After coming to Saudi arabia, I started my research on "Use of Carnatic ragams in Tamil Film Music" mainly as an activity to kill time. To my surprise, I could find so many websites extending a helping hand to me, infact making my job easy and my hobby very interesting. Slowly I started associating songs under same ragam reasonably well. But the basic problem is identifying the ragam on my own as I dont know the basics. Unless you know the theory well, like the aaroganam and avarohanam of each raga, to which group it belongs to in the 72 melakartha ragams and all, it is difficult to identify the ragam,though you may identify songs in the same ragam. Maybe I can do that to abt 1000 songs now under say 60 ragams becaz virtually I have memorised the list. Indha seriousness-i C.A padikkumbothey kaatiyirundha may be 1st attempt-laye pass panniyirukkalam. Vidhi yaara vittudhu.
Among the most used ragam in TAMIL Film Music is MOHANAM. Yesterday I got the 50th song in my list of Mohanam songs. And for any music director, tuning in a song in the ragam Mohanam is like anybody, men or women, making UrulaiKizhangu Curry. It is the easiest to make without getting it wrong and so if anybody says his wife/her husband is making Urulaikizhangu Curry well, dont come to the conclusion that she/he should be a good cook.
Among my list of Mohanam songs the best is a song in an old movie - Marudha Naatu Veeran - the song is "Paruvam paarthu arugil Vandhum Vetkamaa" sung by our great TMS. It is in perfect mohanam notes without any outside notes(anniya swaram) with simple Tabla background. Many of you might have born in Illayaraja era(after 1976) and so would have heard mostly his songs. Hear this song of TMS and send your comments. Of course I.R has tuned some wonderful songs in Mohanam and my top 3 of those will be Geetham Sangeetham(Film Kokkarakko), Poovil Vandu Koodum(Film Kadhal Ooviyam) and Idhayam Oru Kovil(film Idhayam oru kovil) and all the 3 songs sung by SPB( who has sung 30000 songs in his 40 yrs - that is an average of 2 songs a day from 1966-2006)