja.

Since there is a possibility that you go to sleep after listening to Neelambari, let me end the thread with two more songs :) Easily two of the best picturised Raja songs.

The first one is 'koluvai unnade' from Swarnakamalam. Sung by SPB and Susheela

This song requires a good grip on ragas because Raja composes an extremely tricky tune. The slokam is sung in Panthuvarali. The song starts in Lathangi. In the charanam it moves to Hamsanadam and then to Simmendra Madhyamam. All in the space of a few lines.

The challenge is that Pantuvarali and Latangi differ by a sawara and Latangi to Simmendramadhyamam is one note change. This is not like a standard ragamalika. It is like walking on knife's edge. SPB and Susheela were masters. They execute it casually and with precision

To be honest I was confused by the ragas in this song. I clarified it with Meera and a friend. Raja's amazing genius in full play here. K Vishwanath picturizes it so well

And finally we play a climax, which I personally hold is one of the best climax songs in Indian cinema. 'vedham anu anuvuna nadham' from 'Sagara Sangamam'

Right from the high note that SPB strikes we know what the singers are up against. Based on Hamsanandi, this is an extremely tough song to sing. SPB and Shailaja. Veturi and Raja.

Such a song can only be realized by collaborations of giants. K Vishwanath with his sensitive ear for lyrics and music and with his sensitive direction, Kamalhasan in a role of a life time, Veturi writing as if his life depended on it and SPB executing it perfectly

And Raja of course. When given such a situation and everything depends on him, he never misses that last ball sixer. Fantastic tune and orchestration. If anyone was performing at less than 100% this would have failed.

I played it as the last song of the thread because the slokam, 'jayanthite' at the end which says there is no death to art was quoted by many when they heard about the demise of SPB. Yes, there is no death for him and his art

My apologies if the songs you expected didn't appear in this thread. SPB has sung so much that however narrow the topic we cannot do justice to his output. Once again, salutations to that great man. Om Shanti

Thank you all for following this thread. Good Night.