Namaste!
The yearly half-marathon by Blogchatter is back. I tend to stick to poems because they are easier to write. This time, I wanted to try something different. Though the event doesn’t require a theme, there’s no reason I shouldn’t have one.
Telugu Songs Lyrics
Telugu music has been a part of my life since I was a baby. While I enjoyed the music first and then the lyrics, in the last few years I actually focused on what makes Telugu melodies so memorable. It’s not just the tune, though we have had some marvelous music directors. It’s how the lyrics weave the tune. The lyricists played with words, meter, and rhyme scheme. Then the singers give the words a new life by adding the required emotions, stress, and intonation.
With this, I present my theme for the half-marathon: exploring a few of my favorite Telugu songs for their lyrical smarts.
And guess what? I actually planned this as a Medium series (Learning to Love my Language) three years ago, before life did what it often did, and I let it go. Maybe I can revive it on the website.
(I’ll paste the same introduction for all seven posts.)
Today’s Song: O Vendi Vennela
- Movie: Little Soldiers (1996)
- Director: Gunnam Gangaraju
- Music Director: Sri (Kommineni)
- Lyricist: Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry
- Singers: Ram Chakravarthy, Vishnukanth
This is yet another favorite song, but also from one of my favorite movies as a child. The lyricist is another favorite too!
The movie does take a tragic turn midway through, but we see how resilient kids can be and finally get a hopeful ending. The song acts as a bridge, connecting the past (the parents’ love story) to the kids’ current lives (this is when their grandmother realizes they are her daughter’s children).
For the blog, my focus is only on the pallavi (first stanza), where the man encourages his lady love to take that step towards their future.
- Ooo vendi vennela…ooo digi ra ila – Oh, silver moonlight, come down this way (to the earth)
- Amma kongulo chanti papa la – Like a newborn baby in (your) mother’s pallu
- Mabbu chatune unte ela – Why do you want to hide behind the clouds
- Padipothanani pasi padalaku paruge nerpava – Will you stop teaching your tender feet to run because you are afraid of falling
- Madilo daagina madhu bavalaku veluge chupava – Will you not allow the sweet-as-nectar emotions within your heart to see the light (implying: will you not express your emotions for the fear of others)
- Manasunte margamundi thenchukove sankela – When there’s a will, there’s a way; break free of the shackles binding you
Vendi Vennela is silver moonlight and a lovely alliteration. It is poetry on its own if you ask me. That’s because it creates a strong visual the moment you read/hear the words.
All the lines have end rhymes with the aa sound.
Padipothanani pasi padalaku paruge nerpava has a four-word alliteration, plus half of it in nerpava.
You notice how the song starts with the guy comparing the woman to silver moonlight and asking her to come down to the earth, following it up with her upbringing as a sheltered daughter of a rich mother; someone who never had to face a hardship or worry because she was taught never to take that risk. And he urges her to risk it, to allow her feelings a voice and presence, and to take a chance on their future.
The lyrics tell us the story of how the kids’ parents met, fell in love, and ran away to build a happy home together. It’s a story of love that truly won, giving them the treasure they wanted. And yet, the song ends with grief because the couple dies in an accident.
Every song in this movie has its own charm. Some are funny, some are heartwarming and cute.
