🎼 The Mad Mod Mood Alchemy in Mayamalavagowla: Bach and Tyagaraja in One Breath
Ilaiyaraaja: Fugue, Canon and the Quiet Alchemy of Counterpoint — Part II
(A continuation of my earlier essay — “Ilaiyaraaja: Counterpoint Sonatas — Part I”)
“When Bach met Tyagaraja, not in Leipzig nor in Thiruvaiyaru,
but in the curious country called Ilaiyaraaja’s mind.”
If the first part of this exploration celebrated Ilaiyaraaja’s deft handling of counterpoint — those interlacing melodies that converse, collide, and caress — this second instalment ventures deeper into the labyrinthine corridors of Western classical technique, where the fugue and canon reign supreme.
To understand Ilaiyaraaja’s genius is to see how he did not merely borrow these forms, but transplanted them into the living soul of Indian raga music — and made them dance to Carnatic grammar without losing their Western poise.
I. The Fugue — Polyphony in Motion
In Western classical music, the fugue represents the zenith of contrapuntal thought — a grand architectural edifice where voices enter one by one, each carrying the same theme yet taking its own path. Bach’s Art of Fugue remains its sacred scripture.
Ilaiyaraaja, however, made this complex art accessible to the Tamil listener. Take Mad Mod Mood Fugue (from How to Name It, 1986). Set in Mayamalavagowla, the composition unfolds like a conversation among four musical minds — each voice independent yet interlocked, weaving a tapestry of mathematical beauty and emotional intensity.
He doesn’t merely replicate the fugue’s technique; he recontextualises it. What begins as a cerebral exercise becomes a dramatic interplay — a fusion of Western logic and Carnatic feeling. One can almost sense the ghost of Bach smiling in admiration — not at imitation, but at innovation.
II. The Counterpoint — When Melodies Converse
Counterpoint, the foundation of polyphonic writing, is the art of making two or more melodies coexist in harmony without losing individuality. It’s like a well-mannered conversation between equals.
Ilaiyaraaja’s counterpoints, unlike the purely structural ones in Western classical music, have the warmth of human speech. The bass line is not a mere accompaniment but a secondary melody that completes or contradicts the upper line.
Listen to Ananda Raagam (Panneer Pushpangal) or Ilamai Itho Itho (Sakalakala Vallavan) — both illustrate how independent melodic lines coexist, flirt, and resolve within a popular idiom. His counterpoints often carry the psychology of characters, not just sonic interplay.
🎼 Further Understanding — For the Curious Ear
Before delving deeper, it helps to glimpse the classical scaffolding upon which Ilaiyaraaja’s ingenuity rests.
The fugue, the canon, and the counterpoint — three terms often uttered in the same breath — form the sacred trinity of Western polyphony. Yet they differ subtly in temperament:
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The Fugue – a grand cathedral of voices.
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The Canon – a disciplined mirror of imitation.
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Counterpoint – the overarching grammar that binds them both.
III. A Fugue in Mayamalavagowla — The Child’s Scale Made Sublime
Ilaiyaraaja didn’t Westernise Carnatic grammar; he Indianised the Western form.
He choose Mayamalavagowla, the first melakarta raga taught to beginners — symmetric, pure, and austere.
Arohanam: S R₁ G₃ M₁ P D₁ N₃ Ṡ
Avarohanam: Ṡ N₃ D₁ P M₁ G₃ R₁ S
Equivalent: Double harmonic scale
Similar: Bhairav (Hindustani)
By composing a fugue in this raga, Ilaiyaraaja elevated the humble to the sublime — turning the grammar of initiation into a tapestry of mastery.
Why Mayamalavagowla Was the Perfect Choice:
Every Indian student begins with this raga — the alphabet of initiation. By choosing it, Ilaiyaraaja performs a philosophical inversion: the simple becomes sacred. What was once pedagogy now becomes transcendence.
The Metaphysics of the Fugue:
Listen anew to Mad Mod Mood Fugue. Bach’s rational architecture meets Tyagaraja’s devotion; the West’s many voices seek the East’s single drone. It becomes a conversation between individuality and infinity — logic and longing.
The Mad Mod Mood Alchemy:
In Mad Mod Mood Fugue, Ilaiyaraaja does not compose — he convenes. Where Bach sought divinity through symmetry, Raja discovers it through melodic empathy. The fugue becomes his altar; the raga, his prayer. We, the listeners, stand as silent witnesses to this sacred experiment in sound.
IV. Orchestral Polyphony
He replaces harpsichord and organ with an Indian-symphonic palette:
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Violins / Violas – lyrical yet disciplined
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Cello / Bass – grounding the raga as surrogate drone
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Electric Guitar / Synthesiser – whisper of modernity and rebellion
Each instrument becomes a character, transforming the fugue into a sonic debate where individuality kneels before melodic sovereignty.
V. Carnatic Counterpoint — Harmony Without Chords
Western fugues depend on functional harmony. Ilaiyaraaja replaces it with modal anchoring — the invisible Sa–Pa drone hovering beneath all voices.
Each melodic strand obeys prayoga discipline. Polyphony thus emerges not from harmony but melodic coexistence — a profoundly Indian idea, philosophically akin to Advaita: many voices, one essence.
VI. “Aala Asaththum” — The Fugue That Dances
Aala Asaththum exemplifies contrapuntal brilliance within film music. Voices — vocals, strings, trumpet, guitar — enter successively at fixed intervals, each echoing and intertwining.
The Chalanaatta raga lends melodic identity while Western fugue architecture provides motion.
This isn’t academic counterpoint; it’s cinematic exuberance dressed in classical grammar.
Listening Highlights:
0:00 – Theme Introduction
0:10 – First Counter Entry (strings)
0:20 – Trumpet imitation
0:35 – Guitar in contrary motion
0:50 – Ensemble convergence
1:20 – Raga ornamentation (gamakas)
1:35 – Dynamic climax
1:50 – Elegant cadence and resolution
VII. Beyond Fusion — The Grammar of Integration
Most musicians fuse instruments; Ilaiyaraaja fuses grammars.
His alchemy rests on three sutras:
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Raga Integrity — each voice stays true to raga limits.
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Western Structure — fugue and canon internalised, not imitated.
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Emotional Logic — every line breathes rasa, never sterile.
The result: a polyphonic raga, an unheard-of synthesis.
VIII. The Canon — Echoes That Converse
A canon, in classical terminology, is a disciplined structure where one voice leads and another follows — like a reflection in a musical mirror. It’s the most imitative form of counterpoint, built on precision, timing, and perfect symmetry.
Ilaiyaraaja employs canonic imitation not as an academic exercise but as an expressive device. In Thenpandi Cheemayile (Nayakan), the interwoven flute and violin lines mirror and chase each other, creating a pastoral serenity — a call and response between memory and melancholy.
Similarly, in Poove Sempoove (Solla Thudikkuthu Manasu), gentle canonic entries appear in the interludes — phrases repeated a bar apart, breathing emotion into mathematical design.
IX. The Canon Reimagined
If the fugue is a parliament of voices, the canon is their mirror-hall.
Ilaiyaraaja re-imagined the canon not as an intellectual game but as emotional dialogue.
Instead of rigid imitation, his canons breathe and tease — like two dancers tracing the same rhythm from different angles.
In Ilaiyaraaja’s world, the canon is conversation, not competition — empathy, not mimicry.
X. “En Kanmani En Kaadhali” — A Canon of Playful Affection
In this duet, the two voices chase each other in tender pursuit. The canon becomes flirtation — echo as affection. Every imitation breathes emotion, not precision. The rāga base loosely follows Dhīraśankarābharaṇaṃ, coloured by anya swaras.
Notation sketch:
S R₂ G₁ M₁ P D₂ N₁ | S R G m P D N with anya swaras d₁/d, n₂/n.
🎧 Further Listening
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En Kanmani En Kaadhali (Chittukuruvi, 1978) – Romantic canon where male and female voices chase one another like affectionate repartee.
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Ilaiya Nila Pozhigiradhu (Payanangal Mudivathillai, 1982) – Twin guitars function as canonic partners.
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Oru Kili Uruguthu (Aanandha Kummi, 1983) – Flute and strings form a reflective dialogue.
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Aala Asathum (Kanni Rasi, 1985) – Canon between themes, layered within Chalanaatta rāga.
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Mad Mod Mood Fugue ( How To Name It 1986) — observe successive entries and modal discipline
📜 Epilogue:
Ilaiyaraaja reminds us that East and West are not opposites but reflections — that Sa–Pa–Sa can converse with C–G–C without translation.
In music as in life, plurality need not mean discord.
“Mad Mod Mood Fugue is not a composition; it is a metaphysical handshake between Bach’s mind and Tyagaraja’s soul — brokered by an unassuming man from Pannaipuram.”
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