Sunday, January 28, 2007

Translation of Nee Partha from Hey Ram

Epitome of Passion - A translation of Nee Partha from Hey Ram
Thanks to those fervent gazes that fazed us.
Thanks to the night that brought togetherness in us.
Thanks to the enduring wildness within us.
And, thanks to each of the immortal memories between us.

What is the need for the word, 'I'?
I am nothing but you, and nothing without you.
I bother not to beseech for boons anymore, 'cos
I can't feel any blissful than this seventh heaven.
I pray, let me have you always near me...

Why are we continuing this act,
even after the play is over?
I can go on forever, with memories of this one-act play.
Your thoughts would be alive till the last breath of my death,
I pray, let me have you always near me...

Thanks to those fervent gazes that fazed us.
Thanks to the night that brought togetherness in us.
Thanks to the enduring wildness within us.
And, thanks to each of the immortal memories between us.
I pray, let me have you always near me...

Most often you would find desperation or bereavement intertwined with passion in most of the passionate love songs. Of the very few songs that express totality, bliss, and serenity through pure passion, the song 'Nee paartha paarvaikku...' from Hey Ram just takes me on a high.

And, I have never heard a song where the orchestration is powerful enough to act as the third voice, falsifying the definition of a duet. When I say orchestration, Ilaiyaraaja just scintillates with his intelligent and creative use of just the piano. The few seconds of flute and an immediate follow by the violin, act as the transition elements handing over the song from the introduction phase to the next higher plane.

I would certainly place the piano prelude and motifs very close to Beethoven's masterpiece: Fur elise. The piano amazingly blends with the emotions of the vocalists. Rani Mukherjee's husky voice for the narrative in the beginning of the song adds genuineness and innocence to the fervent nature of the song.

Do I have to say anything about the Kamalahasan's lyrics at all? It is one of the rare songs that have short, simple, and straightforward lyrics. Kamalahasan has done an amazing job!

10 comments:

nithya said...

good good... finally made it ah!

Anonymous said...

good one di :-)

reNUka said...

hi nithya, yes. finally!! :-)
had to burn the candle at both ends to make it happen. in fact, i managed to burn the whole candle :D

thanks anu! :-)

Unknown said...

good one...and a wonderful song too..i dont think many people got to realise the beauty of the song. AS u said, it one of many master pieces of Kamal. Kudos to you as well Kamal:)
-Poori

reNUka said...

hey poori!! thanks for the comment and the visit... :-)

Unknown said...

Beautifully written!!
I had to listen to the song again to notice the intricacies of the different musical instruments as you've mentioned...
Thankyou for your soulful translation...
Happy to have stumbled upon your article when i was looking for the translation of the Bengali lyrics...
I'm a tamilian and I've loved the lyrics in Tamil time and again but only now did i realise how much more deep it is when i read your work...
Thanks again!!!
Much love

Karpagam S said...

Beautifully written!!
I had to listen to the song again to notice the intricacies of the different musical instruments as you've mentioned...
Thankyou for your soulful translation...
Happy to have stumbled upon your article when i was looking for the translation of the Bengali lyrics...
I'm a tamilian and I've loved the lyrics in Tamil time and again but only now did i realise how much more deep it is when i read your work...
Thanks again!!!
Much love

reNUka said...

Thanks, Unknown aka Karpagam S! :-)
This song is indeed a timeless classic... But it's sad that I don't listen it very often these days... Thanks to your comment, i will now add it to my 'loop' playlist. :-)

Anonymous said...

Nice and Perfect translation. Really a very soulful song . Thanks

reNUka said...

Thanks, Anon! :-)