The Red Cherry

Ever since the Volvo or the ‘Red Cherry’ was introduced in Bangalore my life has become so easy. I need not wait for the company shuttles anymore. In the past couple of months, I have used these buses more than my company shuttles and so wanted to write about them.

This seems to be the best thing happened so far to Bangalore public transport. Most of us crib about the pathetic traffic and infrastructure conditions in Bangalore but none of them understand that using public transport will reduce the traffic. But then the state of Bangalore’s public transport has made people to abstain from it. But not any more. The Volvo has found favor with the middle and upper middle class. In fact most of the days I travel in that standing and some days it is packed!

But then it has some distinctions on its own. Plying to electronic city and whitefield, many IT professionals use it. And that means you get to see some of the finest gadgets in the bus… yes I mean the very same BMTS bus. Laptops, PDAs, ipods are the most common ones. But its not confined to the commuters alone. The conductor uses an electronic ticket issuer, the driver makes use of the LCD screen instead of the rear mirror, mic to inform people about the bus stops, FM radio and on top of all these, the bus should be very easy to drive because its gearless!!

As for the travel comfort, AC is the most crucial thing with ducts provided above every seat. No sound and pollution, no jerks which gives u a comfort as good as a car. And its amazing pick up and speed mean u reach your destination in a short time. I hope that these kinds of Volvos are introduced in other parts of the city and also in other cities also. Not to mean they should dominate, certainly not, since they are affordable only by a smaller section of the society. But introduction of more Volvos will have a two fold advantage. First, you involve the higher strata of the society in using public transport. This will reduce traffic. Also it allows the government to follow a business model similar to the mobile business. (Mobiles make 70% profit from the 25% of total sales of high end models). They can make more profits from Volvos and hence reduce prices for the common class. If trains can have different classes like AC, sleeper and unreserved, flights can have economy, luxury and business to target different segments of the society then why not buses?? Who said only the poor should use buses?

Jillendru oru kadhal... chill out!

Its been a while since Rahman gave an album in Tamil. So does it meet the expectations in the light of failures of Ah Aah and Godfather? Heres a sneak peek…

1. Kummi Adi - Dr. Siva Chidambaram, Swarnalatha, Naresh Iyer, Theni Kunjarammal, Vignesh
Rahman tries to use varied voices for this folkish number, transpiring between the young and old. Naresh provides lot of energy to this song and the voice variations of Theni Kunjarammal stands out. Shes been used well at the correct places. But Swarnalatha seems to be wasted here. A fast tune with loads of traditional tamil sounds, this should go well with masses
Pullups - Vocals by Naresh. Theni Kunjarammal and Siva Chidambaram provide the folkish feel.
Letdowns – too many voices!
Rating – 7/10

2. Munbe Vaa - Shreya Ghoshal, Naresh Iyer

This is vintage typical Rahman stuff! Has a melodious tune with soft percussions. The song starts with a beautiful prelude (not sure of what instrument it is) and leaves u gasping for the first 30 secs. And then the vocals start with Shreya… well I am in love with her. What a voice shes got!! Well taken though some beautiful chorus ‘Rango Rangoli’. This has Rahman’s brilliance all over!
Pullups – Shreya, chorus and the tune
Letdowns – Naresh? He might be a good find but somehow his voice doesn’t really have that depth sometimes. Rahman… do u remember Karthik??
Rating – 9/10

3. Maaza Maaza - SPBCharan, Shreya Choshal
Reminds me of thazuvidhu nazhuvidu(Ah Aah), spiderman(New) but then I thought in the end this doesn’t have anything much to speak of. Charan tries very hard to sound like his father but fails miserably. Shreya does some kind of a justice but in vain. Maybe he composed this for SJ Surya but this will not fit in Surya’s movie! Some call this experiment… oh come on what is the experiment? One of the worst compositions of Rahman I should say!
Rating – 5/10

4. Machakari - Shankar Mahadevan, Vasundhra Das
May not be a great composition but I expect this to go well with the masses because it is fast and catchy. And no better singers than Vasundhra and Shankar to render this. Has got good fast beats and loads of energy poured in by the singers.
Pullups – Fast beats, great vocals, and a brilliant start.
Letdowns – Can’t think of for the moment
Rating – 8/10

5. New York - Rahman
The best track of the lot. The tune fits well with the lyrics portraying the pain of separation. Defnitely likable from the first hearing itself. Starts with a gentle loop that goes for a long time (couldn’t figure out if it was a hum or techno loop). Rahman has definitely improved as a singer off late. From arabic kadaloram and mustafa mustafa to ye jo desh hai tera and lukka chupi, its been a learning process for him as a singer. He is well supported by the low chorus in the background. Subtle guitars and soulful tune makes it a good pick for bedtime listening.
Pullups – Tune, suitable light arrangements and the harmony (chorus).
Letdowns – Nothing I could think of… perfect in every aspect. Somebody said it reminds of Malai kovil vaasalil… maybe the opening lines yes but not more than that!!
Rating – 9/10

6. Maaricham - Carolisa, Mohamad Aslam, Krishna
Rahman has tries something similar to “chandralekha” (Thirudha Thirudha), “Toofan ki raat” (Thankshak) but fails in a way. First hearing, I felt as if it was a Harris Jeyaraj number but then subsequent hearings put this song in a different light. First Anupama, then Sunitha, and now Carolisa… all reach the high octaves with ease. This is complemented by the deep low voice of the male singer. But really couldn’t understand what the last 1 minute was about!! But as is the case with other Rahman numbers this grows on u after 10 hearings.
Pullups – The deep low male rendention, chants of ‘Gautam Gautam’ that add a sensual feel.
Letdowns – The beat structure changes throughout but sometimes doesn’t fit the tune. Would have been better off to have followed just a single pattern. Maybe just the techno sounds of the first part could’ve been used throughout.
Rating – 7/10

7. Jillennu Oru Kadhal - Tanvil
Experimentation to the core!! May not go well with the masses because I am sure if you don’t appreciate Jazz u will not understand this song. But I never imagined listening to a Jazzz in Tamil!! Comparisons arise with Rahman’s own “Hello Mr Ethirkatchi” (Iruvar), “Strawberry Kanne” (Minsara Kanavu). But I feel that the Iruvar song had an Indian feel to it. Though the orchestra made it sound like Jazz but the tune was more Indian. But this song is Jazzy in all aspects.
Pullups: cat sounds. Now how on earth does a person (Rahman) think of putting such sounds (even if they are last minute additions to the song). Definitely great addition!!
Letdowns: Singing could have been better. The processed voice at some places doesn’t really suit the song. Lots of modulations but some of them sound too shrill. Maybe Sunitha Sarathy…
Rating – 8/10

This is definitely not in the same league as the 90s Rahman albums. But seems to be lot better than Godfather atleast! But with Rahman a lot depends on the director as is the case with others like Illayaraja and Yuvan. But nevertheless a gr8 buy. If you love experimentation u would love this!

Overall rating per market standards – 9/10

Overall rating per Rahman standards – 8/10