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I felt like


I had a high temperature.


Or, was it like
sitting next to a heat furnace
with fuming rods of red?


Or may be
I was seeing molten fluid
flowing on and through my skin...


You say: Naah! 
You were facing the 2 o clock heat.


But the truth was...


It was 6 'o clock in the evening
and I was facing a 40 kmph
w a v e  o f  H e a t.


~ May 24, 2012

Translation of Thendral Vandhu from Avatharam

Colour of Music

I wonder...
What's the colour in your heart,
when the breeze brushes your skin?
What's the colour in your thoughts,
when you see the shine of sky's akin?

As I see the resurgence of colours' splendor
In my mind, it occurs...
Indeed each thought has a different color.
Isn't it the truth, my sweet love?
(In truth, what is it that exists,
and what about its colour?)

Flowers spread fragrance, but without revelation.
Hearts speak consensus, devoid of a lawful union.
Cuckoos sing the melody, not for one man's whimsy.
My heart feels a mystic bliss, but nothing do I fancy.

This world is alike a stream
and time runs afloat
like the planks that afloat.

Inconstantly crosses my mind,
a thousand colours!

A sprinkle sweeps the earth, and lives spring alive.
Love leaps in my mind, and skin's million gets a high.
Wishes swing along, like the pendent banyan roots.
Beauty bestows magic, like the swaying tuft of waves.

The cuckoo's clan sings aloud
in music's own voice,
and a flock of parrots recount this story.

Neither does love fade like a forgotten story,
nor is it forgotten like an unworthy puzzle's mystery.

If I say Ilayaraja is the alchemist who brought alchemy between the verse and the music, I am certain that I am not overstating. And with that I do not have any other credits to give to the composer of this beautiful song. 'Thendral vandhu...' from the movie Avatharam has got beautiful lyrics. It is a perfect example of symmetry, and both music and the verses manage to display both grandeur and simplicity all at once. The song very beautifully captures the philosophy of life, vividness of colors, and the characters' love for each other. Ilayaraja's voice creates another dimension and the coherent chorus is certainly the forte of the song.

This work started on May 10, 2009 as an impromptu and brief attempt at translating the pallavi of the song and three years later, I remembered to work on the translation of this song to extinguish some anguish. Personally, this work is a success of the mind over mindlessness.

As an afterthought, I seem far more satisfied with the words written three years ago than of those written today. Not sure if it really is so...


P.S.: One important link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=563qJOreBqI

Mist and Overcast

Then in a picturesque hilltop...

It was the day of my life when I saw you on the earth.

You were running hurriedly like the secret lover,

trying to hide from the early risers.

But you did not realize

that the sun had shown you flee, hastily past me.

Forgive me please, if I had embarrassed you.

But, I really did not mean to.

You were out of the world and I could not help

staring at you, stealthily, and breathing every bit of you.

When you looked back and caressed me,

the million on my skin went on a high.

When you passed through me,

you took apart a piece that I am still in search of.

And now in the maddening city...

When I look back, you are seen nowhere.

Won't you play an encore and honor my yearnings?

My senses are ever filled with your bubbly cheer,

even though there is always blue all around you.

The other day, I was roaming on the streets,

And you were drifting around, in bunches.

My eye, or was it my mind, saw a panoramic view.

It perceived you to be a spectator,

gathered around an arena,

watching a mad rushing herd

returning home, after running their rat races.

 

Started on: Apr 27, 2009
Closed on: Apr 26, 2012

Mistake

Many a man who falls in love with a dimple make the mistake of marrying the whole girl.
~ Evan Esar