(Translation on request for KR)
Ravi brings a child home to his wife Radha and their daughter. He says it is his friend’s son who got orphaned and will stay with them for a bit before he moves to another home. Radha is a loving mother and decides to make the most of it while he is with them. They go on trips and hang out and have fun together. This song is composed by Ilaiyaraja and the same music is used for songs in many other languages too. ONV’s lyrics seems to have been written from an imaginative child’s point of view. A song which is an ode to wonders of childhood from the movie Olangal.

To listen to the song, click play:

Thumbi vaa thumbakudathin* thunjathu aayi oonjaal idaam
Thumbi vaa thumbakudathin thunjathu aayi oonjaal idaam
[Hey dragonfly, come let’s set up a swing on the tip of thumba bunch]
Aakaasha ponnaallin ilakale aayathil thotte varaam
Aakaasha ponnaallin ilakale aayathil thotte varaam
[Let’s push high and touch the golden peepal leaves of the sky]
Thumbi vaa thumbakudathin thunjathu aayi oonjaal idaam
Thumbi vaa thumbakudathin thunjathu aayi oonjaal idaam
[Hey dragonfly, come let’s set up a swing on the tip of thumba bunch]

Manthrathaal paayunna kuthiraye maanikya kaiyaal thodaam
Manthrathaal paayunna kuthiraye maanikya kaiyaal thodaam 
[Let’s touch the horse which runs by magic with a ruby hand]
Gandharvan paadunna mathilakam, mandaaram poovitta thanalil, 
Gandharvan paadunna mathilakam, mandaaram poovitta thanalil, 
[Inside the walls where a heavenly being sings
under the shade where mandaaram flowers bloom]
oonjaale…. paadaamo?…..
oonjaale…. paadaamo?…..
[hey swing…. will you sing?….]
Maanathe maamante thalikayil** maamunnaan pokaamo namukkini?
[Can we go eat food on the plate of the uncle in the sky?]

Thumbi vaa thumbakudathin thunjathu aayi oonjaal idaam
Aakaasha ponnaallin ilakale aayathil thotte varaam
[Hey dragonfly, come let’s set up a swing on the tip of thumba bunch
Let’s push high and touch the golden peepal leaves of the sky]
Thumbi vaa thumbakudathin thunjathu aayi oonjaal idaam
[Hey dragonfly, come let’s set up a swing on the tip of thumba bunch]

Pandathe paattinte varikalu chundathu thaen thulli aayi
Pandathe paattinte varikalu chundathu thaen thulli aayi
[The verses of old songs became nectar drops on the lips]
Kalkkanda kunninte mukalilu, kaakkchi meyyunna thanalil,
Kalkkanda kunninte mukalilu, kaakkchi meyyunna thanalil,
[On top of the rock sugar mountain, in the shade where crows graze,]
oonjaale… paadi poyi….
Oonjaale… paadi poyi….
[hey swing… go singing…]
aa kaiyil ee kayyil oru pidi kaiykkatha nellikka mani tharu
[and in this hand and that hand, get me some gooseberries which are not bitter]

Thumbi vaa thumbakudathin thunjathu aayi oonjaal idaam
Aakaasha ponnaallin ilakale aayathil thotte varaam
[Hey dragonfly, come let’s set up a swing on the tip of thumba bunch
Let’s push high and touch the golden peepal leaves of the sky]
La la la….

*Thumba is a small white flower native to Kerala. Thumbakudam is a bunch of thumba flowers which hang from a stalk. This is a very important flower for Onapookkalam (Onam flower arrangement). The first day of the pookkalam, you are supposed to use only thumba poovu/flower for pookkalam and in some homes, the last day of pookkalam the inner most layer will be only bunches of thumba/thumbakudam.
**Thalika can mean either plate or disk. Moon is endearingly called ambili ammavan or uncle moon in Kerala, especially when we talk to kids.

+Image copyright to the original uploader.