Isotope of God

Friday, July 17, 2015

Migrating to new Website -aquasanju.wordpress.com

With close to 1000 views in the last three weeks, it would be an understatment to say that i am overwhelmed by your responses. Having said that i am migrating from here to wordpress which has better options to manage the blog. My blog address is simple to remember : aquasanju.wordpress.com.
Mostly i post in the weekends and this weekend too i will be attempting a translation of song, which will be published in the wordpress site. 

Love you all and i see a huge opportunity in the field of quality translations of Tamil and Malayalam especially malayalam songs, albeit a difficult language for poetry, has gems lying hidden from outside world. With translations which started out of passion for me, is helping me overcome many of my inner ghosts of low self belief to be exorcised. Will try my bit to keep this activity alive in the years to come.


Saturday, July 11, 2015

Malare -floret thy name in Malayalam!



My first attempt at English Translation of this wonderful Malayalam song, Malare, which i played in loop many times!It sort of made me feel compelled to translate into English, as google search offered no page, absolutely no single page, with an English translation of this song. Wish  more translations are available for Indian languages to spread the rich literary culture of this land. Please comment if the translation was not upto the mark. The meter does not match, but ensured that translation is as true to the original as possible. Special thanks to Ayyappadas Girija Rajan, Arun NM

Seems like some of the readers are not able to read Malayalam script. To their benefit I have added the English Transliteration along with Malayalam Script. Hope it helps :-)

തെളിമാനം മഴവില്ലിന്‍ നിറമണിയും നേരം,
നിരമാര്‍ന്നൊരു കനവെന്നില്‍ തെളിയുന്ന പോലെ,
Theli maanam mazhavillin niramaniyum neram,
niramarnnoru kanavennil theliyunna pole,

When the hues of rainbow color the clear skies
Is the moment, my dream too breaks to wake up into the dawn

പുഴയോരം തഴുകുന്നീ തണുനീറന്‍ കാറ്റും,
പുളകങ്ങള്‍ ഇഴനെയ്തൊരു കുഴലൂതിയ പോലെ
puzhayoram thazhukunnee thanu neeran kaatum,
pulakangal izha neythoru kuzhaloothiya pole

the cool breeze caressing from the rivulet
is like all the blisses woven into the rhapsody of a flute

കുളിരേകും കനവില്‍ നീ കതിരാടിയ കാലം,
മനതാരില്‍ മധുമാസം തളിരാടിയ നേരം,
kulirekum kanavil nee kathiradiya kaalam,
manatharil madhu maasam thaliradiya neram,

You shine bright like sun, to the comforting dreams of mine
Like memories sprouting with spring like sweetness 

അകമരുകും മയിലിണകള്‍ തുയിലുണരും കാലം,
എന്‍ അകതാരില്‍ അനുരാഗം പകരുന്ന യാമം,
akamarukum mayilinakal thuyilunarum kaalam
en akatharil anuragam pakarunna yaamam,

I relent to the beauty, of the peacock displaying his feathers
As it spreads love within me, infecting me through the night

അഴകേ ... അഴകില്‍ തീര്‍ത്തൊരു ശിലയഴകേ,മലരേ ...
എന്നുയിരിൽ വിടരും പനിമലരേ ...
azhake...azhakil theerthoru shilayazhake,
malare....ennuyiril vidarum pani malare...

O’ beautiful…your figurine is culmination of the charm
Malare (floret)…you are the dew drop, filling my very existence

മലരേ നിന്നെ കാണാതിരുന്നാൽ,
മിഴിവേകിയ നിറമെല്ലാം മായുന്നപോലെ
malare ninne kaanathirunnal,
mizhivekiya niramellam maayunna pole

Floret when I don’t see you,
Feels like 'm losing color from my vision


അലിവോടെന്നരികത്തിന്നണയാതിരുന്നാൽ,
അഴകേകിയ കനവെല്ലാം അകലുന്നപോലെ
Alivode ente aduthu innu varaathirunnal
azhakekiya kanavellam akalunna pole

The moment you heartlessly refuse to be near me,
Feels like, the dreams are just drifting away from me 

ഞാനെന്റെ ആത്മാവിനാഴത്തിനുള്ളിൽ
അതിലോലമാരോരുമറിയാതെ സൂക്ഷിച്ച
താളങ്ങൾ രാഗങ്ങൾ ഈണങ്ങളായി
ഓരോരൊ വർണ്ണങ്ങളായ്
ഇടറുന്നോരെന്റെ ഇടനെഞ്ചിനുള്ളിൽ
പ്രണയത്തിൻ മഴയായ് നീ പൊഴിയുന്നീ നാളിൽ
njan ente athmavinazhathinullil
athilolamarorumariyathe sookshicha
thalangal ragangal eenangalayi
ororo varnangalayi
edarunorente ida nenjinullil
pranayathin mazhayay nee pozhiyunee naalil

I hid under my soul’s many cavities
From all and sundry,
the rhythm, the melody, the tunes,
and the many hues
My slipping heart throbs
With the torrent of your love, drenching me today...

തളരുന്നൊരെന്റെ തനുതോരും നിന്റെ അലതല്ലും പ്രണയത്താലുണരും
മലരേ ... അഴകേ ...

thalarunorente  thanuthorum ninte alathallum pranayathalunarum
malareee...azhake.....

By embracing a tired me, with the overwhelming cool passion of yours
Floret…O’beautiful

കുളിരേകും കനവില്‍ നീ കതിരാടിയ കാലം,
മനതാരില്‍ മധുമാസം തളിരാടിയ നേരം,
അകമരുകും മയിലിണകള്‍ തുയിലുണരും കാലം,
എന്‍ അകതാരില്‍ അനുരാഗം പകരുന്ന യാമം,
അഴകേ ... അഴകില്‍ തീര്‍ത്തൊരു ശിലയഴകേ,
മലരേ ... എന്നുയിരിൽ വിടരും പനിമലരേ ...
kulirekum kanavil nee kathiradiya kaalam,
manatharil madhu maasam thaliradiya neram ,
akmarukum mayilinakal thuyilunarum kaalam,
en akatharil anuragam pakarunn ayamam,
azhakee....azhakil theerthoru shilayazhake,
malaree...ennuyiril vidarum pani malaree....


You shine bright, to the comforting dreams of mine
As if like the spring time, dripping honey in my memories
I forget myself, spotting the peacock spreading its feathers
As it spreads love within me, infecting me through the night
O’ beautiful…your figurine is culmination of the charm
Malare (floret)…you are the dew drop, filling my very existence

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Friday, July 3, 2015

Cross Cultural Identity


It took a while for me to accept my identity. Not that I am talking like a NRI who is pulled by the native roots of India on the one hand, while on the other by the new found liberalism of the foreign country. My identity crisis can be located within India, which is a confederation of different cultures united beyond any logic, through Indian constitution! History played a major role in this confused identity under the umbrella term "India"- an idea which existed only in the administrative convenience of Britishers, and helped in a great way by that ubiquitous social immobility institutionalized by casteism. Be that may, which i will visit later, my immediate rambling is how on many occasions i had to add many  qualifications just to answer the question- Where are you from? If in Chennai, it was easy to say I am from Kerala, but if in Bangalore or in Delhi, the qualifications becomes a necessity more to do with my own non acceptance of where I belong

Not any more, I have finally reconciled to the fact that I am a Malayalee but not a Keralite or more specifically a Chennaite whose mother tongue is Malayalam. Being a Chennai vaasi for 35 years albeit interrupted for few years in between, it is but natural to accept your identity in such a way. So that makes me practically a Tamilian in every which way, except that my marriage happened to a Malayalee, as per Keralite tradition,  celebrating Malayalee festivals, apart from the Tamil festivals and the like. Otherwise, my cultural outlook and upbringing happened in a typical Tamil environment. I realised it quite recently when I could relate to songs or literature of Tamil than Malayalam. A simple act of liking a piece of art is so much conditioned by your upbringing did bring in profound realisation about myself is something that I would cherish and regret at the same time.


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Thursday, July 2, 2015

LIFE OF A BRAHMIN- TAIL OF WRETCHEDNESS


Those who think why reservation should not be extended to brahmins, fail to see the "reason" as apparent here:
  • Reservations of dalits have caused brahmins to perpetually clean toilets,
  • They are routinely refused homes based on their caste,
  • Their caste surnames are used as insults,
  • They are sidelined because their traditions are not visible in popular culture of the nation,
  • How despite good qualifications and a lineage of 1-2 generations of graduates, they are not married among the arrogant and well off dalits,
  • How due to reservations of dalits their women folks are routinely raped and paraded naked in villages by dalit mukhiyas and sarpanches,
  • Their houses are pelted when they crack IIT entrance exam
  • How due to reservations of dalits almost all the safai karmacharis in Indian Railways are Brahmins and clean human shit, they are discriminated based on the food they eat...indeed a life of Brahmin is hell...
When viewed under this optic, it sounds ridiculous that how The Hindu can say that it is only the upper castes and their culture which is represented more in mainstream Hindi films.

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