(Translation on request for MS)
Phew! This one tested the boundaries of my knowledge in Malayalam. Almost all the words are either very old Malayalam or Sanskrit. I would like to thank Rev. Dr. Hermann Gundert for his excellent Malayalam-English Dictionary published in 1872.

A beautiful song from an equally beautiful movie. Unnimaya, a young widow in the Namboothiri community, finds herself attracted to a Kathakali artist Madhavan. They consummate their relationship.

To listen to the song, click play:

Saamaja sanchaarini, saraseeruha madhuvaadini*
Saamaja sanchaarini, saraseeruha madhuvaadini
[Hey (lady), who walks stately like an elephant, speaks sweetly like a lotus nectar [1]]
Shrunu, mama hridayam smarashara nilayam
Shrunu, mama hridayam smarashara nilayam
[Listen, my heart has become an abode for the arrows of cupid/love]

Saamaja sanchaarini, saraseeruha madhuvaadini
[Hey (lady), who walks stately like an elephant, speaks sweetly like a lotus nectar]

Adharam madhuram, makarandhabharam
Komala kesham, khana sangasham
[(Your) Sweet lips, nectar filled
And beautiful hair, like a cloud]
Adharam madhuram, makarandhabharam
Komala kesham, khana sangasham
[(Your) Sweet lips, nectar filled
And beautiful hair, like a cloud]
Mounaacharanam… Aaaaa
[Vow of silence…]
Mounaacharanam mathiyini sumukhi
Anayu sakhi nee kuvalaya nayane
[Please stop  your vow of silence, hey beauty
Come closer dear, the one with eyes like water lilies]

Saamaja sanchaarini, saraseeruha madhuvaadini
[Hey (lady), who walks stately like an elephant, speaks sweetly like a lotus nectar]

Vadanam ruchiram, hridayaandhaharam
maadaka haasam, maadhava maasam
[(Your) Tasteful face, brings delight to my heart
(Your) Intoxicating smile is like the month of Madhava]
Vadanam ruchiram, hridayaandhaharam
maadaka haasam, maadhava maasam
[(Your) Tasteful face, brings delight to my heart
(Your) Intoxicating smile is like the month of Madhava]
Vreelavaranam maatuka dayithe
Vijanam sadanam, kisalaya mridule
[Please let go of this veil of shyness, dearest
The home is desolate (without you), hey, one who is soft like a tendril]

Saamaja sanchaarini, saraseeruha madhuvaadini
[Hey (lady), who walks stately like an elephant, speaks sweetly like a lotus nectar]
Shrunu, mama hridayam smarashara nilayam
Shrunu, mama hridayam smarashara nilayam
[Listen, my heart has become an abode for the arrows of cupid/love]

Saamaja sanchaarini, saraseeruha madhuvaadini
[Hey (lady), who walks stately like an elephant, speaks sweetly like a lotus nectar]

[1]*Saraseeruha madhuvaadini – I’m slightly unsure of this translation. I’ve never come across someone’s speech being compared to a lotus before. The other translation for ‘vaadini’ I would have gone for is ‘someone who plays’ – like ‘veena vaadini’, one who plays the veena (musical instrument)- that didn’t make sense here either. Or I might be completely off. 🙂  edited 10.1.2018: Padmadas pointed out what this means in the comments, so editing this.

+ Image copyright to the original uploader.