Song Recording ! Nalla Naal Title Song !

(Those who are fed up with the long gap in between my writing, and want to beat me, has to read the last sentence of this postng and shall be able to forgive me, I hope !)

Last week I was fortunate enough to accidentally "discover" the safely kept single page which was torn and separated from the office diary of 1984 which shows me the particulars something like this:

Date : 26-June-1984
Time : 3:00 PM
Venue : Prasad Studio
Occasion : “Nalla Naal” song recording

This page contained the autograph of Mr Sudhakar, the flute expert in IR’s group.

Mostly, to remember the details of this autograph, I might have entered the above particulars and that incidentally helped me now to recall the above particulars.

Otherwise I am struggling to recollect the other associated details. Because, the song recorded on that day had left in me a strong impression in my memory rather than other trivial things, which were by this time appeared to me a repetitive of what I witnessed previously.

If I remember correct, this time when I met IR in his residence in the early morning, I made a shaashtaanga namaskaram and handed over a ‘big’ packet of “kungumam” which I received on the previous day as a prasaadam from the temple at Palacode.

My prayer to God on the previous day to meet him was ‘sanctioned’ and made into a reality.

I could not remember what went wrong with me in the morning session and how & why I entered the wrong recording hall!

But when I entered, I witnessed the re-recording of MSV for the film “Sirai”.

(I hope this happened during this visit only, I have to check up whether Nalla Naal and Sirai released on the same day!

Still I continued inside that hall and during break time I tried to find out the details of IR recordings).

Anyhow, I could see a “huge’ difference between both the re-recordings of IR and MSV. Those details are out of scope of the present topic of the blog and for obvious reasons I am not discussing them here!

But what was so impressive to me till to date was that happened outside the studio on the corridor where both MSV and IR meet each other.

The “veshti madicha kattiya, gambeeramaana” senior King, MSV, and the “baya bakthi” IR exchanging pleasantries!

They were the two utterly simple people with utmost mutual respects for each others! A wonderful scene to witness!

So, whenever I used to hear the mud-slinging in the forums etc about MSV vs IR, I used to remember this scene.

Somehow, around lunch time, I got the right hall, and when I entered the studio lounge, and had to wait for the existing recording works were over, I could hear the “powerful” re-recording music which already going on inside the hall.

At the same time, in another nearby room, I could hear the songs “Othayile Pen kudhirai” and “Hoon Hoon, Venaam Venaam” both repeatedly getting played as if some editing and checking works were going on.

As usual I never had any idea of the film of these songs for quite a couple of weeks, till I heard that in some other shop and came to know that these were from “Nalla Naal”.

But to my disappointment when the recording session was over and when I wanted to enter the hall, I came to know that it was already lunch break.

So I had to wait till 3 PM.

When the afternoon session started, again this time also I could remain in the main hall only (not in the console room).

I could see Vaali and IR sitting together there in the console room.

This time it was the song recording, and I felt I was lucky since last time I saw the re-recording of a film and this time a song recording.

The song was “Nalla naalai nambi iru” and IR himself sang that.

But what I witnessed for the first time was the track recording. Earlier, I never had the idea that music tracks and the voice tracks are being done separately.

The entire song was first recorded with the Violin playing the voice track portion (played by Narasimhan) and then IR replacing them later with his voice.

I could guess, that should be the title song. It was a very nice and soothing song which will make you melt away!

It was in minor scale/Abheri and in 7/8 taalam, just like the counter part “kaalidaasan kannadaasan” song.

With a beautiful opening of Shenoy in prelude and in the interludes excellent keyboard phrases and fast paced arpeggios, beautiful flute pieces by Sudhaakar,

And if I am correct, some “asareeri” type humming was there in the interlude which was sung by Mr Saibaba (son of legendary actor Baalaiyya), who was the regular, rhythm-guitar player with IR!

Yet it was so simple and captivating. What to say, it just swayed me !

This time I saw Mr Purushottaman, the drummer, fondly called as “Puru” was conducting the rehearsal and takes after the initial composing by IR.

Again, it was a wonderful divine experience, to see a “creation” going on in an utterly silence & disciplined environment.

The way Viji was playing the two keyboards simultaneously and the flow was amazing!

First time, I saw the instrument “Santoor”, which was played in the interludes !

I may be slightly wrong in the lyrics, but the pallavi of the song was something like this :

Nalla Naalai Nambi Iru
Nenje nee dhan konjam Poru
Neram Kaalam maari vidum
Thenral unnai thedi varum
Soorai-kaatril Paadhai maarum Odam
Thendral vandhaal karai vandhu sErum…….

In those period of struggling and worries to get a good job and various happenings in my personal life, somehow this lyrics was so mesmerizing and left a lasting impression in me and I felt that song was just written for me for that moment.

Anybody who listens to this song will feel that vibrations!

Unfortunately I could never listen to this song after that! Till now!

Hope somebody will get me that some day!

After a few months of that song recording, I once again got the opportunity of hearing to IR’s song recording….!

This time you will also "hear" that…..! Thanks to CRV !

Yet, one more time, wait please !