Mayya Mayya ( cover version ) from Guru- a short piece

Have always loved the former part of this song, and have stuck to just that.

Also, this is not an imitation of the original, so you might find differences in the way it’s been sung, although have attempted to convey the same emotion/mood as in the original . Hopefully you will like my take on it :-)

This goes out to Manohar, my better half who celebrated his birthday with Christ on 25th Dec. And, here's also wishing all of you a very safe, prosperous and joyous New Year!

Movie: Guru
Originally sung by: Chinmayee, Mariam Toller, keerthi
Original music by: A R Rahman
Lead vocals, Harmonies & Mixed by: Meera Manohar

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Mayya Mayya ( cover version ) from Guru- a short piece | Upload Music

Agni Kunjondru (Mahaakavi Bharathiyaar)- Unplugged

Have been sick for the last couple of days, and thought will do this despite a terrible sore throat and cold. This song has never ceased to bring peace to me in the past.

“Agni kunjondru kandaen
Adhai angoru kattilor ponthidai vaithaen
Vendhu thanindhadhu kaadu, thazal veerathil kunjendrum
Mooopendrum undo?”

are probably some of the most famous lines of Bharathiyaar. This very short version is based on the virutham piece done by Bombay Jayashree in her album “Atma- the soul”

Unsure if I can post anymore before we usher Christmas & the New Year, so here’s wishing all visitors a Merry Christmas and a wonderful, safe and happy New Year!

Thanks for listening

Agni Kunjondru ( Mahakavi Bhaarathiyaar )- Unplugged | Online recorder

Rasiyaa (cover version) from Kurbaan

Black friday deals at most popular electronic stores typically have this “one” laptop with the most amazing config., but— there’s only one of it available. And, needless to say, some good soul lays his/her hands on it at unearthly odd hours in the AM.

This song rasiyaa is also like that one laptop, but it’s just that it can be hashed, rehashed and the types on a portal like Muziboo, and the audioblogging world. I am a sucker for low ranged songs, and am not an exception for having picked this song as well.

Thanks Kuhoo, for the track and Radhika for the track and the original MP3.

Movie: Kurbaan
Orginal music by : Salim Suleimaan
Originally rendered by: Shruthi Pathak
Lyrics by: Prasoon Joshi
Main Vocals, harmonies, added vocal effects & mixed by: Meera Manohar

Apprecaite your patience in listening to yet another cover of this song, and I am pretty sure this will not be the last either :P

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Rasiyaa ( cover version ) from Kurbaan | Upload Music

Colonial Cousins 'Krishna' (cover version) with George Kuruvilla

George, somehow you have managed to make me sing my first English cover :=) So, thanks for asking me to sing this along with you.

And it is a wonderful coincidence that I am posting it today (Nov 11th), so here’s wishing Murali Venkatraman a very Happy Birthday!

Album: Colonial cousins
Original music by: Leslie Lewis & Hariharan
Originally sung by:Leslie Lewis & Hariharan
Cover version by: George Kuruvilla & Meera Manohar
Harmonies by: George Kuruvilla & Meera Manohar
Mixed by: George Kuruvilla

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Colonial Cousins "Krishna" (cover version) with George Kuruvilla | Upload Music

Oru Murai (cover version) with Murali Ramanathan

This song has been in my mind for god knows— how many years!? Thanks to never finding a track, was always on a wish list and remained there. This cover has been in the making for a while now. And, it so happened that I did this song before I went into my self proclaimed singing block crap :( Although I have done some sporadic recordings here and there, I haven’t been able to record anything to my satisfaction for the last month or so! Somehow, it is just not happening, and am really happy Murali Ramanathan could get this done, so I can keep my space active :)) Thank you Murali for singing this along with me.

Probably one of the tougher numbers I have done until now. I wanted to do it in one shot, and have managed to for the most part, except for some punch ins which I couldn’t avoid *darn*!!

A few thank you’s are in order here. Firstly, many thanks to Pradip who provided me with some pointers which made me revist my initial take. Srividya— this song would never have seen this day unless you had uploaded it yourself and I knew that a track existed for this song LOL. So, thanks for the track!

And, last but definitely not the least, George— thanks so much for suggesting this song, and this song goes out to you.

Movie: Manichithrathaazhu
Original music by: M.G.Radhakrishnan
Originally sung by: K.S.Chitra and K.J.Yesudas
Cover version by: Meera Manohar & Murali Ramanathan
Mixed by: Meera Manohar

Best enjoyed in headphones, and thanks in advance for listening

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Oru Murai ( cover version ) from Manichithrathaazhu- with Murali Ramanathan | Upload Music

Gems of Ilayaraaja- Idhu Oru Nila Kaalam ( cover version ) from Tik Tik Tik

Been an avid lover of this song right from the time I listened to it, atleast some 20 odd years ago I am sure. Beautiful pick from IL’s collection. I would probably equate this song to the “Chaliya” or some other equivalent Hindi number of today with respect to the mood/emotions it evoked then! Absolutely delectable singing by S Janaki, one of her best I would say. Ofcourse not to mention the beautifully done harmonies!!!

Am so glad to be covering this song as a celebration to finishing my 2nd 1/2 marathon last Sunday. I managed to shave 30 mins off my previous years timing. Those of you who like to read, are welcome to stop by my text blog here And, thanks in advance to those who do decide to do that :)

Thanks Narayanan for doing the backing vocals for this. I really enjoyed you “bumh bumh” sound effect in the 2nd BGM :P I am sure figuring out this harmony set was a toughie. And, really appreciate you doing it despite severe throat conditions :)

Movie: Tik Tik Tik
Original music by: Ilayaraaja
Originally sung by: S. Janaki
Main vocals, harmonies & mixed by: Meera Manohar
Male backing vocals & harmonies: Narayanan Raju

Thanks a million for forwarding the track Montreal Babu

Thanks folks for listening in….

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Gems of Ilayaraaja-Idhu Oru Nilaa Kaalam ( cover version ) from Tik Tik Tik | Music Upload

Celebrating Shankarabaranam-2- Maanasa Sancharare with Murali Venkatraman

Write up by Murali Venkatraman

“Have you read all these books ?!”

My mother exclaimed innocently looking at the many cartons of books I have ranging from highly technical ones which ran for thousand pages or more to ones which were pocket-sized that captured popular science in an interesting way. I was stunned for a moment since I did not know how to answer. I took a look at my big collection and responded:

“No amma. I hope I will read them some day”

She got busy with kitchen work and had forgotten the conversation. For her it was just a curiosity as to how much her son could study.

But the question reverberated in my mind. Why do I have so many books some of which I may never be reading ? For example, I have books on mathematical logic,topology etc but given my time constraints, I wonder if I will ever get to read them. It led me to an important decision – “No more books until absolutely necessary”. My mother’s simple innocence-laden question pushed me to rethink about my attitude towards buying books.

While talking about the life of the poet-philosopher-composer Sadashiva Brahmendra one cannot but admire how a simple instruction from his mother-in-law transformed his life from one of a possible ordinary family man into someone who moved freely like a gypsy and composed beautiful songs with deep philosophical thought. It may be a folklore, that his mother-in-law’s words “Don’t come inside the house” on the night of his marriage consummation, made him rethink about his real pursuits in life.

However, consider another related question : “What is the purpose of life if there is one at all ?”. This seemingly simple question has been addressed for centuries and people are still trying to find an answer. With brahmendra, the simple instruction/question did have a deep impact on the man who finally came to the public domain and we were blessed with an exceptional poet. Thus seemingly simple innocent questions/instructions may bring about some dramatic irreversible transformations.

Read more about Sadasiva Brahmendra here :

Link 1
Link 2

To quote my mentor Dr. Bosco Emmanuel:

“Pioneers of science always asked and addressed simple questions. How did D. J. Thouless arrive at the branching in the theory of percolation ? He just asked a simple question. What will be the conductivity of carbon if I randomly punched a few holes in it ? He took a carbon sheet and punched a few random holes in it, measured the conductivity and plotted a graph of the conductivity versus available area. He finally ended up being an exponent in percolation theory "

In this beautiful song which is set in the ragam shyama, which is a cousin of shuddha saaveri and aarabhi, Sadashiva expounds beautiful descriptions of a divine being (krishna) when he himself is in a state of trance. He instructs the mind to roam in the field of universal consciousness (the Brahman) aided sweetly by the music.

In the movie, this comes as a lullaby that the sishya sings for the guru. The director K. Vishwanath had tastefully used a break in the song in the guise of sishya forgetting the lyrics. This invariably invites the voice of guru (SPB) and an uninfringing melody which gently rocks the listener is born. In our version, I have expanded the song a little more to allow more room for the male singer to savor.

Lyrics:
====

maanasa sanchararE
brahmaNi maanasa sanchararE

madasikhi pinchaalankruta chikurE
mahaneeya kapOlajita mukurE

shri ramaNeekucha durga vihaari
sEvakajana mandira mandaarE
paramahamsamukha chandra chakOrE
pari poorita muraLeeravadhaarE

(courtesy : http://www.telugulyrics.net/Sankarabharanam-Movie-Lyrics/Manasa-Sancharare-Song-Lyrics/)

Meaning:
==

Oh, Mind ! Undertake your pilgrimage in the Brahmam !

The locks of Brahman, is adorned with the plumes of an exhilarated peacock (mada sikhi)! The cheeks of the Supreme One outwit the brightness of a mirror !

He sports around in the fort of the breast-hillocks of Mahalakshmi (Sri). For his devotees, He is a Kalpavriksha in the court yard (mandira Mandaare) Supreme ascetics (paramahamsa) delight in that face-moon (mukha chandraa) as a partridge bird (chakore – with obvious reference to the chakora bird that thirsts for moonlight) Oh, Mind! May your pilgrimage be complete in this Brahman that fills everything with the flow of the music from His flute(murali) ! !

(courtesy:http://www.ecse.rpi.edu/homepages/shivkuma/music/manasasancharare.htm )

Credits:

Song : Maanasa Sancharare
Composer / Lyricist : Sadashiva Brahmendra
Originally sung by : Vani Jeyaram, S. P. Balasubramaniyam
Orignally Arranged By : K. V. Mahadevan
Movie : shankaraBharaNam

Singers: Meera Manohar, Murali Venkatraman
Karaoke/ Arrangement : Murali Venkatraman
Mixing : Meera Manohar

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Celebrating Shankarabharanam - 2 - Maanasa Sancharare with Murali Venkatraman- REUPLOADED | Upload Music

Yaaravan- Original composition by Balamurali Balu

In the last couple of years, I have been very fortunate enough to have worked on quite a few originals- for composers through the Blogswara platform. Originals are great, has no boundaries, have the ability to make it your own, and needless to say most artists are way more passionate in this since you are part of the creative team :)

Bala approached me with this song a while ago and when I listened to it, found it pretty interesting. Thanks Bala, really appreciate you trusting my abilities and letting me explore the melody/feel however I wanted to :-)

And, here’s what we came up with.

Credits:

Song: Yaaravan Yaaravan
Original music, lyrics and arrangement: Balamurali Balu
Originally rendered by: Meera Manohar & Balamurali Balu
Backing Harmonies: Meera Manohar & Balamurali Balu
Mixed by: Balamurali Balu & Meera Manohar

Lyrics:

Pallavi:
Yaaravan yaaravan
En nenjilae paainthavan
Kaadhalai sonnavan
enai kaayamum seithavan
Uryir thanthavan
Enai kondravan
Avan nallavan
konjam kettavan


Saranam-1:
Un kangal ennai paark a oru nodiyil uraigiraen
Un moochin veppam thaaka urugi naanum karaikiraen
Unakkaaga vaazhathaanae thudikiraen
Nee sol uyirai naanum tharugiraen
Idhu kaadhal enbatha
illai saathal enbatha
En vaazhvin arthamum neethaan
en vaazhkai michamum neethaan


Saranam-2:
Un peyarai ezhuthida naanum vairamuthu illaiyae
Un peyarai sollida naanum isaingyani illaiyae
en kaadhal neelam vaanam ellaiyae
Solvatharku vaarthai ingu illaiyae
Unai thee thee enbatha
Illai thanneer enbatha
sudum venneer enbatha sollada….
Sri raamanin vedathil manmathaa….

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Yaaravan Yaaravan- Original composition by Balamurali Balu | Online recorder

Mayilirahae ( cover version ) with Pradip Somasundaran

A very beautiful romantic number from a rather lousy movie Ah Aah!! ARR has his real talent to rope in those perfect voices for his numbers and this is no exception. Naresh iyer identified with the 16+ dreamy eyed girls when he debuted in the Tamil music industry. Have never cared too much for Madhushree's voice. Like Sadhana Sargam's tone, infinitely better :)

Those of you who haven't watched this song, Please, I sincerely urge you to catch it on youtube so you can laugh your guts out :D Pity you-- ARR, one of your most beautiful melodies pictured this way.

Thank you Pradip, for asking me to sing this with you.

Song: Mayilirahe
Film: Anbe Aaruyire (Ah Aah)
Music A.R Rahman
Lyrics: Vaali
Original Singers: Naresh Iyer and Madhushree

Covered by: Meera Manohar and Pradip Somasundaran

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mayilirahae | Online recorder

Munbe Vaa ( cover version ) with Karthik Nagarajan

Been more a year since I have had this song on my list, fervently searching for that voice which would re-create the magic that Naresh Iyer weaved when it released. And, I was fortunate enough to find Karthik Nagarajan, thanks to Sindhuja :-)

To me, this song is probably one of the best romantic melodies ever done by ARR, ofcourse not to mention Surya being featured :P

Thanks Karthik, it was really fun working with you, and here’s to more collaborations!

Movie: Sillunu Oru Kaadhal
Originally sung by: Naresh Iyer & Shreya Ghosal
Original music by: ARR
Cover version by: Karthik Nagarajan & Meera Manohar
Female Backing vocals : Meera Manohar
Male backing harmonies: Karthik Nagarajan
Mixed by: Meera Manohar

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Munbe Vaa ( cover version ) with Karthik Nagarajan | Online recorder

Kuch tho log ( cover version ) with Jay Swami

Thanks to Jay, here is a beautiful pick from Kishore Kumar’s stable. Jay sent me an arrangement for this, and have always liked this. And, here’s my shot at it.

I absolutely enjoyed working with you, Jay :-)

Originally sung by: Kishore Kumar
Original music by: R.D.Burman
Movie: Amar Prem
Arranged by: Jay Swami

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Kuch tho log ( cover version ) with Jay Swami | Music Upload

Vandhe Maataram ( cover version )- Orchestration by Sushane Shankar

A long story……………………………………………………………

To cut it short—
1. Asked Sushane if he will play violin for an unplugged version of my vande maataram. Ans: yes
2. Was down with sore throat, so was late in sending it to him. Sent in 2 days before with an even worse sore throat than I started out !
3. He got back to me saying it would be great if we can do orchestration for it and he can do it. Ans: yes ( me )
4. Aug 14th, 11.30 AM: Sent me a version but that just had the pallavi (technical/computer hanging issues et al), not the charanam. I was a little shocked, bemused.everthing rolled into one. Then he had this brilliant idea to make the charanam into a virutham.
5. Aug 14th 11.30 PM: I went along with that idea and this is what we came up with

Also, he has added some lyrics of his own to this wonderful piece.

Ennuyir annai thandha yen anbu desam nee
Mozhi ina jaadhi bedhame yedhum attraval nee
Valam thandha Manne
Vanangugirom unnai….

Thanks Sushane, it was awesome working with you.

Folks— Posted this on August 15th 2009 on my muziboo space as a tribute. Hope you enjoy listening to our interpretation of Vande maataram

Vande Maataram
Orchestrated by: Sushane Shankar
Sung by, harmonies & mixed by: Meera Manohar

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Vandhe Maataram-Orchestration by Sushane Shankar | Online recorder

Nilaa Kaaigiradhu ( Cover version ) from Indira

Song that introduced and shot Harini, the golden voice to fame. Amazing movie featuring Anu hassan and directed by Suhasini Maniratnam, dealing with caste/communal issues and women’s rise to freedom in a small interior village in TamilNadu. What better way to celebrate our independence with a song from a movie which rightly fights injustice across various levels?

The movie and the audio album had 2 versions, the second being “piruchified” by none other than Hariharan. Awesome awesome one if you want to get goosebumps. The version I have presented has more influence of the male than the female ( ofcourse not the insane brigas of Hariharans LOL)

Thanks to Montreal Babu for the k-track!

And your time and interest to listen and comment… much appreciated :)

Movie Name: Indira
Original Music by: ARRahman
Originally sung by: Harini
Director: Suhasini ( whoo hoo!)
Lyrics by: Vairamuthu ( whoo hoo again :)
Cover version sung & mixed by: Meera Manohar

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Nilaa Kaaigiradhu ( Cover version ) from Indira | Music Upload

Tu Muskura ( cover version ) with Pradip Somasundaran

Absolutely fell in love with this song when I heard it in 2008, the year it released. Always have wondered why this album of ARR wasn’t as popular as his other Hindi ones. Then… I made the mistake of seeing the movie :-( Very sad state of affairs to say the least, and definitely the lesser the said, the better!

Music by ARR, just beautiful!!! And this is the 2nd song I am covering after Tu hi mera dosth with George Kuruvilla.

This song is a beautiful romantic number with great singing by Alka Yagnik & Javed Ali. Not a big fan of hers, but I have found her giving her best for ARR consistently, and this song is no exception.

I had a pre-requisite to do this number, and that was Pradip being available. Given the complexity of the ending swarams/jathis, and the voice match— somehow couldn’t imagine anyone else giving this song the required dedication, that it so richly deserves. So, thank you Pradip, for doing Javed’s parts, and for all your help especially in my nemesis lang., Hindi LOL

Thanks in advance for your time, and happy listening!

Movie: Yuvvraaj
Original Music by: A R Rahman
Originally sung by: Javed Ali & Alka Yagnik
Cover version by: Pradip Somasundaran & Meera Manohar
Mixed by: Pradip

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Tu Muskura ( Cover version ) with Pradip Somasundaran - Re uploaded | Upload Music

Celebrating Shankarabaranam-1- E Teerugananu with Murali Venkatraman

Write up by Murali Venkatraman:

Sabhaku Namaskaaram.

It may not be wrong to call the movie shankarabharaNam as the crowning jewel among the works of composer Shri K. V. Mahadevan. It was a movie that simply established that in the midst of light music, one could really be left captivated by classical music if presented appropriately with a good story-line (by director K Vishwanath) . Although KVM had worked magic all through his telugu and tamil movies (e.g SwatikiraNam, thiruviLaiyaadal ), he made a remarkable choice of a singer in this movie. In all his earlier movies, he went for singers who were either partially trained (Susheela) or at the level of vidwan (Ghantasala, T. M. Soundararajan). In this movie, he picked S. P . Balasubramaniyam (who calls him that ? It is either SPB, SP or Balu) who was completely untrained and established that a committed effort to train him would provide rich dividends. SPB just grew from strength to strength and was associate with so many other films where he breezed through many classical and semi-classical compositions and both telugu and tamil music were never the same.

Science and Art cross barriers. An obscure researcher working quietly in a remote place like port of Madras, was recognized by the great mathematician Hardy only to unveil the genius that was Ramanujan. Ramanujan knew nothing but math. But Hardy ensured that his work was recognized beyond doubt. Similarly for our country that has had many regional problems because of languages, music has often provided the much needed fabric of harmony. How would one explain KVM and SPB’s success then ? SPB – a native telugu speaker – is loved by tamils all over and KVM – a tamilian- whose reputation as a composer in Telugu is unmistakable. Other greats likeMSV, IR, Susheela, Janaki, Chitra, and Yesudas and now Rehman have similar reputations. The beauty of Telugu seems to be locked in the fact that it is heavily derived from sanskrit but slanted in a delivery which is southern. In a way it ideally represents a good blend of the North and South Indian elements in sync. Malayalam is another language which has a similar blend although it is softer on most syllables than Telugu.

In an effort to recall and celebrate 30 years since the release of the movie, I team up with my friends ( Meera, Narayanan, Vidya, Adithi and may be some more) to re-do some of the songs in the movie as a tribute. Some songs will be rendered as they were in the movie and some with slight modifications in arrangements. Some of us are not native telugu speakers but have sincerely tried for dictional accuracy by consulting with telugu speaking friends. Despite our best efforts, if there be errors we sincerely apologize.

The first song in this series is “E teeruga nanu” – a classical composition of Bhadrachala Ramadas who may be called the tamil equivalent of Manikkavaasagar. Both were state-servants who out of their devotion towards their deities,, used up the state money for charity and religious causes. Both were great poets and singers and have left a wealth of literature for us to indulge. This song appeared in a truncated form in the movie. Hence when I created the Karaoke track, I took the liberty of expanding the song to include the last paragraph of the original. In the movie, the song was delivered by the inimitable Vani Jeyaram. In here, we present this as a duet with some extra (hopefully) un-infringing phrases. I find that the raga of the song is either Nadanamakriya or Mayamalawagowla. I am not very sure about the differences between these two. The lyrics of the song were obtained from this link and they are provided here for your reference:

E teeruga nanu daya jUcedavO ina vaMSOttama rAmA
nA taramA Bhava sAgara meedanu naLinadaLEkshaNa rAmA |E teeruga…|

Sree raghu naMdana seetA ramaNA Sritajana pOShaka rAmA
kAruNyAlaya Bhakta varada ninu kan&nadi kAnupu rAmA |E teeruga…|

krUra karmamulu nEraka cEsiti nEramuleMcaku rAmA
dAridryamu parihAramu sEyave daiva SikhAmaNi rAmA |E teeruga…|

vAsavanuta rAmadAsa pOShaka vaMdanamayOdhya rAmA
dAsArcita mAkaBhayamosaMgave dASarathee raghu rAmA |E teeruga…|

Please let us know how you feel about this song and also about the rest of the series to come.

Movie : ShankarabharaNam
Composer and Lyricist : Bhadrachala Ramadas
Originally Arranged by : K. V. Mahadevan
Orignally sung by : Vani Jayaram

Cover version:
Karaoke / Arrangement : Murali Venkatraman
Singers : Meera Manohar, Murali Venkatraman
Mixing : Meera Manohar

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Celebrating ShankarabharaNam - 1 - E teeruga (cover version) with Murali Venkatraman | Upload Music

MSV-Ilayaraaja gems: Ooru Sanam ( cover version )

A movie which just had those really really melodious songs. Movie was okay, the usual love theme with nothing new to offer, but the songs were just mindblowing, and in the 80’s this was like “the thing” LOL

Thanks Rosh for forwarding the k-track.

My mac/apogee duet was acting a little funny while I recorded this, a few questionable breath sounds here and there!! Apologize for that glitch in recording :)

A song request from my mother, who is an ardent of everyone from G.Ramanathan to the new age Yuvan and Devi Sriprasad :) Guess, she is more progressive than I ever will be :D

So amma, here you go!!

Movie: Mella Thirandhadhu Kadhavu
Original music by: MSV-IL
Originally sung by: S.Janaki
Rendered & Mixed by: Meera Manohar

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MSV-Ilayaraaja gems: Ooru Sanam ( cover version ) | Music Upload

Enge Enadhu kavidhai (cover version)

Been a long desire of mine to sing this song. Chitra is just awesome in this song, mindblowing!! Had a couple of tracks but none that really was “the track” if you know what I mean :) So, postponed it saying “The day shall come when I shall get an original -1”, and I waited quite a while.

Then managed to download a decent enough track. Some last minute changes, asked Murali if he could do Srinivas’s parts since I had no patience to ctrl-c ctrl-v those chorus parts from the original :) The track has some distortions here and there, so please do bear with that

So, here it is, pretty tough song on the breath and the tongue twisting fast occuring words. Hope you all like the effort :D

Thanks in advance

Movie: Kandukondaen Kandukondaen
Original music by: ARR
Lyrics: Vairamuthu
Originally sung by : K.S.Chitra
Cover version by: Meera Manohar
Backing vocals & harmonies: Murali Venkatraman & Meera Manohar
Mixed by: Meera Manohar

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Enge Enadhu Kavidhai ( Cover version ) | Online recorder

Adiyae Kolludhae (cover version) with George Kuruvilla

I really liked the vocals in the original and decided to try it. Probably my first foray into the rock genre, well let’s say Tam-Rock :-)

There's this friend of mine whom I met quite a while ago, was an acquaintance then and probably is one of my best friends until date. This year completes 10 years of friendship and he especially loves this song, well atleast did when it came out :D

So, amidst hunting for best deals on airfares, awesome tasting brownies, complaining about nic nacs or the lack there of and such, guess I am glad to have a friend like you, Sriks. And, this song goes out to you ... thanks for being you!

George, thanks a ton for lending your vocals and doing just an awesome job of it. Couldn’t nitpick anything, damn! :=)) Hope all of you get to like what you hear.

Movie: Vaaranam Aayiram
Original music by: Harris Jeyaraj
Originally sung by: Krish, Benny Dayal and Sruthi Hassan
Main vocals by: George Kuruvilla & Meera Manohar
Harmonies by: George Kuruvilla & Meera Manohar
Mixed by: George Kuruvilla

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Adiyae Kolludhae with George Kuruvilla ( cover version ) | Online recorder

Minnadi Minnadi ( Cover version )

Ayush, my son completes 2 years today. So, this goes out to him and interestingly this song has always reminded me of someone singing to a small kid ( although honestly I can't understand too much of the lyrics :-)))

Suggested by Tailgunner aka Anup a long long time ago, and by that I really mean a lloooong time ago— say about 2 yrs ago :))

Somehow, never got around to doing this. I still remember listening to the original he sent along with the k-track and falling instantly in love with it. Thanks Anup for both of those…

So, here’s the song, my shot at it and I hope you like my take on it. This song is specially for you, for being a good friend and an amazing musician, needless to say :P

Good luck with your new job, post PhD stuff and ofcourse life, importantly.

Hope all of you like this cover, and tried to take care of obvious Na pronounciations in this mallu number.

Movie: Naran
Original Music by: Deepak Dev
Originally sung by : Chitra ( and if you haven’t heard her version, you are missing something :D)
Cover version by: Meera Manohar
Mixed by: Meera Manohar

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Minnadi Minnadi ( Cover version ) | Upload Music

Mar Jaawaan ( Cover version )

One of the songs that had me totally hooked, in the current crop of hits, not that I listen to latest "any" music too much :-))

Song goes out to Manohar, my husband. This is for you Manu, for all your dedication and hard work towards the Big Sur marathon that happened in April 09. Congratulations!!! You have survived the beast aka the wind, and undoubtedly a brutally difficult course :-)

Some things you might want to know (aah, here it comes!)
1. Still striving to get my Hindi pronunciation right, hopefully would like to think I have got kHwaab & AnkHon ( at the very least) right this time LOL All your diction corrections and suggestions keep me going. So, thanks in advance!
2. Some improvs from the original. Have tried some classical stuff as well as a few straight western notes to keep the flavour of the song intact.
3. Changed my voice a little here and there to suit the mood. Hopefully the mood is conveyed :)
4. Played with the rhythm here and there :P

And yes, best enjoyed in headphones.

Movie : Fashion
Original Music by : Salim & Sulaimaan
Originally rendered by : Shruti Pathak and Salim Merchant
Main vocals, Harmonies/backing vocals and Mixed by: Meera Manohar

Muziboo comments and discussions on this post

Mar Jaawaan ( Cover version ) | Upload Music

Phir Dekhiye from Rock On

Recorded this way back in December, actually my first proper Hindi number ;-) Had a problem with the track I got, and George from Muziboo recommended using Jay’s track. So, here it is, my attempt with from-the-scratch track done by Jay Swaminathan

Thanks George, for your patient reviews of Phir dekhiye, and the nitpicks, ofcourse :=D

Title:Phir dekhiye
Movie: Rock On
Original Singers: Caralisa Monteiro
Music Director: Shankar Ehsaan Loy

An absolute beauty by Caralisa. Jay, thanks for the track and your track makes all the difference to this cover.. awesome work on this number !

Comments/discussions on this song

Phir Dekhiye from Rock On | Upload Music

Yamuna Veruthey (cover version)

Credit goes to Roshini for suggesting this song, taking the pains to send me the original and the an awesome k-track to back it with :) If not for you, I don’t think I would have listened to this song, and I ended up adoring it so much that I jumped my line of songs to do this one first *LOL*. This song goes out to you Rosh, and thanks for requesting this!!

The movie Ore Kadal ( a totally off beat film with brilliant performances by both Meera Jasmine and Mamootty, the former earning a Shantaram’s National Award & Kerala State Award) has music scored by Ouseppachan (earning a Kerala State award as well). Interesting tidbit about this album is that, all songs are in the raagam Subha Pantuvaraali, probably one of the most frequently used, to depict pathos/sadness/despair.

I know there are a lot of non-Malayalam speakers in the blog world, who still take the interest and time to listen, so here is a short description of what the song is about to help make your listening experience better.“Yamuna Veruthey” is about a woman who longs for her lover who has deserted her. She equates herself to Yamuna and her lover to Krishna also known as Nandalala (one of the many names Krishna is referred to by). So, there goes the general picture :) Add a lot of sadness and despair to the feel of the song and this is bound to be a haunter. Don’t forget to listen to the original by Shweta Mohan, D/O singer Sujatha.

Movie: Ore Kadal
Music by :Ouseppachan
Original by: Shweta Mohan
Main vocals and mixed by: Meera Manohar

Muziboo page for comments/discussions on this post



Yamuna Veruthey ( cover version) from Ore Kadal Upload Music

Maargazhi Poovae ( Cover version)

George from Muziboo requested this song quite sometime ago, god knows, been maybe more than a month or so. Was down with laryngitis for a while, and then for a while more…. and then the story continued :-))) In the meantime, he managed to fish out a good k-track for me 

Thanks George for requesting this, and forwarding a k-track. This one goes out to you :-)

Hadn’t listened to this song much in the past due to the singer, not a personal favourite of mine let’s say :D. Managed to finish the song 2 weeks ago, and then when I heard the original again, found that my version was quite different :P Actually, it was then that I realized that I had heard the song effectively only once before I sat down to record this. SO—the moral of the story/cut a long story short…....... you will find a lot of improvs in this *LOL*

Hope you all enjoy listening to this number and here's wishing all the readers.. rather listeners of this blog a very Happy Tamizh New Year and a wonderful Vishu!

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Movie: May Maadham
Originally sung by: Shoba
Original music by: ARR 
Cover version by: Meera Manohar
Mixed by: Yours truly
Harmonies & Backing vocals: Meera & Meera :)

Maargazhi poovae (cover version) | Upload Music

Anal mele (cover version)

Thought my son Ayush's serene face (while sleeping) might suit the theme of the song, but he's far from anything serene.. so just a hope, let's say :)

So, finally, getting to do a request from quite a few audiobloggers and a couple of my friends.

Song by HJ, only difference is minimal orchestration, with Sudha Raghunathan as the lead vocalist, and not Bombay Jayashree. Nothing special about the song per se, simple song and nice lyrics for a change. Have always liked this song from the beginning, but had pretty strong requests not to do it, from a few men folk I know. Dilly dallied for a while, then, couldn't ignore the requests for this song from the female clan :-) So, here it is!

This song specifically goes out to Ramaa and Shobana TR. Thanks guys, for requesting this song and trusting me with it, more than anything :)

Hope you enjoy listening to this. Thanks in advance

Song: Anal mele

Movie: Vaaranam Aayiram

Music by: HJ

Lyrics by: Thaamarai

Cover version by: Meera Manohar

anal mele | Upload Music

Kangal Irandaal (cover version) with George Kuruvilla

Approached George with this song almost 2 months ago, and he fell in love with it, and the result is what you are about to hear. Thanks George for all your hardwork, because I am sure this song to you is akin to me doing hard metal or something! (line copyright George *LOL*) Your vocals shine through,  and doesn't fail to show a different personality in this piece. So, hats off to all your dedication :-)

And, Swarasthaanam completed 3 years in February. So, here's celebrating all the hits and the misses :))

As always, we both have attempted a few improvs here and there while trying to stick to the basic skeleton of this melody. I really hope you all enjoy listening to this.

Muziboo comments page for Kangal Irandaal

Movie: Subramanyapuram
Original music by: James Vasanthan
Originally sung by: Belly Raj & Deepa Mariam
Vocals by: George Kuruvilla & Meera Manohar
Mixed by: George Kuruvilla


Kangal Irandaal (cover version) with George Kuruvilla | Upload Music

Germaniyin (cover versoin)-- introducing Mani Ram

Folks,

It gives me great pleasure to introduce Mani Ram, a co-singer of mine in Thillana, the bay area light music group I perform with. For bay area-ites, Mani Ram is no new face. He's a famous playwright, and a theatrical personality whose stage plays have taken bay area by storm.

Little did I know that he sings until he debuted with us in the year 2007 :) So, welcome Mani Ram! I sure hope you start audioblogging soon.

Mani suggested that we do a song together, and said Kamal songs would be a good fit. So, chose this all time hit of Kamal, and have given this a shot. Please do listen and let us know!

Muziboo comments page for this song

Song: Germaniyin

Movie: Ullasa paravaigal

Originally sung by: SPB & S.Janaki

Cover version by: Mani Ram & Meera Manohar

Music by: Ilayaraaja

Germaniyin Sendhaen malare (Cover version) | Upload Music

Urugudhae (cover) with Rajesh Raman

A beautiful melody from the movie Veyyil. Have given this a shot with Rajesh Raman

Rajesh Raman is based out of UK, and is blessed with a very strong yet expression laden voice, and a range to match. Some of his best works are featured in his website, so please do visit his page when you get the time. He has done an amazing job on this song which has been sung originally by Shankar Mahadevan. 

In this version, you will find some replications from the original and some improvisations from both our creative sides. Hope you all get to enjoy it as much as we did rendering it.

So here goes, and would appreciate tons if you could let us know :)

Muziboo post/comments on this song

Movie: Veyyil
Music by: G.V.Prakash Kumar
Originally rendered by: Shankar Mahadevan & Shreya Ghosal
Cover version by: Rajesh Raman & Meera Manohar



Urugudhae from Veyyil- Cover with Rajesh Raman | Upload Music

Yuvvraaj--ARR at his all time best!

Probably one of the best albums of ARR's I would say. Except for 1 or 2, the album has amazingly mind blowing orchestration and more so, beautiful execution by artists who have performed. Unfortunately, based on the audio I recently made the mistake of seeing this movie- unsure if I can even call it that!! (ARR, hope you are still sane enough to churn out more music even after this visual disaster so to say)

Anyways, now that being said, this song is probably the most dreaded post of mine in a long long time, and only one reason -- it's Hindi :)Well, to give a little history, I did try posting a Hindi number a while ago ( hmm, let's see, about say 2.5 years ago), and after that, I decided not to torture people more than necessary. So, graciously stuck to languages I knew, which aren't many just incase you are wondering :-D

And, now I am back again :)

Recently, had a chance to become a member of Muziboo and pity, didn't know until I researched that it was an online music community! I saw posts by fellow muzibians ( hope I said it right), and  here I am having mustered up the courage to venture into this language yet again, hoping to do more numbers in the future. Diction/pronounication might suck, but then I guess will improve as I go along. Thanks for your patience in advance :D

George Kuruvilla is a long time muzibian, and a quite popular one I should say . He has got an originality which shows up in every cover version he does, and that, in my opinion is very difficult, given that you are always guided by the original! Has a very nice distinctive voice which flows effortlessly through any song. I know you weren't that crazy about the song in the first place, George. So I really appreciate you doing it inspite of that!! The final part of the song (from aawaaz ka dariyaa) has pretty messed up chords. So I have sung that part of the song with my ears literally shut. I would appreciate if listeners could shut their mind off to the background score in that part  *LOL*

George has tried some innovative variations in this song. He has also done a few harmonies, which makes it stand out from the original. Please let us know how you liked it. You can also check out George's muziboo page for more comments and discussions on this post.

Muziboo page/more comments on this song

Song: Tu Hi Meri Dosth 

Movie: Yuvvraaj

Originally sung by: Benny Dayal, ARR & Shreya Ghosal

Cover version by: George Kuruvilla, George Kuruvilla & Meera Manohar

Mixed by; George Kuruvilla

Tu hi tho | Music Codes