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: Rama Chakani Sita
- Movie: Godavari (2006)
- Director: Sekhar Kammula
- Music Director: K.M. Radha Krishnan
- Lyricist: (Late) Veturi Sundarama Murthy
- Singer: Gayathri
Godavari is my most, most favorite movie ever. I love almost everything about it and have watched it at least 80 times, if not more. 80% of the movie takes place on a boat (via Papikondalu to Badrachalam, which has one of the famous Rama temples).
While all songs have their charm, I chose to go with this for the challenge.
This is a background song and plays during what we call the cause/beginning of the third-act breakup.
- Rama Chakkani Seetaki Aracheta Gorinta – Rama’s dearest Sita (here, Rama is an adjective) has mehendi (gorinta) on her palms
- Inta Chakkani Chukkaki Inkevaru Mogudnta – who would be the husband to such a lovely lady shining like a star
- Rama Chakkani Seetaki – this is the refrain
- Udata Veepuna Velu Vidichina Pudami Alludu Ramude – that Rama who left his fingerprints on the back of a squirrel and who is the son-in-law of the earth
- Yedama Chetanu Shivuni Villunu Ettaina Ramude – that Rama who could easily lift Shiva’s bow with his left hand
- Yettagalada Seeta Jadanu Tali Katte Velalo – can he lift Sita’s braid during the wedding to tie the mangalsutra (tali)
My focus is on the last three lines from the above. How beautifully the lyricist presents Sita’s inner strength and compares it with Rama’s physical strength!
In two lines, we get Rama’s attributes: The son-in-law of the earth (since Sita was found inside the earth) who left a lasting mark on a squirrel (the three stripes on the critter are said to be Rama’s gift). The mighty warrior who effortlessly lifted Shiva’s bow (during Sita’s swayamwara).
Then comes the question: Can he lift Sita’s braid to tie the taali (mangalsutra)?
The mighty warrior prince, the only one who could not only lift but also string and break the mighty Shiva Dhanush among an area full of warriors.
The husband who built a bridge to cross the sea to reach his beloved in Lanka. The one who stopped at nothing to find her.
But… can this Rama lift his wife’s braid?
The lyrics seamlessly mix up the events in the Ramayana. The bow, the wedding, the kidnapping, and the crossing to Lanka are not mentioned in chronological order. They are jumbled for a reason. Rama has always been strong. We know that. Sita has always been stronger. How many remember that? How many remember that Sita could lift the Shiva Dhanush just as easily?
That’s why I see Sita’s strength here. Imagine how much physical, mental, and inner strength she should possess to have a braid that weighs so much that you begin to wonder whether someone like Rama can lift it with one hand. Imagine a woman being regal, grounded, compassionate, loving, and poised with such weight on her. It is also a metaphorical question because Sita indeed carries the weight of the events and does so with such grace that many people forget how strong she actually is.
