((Part of the initiative #learnthroughlyrics with @eli.kutty on Instagram)

The life of Kamala Surayya (Das) aka Madhavikutty, the renowned writer and poet from Kerala, is being etched by director Kamal in this movie, Aami. Her works are very popular and so are the controversies which involve her. This beautiful song penned by Rafeeq Ahamed marvelously captures the innocent wonder of that child she kept locked in herself and visible in a lot of her works. The released video portrays her visits as a little girl, adolescent and later as a married woman to her hometown in Thrissur where her grandmother resided, from Kolkata during vacations.

To listen to the song, click play:

Neermaathala poovinullil neehaaram aayi veena kaalam
neelaambari* raagamaayi thaane nukarnna navaneetham**
[In the neermathalam flower falling like mist, these days are
I’m sipping this neelambari raaga like newly churned butter]
Chirakaarnnu uyarnnu vaanil manam ooyal aadiya kaalam
[My mind has sprouted wings and is swinging up in the sky these days]
Neermaathala poovinullil neehaaram aayi veena kaalam
neelaambari* raagamaayi thaane nukarnna navaneetham**
[In the neermathalam flower falling like mist, these days are
I’m sipping this neelambari raaga like newly churned butter]

+Aasma nee paani maajhi re…maajhi re
Baiyya kon deshe jaabi re?… Jaabi re?
[The sky is blue as the water, hey oarsman…hey oarsman
Which land are you rowing to?… Rowing to?]
Dokhina Gongar paane… Gongar paane…
Rongeela, ronge shaaji re
[Please go across Southern Ganga… go across Ganga…
Lover, color me in your colors]
Maajhi re… maajhi re… maajhi re… maajhi re…
[Hey oarsman… hey oarsman…hey oarsman…hey oarsman…]

Ilakalodum pookkalodum parayuvaan undu othiri
Uzhutha mannin gandham aelkkan nanayuvaan undu ullkothi
[I have a lot to say to the leaves and flowers
To get the fragrance of the tilled land, I’m yearning to get soaked (in the rain)]
Ilanji marathin kombil kurukum pakshi, neelaanjana***pakshi
Ariyunnu nin hrydayam idippum, idanenjin cheru choodum
[On the branch of the ilanji tree, you are crooning, blue bird
I can feel your heartbeats and the warmth of your chest]

Neermaathala poovinullil neehaaram aayi veena kaalam
neelaambari* raagamaayi thaane nukarnna navaneetham**
[In the neermathalam flower falling like mist, these days are
I’m sipping this neelambari raaga like newly churned butter]

Oru swakaaryam mozhiyuvaan, arikil vannu pularikal
Muruki nilkkum thanthi thorum, viral thalodi sandhyakal
[To let me in on a secret, the daybreaks came near
The twilights softly brushed fingers on tightly stretched strings (that is me)]
Ezhuthiyathaaro kanmashi pole swapnam, mizhikalil swapnam?
Thazhukunnu, raapakal ozhiyaathe, maayika mayilpeeli
[Who wrote the dreams in my eyes like khol, dreams in my eyes?
(It is as if someone is) Caressing (me), day and night, (with) a magical peacock feather ]

Neermaathala poovinullil neehaaram aayi veena kaalam
neelaambari* raagamaayi thaane nukarnna navaneetham**
[In the neermathalam flower falling like mist, these days are
I’m sipping this neelambari raaga like newly churned butter]
Chirakaarnnu uyarnnu vaanil manam ooyal aadiya kaalam
[My mind has sprouted wings and is swinging up in the sky these days]

*Neelambari raaga –  This raaga in Carnatic music is supposed to have sleep inducing qualities and are used for lullabies. I think the reference to this raaga here is to indicate the languor of the slowly moving days she spent in Thrissur.
**Navaneetham – is the newly churned butter – Lord Krishna’s favorite. It could also mean new. Kamala was a Lord Krishna devotee (though she later converted to Islam) and hence the reference to navaneetham and mayil peeli (peacock feather) in the lyrics.
+ These 5 lines are in Bengali. I would like to thank my friend TR for the correct lyrics and rough translation. They sounded beautiful and sung with such longing, I couldn’t get them out of my mind.  🙂
***Neelanjanam means blue-black or deep blue. Anjanam also means khol you wear in the eyes, which is black too.

++ Image copyright to the original uploader.