Lyrics for sEndru vA nI radhE - OVK

[smala]

Sri Lakshmanji, can't thank you enough for the lyrics of all the songs posted yesterday. Can just say a humble "nanri" to you.

[Lakshman]

shenru vA rAdhE. rAgamAlikA. rUpaka tALA.

(rAgA: kalyANi)
P: shenru vA nI rAdhE indap-pOdE ini cintanai sheidiDa nEramillaiyaDi
A: kanru pashu mEikkum nATTattilE avaraik-kANa varum Ayark-kUTTattilE shaTru ninru pEsha enrAl nEramillaiyaDi
(rAgA: kAmbhOji)
C1: shonnAlum puriyAdE unakkut-tannAlum tOnrAdE anda
mannanai nambAdE anda mAyan vAkku ellAm maN tinra vAi tAnE
(rAga: vasantA)
2: ulagai aLandOrkku unniDam vandoru poi OTTi aLappadum bhAramA kaNNan nalam vandu Ayiram shonnAlum nAm adai nambiviDl enna nyAyamA Ayar kulattiraivan nanda gOpan tirumagan koLvadellAm uNmaiyAgumA nam talattarugE inru inru tanittu vara enrAl tavap-payanAgumE vinaiyappan pOgumE

[smala]

Radha, delightfully chastised by a friend.

I seem to get the gist of this one : An impatient Sakhi asks Radha to come along with her, to stop dawdling in the hope of meeting Krishna for a chat, searching for him among the crowds that inevitably gather to watch the famous cowherd. Sakhi admonishes Radha saying that Krishna is just a mAyan, an illusion, not to be trusted, something she can't figure out for herself nor understand even if told. His words of promise come from the mouth that ate mud. Having roved around the world, he'll come to Radha with a pack of lies with strong pacifying words. If we fall prey to believing them, waiting eagerly for him alone to see us, it will simply invite trouble upon oneself, says the Sakhi.

Waiting for Ravi to refine the finer points.

[rshankar]

S-P - I will try my hand at providing a detailed meaning of this composition later today. But, very briefly, my take is that of a sakhi trying to get rAdhA, who is waiting patiently for krishNa in a secluded spot to face reality - that krishNA is not going to meet with her, despite the promises he's made.

[smala]

You must be on the right track, mine was just a general understanding. Looking forward.

[rshankar]

The setting I imagine for this composition is as follows: rAdhA, as the sarvAlankAra sundari, waits on the banks of the yamuna in a secluded part, sitting patiently on a rock (perhaps the same one the poet wants to be born as - as he describes in 'pullAi piravi tara vENDum'), awaiting krishNa's arrival, as he's promised her and it gets late, and as darkness is creeping up, the sakhi who has been sent as a messenger returns and says:

pallavi
senru vA nI rAdhE indap-pOdE ini cintanai sheidiDa nEramillaiyaDi

Oh rAdhA (rAdhE)! It is time (indap-pOdE) for you (nI) to leave (SenRu vA) [1]. There is no (illaiyaDi) time (nEram) anymore (ini), it is too late to think (cintanai SeidiDa) otherwise.

anupallavi
kanru pashu mEikkum nATTattilE avaraik-kANa varum Ayark-kUTTattilE shaTru ninru pEsha enrAl nEramillaiyaDi (Senru vA nI...)

My friend, he did not (illaiyaDi) have the time (nEram) to stand (ninru) around and chat (pESa enrAl) with me even for a little while (SaTRu) amidst the thronging hordes (kUTTatilE) of cowherds and cowgirls (Ayar) who come (varum) to behold (kANa) him (avarai) under the pretext (nATTattilE) of herding (mEikkum) their cows (paSu) and calves (kanru). (So, dear rAdhA, it is not appropriate to stay here alone any longer...)

caraNam 1
shonnAlum puriyAdE unakkut-tannAlum tOnrAdE anda
mannanai nambAdE anda mAyan vAkku ellAm maN tinra vAi tAnE (Senru vA nI...)

rAdhA presumably demurs, as the sakhi continues: My dear girl, you (unakku) are not able to figure (tOnrAdE) this out by yourself (tannAlE), nor are you willing to understand (puriyAdE) when explained (SonnAlum) that you should not trust (nambAdE) the word of that handsome man (mannanai)! For after all, the word (vakku ellAm) of that (anda) supreme illusionist (mAyan) is only as good as the mouth it comes from - the mouth (vAi tAnE) that ate (tinra) mud (maN). (So, dear rAdhA, it is time for you to go home...)

caraNam 2
ulagai aLandOrkku unniDam vandoru poi OTTi aLappadum bhAramA
kaNNan nalam vandu Ayiram shonnAlum nAm adai nambiviDal enna nyAyamA
Ayar kulattiraivan nanda gOpan tirumagan koLvadellAm uNmaiyAgumA
nam talattarugE inru tanittu vara enrAl tavap-payanAgumE vinaiyappan pOgumE (Senru vA nI...)

Since rAdhA is not convinced, the sakhi continues: Come on! Think about it. Will it be that much of a problem/burden (bhAramA) for someone who has taken the measure (aLandOrkku) [2] of the world (ulagai) to come (vandu) to you and spin (aLappadum) some (oru) tall tales (poiOTTi)? Knowing this, will it be appropriate (enna nyAyamA) if we (nAm) believe (nambiviDil) it/him (adai) even if krishNa (kaNNan) visits with us (vandu) and tells (SonnAlum) us a ton (Ayiram) [3] nice things (nalam), and try to hold him to his word? Will every (ellAm) whim and fancy (koLLudal) of the Lord (iraivan) of the yAdava (Ayar) clan (kula), the divine (tiru) son (magan) of the cowherd (gOpan) nanda, become (AgumA) a reality (unmai)? If such a person asks you to come (vara enrAl) today (inru) alone (tanittu), by yourself to this place that is 'close (arugE) to our (nam) secret place (talattu)', don't you realize that it is likely to happen (AgumE) only as a result/reward (payan) of severe austerities (tava), with the ability to make the consequences (payan) of our past deeds (vinai) go away/disappear (pOgumE) [4], rather than a romantic tryst? (So, dear rAdhA, it is indeed time for you to go home...)

FOOTNOTES
[1] When you take leave, or ask someone to leave, or describe someone who is leaving, it is considered appropriate to use 'Senru vA' or a variant - meaning, 'go, but only so that you can come back'; the verb 'going'/'go' by itself is used with finality to denote the final departure from this world; a similar sentiment that takes into account the finality of 'goodbye' must have shaped the emergence of au revoir or auf wiedersehen
[2] A beautiful play on the word 'aLattal' which means measuring as well as spinning (tall tales)
[3] Ayiram is a thousand
[4] pOgumE is used, because bad things ought to go away with finality

[smala]

C2 seems to end with a shift, subtle but sure, towards a philosophical acceptance of the mayan, the illusionist-deceiver, in that everything he says need not be believed nor does it have to be a reality - this waiting itself is an end-result of the some previous lifetime tapas as also a purge of previous (mis)deeds (vinai).

Quite a mile away from the prosaic and candid "don't believe and fall prey to the rascal" line I was towing.

"vinai" has several meanings, I take it?

[rshankar]

S-P - my take on the last part of c2 was that it was a sarcastic statement, using hyperbole to bring home a point to a particularly dense person.

vinai, as far as I am aware, refers to the consequences of ones past deeds (both good and bad - nal vinai and tI vinai respectively)

[smala]

Looks like the dense is right here. |( Now C2 makes sense following the previous thought in "words as good as the mouth that ate mud".

So "Vinnaithandi Varuvaya" would mean - can you overcome the past (deeds) and move on ? :$

[rshankar]

So "Vinnaithandi Varuvaya" would mean - can you overcome the past (deeds) and move on ? :$

S-P I saw this just now and HAD to chuckle!!

vinai = consequences of past deeds

viN = sky/heaven (the gods are therefore called viNNOr)

viNNai tANDi = cross(ing) (tANDi) the skies/heaven (viNNai)

So the title of the movie asks "will you come (to me) from across the skies?"