Sounds of Heaven
First of all, I would like to say hi to this group once again. I
have been an active member, but due to some problems I had stopped
posting for two years (no its not because of this group, I got busy
etc). However, I have been a devoted reader of all the posts here and I
have to admit, Dasun your analysis on Rahman's music and your
parallelisms with Mozart - that both composers have a connection with
the universal spirit - are a delight to read.
Now to the subject of my post. There are only some things that
instill so great an emotion into your heart, that you feel compelled to
share it with others. I feel honored to post once again and I am even
more honored that my post will be about the song in Jodha Akbar that is
"the lesser", "the inferior", more commonly heard "the weakest!" Before,
I start sharing my emotions about this song, I would like to mention
that I have no hindi background and I have not read translations or any
such things, all I know is from the picture on my lyrics booklet that it
is a bhajan to Lord Krishna. Therefore, this is a review based on just
the music, just Rahman.
Mann Mohana:
The prelude is blank with a soft thumping on the mouth of the
ghatam. It shows the void in the character's life, that there is a gap
that needs to be filled.
When the singer first begins her desperate plea with the words
"Mann Mohana", the melody strikes you. It is as though Rahman
intentionally composed the tune so that the notes rise, rise, rise to
the heights of divinity, to God. After this celestial ascension, she
sings Mann Mohana once again, but this time a much more confined melody
as if to personalize herself with God.
Then comes the interlude that traverses the classical raaga with
unbelievable ease that it becomes the raaga itself rather than a
representation of it. The beauty of this string arrangement is that it
can be either Western or Indian depending on your perspective. Although,
the instrument is orchestra based, Rahman uses it in a way that it
becomes a voice of an Indian raaga, that's Rahman. In this interlude,
the strings sound as if they are lamenting especially at 2:00. Then
comes the reply of a flute, a voice of Krishna, as if to pay condolences
to the misery.
The same beauty is maintained in the second interlude, after a
heart-melting saranam, the flutes once again replies at 3:00 and then it
is as though the reply of a flute has christened a new found energy. The
strings rather than "lamenting" as in the first interlude, now "jump"
with power and energy. This conversation between the voice of the
worshipper (strings) and the voice of the Lord (flute) shows that this
is the language of the Divinity - music.
Then, the orchestration becomes a minimum as the singer conveys
her final words to Lord Krishna, a personal moment. And, the way she
ends that conversation with just "Meraa mmhmmmhmmmmm". Wow! That's
beauty. It is as though she has become so close to her faith that she no
longer needs words to express her feelings, that somehow it will be
understood.
All in all, Mann Mohana is a song that creates a spiritual aurora
that soaks you in its brilliant colors. When I visit a temple or pray
whole-heartedly, I become renewed. When I listen to Mann Mohana, I
become renewed. Its sound rinses me like the Ganges River. Its sound
helps me soar high into the sky. Its sound belongs to Rahman, to God, to
heaven.
