Suddenly the old times of Madras
seem to get recreated. The times when Madras had the image of the Central and
Egmore stations, the Ripon and LIC buildings, the vintage look of Adyar Park
Sheraton, or even simply, the entire stretch of Mount Road - these images,
straight-off the opening scenes of many a Tamil movie.
I was deprived of cinema during
childhood, thanks to a strict upbringing in a joint family. Dad had strict
orders for my mom to not take me to the movies because of the endlessly
'injurious' tobacco circles in all cinema halls alike; there were no smoking
zones then; or even if there were, the regulations weren't as stringent as
today. However behind those smoke circles, was the making of the glorious years
of Tamil cinema. Something that changed the way people thought, dressed, ate
and romanced.
A certain radio station now plays
only Ilayaraja's music, 24 hours of the day. Their plan is to play the
maestro's music for the next 3 months – This may mean many things to every
listener. However, for a person like me who hasn't a clue what movies these
songs belonged to, I am left to the mercy of YouTube for their visual imagery.
Looking up online for the videos of the songs provides instant gratification,
but it simply lacks bonding with the yesteryears. It is just like looking up
for the meaning of a word online and forgetting it later after its use vs.
laying your hands on a dictionary and stumping upon other words alongside; yet
getting to the word you were initially looking for – which is a wholesome and
rewarding experience. Nevertheless, the radio can cure you of all the
deprivation – for there is an element of surprise each time the songs are
played. When you have your own playlist, you know what's coming next – it can
be drab after the initial levels of excitement – the joy of possessing these
songs in your drives can evaporate once you know you anyway have them.
Listening to the songs of
Ilayaraja during bus rides especially in the new air-conditioned fleet in the
city, is even more exciting and soothing. It is like watching a new movie with
a retro background score – witnessing the transformation from Madras to Chennai
– with the brain remaining in Chennai and the heart belonging to Madras with
abundant memories, melting with the songs that shaped the city. Enough
cannot be said about his music for it evokes multiple emotions in you – the
repertoire is never ending... That’s one of the excuses for me to leave this
piece incomplete – it could be filled in with any of the songs from the maestro’s
music.
Leaving this post with a song
that is not played too often – one of my many favorites.
