#6 12 Mar 2010 10:21 Re: Lyrics for sEndru vA nI radhE - OVK
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 nEramillaiyaDiOh 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
