Niranjan Srinivasan and Ashwin Kumar – two serious singers like no one from the land of “Rehmanism”

This week we have the monumental task of writing about the music from Tamil Nadu. Thus we have an additional blog dedicated to Tamil Nadu later on February_March where we will feature two more singers from this state.

For this weeks’ feature, we have chosen two phenomenal singers Niranjan Srinivasan and Ashwin Kumar from this state to represent a generation of youngsters trained in South Indian classical music, which we believe is the strong basis of having such phenomenal singers coming out of this state. For a Tamil (pertains to the person coming from Tamil Nadu) classical music is a part of their nutrition and parents make sure this is fed along with the food while they bring up their children. Such is the dedication of a strong niche of the community who lives on the peninsular south of continent India. To understand the entire landscape of music here, we have the task to describe all about the origins of classical music here and the separation of south Indian music from north Indian music (although in all respect they are similar).

Classic music traditions of India –  A briefing from Vedas to “Rehmanism”

The music of the north and south were not as distinct as it is now in the earlier periods of the history of India’s classic music. For all the practical purposes, here on this blog as well as elsewhere the classic music from India is described as Carnatic (pertain to south) and Hindustani (pertains to the north) music. Earlier literature evidence for the origins of this type of music lies in the Samavedas that is set entirely structured into melodic themes. Of the two formats (musical meter and ritual meter) the text is written just like we see in the modern time’s literature of Carnatic music; Sahityam (bottom line), and Swaras (top line). Typically Carnatic music is very structured and every bit of what is to be sung is written out and nothing more or less. Hindustani music although separated from Carnatic music is less structured and has more freedom of expression when sung. It is sometimes when the Delhi Sultans ruled INDIA from the north that the music from the south became more separated from the North. During the 16th century, Tansen became, at the age of 60, as Akbar’s court musician, that the Hindustani classical music’s basics were first defined. He is considered the father of the modern Hindustani Gharanas.

Thamizh (TAMIL) music Pannissai is claimed by many experts to be roots of the South Indian Classic music. Above is a video where children are being taught Pann traditional music (in this case a Keerthana). This is the dedication of an entire culture to music, on display here. Music is a way of living and it comes with a lot of devotion and discipline that goes with it. We have great respect for this tradition of teaching music to children and that is the only way these traditions will thrive. Then the question arises, are these traditions important anymore? We will see in a minute even the latest movie industry thrive on musicians that are trained in classic music or use their skills gained through rigorous training is what we hear as great songs and singing even today.

Tamil music and its history date back thousands of years. Mainly the ancient music and its references can be dated back to earlier narrative poems of chilapathikaram. The Pann tradition is the earlier version of current Carnatic music. There are 72 basic scales on the octave and a rich variety of melodic variations. Some of the earlier composers like Muthu Thandavar, Arunachala Kavi, and Marimuthu Pillai are a few earlier prominent names found in the literature that nurtured this tradition. Then in the 18th and 19th, centuries found the reprise of Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar, and Shyama Shastri. They were prolific composers that formed a strong basis for modern Carnatic music. The 20th-century musicians like M.S. Subbulakshmi popularized Carnatic music to generations of South Indian musicians. Then we have the Tamil Folk music which is so profoundly rich and popular among common and poor. Lastly, the film music of the Tamil movie industry is Kollywood. Like the Carnatic music landscape when the use of music came to movies. the songs made are mostly based on ragas and set to the principles of Carnatic music.

Tamil film Music-Rajaism and Rehmanism

Some musicians can change the landscape of singing of an entire country just like that. Their music can communicate in mysterious ways and touch the hearts of an entire nation. Such is the story of Ilayaraja and A.R. Rahman. The latter went onto international fame when he won two Academy Awards for his work on a British drama produced by famous director Danny Boyle. Other prominent Tamil composers in the industry include Harris Jayaraj, Yuvan Shankar Raja, Vidyasagar, Anirudh Ravichander, and Hiphop Tamizha. During the 1960s and 1970s, prominent film composers K. V. Mahadevan, M. S. Viswanathan were popular.

It was a very big task on our side since picking one or two singers to represent this state of phenomenal talent could create some sort of frustration on the singer’s side. So we set some criteria we will pick two of adult age singers, seasoned well and show a lot of potential in singing. In this process, we browsed through either younger or older good singers. It is just our limitations to cover only two here and then two other Tamil singers later in this series. We would like to thank all singers who send their profiles for consideration, keep sending your requests.

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Niranjan Srinivasan

We happened to see this singer (Profile name Ninja_srini) while we earlier covered a phenomenal talent from Tamil Nadu Srividhya Vivek as our first pick of featured singer here on the blog. Ever since we have been hooked up on Niranjans’ channel. He is not so prolific as many other singers in adding new songs have sung just less than 100 songs. So many here will cry out loud hello we have been singing for thousands and spending hours and have followers in 1000s. Why not me? We will prove he is a singer that is so less appreciated but very seasoned. A great voice, again classically trained. A great friend and well-wisher of our blog. He says he is inspired by G. N. Balasubramoniom, Yesudas, and Unnikrishnan as his Carnatic music idols and Hariharan for his Hindustani style, and Mohammad Rafi for the film songs.  He grew up in Singapore but was originally from Chennai and has participated in TV shows on Singapore television. He is a trained Carnatic violinist, self-taught drummer, and learning Carnatic music to date.

Here you listen to him singing a beautiful melody Unnai Thane; let us start with a Thalaivar movie song with Vidhu Vivek. Let this be a good omen for all these singers.

Niranjan with another co-singer Priyanka so much less appreciated but a great singer singing a melody Kannukul Potthivappen

Kadhal Rojave  AR Rahman magic with a very popular strong presence on Tamil scene female singer Pallavi Vinoth. She is a very fine singer indeed needs a special mention here.

Srini and Ramya Swami Durai is a very talented female singer from Tamil and here she sings an Illayaraja classic Neeyoru Kathal sangeetham.

S. P. Bhaskar a very special talent from Tamil Smule and Niranjan sing a fun song. Love this one. Very different Srini here. Proves he can sing any style of song effectively.

A phenomenal talent not so appreciated Sindhu Shibu sings with Niranjan a beautiful melody Orunaal Orukanavu again Illayaraja music composition.

Another singer less appreciated Preevijayshaan Pooguyil Padinal music by Magesh Madhavan.

Swethanksoman a Malayalm Smule singer very talented sings with Niranjan a beautiful AR classic Thoda Thoda Malarndathenthu

His channel almost looks like an album of selected work from a fine artist. It reflects a lot of discipline. His communications are to the effect of the gist and yet never lose a sense of humor and a very classy friend. We cherish his friendship much. We like everyone here to know about his high professionalism and intelligent interactions we had during the time we were working on this feature. We leave his feature with this beautiful song Maguyile Pookyile with Sindhu Shibu (super talent) and again Illayaraja fine classic.

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ASHWIN KUMAR

Ashwin (profile name Sing_enthu) is a fine artist on Tamil Smule. We haven’t seen anybody so down to earth despite a great prodigal talent for singing and thus goes to the top of our list of most favorite singers on Smule Sing we featured here. He acknowledges his collaborators with a lot of moderation. That is a great quality that will take one to places for sure. Please visit this singer follow him to encourage him. He is the singer destined to be famous no matter what.

His voice is the best male voice suitable for melodious ragas and ghazal. When asked about his aspirations whether he may lean towards ghazals singing, he said ” No, I Just sing because I love singing”. and such is the profile message which reads “Sing till last breath”. Talk to him he will take you to some level of thoughts on life and what really matters in life. Such is the singer inside him and that sort of taste is evident in his artistry.

He hails from Chennai. He is really young in his early 20s, yet displayed a very strong mastery of the singing techniques. He is trained properly in basic Carnatic music and he is self-taught on many other classic styles. He is not a native speaker of Hindi, but to hear him sing Hindi songs one may feel he belong there as well. Beautiful. Similar to “Niranjan”, also sang only very few songs on Smule Sing; yet we can not stop thinking about him not being covered here. We have only heard him just over the past two months, but more than sure we knew right from the beginning that he is the real deal when the Tamil Nadu feature came up. His singing style reminds us of Hariharanji’s approach. He is absolutely hands down the best bet.

His channel is like a BillBoard top 100. He knew to pick the right songs, but all of his picks are the most difficult melodies known. He records them with the utmost care, or is it innate that whatever he sings is great. The latter is true.

Listen to his songs here. We had a tough time having him show up his face. So here you go and he is absolutely is the representation of the singer he is. Please watch him here singing.

In this video, he sings a beautiful melody at the same time one of the toughest compositions of recent times Aaj Ibadat. Absolutely the song is his own it can go on a record Aaj Ibadat-Ashwin version today.

A Malayalam Hariharan Ghazal Wonderful singing. At this age, if he shows such maturity we are out of words here about this singer. All 100%. Mayilpeeli jan tharam by Hariharan. Clarity of things like Hariji is the stamp of this singer. Crystal clear enunciation of lyrics that comes from a lot of control of “sangathies” no matter how fast-paced and they are spaced in a song or whatever complicated ways the music composer intended it is all perfect. Give him a book to read it will sound like a song.

Here Ashwin’s invite joined by one other young talent from Tamil Mukund singing POI SHOLLA KOODATHU

Here Ashwin sings an out of this world melody Maura Saiyan by Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan (Urdu: شفقت امانت علی‬‎) is a Pakistani classical singer belonging to Patiala Gharana lineage. He told us he learned all the Hindustani all by himself and sing a Shafqat song with such conviction it is truly amazing. Kudos. Voice quality is as good as the original by ustad Amanat Ali khan or Fateh Ali khan. The alternate face used in the video is of Shafqat Amanat Ali.

Lal Ishque- we have featured this song sung originally by Arjit Singh in many of our features; first, it is a beautiful melody that never one can say no, how many times one may have played or sung this. So please give this version a listen. This tops of any performances we have featured here.

Here we leave you with the thought of a few simple questions. Smule Sing brought the music recording to the common of common.  Does the democratization of the singing process reduce the quality of singing or not? please start a debate here on the blog and write your thoughts using the reply section below.

Here is a quote from the famous Carnatic musician of the highest caliber G. N. Balasubramoniom the feel of such fears still prevails to a certain extent.

He said, “Our position can be compared to the ancient mariner who found ‘water, water, everywhere, but not a drop to drink’. Music, we have in plenty, but it is all of very cheap quality. This is undoubtedly due to the democratization of art we see going on all around us, like the surge of a flood, which we are helpless in fighting against. Apart from the mechanical contrivances contributing to this (we are living in an age of gadgets), it is very disheartening to notice that artists who supply music on the platform and are hence responsible for the growth and development of music culture, also descend to the level of playing to the gallery and thus lower the standards of taste in the art. Whether we are all moving towards inevitable communism in our political life or not, communism has taken very deep roots in the manner and matter of music propagation—the most dangerous canker that can kill the rise of classical music.”

The quote was written in a different decade and different social setup. But democratization as G.N.B. scared through the electronic gadgets did not kill the good music rather nurture more good music. Musicians who valued good music always sang good music. Hope we keep our rich traditions and give a chance to flourish.

LYRICS MEANING

As we decided from the last blog, we leave you with a beautiful song lyrics translation; this week it is Tamil lyrics and the song; enjoy. You all must have at least once sung this song “Narumughaye” from the Iruvar movie.

Here is the English translation of this beautiful music composition by A.R. Rahman. Some parts of this verse are from a famous poem written by the Sangam age poet Sembula Peyaneerar (Red earth and pouring rain). especially the idea of arranged marriage mentioned in the Charanam.

MALE:
Oh my sweet with the face of a blossoming flower bud

Oh my sweet with the face of a blossoming flower bud

Stand here for a moment before me,
Opening your mouth which drips honey,
Reveal your language to me,
Under the full moon night,
As water drips down from your body,
Were you the one in the river?
Were you?

FEMALE:
O my groom, O my groom,
Look for a moment at me,
Were you the one who came riding a white horse?
Hear the words my arrow-like eyes speak,
Under the full moon night,
When I was bathing in the river,
Were you the one who watched me?
Were you?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~interlude~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MALE:
Why did those arrows,
from your deer-eyes pierced my heart?
Why did those arrows,
from your deer-eyes pierced my heart?

FEMALE:
After seeing the Paandi king,
Why did my body began to be pale?

MALE:
The scene that I saw under the moonlight,
still haunts me in my dreams,
The scene that I saw under the moonlight,
still haunts me in my dreams,

FEMALE:
Because my love was not with me, I became lean,
The ornaments on my hip won’t stay in place

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Interlude~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FEMALE:
My family is not known to your family,
Then how did our hearts become one?
My family is not known to your family,
Then how did our hearts become one?

MALE:
I was not known to you,
How did we come to be this bonded?

FEMALE:

You touched me only once,

look how my body blossomed?
You touched me only once,
look how my body blossomed?

MALE:
Like the raindrop which joins with the soil,
How was it our hearts were joined like this?

(Female Vocalizing — “Aaahhh”)
Was it you?

(Female Vocalizing — “Aaahhh”)
Was it you?

(Female Vocalizing — “Aaahhh”)
Was it you?

ENJOY and come back next week to see more such stories from the state of Karnataka and know two female vocalists from this state up-close here.