Friday, 18 January 2013

Chithirai Nela from Kadal: 'If...' set to music



It's been a while since a Tamil movie's songs have struck and stuck with me. Not since Roja and Alai Payude have I hummed a song without understanding a word of what was being sung. But over the last couple of weeks I've repeatedly found myself humming Chithirai Nela from the movie Kadal. The song's just stuck in my head, so I decided today to look up the meaning of the words and my choice couldn't have been more perfect.



Music by AR Rahman, Lyrics by Vairamuthu and Sung by Vijay Yesudas, Chithirai Nela is a beautiful lullaby about the first moon of the New Year, about rising from the ashes and reaching to the sky. A father sings to his child to try walking, to stand tall and walk to the sky. He sings about the good in everything that happens, the silver-lining; from affliction come deep poems and from losses knowledge. He sings to his child to be strong and face tomorrow with self-confidence. There is only one New Year's Moon, just as there is only one of everything else, everyone is standing alone but he exhorts his child to walk, to walk towards the sky.

I love the song even more now that I know what it means, it just resonates with my soul and so reminds me of the poem 'If' by Rudyard Kipling. I remember reading 'If...' for the first time years ago; I could so see Rudyard Kipling swinging in a hammock with his son and giving him life advice. 'If...' has been a poem I had tried to live by and I love going back to it over the years for a bit of motivation. Chithirai Nela touches that spot. It's 'If...' set to music. :)



Kadal is a Mani Rathman movie with Arvind Swamy set to release on 1st of February 2013 and I'm looking forward to it. A romantic thriller the movie is about the life of Christian fisherman and the role faith plays in their lives. This should be an interesting watch, definitely worth first-day-first-show :D

BTW Chithirai Nela isn't the only stand out song. Almost all the songs in this movie are awesome. A.R. Rahman spinning his magic again finally. His work hasn't shaken me up so much lately but this one has that thing that Rahman is known for. Don't miss 'Adiye' in the list, it has this absolutely surprising jazz influence that will make you sit up and listen. A fisherman song set to jazz; you rock Rahman!

Have you heard any stunning sit-up-straight music lately?

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2 comments:

  1. I came across this while searching for Chithirai Nela's meaning. Being a poet as well as an ardent fan of Kipling, I find the comparison rather apt - thanks for drawing that out! I loved Kadal as well, it was a bit poetic in its recreation of the good vs evil conflict.

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  2. Thanks for stopping by Godavar. Glad to meet another person who also sees the Kipling connection :)

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