Idhu Oru Nila Kaalam - How did Raja-sir write this? | In-Depth Musical Analysis

Added: 2026-05-23

[00:00:00]Raja-sir has been a huge source of education  and fascination for me in my personal musical journey and I'm sure for millions of others too  and I want to share some of my observations from one of my favorite songs of his, Idhu Oru Nila  Kaalam. There's so many things that make this song incredibly special but this video  will focus on three aspects of the song: the opening of the song, the basslines and  some of the rhythmic aspects of the song.

[00:00:24]So let's jump right in and talk about the  opening of the song. If you know the song, you'd know that the majority of the song,  or at least the pallavi and the main melody parts of the song, are based in the key of D  minor. But now, notice how the song starts.

[00:00:51]You'll notice that the opening didn't start from  D minor, but it started from D major instead.

[00:00:57]So from the very first note, Ilaiyaraaja-sir is  establishing a journey that starts on D major and that will go to D minor in order to lead to the  next section and into the melody. That's already really interesting in and of itself. He could have  just started the song on D minor and things would have been fine. But creating this journey makes  the opening more interesting and gripping to listen to. More than the existence of the journey  here though, it's how Ilaiyaraaja-sir navigates this journey which is so incredibly fascinating.  When we talk about how one could transition from D major to D minor, theoretically moving between D  major and D minor isn't that difficult. If we use a special chord called the dominant chord, the  chord based on the fifth note of a given scale, we can easily resolve to the root chord  whether it's major or minor. So in this case, using the dominant chord A major can help us  transition from D major to D minor. This is what we call the dominant-tonic relationship  which I've explained in depth in a previous video. Using this principle, Ilaiyaraaja-sir  easily could have constructed the opening in a relatively straightforward manner, right?  So he could have just used chords that belong to the world of D major or that are diatonic  to D major for a majority of the opening and then just at the end he'd need to put in that  A major chord to allow for a smooth transition to D minor. Pretty straightforward, right? Let  me show you what that could have sounded like.

[00:02:45]But Ilaiyaraaja-sir doesn't want  to take the easy route. I'm sure he would have wanted to compose this  opening in a way that would be most musically and emotionally fulfilling.  And therefore, he comes up with this.

[00:03:21]You'll notice that the second half in particular  is very different from the sample version I showed you first. I'm sure you felt a sort  of surprise, an element of unexpectedness with the way Ilaiyaraaja-sir composed the second  half of his opening. So now it's time for us to understand why does it feel that way? Simply put,  Ilaiyaraaja-sir's version incorporates unexpected chords. Since the first half was fully based in  D major, even if we start to use different chords in the second half, we would expect to use chords  that are built off the notes of the D major scale.

[00:03:56]So maybe we could use the G major chord or the  A major chord or the E minor chord. And that's exactly what I did in the sample version  I played first. I use the chords G major, A major, E minor as a way to provide a little bit  of variation compared to the first half, but still stick to the key of D major and its notes.  And then we are fully reliant on the A major chord to serve the magical role of a dominant  chord, which allows us to transition to D minor.

[00:04:25]And that works just fine. But Ilaiyaraaja-sir  wants to make this journey interesting and not just fine or functional. And so as soon as we move  into the second half, he runs away from the world of D major completely. The first chord used in  the second half is B flat major, a chord that uses notes more in D minor rather than D major.  And the following chords also live more in the D minor world until the final chord, which is a  variant of A major, just like the first sample version we heard. So comparing the two versions is  really interesting because the first half in both versions are the same based on D major and both  versions at least to some extent rely on the A chord at the end to serve as a pivot or transition  into the next section of the song. But the approach to the second half is totally different  as my sample version stayed close to the world of D major while Ilaiyaraaja-sir's version went on  a short yet fascinating journey towards a vastly different sound before expertly landing back on  that final A chord in order to transition into the next section. The second version therefore takes  the listeners on a journey and makes the song more unexpected and engaging. And that engagement  is ultimately what you're looking for in any composition. Enough about the opening. Now, let's  talk about the bass. Everyone has heard about the godliness of Ilaiyaraaja-sir's basslines, and  this track is a prime example of that. It's so hard to summarize what makes his basslines so  special. But if I were to try, I would say the bass is much more versatile in a Ilaiyaraaja-sir  composition than it is in most other compositions.

[00:06:07]Now what do I mean when I say that the bass is  more versatile in a Ilaiyaraaja-sir composition?

[00:06:13]In most compositions, the bass plays a relatively  predictable role. It supports harmony, locks in with the rhythm and provides a foundation.  And there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, that's exactly often what the song needs.  And you can hear even Ilaiyaraaja-sir using the bass in a more conventional manner even in Idhu Oru Nila Kaalam for example in the beginning of the charanam.

[00:06:48]But of course, as I said previously,  in this song, the bass plays a greater variety of roles than a bass would usually  do. And I would say that there are three main ways in which Ilaiyaraaja-sir uses the  bass in an unconventional manner. Firstly, the bass directly harmonizes the melody at  certain points in the song. For example, the first interlude where the bass  directly harmonizes the male vocals.

[00:07:32]Notice here that the bass is not doing its typical  role of just supporting the harmony and rhythm. It is completely rhythmically aligned with the melody  and directly harmonizing the notes of the melody.

[00:07:45]In a more conventional scenario, we might  see a higher pitched instrument playing the role of directly harmonizing the melody while  the bass would simply support the groove. So, a more typical arrangement of this  section might sound like this.

[00:08:19]But by making the bass directly harmonize  the melody, we get a more unique sound as the bass is pulled out of its comfort  zone. Ilaiyaraaja-sir has done this in other songs too. So maybe we could even  call it a trademark of his. Take this interlude in Vanithamani for instance where  the bass directly harmonizes with the lead.

[00:08:45]The second unconventional way in which  Ilaiyaraaja-sir uses the bass is to use it as a tool for counter-melodies, a secondary melody  that directly responds to the main melody. Just like the harmony case we looked at previously,  a counter-melody is usually sung by maybe a secondary vocalist or a higher pitched instrument  rather than a bass. But in the pallavi, we hear the bass playing a beautiful secondary melody line  that so brilliantly complements the main melody.

[00:09:24]Here's what it would have sounded like if the  bass played a more conventional role and if we gave the counter melody to a more conventional  instrument, say a set of chorus singers.

[00:09:41]Honestly, both approaches have their own  merits, but giving the counter-melody to the bass is a really unique approach which really  highlights the bass in a really special way. The third unconventional way Ilaiyaraaja-sir uses the  bass is as the melody itself. This is something you'll notice in several of Ilaiyaraaja-sir's  songs. Actually, right before the vocal melody starts in the PallavI, you'll essentially  hear a short bass riff or mini-melody which previews or plays a portion of the upcoming vocal  melody. You hear it in Idhu Oru Nila Kaalam of course with the bassline essentially  previewing the upcoming vocal melody.

[00:10:37]You also hear a somewhat similar approach  to the bass as a melodic tool in some of Ilaiyaraaja-sir's other songs. Take for example  the song Thathom Thalangu Thathom where the bass essentially previews the melody albeit  it is alongside the keys. Nonetheless, it shows the bass playing a bit more  of a melodic role in a similar way to how it was used before the  pallavi of Idhu Oru Nila Kaalam.

[00:11:08]We could go on forever and ever about  how Raja-sir uses the bass guitar, but I want to spend this video covering one  other aspect of the song, and that is rhythm.

[00:11:18]The foundational rhythm or sort of beat  pattern of the song is quite a standard pattern in funk music in particular. It's  a beat pattern called the "shake beat".

[00:11:27]You'll hear it in like funk songs from back in  the 1960s and even in more modern songs as well.

[00:11:52]And Ilaiyaraaja-sir has integrated it  super smoothly into this song as well.

[00:12:08]But it's the variations he provides  from this rhythm which I think makes the rhythms really special in this song.  The first variation I want to talk about comes in the second interlude where the  drum beat seemingly like suddenly becomes quicker. Take a listen to this  and see if you hear what I mean.

[00:12:50]The technique Ilaiyaraaja-sir is  employing here is called double time, which essentially makes it feel like  the song has doubled speed. Compare the regular drum beat and the version in  double time and you'll feel the difference.

[00:13:13]The second variation is towards the end of  the second charanam. Take a listen to how he transitions from the first charanam back to  the pallavi and compare it to how he transitions from the second charanam back to the pallavi  and you'll notice a significant difference.

[00:13:52]After the second charanam, right when we expect  to smoothly transition back into the pallavi just like we did after the first charanam,  Ilaiyaraaja-sir instead stops and then he just throws in this sort of incredible syncopated  fill and then gives us the gratification of the pallavi melody. This is such a cool way to play  with the listener's emotions and to keep them on their toes by providing contrast at a moment  where they thought they knew what was coming.

[00:14:20]So that's it on Idhu Oru  Nila Kaalam. In this video, we explored the unique features  in the opening, the basslines, and the rhythms. And I really hope this  exploration helps you appreciate and enjoy the song even more than you did before. Thank you  so much for watching, and I'll see you next time.