Nottuswaram - Vandhe Meenakshi

Influenced by western classical music, great musicians like Muthuswami Dikshithar and Muthayya Bhagavathar have composed a lot of songs in the western style where the swaras are sung as plane notes with no gamakams. They could be called 'Carnatic Volts' as Prince Rama Varma explains here. The second part has the famous 'English Note'.
Had used maestro Kunnakudi Vaidhyanathan's 'Note' for an earlier post.
Here is Madurai Mani Iyer's who actually popularized the English Note.

Vandhe Meenakshi, set in Shankarabaranam is a very simple 'nottuswaram' song composed by Muthuswami Dikshithar. I was excited to learn and create a video for this as the thaalam is really easy - no wonder it is used as an exercise for beginners! I have given the swarams and the lyrics ( some words have been split to match the beat).
This is a dedication to a little friend who introduced me to this song and was looking for the swaram!
Hope you like it ...

Here is a certified version of the same (sung beautifully by a 13 year old) that I learnt from...

Kangal Neeye from 'Muppozhuthum Un Karpanaigal'

'Kangal Neeye' song by Thamarai for the Tamil movie 'Muppozhuthu Un Karpanaigal' has a fresh perspective to a motherhood song. When most of them talk about the sacrifices of a mother, this one is about the mother's content and her simple joy. ( We had the award winner 'Kannathil Muthamittaal' but that was more situational to the movie). The pain we go through to bear and rear them is our dues to enjoy the happiness they give us back - nothing comes free!

I was so delighted to see this line 'unnai meendum alli eduthu karuvil vaikka nianikkiraen'. I have often felt this when overwhelmed with love and admiration for the baby (of course, they do act up, test our patience and we scream at them like monsters) but have dismissed it as a non-progressive thought...I am relieved it is not a crazy thought after all. Ideally, this feeling in the marital relation should have been the origin of a child ! :)

The old saying 'Kaakkaikkum than kunju pon kunju', how every mother feels proud of her child is so eloquent through the lines 'Suvar meethu kirukkidumbothu Ravivarman nee ...naan kollum garvam nee'. The whole song is full of beautiful words and thoughts even if not highly poetic.

The first couple of times I heard without paying attention to the lyrics, had no clue it was a mother's song - may be because of its closeness to Kanaa Kaangiraen song from Anandathaandavam or the tune itself - it sounded more like a heroine's longing. But after listening to it a few times, it sounds amazing in G.V. Prakash's music. And the singer Sithara's ( must be the Apple mega star winner on Jeevan TV) heavy voice with a classical base makes this song so touching.

On the whole, a definite candidate for any collection of 'mothers' special' songs !

I have created a little movie singing this song . Hope you like it.