Rahman's song from 'Sivaji' still a rage among choirs across the world

While the Indian media goes into a tizzy about Kabalirsquos justreleased music the university town of Rock Island Illinois is swaying to another Rajini number from 2007Composed by AR Rahman Balleilakka from Sivaji prods even the nonTamil speaking listener to sway With all the ingredients of a quintessential upbeat Rahman song mdash a big chorus backing up the leads a fastpaced melody and foottapping beat that refuses to leave your head mdash it had legend SP Balasubrahmanyam sing without stopping for two minutes accompanied by Rahmanrsquos elder sister Reihana and Benny DayalOn YouTube Balleilakka is sung by Western choirs their members dressed in prim pearl necklaces and bowties From tiny university towns across America Canada UK and Ireland the groups sing smile and break into a jig The girls from the Augustana Choir Rock Island Illinois shimmy and smile at each other naughtily as the lead singer mouths the solo bits cockily his hands spread out in a filmy way Towards the end they throw their hands up in Bhangra style and dance The Oakland Chorale has a mridangam player giving them company the Portland State Chamber Choir introduces the number as ldquoa song that like all other Bollywood songs has nothing to do with the plot of the movie it is fromrdquo and the girls in black gowns strike femme fatale poses the Austin High School Concert Choir in pink robes does a synchronised dance routine till they go crazy on stage and make a messThe Bradley University Chorale based in Illinois USA have sung AR Rahmanrsquos Balleilakka at a dozen performances last yearThe Internet is littered with proof of choirs all over the world having the time of their lives singing the song It would seem that Rahmanrsquos composition with intricate layering appeals to the Western ear The ace composer who we met in Mumbai at an event held last week says he has seen many of the adaptations ldquoChoirs I think have a typical type of score and they are always looking to experiment and try music from a different culture But it needs to be challenging like Balleilakka isrdquo says Rahman He calls it a tough song ldquoright from inceptionrdquo Fastpaced and daunting Rahman shares ldquoEven SP Balasubrahmanyam who is an amazing singer found it difficult to breathe so we had to punch in the vocals at a lot of places It also is phonetically sound and very catchyrdquoThe Augustana Choir from Rock Island Illinois does a Bollywoodinspired jig as they sing BalleilakkaAs we spoke to choirs all over the world we realised that a big part of being in a choir is loving all kinds of music Sam Schlouch senior communication director at the Augustana College seat of the Augustana Choir says over the phone from Rock Island that the choir wanted to ldquocommunicate its love for music through this songrdquo The members watched the original Rajini video for inspiration and tried copying some of moves but without making a mockery Dr Jon Hurty director of the choir says that the song appealed to them because they loved the rhythm and it came with the challenge of performing music from Indian culture ldquoIt was one of the most popular pieces we performed on our tour programme I think the American audience do not get to hear this kind of music very often so they were particularly interestedrdquo he says over emailRajinikanth dances to BalleilakkaBut there were challenges ldquoThe language was difficult for the students However we had an Augustana student from India Tamil Nadu come over to rehearsals and work with us on the pronunciation In addition this particular song has a very fast section where the words just fly That was especially difficult for the students to pronounce and to memorise It was not easy but we did have a lot of funrdquoAlan Xaykongsa an engineering and music student at the University of Waterloo Ontario introduced Ensemble Director Gerard Yun to the song after he saw it being performed by another Canadian choir ldquoI am drawn to pieces of Indian classical and cinema music They are different from the standard Western classical music which I find limiting in some ways mdash itrsquos a lot of lsquostand still and singrsquo Balleilakka and other Indian pieces are vivid joyful and full of liferdquo he says The Waterloo Choir starts with their hands folded in namaste and then wave them in the air like they just donrsquot careThe Millikin Singers from Millikin University in Illinois feel that the song has captivated their audiencesDr Yun who said the choir ldquolovesrdquo the piece says that as conductor and professor he valued the element of discovery the students experienced ldquoWhile Western classics are often deeply beautiful and moving through their lush harmonies and physical stasis many Indian works and Balleilakka specifically are able to convey an almost magical joy through rhythm and movementrdquoThe magical joy that Dr Yun speaks of is palpable in most renditions of Balleilakka It would seem that the big sound our Indian ears have got used to is like a burst of musical happiness to the rest of the world Dr John Jost director of choral activities at the Bradley University Peoria Illinois says ldquoWe performed Balleilakka last year and sang it at least a dozen performances The rhythm tune the harmonies were all very appealing to the singers and the audience The words were difficult to learn at first but I was amazed at how fast the choir was able to pick it uprdquoIt is Brad Holmes Director of Choir Programs at the Millikin University Illinois who tries to explain why so many choirs are stuck on Balleilakka ldquoThe song provides a sound that at least to our Western ears seems quintessentially Indian It demands a vocal approach unlike that for the usual choral repertoire The pattern of the text the driving rhythms and repetitive motives captivate our audiences It offers a muchneeded variation in the usual tonal palate of a typical concertrdquoIn a world that seems divided by philosophy it feels ridiculously simple that a song is all it takes to unite people across continentsRahman the king of true fusion puts it well when he says ldquoItrsquos great to see the coming together of audiences because these are kids who are going to rule the world next The fact that they are being understanding of another culture could only be a good thingrdquo