The power of Nostalgia...

I guess at this juncture there won't be any surprises about me writing on this particular emotion. However, the reasons that triggered me to come up with this post are motivated by something else.

1. Today is Ilayaraja's Birthday (well... most of his brilliant numbers were in '80s but still there is this minor, tiny little hiccup that I was born only in '87)
2. I read a long fwd mail about life in '90s (which I did enjoy reading btw) when I could not comprehend the complexities of 'Guna' or appreciate the plot of 'Thiruda Thiruda'

The thing about Nostalgia is that it adds tremendous amount of invisible value to practically anything. This is where you step into the dangerous zone which even the most cynical of critics fall prey to. You can never assess the true value because there is this innate bias flamed by nostalgia that tends to subconsciously influence your opinion. The MSV Vs Ilayaraja Vs AR Rahman debate which I swear can be qualified as a NP hard problem is the classic case to point.

To my mom there can be no better music director in this world than MSV. To her, even the classic 1920's western notes were supposedly copied from MSV's songs ( I am not saying that western world doesn't lift from us, but yeah when MSV was not even born then it is tough to prove plagiarism you see..)

To me Ilayaraja is THE REAL GENIUS. Thank god my sis agrees with me in music.. She is expected to be a diehard ARR fan but she is not, thanks to me :) courtesy the barrage of ilayaraja music that she gets to hear more than ARR's. I take it a personal offense if someone conflicts with that. I can keep talking about his flair for western classical music, his unique chord progressions and so on..

To my friends, ARR is GOD.. whatever he churns out is divine. Come on I guess with the Rahmania peaking now, even if he farts it ll be considered path-breaking (no pun intended I swear :P ).. All this "u wont like his music the first time... u need to listen to it a zillion times to like it" tosh were invented during this Rahmania phase.

Aside from this never-ending debate, everybody forgets why they like a particular song. Please don't tell me its the out of the world compositions. If you psychologically look at it, you will know that it is either nostalgia or the association with the situation of the song that makes us go gaga over them. I am not denying the ability of the musicians. NO. You don't end up liking every song you hear. Of course the awesome compositions make you put the songs in loop. But, what makes you heap unrestricted praise on a song and blind adulation on the composers ? It is completely the events in your personal life and nothing else.

When I catch bits of "anjali anjali" I think of my Pre-school days.. When I listen to "konji konji alaigal oda" I still think of those golden days playing at periamma's house holding an invisible mike lip-syncing sincerely with Rajini in this song.. and yeah I did enjoy Rahman's early numbers too... "Mustafa Mustafa" which came out when I was barely in 4th standard gave me an impression that college life would be much more fun than school life (oh yeah.. 4th std was not the best of my years in school.. had my fair share of bully problems :) ).. and "netru illadha matram" was always my "Na" letter song in anthakshari during rickshaw trips from school back home... Although I was not mature enough to understand the fine lyrical nuances of "kannukku mai azhagu" I did enjoy the music.. It still takes me to those not-worrying-about-taxes-investments-PF-FD-MF days

Before I deep-dive into my nostalgia list, let me cut to the point.. These songs may have been great compositions.. no doubt.. But, what makes them other-worldly?, what makes ARR or Ilayaraja or MSV the best composers to some? what makes you put senseless FB statuses about ARR's talents?

The answer is nostalgia...

PS: It could also be peer pressure which makes you think you are going crazy over latest ARR songs and give out mind numbingly crazy FB updates...