lyrics and meaning of an OVK song -aadum varai avar aadattum

ignoramus · Post by **ignoramus** » 24 Oct 2007, 12:09

hi all, i heard a composition of OVK by Santhanam starting with the words
"aadum varai avar aadattum". this is from an old cassette release of OVK songs - think it is INRECO. could anyone give the lyrics and meaning for the same please?

kmrasika · Post by **kmrasika** » 24 Oct 2007, 15:42

Lyrics: http://www.geocities.com/vc_sekaran/Oot ... adum_varai

meena · Post by **meena** » 25 Oct 2007, 01:28

This is a padam on krishna. Uses some nindAstuti indirectly

Meaning:
P: Let Krishna do what he pleases, I will not be charmed, and why should it bother me?". However, this dame is pining so much in Krishna's memory. It is actually a form of self-denial manifesting in what we call "vaRaTTu gauravam"(vanity) in Thamizh.
A: Let him seek me out. Don't divulge my location to him as much as possible.
C: He does not know proper etiquette (If gods don't know etiquette how are we humans to know?--This is my own comment --not OVK's). If you mention "etiquette" he wants to know how much does that cost. You are now explaining that to me. Is it proper? Will my mind accept it? Music in his hands is like a temple monkey--Knows no rules nor bounds. What else can I say? He uses saraLi varisai in his flute and janDai varisai in his hairdo. He dances and sings on the head of the showcase snake (kALingan).

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 25 Oct 2007, 07:21

A slightly more detailed explanation with padArtha...
Arasi, please fix the mistakes.

OVK spent his life in a trance - in another composition in bhairavi, he says, 'I always have your form in my vision, your music in my ears, and when I breathe, I take in the smell of the tuLasi leaves that adorn you' - In this trance, he composed songs, imagining himself to be krishNa at times, yaSOdA at other times, and a gOpI for the most. Here, he imagines himself as a gOpI who is pretending to be upset with krishNa and complains to her sakhI, thus:

pallavi:
ADum varai avar ADaTTum
arindu konDEnaDi
mayangEnaDi kuRaiyEnaDi (ADum varai)

Let him (avar - a respectful way of addressing krishNA - like unkO) dance to his heart's content - [ADum varai - as long as he (wants to) dance(s)]. I have realized (arindu konDEn) this my friend (aDI - a familar way of addressing a sakhi). I will not be fooled (mayangEnaDI - will not be intoxicated/charmed) by his antics. His dancing is not going to get him out of trouble this time, divine though it may be. I will not disgrace myself (by giving in to his pleading) - [kuRaiyEnaDI - I will not diminish/demean myself]

anupallavi:
tEDum varai ennai tEDaTTum
terivikkAdE aDi
iDaitai maTTum Etra maTTum (ADum varai)

Let him search (tEDaTTum) for me (ennai) for as long as he wants to (tEDuvarai - as long as he (wants to) search]. You may talk to him dear friend (aDI), as long as you do not disclose (terivikkAdE) my specific (maTTum) location (iDattai). Hold him off for as long as you can (ERRa maTTum).

charanam:
ingidam endrAlE vIshai enna vilai enDru
kETpAr anda mannan - adhai
eDuttu colla vandu ninDrAlE peNNE nI
ErkkumODi endan eNNam?

My friend (aDI), that (anda) Lord (mannan) [krishNa] is behaving so uncouthly, he seems to have forgotten how to be agreeable/display good manners (inkitam) [vISai enna vilai - how much (enna) does a vISai - a measure - cost (vilai) is a figure of speech, implying that he is the kind of person who would not know appropriate behavior - inkitam - if it came and bit him]. In such a situation, if you (nI) were to step forward (vandu ninDrAlE) to explain (eduttu colla) his behavior, my girl (peNNE), will it become that much more acceptable (ErkumODi) to me/my (endan) thoughts (eNNam)?

sangItam ivariDam kOyir kurangAga
tavikkudE en colla innum
saraLi varisai muraLikkAccu
janThai varisai koNDaikkaccu
alankAra pAmbu mElE ADiyAccu pADiyAccu (ADum varai)

Music (sangItam) is suffering (tavikkudE) in his hands (ivariDam) like a temple (kOvil) monkey (kurangAga), what else (innum en) can be said (colla)? He is making it sound like the saraLi varisai is for his flute (muraLikkAccu), and the janThai varisai is to be knotted in the bun (konDaikku Accu)) on his head, while the alankAras (a beautiful pun here - because alankAra also means showy/decorative) have been danced to (ADiyAccu) and sung (pADiAccu) on top (mElE) of the head of a snake (pAmbu - refers to kAlIya nartanam). These antics of his are bothering me no end. Let him do what he wants, I am not going to give in and become friends with him and do as he wants me to.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 25 Oct 2007, 08:35

Ravi,
I am not qualified at all to say this. I would call it my gut feeling. I somehow get the idea that this could be one of those songs which came to be 'known' as OVK's. asli kyA hai, nakli kyA hai? (what is truly his, what is not?)--I do not know. But if it is his, I am not enamored by it...

I admit that not all songs of a composer get to be of the same quality and have the same impact (I do know this!), but somehow, it does not sound like one of his compositions to me...

ignoramus · Post by **ignoramus** » 25 Oct 2007, 08:36

thanks a lot to all. great detail.

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 25 Oct 2007, 10:54

Arasi do you mean in terms of lyrics or music?

arunk · Post by **arunk** » 25 Oct 2007, 19:49

ravi - awesome stuff!

arunk · Post by **arunk** » 25 Oct 2007, 19:50

arasi wrote:Ravi,
I am not qualified at all to say this. I would call it my gut feeling. I somehow get the idea that this could be one of those songs which came to be 'known' as OVK's. asli kyA hai, nakli kyA hai? (what is truly his, what is not?)--I do not know. But if it is his, I am not enamored by it...

I admit that not all songs of a composer get to be of the same quality and have the same impact (I do know this!), but somehow, it does not sound like one of his compositions to me...

arasi. I love this song! Huseni - so apt for it

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 25 Oct 2007, 20:27

Vijay,
Words and imagery.

Arun,
Sorry to miff you. There are many songs of other composers too that I like (love) musically which have lyrics I cannot appreciate just as much. Let me explain it a bit more. When it comes to the great OVK, this certainly is a lesser composition as far as words go--then again, it is my personal feeling. If someone of his stature has to subject himself to comments like these, think of lowly composers like me

arunk · Post by **arunk** » 25 Oct 2007, 20:34

- no problem. Tastes do differ - I did not mean imply otherwise - as my

indicator was sort of in jest).

But yes a lot of OVK tamizh songs are very very colloquial (like pAdiyAccu ADiyAccu etc.) - almost folkish in character. A stark contrast against his sanskrit works which I hear are quite high flowing. As some say, this does seem to reflect how the two languages played a role in his life. One at home - informal, and the other "official" and thus formal.

Arun

jananee · Post by **jananee** » 25 Oct 2007, 22:11

Arun / Arasi madam

Could it be because they were operatic songs that were deliberately kept simple as they were from the perspectives of the gopis of Brindavan and would be appreciated better ? ( to quote Ravikiran in his book on OVK?)

arunk · Post by **arunk** » 26 Oct 2007, 00:25

jananee - it is possible. There are other songs which are not colloquial (ADAdu asangAdu etc.) - so it is possible.

Arun

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 26 Oct 2007, 04:03

Arun and jananee,
I think colloquialism can be charming and immediate, and whom else can I think of but OVK in that respect? No, it is not that. Again, I was referring to imagery and the words.
I have not read Ravikiran's book yet. Does he speak of 'iDAi Serugal's there? (Other people's songs added on to his as time went by)? While I have heard many songs of his in a row and it was bliss, a few of them here and there would strike me to be so. I am also thinking of the content and fervor, I suppose...

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 26 Oct 2007, 06:26

Arasi,
I see this as his versatility - one of the composers, I forget who, describes rAdhA in 2 ways..one, when she is happy, she refers to krishNa lovingly as the 'slayer of that demoness, pUtanA', and when she is upset with him, the same rAdhA, refers to the same episode, and calls krishNa the 'slayer of a defenceless woman'! I look at this composition in the same way - the same kavi who refers to the music from krishnA's flute as intoxicating, as 'diSai diSai engaNum paraviDum kuzhaLiSai mayangi varum pala gOpiyar', now in a fit of pique, refers to the same music as 'sangItam ivariDam kovil kurangAgA tavikkudaDI'!
I do agree that the provenance of these compositions is hard to prove, and it is possible that compositions of others were included as his (just like I am certain that a sizeable minority of compositions attributed to swAti tiruNAl are not really his), but the imagery it invokes is still compatible with the kavI's....

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 26 Oct 2007, 07:32

Ravi,
Your translations always deliver.
Thank you, arun and jananee for reacting gently to my comments.
I suppose it is one of those things. Something appealing to others and rightfully so, isn't one's cup of tea.

jananee · Post by **jananee** » 26 Oct 2007, 15:28

Arasi madam..undertand fully well what you were trying to say!!!

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 26 Oct 2007, 22:23

BTW, the words around and including 'kOyiR kurangAga' is not the same with the Santhanam version. It is something like 'sangItam avariDam thEnil karumbaga innikkudE en sholla innum'. That changes the tone 180 degrees, doesn't it?

Also he sings the 'jandai varisai' later on as 'kandai varisai' but sings the line again as 'jandai varisai'. Oh well...

I love Huseni and I always liked this song but never paid attention to the lyrics and the meaning till I read this thread. The Huseni aesthetic does not quite translate to the meaning. It sounds too cute in Huseni to be singing like this when the Nayaki is atleast genuinely a bit angry and is making fun/ridiculing/mocking the Nayaka. It sounds too endearing.

But with the above change to the lyrics in the Santhanam version, the charanam takes a totally different character and fits in better with Huseni.

arunk · Post by **arunk** » 26 Oct 2007, 22:26

vk - you need to attend more dance programs for use of husEni for this type of "rasa"

The overriding rasa here is mockery+sarcasm

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 26 Oct 2007, 23:07

Well, after a couple of listens with attention to lyrics, it does not sound too bad now.

That was my first gut reaction. And I am sure the dancer would completely make it look very endearing with quite a different facial and bodily expressions, every time the same line is sung. See, now you have created the urge in me to see someone good, dance to this piece.

Also, with the original 'kOil Kurangu' usage, I would naturally expect a similar 'mockery' metaphor with sarali varisai and jandai varisai but I do not see that. 'sarali varisai muralikkachu' seems like a straight statement of fact. The 'jandai varisai kondaikkacchu' is more along the 'mockery' metaphor though not as strong as the 'Kurangu' comparison

And then he switches to the 'alankAra pAmbu' which is again a straight statement than mockery. I do not know what is going on there. With Santhanam's change in lyrics by taking out the 'Kurangu', they are approximately in the same ball park though still a bit scattered.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 27 Oct 2007, 01:46

VK,
You're more articulate than I am and have helped me out in saying what I wanted to say. Scattered imagery. Unity and continuity in them somewhat missing...

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 27 Oct 2007, 06:10

Using new words is nothing new with OVK's compositions: Take tAyE yaSOdA - instead of 'kAl aSaivum kai aSaivum tALattODiSaindu vara nIla mEgha kaNNan avan nirtanam ADinAnDI', most people sing it as 'vAnOrgaL ellAm magizha, mAniDar ellAm pugazha.....'
So, this is nothing new.

I take that whole caraNam as mockery:
he 'plays' havoc with saraLi varisai...
he tosses up the jaNThai varisai up into his hair...
he dances and sings the alankAra varisai on a snake's head.... etc. etc. etc.

I think I read somewhere that this song in particular is demonstrative of how knowledgeable OVK was about the teaching/learning of music, even if he never learnt it formally. Similarly, when he sings, 'muDindAl aDavODum jatiyODum ADu' he displays his familiarity with bharatanATyam - that aDavus make the basic building blocks and by themselves mean nothing, unless they are put together in a sequence to form jatIs, and that the jatIs themselves would fall flat if the individual aDavus we not executed properly......

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 27 Oct 2007, 08:06

Ravi,
It will be charming no doubt, to see young girls dancing to the song. So much room for different expressions here.
Still, even if I see CinnanjiRu kiLiyE for the nth time, I would feel one with it. I am not sure about this one.

I went through the song again. The SaraNam starting with ingidam enRAlE still doesn't sit with me. Usually, OVK is a 'taDaiyilAdu pravAgameDuttODum nadi'. Both music and the words move joyfully along, unimpeded. Then I wonder. Has his song gained some gathering moss? A part of the song was missing perhaps and someone filled in the blanks?
Ravi, as I said before, several years ago I attended a demonstration where about thirty of his songs were sung in a row by a group of talented young singers. I was wrapped up in the mood that pervaded the hall. OVK's hallmark--an energetic trance (my oxymoron!) was at work. There were moments when I would come back to earth just because a few of the lines sounded hollow, not in character with the vivacity and the imprint of his creations.
Ravikiran was there in the audience that day. I do not know if he has made any observations about the authencity of authorship about all the songs that are known as OVK's.

My two palam's worth (lesser than vISai in weight )