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I promise somewhat irregular posts on (in no particular order) Indian politics, cinema, and anything else that catches my fancy... Why "Qalandar"? So-called "liminal" religious traditions are a particular interest of mine, and "qalandar" is the sort of untranslatable, ambiguous, yet enormously evocative word that for me touches upon and articulates the experience of the sub-continent's "little" traditions in a particularly memorable way...not to mention the fact that in popular lingo the word has more than a merely religious/spiritual connotation, and can mean a bunch of other things, including a smart alec, wannabe, what-have-you...

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Qalandar Reviews the Music of SAKKARAKATTI (Tamil; 2008)
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July 24th, 2008

As I arrived home today to find the Sakkarakatti CD waiting in my mailbox, I was struck by the fact that even thirteen years after I first encountered the sound of A.R. Rahman, even when the soundtrack in question is not associated with a Mani Ratnam film, and promises to be, most assuredly, a “minor” work in the context of Rahman’s oeuvre, my excitement when unwrapping the album remains undimmed. Some of that is obviously because Rahman — even “lesser” Rahman — speaks to me in a way no other Hindi or Tamil composer does. But much of that is also due to the fact that even “minor” Rahman contains gems, the sort of musical passage that rears up to dazzle the listener when least expected. And much of the excitement is undoubtedly due to the fact that it is often precisely in Rahman’s “lesser” work that one encounters the nimble sense of play, the occasional cheekiness, that once made him the most light-footed of all of Indian popular cinema’s titanic presences.

On that front, Sakkarakatti does not disappoint: it isn’t pathbreaking music, but it is, quite simply (and provisionally, given these are early days for me where the album is concerned), an immensely enjoyable, even satisfying, album. [Continued]…

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There Are 11 Responses So Far. »

  1. Comment by Jesse on 24 July 2008:

    Simply superb review Q. Have only listened to this one just once thus far. Liked it and I am sure it will get better on more hearings. Chinnama sort of caught me off guard, and I really liked that Rahman has changed this one quite a bit.

    Btw, Munbe Va is from SOK and not Sivaji.

  2. Comment by Qalandar on 24 July 2008:

    Ah, my mistake Jesse, I’ve made the correction.

    Thanks for the kind words! I really took to this album even on a first listen, which is often something that doesn’t happen with ARR…

  3. Comment by satyam on 24 July 2008:

    Fantastic piece Qalandar.. I should be getting it in the mail any day now..

  4. Comment by Qalandar on 24 July 2008:

    Karthik left the following comment on my blog! This is truly Pessoa-esque:

    “Excellent review, Qalandar! By the way, aren’t you curious to know who this Indai Haza is? Its Chinmayee herself! Check this out!
    http://chinmayisripada.blogspot.com/2008/07/who-is-indai-haza.html

    Karthik”

  5. Comment by Arun on 25 July 2008:

    Good review, Q!

    ‘Elay’ is my favourite here! Superb orchestration by Rahman…the violin bits are magical!

  6. Comment by Tony Montana on 25 July 2008:

    Music is totally mindblowing.

  7. Comment by Qalandar on 25 July 2008:

    absolutely arun, those bits, quite irish fiddler-ishtyle if you ask me, are unexpected bliss…

  8. Comment by Jesse on 25 July 2008:

    The more I listen to I Miss you Da, the more I’m convinced that Chinmayi is the best vocalist around today. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating just a tad bit but with this song along with Tere Bina, KM’s title song, or hit bit in Sahaana from Sivaji I think she definitely has the ability to give any other vocalist a run for their money. I wish we hear more from her soon.

  9. Comment by Tango on 25 July 2008:

    Q- Can I use a couple of very small portions from here for a scoop?

  10. Comment by satyam on 28 July 2008:

    Having now heard this soundtrack 3-4 times it’s hard to disagree with anything in your review.. once again it’s really wonderful writing on your part..

    Elay is incidentally my favorite too..

  11. Comment by Qalandar on 29 July 2008:

    Thanks satyam!

    Tango: just saw your comment; as long as I get credit, no issues!

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