The Art of Making a Classic out of a Cliche - Yaaro Yaarodi - Alaipayuthey #acnotes

A cliche by definition in the Cambridge Dictionary is "a phrase, remark, or opinion that has very often been said or expressed before and is therefore not original and not interesting". Now to give an example or use that word in a sentence "My wedding day - and I know it's a cliché - was just the happiest day of my life." Well, to begin an essay with a definition by itself is a cliche.

However, a cliche is a cliche because cliches work. And if I may add - they could be referred to as a common trope. Especially, when it comes to Mani Ratnam and AR Rahman's collaboration - the wedding song is this cliche. And, they both know how to turn a cliche into a classic, 

over time.

Songs in Weddings are a common trope in most movies of the duo - MR and ARR. More so, their songs are so well placed in and around weddings (pre, post, at the wedding, the night of wedding and even while entering the wedlock) the moment you listen to them for the first time you know it marks a special moment or at least stands out like an oxford comma, a pause for reflection perhaps. A stillness that calls out a celebration. 

Also, I won't list the songs out and l will leave it for you to figure them out. Or, wait! Maybe, I will make a playlist. If you're interested, let me know in the comments and I'll share.

Now let's focus on the song I've featured here - Yaaro Yaarodi from Alaipayuthey. This song is an aural experience. ASMR for those who frequent weddings or are deprived of attending due to many reasons. I, for one, haven't attended a wedding in a longtime. Anyway, I'll try not to digress - To make the best out of this song: if possible, try to listen it in a good audio system/ear phones, and you will know what I'm talking about. For once, I won't focus much on the lyrics but how the song carries the listener into the occasion and draws the audience further into the relationship that's just about to kickstart in the story.

https://youtu.be/QYr1OLSm7Q8?feature=shared

The ebb and flow of the song with a drone or humm in the background of the shrutibox. The Nadaswaram (South Indian wind instrument mostly played at weddings) blazing a clarion call. The rhythm resembles that of rice being cleaned on a bamboo sieve. And a constant tic toc of the metronome hinting at betel nut or spices crushed on a mortar with pestle. Then a variety of percussion instruments that cue the sounds of vessels.

While the above orchestration plays in the background, in the foreground the surround effect from 3 voices serenade through different directions. Especially, the three voices (Mahalakshmi, Vaishali and Richa) each representing one of the three knots. And how poetically the song carries on as the voices plait and the three knots tie-in is quite impeccable. Maybe, you're listening to this song while you read this or you've listened to it by the time you've finished it. Now, you might want to listen to it again.

Note: This time, pay heed to how the song begins with a drum roll (dum dum damak dam...) and fades with the 3 knots (mudichi x 3). Well, a personification of a storm and the following calm of a wedding. And then the next storm that's to follow... Like I mentioned before, this is the sequence that kickstarts the relationship between the two protagonists. And before they know they're in the eye of the storm. The trick, however, to thrive in this storm, is never letting go of each other. One becomes an anchor to teether to so they don't get tossed away. A jig into the saw. A yin to the yang. The hook and the loop of a velcro fastener. Perhaps, the aforementioned are all cliches. Or, maybe, not. But if they complement each other. Then, I don't see why knot. 

https://lynkify.in/song/yaro-yarodi/hIdp3Lsb

#acnotes