Divinity is something which I would like to start off with.God is someone who is Almighty,the omniscient,the omnipresent.I am not going to argue upon whether he exists or not.That is something beyond human’s reach.Being one among the millions who believe in him,I would like a write something which relates to him.God can be felt through Love.Love is around everywhere.I love Music.So I feel God can be felt best through music.Rather music is a great art which takes you to God.When I refer to music, I also refer to its core ingredient-Words/Lyrics.
I would like to discuss about the following song which is the first divine one which comes to my mind,something I relish & will cherish forever:
Song: Janani Janani (Listen to it in the Mp3 player attached)
Language : Tamil
Composer & Singer : Maestro Ilayaraja
Lyricist : Vaali
Lyrics essence:
An ardent devotee praising the almighty Lord Janani/Parvathi/Durga (All forms of her J)
I am not so great in translating each and every line,so I am skipping the basic translation part.Also for people who are not fond of this lord(As it happens in many cases :D ) can enjoy the soul of it by just replacing the goddess name with any other form of God.
This song starts with a beautiful sloka, slowly recited with careful attention to the words and without music.It reminds me of the Vedas recitation.The actual song starts (in the form of Pallavi) with a strong note by calling the God’s name and saying “Janani ,janani,jagam nee ,agam nee”(Meaning - You are the world,you are everywhere) blended well with the Mridangam’s (Percussion instrument) beat.Then comes the Veena’s(String instrument) part which adds to the divinity thereby setting the tempo of the song.
The song continues with the Bhajan genre coming into play from first stanza(Charanam)with chorus adding to the beauty of the song by repeating every line which praises the almighty.We can also notice that ,first the devotee starts with a mild tone increasing in a gradual manner.This compliments the lyrics very well which needs the smooth transition of the lighter qualities of God to the tougher ones.When the devotee says “Jaganmohini Nee,SimhaVaagini nee” (Jaganmohini & Simhavaagini-represent Goddess Kali/Durga who is known as a fiery/strong God who destroys the evil), he emotes the peak of his praise of the Lord,the repetition of which gradually fades down thereby referring his admiration to something he cannot describe through words.
The second major instrumental piece starts and continues with the Flute’s magic which ends with a perfect blend of Veena.This is something which engrosses in the song.The song continues with the second stanza of praise of the God which keeps the momentum going along.Then comes the third soothening instrumental Veena/Flute piece which starts in a different fast paced manner that gathers the attention of listener .The third stanza continues with the bhajan and reaches a beautiful vocal part when the Aalap follows the lyrics “Shakthi peetamum Nee” followed by increasing vocals & Shruthi(Also called as Chords) which says“Sarva mokshamum nee”(Meaning Reaching you are is the ultimate destiny in Life).The song ends perfectly chanting the God’s Name.
The above description is my way of interpreting the whole song.Forgive me incase of any mistakes.I hope I did’nt change the essence of the song.There are so many other songs in different languages namely kwaja mere kwaja,Noor e khuda,Meherbaan,Anbendra mazhaiyile.. which praises the almighty.I feel we can enjoy essence of any kind of divine song by accepting the universal truth “There might be different forms of God.GOD refers to the same Ultimate controller of all of us.”
