A Requiem for Earth

by Lumiere, May-21st , 2018

Now what sort of a post is this one?

A song in a language we are no experts in by any standards- Tamizh?

What is making us do this now?

It is highly possible we are still reeling under the heartwarming nostalgic experience of watching our high rise generation of urban kids frolicking barefoot in heaps of mud in the recently concluded Red Earth Nature Play workshop session where Lumiere was also a partner.

It is also  likely that that experience suddenly made us more susceptible to the feel of this song we chanced upon on the net .

Anyway we are sure that  you do know by now that a lot of the stuff we put up here are simple outpourings with no pretence at either authority or erudition but heartfelt and sometimes thought provoking .

.Yet we even tried digging translations for this song despite our ignorance of the language  because

1. The visuals called out to our repository of memory working with Earth on our farms.

2. The tenor of the woman’s singing voice called out to distant rural roots.

3. The simple lyrics  bespoke far too strongly  of the laboring migrant’s angst of displacement & deprivation that, like invisible spores, saturates the very air of a growing metro like Bangalore overflowing with immigrants of all varieties .

4. We definitely caught the unmistakable smell of sweat and the sharp salt of  suppressed tears and felt at the same time the inspiring steel of sheer human resilience

5. Not only that ,we thought also heard through the language we do not know so well a cry for earth , a remembrance of a life better connected with Nature , even a stray train of empathic thought on behalf of forms of non human life  that is too rare to pass up acknowledged or be missed by us at Lumiere

Forgive us errors and do feel free to correct them even as you appreciate the spirit behind this sharing (This is specially to native speakers of the beautiful ancient language of Tamizh who are part of the  Lumiere Family).

“Nature & Lumiere-Nature’s Partner

Uniting Hearts ever ...”

Lyrics of Senga Soola Kaara from Vaagai Sooda Vaa

(Sung By Anitha/Lyrics By Vairamuthu/Music By M Ghibran)

Freely translated to English.

Senga soolai kaara

Senga soolai kaara

kaanja kallu vendhu pochu vaada

megam koodi irutti pochu vaada

O man who makes bricks

The brick is  baked, come now

Grey clouds are gathering, come soon.

sutta sutta mannu kallachu

natta natta kallu veedachu

nochu nochu patta namma pozhappu thaan

pacha mannaa pochu

The Mud we baked became bricks

The brick we placed became  houses

But this hard slog that is our livelihood remains

Like Mud unbaked .

vitha vitha kallu ennachu

vinna vinna thottu ninaachu

mannu kuzhi pola namma parambarai pallam aaghi pochu

What became of those sold bricks

They stand now touching the sky.

But people who make bricks like us

are stuck deep inside  the mud pit

Ayyanaar saami

azhudhu theerthu paarthom

soranai ketta saami

soththa thaane kettom ?

O Lord Ayyanaar

We tried weeping  before you

Uncaring Lord!

We only asked for some rice !

kaalai vaasa kangu poda

kalli mulli vetti vaada

Like a bull, come soon

Cutting through thorns and stone,come soon!

Senga soolai kaara

Senga soolai kaara

kaanja kallu vendhu pochu vaada

megam koodi irutti pochu vaada

O man who makes bricks

The brick is  baked, come now

Grey clouds are gathering, come soon.

mannu mannu mattum loraaga

makka makka paanju vaaraaga

mazha mazha vandhu

mannu karaigayil makka enge poga ?

The Earth gets dug and dug

People keep arriving in droves

When rain pours and the mud  melts

where will the people go ?

indha kali mannu vegaadhu

enga thalai murai maaradhu

manna kindi pona

mannu puzhuvukku veedu vaasal yedhu ?

This mud cannot be baked

Our generation ,will they not change?

when you keep digging away the earth

where will the insects go and live ?

Ayyanaar saami

kannu thorandhu paaru

enga veettu saami

unne vitta yaaru ?

O Lord Ayyanaar

Open your eyes and see

Lord of my home

Who else can take care us other than you?

edhir kaalam unakkagga

yettu yettu vachu vaada

The Future is yours

Join with  brisk steps

thanthana thaane thanthana thaane

vervai thanni veettukulle

velakku yethum vaada

Swiftly enter, let us  light the Lamp

Iin this house damp with sweat

0 Comments

Post your Comments