Lyrics of "itti mudduladi" - Annamayya Kirtana

రాగం: ఆనంద భైరవి  తాళం: రూపక 

ఇట్టి ముద్దులాడి బాలు డేడవాడు వాని

బట్టి తెచ్చి పొట్టనిండ బాలు వోయరే

గామిడై పారితెంచి కాగెడి వెన్నెలలోన

చేమ పూవు కడియాల చేయి పెట్టి

చీమ గుట్టెనని తన చెక్కిట గన్నీరు జార

వేమరు వాపోయే వాని వెడ్డు వెట్టరే

ముచ్చువలె వచ్చి తన ముంగ మురువుల చేయి

తచ్చెడి పెరుగులోన దగబెట్టి

నొచ్చెనని చేయిదీసి నోర నెల్ల జొల్లుగార

వొచ్చెలి వాపోవువాని నూరడించరే

ఎప్పుడు వచ్చెనో మా యిల్లు చొచ్చి పెట్టెలోని

చెప్పరాని వుంగరాల చేయి పెట్టి

అప్పడైన వేంకటాద్రి అసవాలకుడు గాన

తప్పకుండ బెట్టె (బట్టి) వాని తలకెత్తరే

iTTi muddulaaDi baalu DaeDavaaDu vaani

baTTi techchi poTTaniMDa baalu vOyarae

gaamiDai paariteMchi kaageDi vennelalOna

chaema poovu kaDiyaala chaeyi peTTi

cheema guTTenani tana chekkiTa ganneeru jaara

vaemaru vaapOyae vaani veDDu veTTarae

muchchuvale vachchi tana muMga muruvula chaeyi

tachcheDi perugulOna dagabeTTi

nochchenani chaeyideesi nOra nella jollugaara

vochcheli vaapOvuvaani nooraDiMcharae

eppuDu vachchenO maa yillu chochchi peTTelOni

chepparaani vuMgaraala chaeyi peTTi

appaDaina vaeMkaTaadri asavaalakuDu gaana

tappakuMDa beTTe (baTTi) vaani talakettarae

(Here, we can easily visualize the scene with baby Sri Krishna in the midst of Yasoda and other Gopis. What a marvelous picture it is! I got introduced to this lovely baby song (sort of lullaby) through a dance program at TTD via a video. Immediately I got hooked to it. Who wouldn't? The great grand father Telugu lyrical composition really puts his poetical camera focussed on the little Krishna. What naughty things He does? First He puts His little hand in hot cream filled milk. Ouch! He thought it was some ant bite. We'll look into this song and explore it leisurely in another post. Who would not like to pick up this attractive baby and console with kisses? Lord Venkatesa is accessible to us in this musical piece, accessible so easily. The Lord who attends to all our murky earthly problems - the same Balaji needs comfort here. Where are His little scorched fingers? Let's apply some chilled butter or cool sandalwood paste. We can't bear the Lord's excruciating pain. Annamayya, wherever you are, you are truly blessed with such high level imagination, bhakti, language, and sincerity. How can we thank you? How can I express for being a great guru, in absentia? I bow to you with pure submission. Words are useless to express my gratitude.)

Essential Works of Hinduism

Essential Works of Hinduism

I give this list with abundance of humility. I am not qualified really for this task but even with reservations I venture this list for the beginners. Specifically I have in mind (the target audience) an innocent grand child, a youngster, or someone with deep longing to explore the essential Hinduism. This is not intended for critics who willfully distort and wantonly propagate wrong interpretations of the ancient faith for obtaining some professorial chair or some emolument. Such “interlopers” can find umpteen third rate works in English. Ideally, the guru (or someone like Sri Sivanandamurty) would provide guidance in all such matters. But for many beginners finding a guru (any guru) is difficult or some are utterly allergic to the concept of ‘guru’; even if one finds one may not fully repose faith in the guru. [I cannot recall now the exact source of this pithy illuminating statement: Even if the guru is imperfect, if the disciple sincerely believes in his (her) guru and follows till the end – then both the guru and the disciple would be uplifted and released with miraculous results!]

The Preparation

The earnest enquirer starts with a clean, clear mind. We approach each book, chapter, and paragraph with open mind free of all biases. (i.e., Avoid all cross talk. Look at the pure signal.) First we read each chapter with full proficiency in the original language (either Sanskrit or vernacular). We try to understand and get the essence of a story. Still, at the end our mind may be left with lingering doubts. Per se, such doubts may not do any harmful damage. We need lot of patience to continue the trek and wait for the day when all doubts will eventually be cleared. No point in hurrying or abandoning our project half way.

Now coming to the language. Foremost, we must learn our mother tongue, whatever it is – Hindi, Telugu, Gujarati, or Bengali, etc. If English is really the mother tongue, then we are in a pickle. Finding authentic (English) translations of many Indian original works is very arduous, extremely difficult, but not impossible. Now learning a language really means full proficiency in all the working modes like reading, speaking, and writing. In addition, we need some grasp of Sanskrit; at least we should be able to read and write the mother (lingua), i.e., Sanskrit of many languages (the large Indo-European family).

So, now we presume the reader (or whoever be the interested aspirant) knows a bit of Telugu, just enough to read in Telugu script.

1. Stotra-Kadambam (by Bala Saraswati Book Depot) స్త్రోత్ర కదంబము (బాలసరస్వతి  బుక్ డిపో) It is a small book comprising many valuable Slokas and Stotras. This pocket size book is very moderately priced (about 10 Rupees) making it accessible to many. The first page starts with invocation to Lord Ganesa. I’ve given the meaning of the sloka here: Ganesa's Grace

Sloka on Ganesa

Let us dwell on this first page for several minutes and meditate. Thus, we’ve started the exploration with a small yet auspicious step.

(The Internet savvy reader will find these slokas at several web sites. iPhone, laptop, or digital devices are handy for searching. But they also cause distraction to the mind. So, if there is no other way, print a page or two in Telugu (or other vernacular) script and use it to learn and pray. Keep away from diversions as much as possible. Also, be aware of typographical mistakes.) 

2. Srimad-Bhagavatamu by Bammera Potana (Telugu translation from the original in Sanskrit. It contains lyrical poetry interspersed with musical sounding prose sections.) Copyright 2021 by the author

 (To be Continued) 

Orange Sun (Poem) with Telugu Translation

Orange Sun

Rage, rage on

The tarry smoke trails

Rage on

The in absentia send offs

Rage on for

Not having a sensitive king

For not choosing prescient

Smart incorruptible pols

Self flagellate with jute rope

For bunking math classes

Repent in leisure

For not understanding logarithm,

Compound interest,

Arithmetic series, geometric series,

And Fibonacci numbers

Drown in self-pity

And

Swim in the ocean of 

Endless sorrow

For not learning valuable

Ayurvedic, Siddha, and herbal medicines

From grand mother and great grand parents

For discarding valuable traditions

Of dietary habits and hygiene

For not imbibing the culinary

Skills of making idli and bread

From scratch

Bear the punishment for

Praying solely at the altar of exorbitant 

Modern medicine!

What’s to be expected?

When Dr. Har Gobind left dejected

And countless others -

Rest not

As long as the midnight oil burns on

Till the historians note

Every omission and each commission

Till every orphaned child

Is 

Put to sleep – with want in tummy   Copyright 2021 by the author

సిందూర సూర్య (కందిన సూరీడు)

రగిలిపో,రగిలిపో  

తారు క్రమ్మిన పొగ దారులకి (దారాలకి) 

రగిలిపో

నిర్జన ఏకాంతపు దూరపు విడ్కోలుల నివాళికి

రగిలిపో

రాజు సున్నిత హృదయుడు కానందుకు

(కోపముతో) రగిలిపో 

దూరదృష్టి కల తెలివైన నిజాయితీపరుల 

రాజకీయ నాయకులుని ఎన్నోకోనందులకు 

కొట్టుకో జనప నార తాడుతో (కొరడా) వీపుమీద 

లెక్కల క్లాసులు ఎగ గొట్టినందుకు 

చింతించు తీరిగ్గా -

లఘుగణిత, చక్ర వడ్డీ, సమాంతర

గుణోత్తర శ్రేణి, మరియు ఫిబొనాకీ అంకెలు

అర్ధంకానందుకు

ఆత్మ నిట్టూర్పుల్లోమునుగు

అనంత దుఃఖ సాగరములో

ఈదుకో - ఎందుకా 

విలువైన ఆయుర్వేద, సిద్ధ, మూలికా

వైద్య పద్ధతులు నేర్చుకోనందుకు

మామ్మ, ముత్తాతల వద్ద

అనర్ఘమైన ఆచార

ఆహార శుభ్రతలను (గంగలో) వదిలేసినందుకు

స్వతహాగా ఇడ్లి, రొట్టి (bread)     

 చేత్తో చెయ్యడం నేర్చుకోనందుకు

అఘోరించు శిక్షతో

చాలా ప్రియమైన ఇంగ్లీషు మందుల

గుడిముందు మ్రొక్కు కున్నందుకు

ఇంకేమి అవుతుంది?

ఎప్పుడైతే డాక్టరు హర గోబింద్ లాంటి

వాళ్ళు ఎందరో ఖిన్నులై వెళ్లిపోయారో

విశ్ర మించకు 

అర్ధరాత్రి నూనె దీపము వెలిగేవరకు

చరిత్రకారులు ప్రతి తప్పు, ప్రతి 

స్వార్ధపు వ్యవహారము వ్రాసే వరకు

ప్రతి అనాధ పిల్లని నిద్రపుచ్చే వరకు

ఖాళీ కడుపుతో (Copyright 2021 by the author)

(I dedicate the Telugu translation to my language teachers: My first class teacher who held my little right hand and introduced to the Telugu script on a slate with (stone) pencil. Mr. N. Gangadhara Sastri and Mr. Raju were the teachers in high school. Sri B. Venkateswarlu taught us in the college. There were several others who imparted the niceties of our mother tongue and helped us with imagination while exploring sections of Maha-bharata, Ramayana, and the poetical works of Srinadha and others. Whatever little I learnt about the great musical Telugu language, it is all due to the excellent instruction of my generous teachers. And they're all employed by the government institutions. Probably they were paid a pittance for their scholarship and qualifications. A rare phenomenon in the modern Andhra Pradesh or India for that matter!)