CHENNAI: How can you describe the calmness of chaos? Is it even a real thing? Seated in stillness at 5 pm for an outpour that would begin only by 7, amidst an energy that did not know what a symphony was or where this 82-year-old man was taking us, all thoughts became afterthoughts.
How does one put into words an experience that arrived through music? This reporter is one of the thousands who walked in without knowing the score, yet stayed long enough to be claimed by it, while Maestro Ilaiyaraaja conquered.
“Tap when you feel like tapping, cry when you want to cry, but stay silent when you’re supposed to,” the Maestro nudged with his words before unveiling his four-piece symphony.
Seated among curious youngsters, slightly more expressive Gen Zs, three men in their 60s and an enthusiast, the ambience was set perfectly. Mikel Toms started his magic and the first movement of Raaja began to reverberate. Concentration lapsed as many, much like me, started to zone out. “I was ready to check my work emails,” Sahana, a listener, quipped.
While Gayathri, who knew music, imitated the beats with hand gestures, Celene started recording each movement and saved them as ‘Symphony 1’, ‘Symphony 2’ and so on. Both were fully immersed.
Meanwhile, some among us were transported into the worlds of Disney, Pixar or Harry Potter because that was what we could relate to. A severe disservice, perhaps, until Celene explained what each movement personified and how the instrumentation was orchestrated. “The four movements typically start fast, dip into slower emotions, rise again in tempo and end with a lively, crushing finish,” she said. Alright, got the direction.
‘Humans relate to sadness more than happiness’ is a saying that stands the test of time. Thus, the second movement started to hit when some of us decided to close our eyes against the irritating light show. Slow, almost at a pace where one could throw in any emotion or even lyrics if capable. Breathe in. The silence he spoke about sets in.
It was about time Raaja took us under his wing. “Vaalkaila idhu podhum (This is enough in this life)” and “Why are you crying?” were some of the quips that could be heard after it ended.
But the scenes of father hugging his daughter, tears rolling down their faces; people staring at each other as though the world around them had dissolved into oblivion; two of those three men in their 60s holding hands...these moments put a full stop to the notion that a symphony is something novices are not equipped to experience.
“Yellame ungaluku puriyura isaidhaan (It’s the music you can all relate to),” the Maestro had said along those lines at the start. “I never knew a harp could sound so beautiful. The mallets were playing on their own. This is insane,” Sahana rejoiced to her friend. Enter the third movement, where the crowd comes alive.
The music that had so far flowed gently broke the breach and summoned a hurricane. The arena turned thunderous. Whistles rang out. Feet started to tap. From there, it slowly took us uphill with no fuss, only pure adrenaline, until Mikel Toms signed off on the fourth piece.
Sadly, the three men in their 60s left early. They would have loved this mojo. And they would have loved even more of what followed. The rendition of Raaja’s songs as orchestral pieces.
The mashup that started with Raja Rajathi Rajan Indha Raja and Madai Thirandhu touched hidden voids with Nee Paartha Paarvaikoru Nandri and Kanne Kalaimaane before summoning every remaining emotion through the orchestral vocals of Poove Sempoove. It takes valiance for one to pour out an emotion. One valiant had that instrument that night.
During the course of the evening, the great man made his way to the stage and said, “This is the song that proves two different cultures are not different at all. It’s the greatest achievement in the world of music and I did that.”
Though it mesmerises every time, though it is a daily occurrence that won’t die out anytime soon, the moon was still the second-best thing that night because there is another immortal from our clan who will never stop.