Lyrics of "chala melara" Tyagaraja Kirtana

చలమేలరా ? సాకేత రామ !

వలచి భక్తి మార్గముతోను నిన్ను

వర్ణించుచున్న నాపై

ఎందుబోదు నేనేమి చేయుదును ?

యెచ్చోట నే మొర (మొఱ) బెట్టుదును ?

తందనాలతో ప్రొద్దు పోవలెనా ?

(దండనలతో ప్రొద్దు పోవలెనా?) †

తాళజాలరా త్యాగరాజనుత !

(త్యాగరాజ వినుత తాళగ జాలరా) 

chalamaelaraa ? saakaeta raama !

valachi bhakti maargamutOnu ninnu

varNiMchuchunna naapai

eMdubOdu naenaemi saeyudunu ?

yechchOTa nae mo~ra beTTudunu ?

taMdanaalatO proddu pOvalenaa ?

(daMDanalatO proddu pOvalenaa?) 

taaLajaalaraa tyaagaraajanuta !

(A rare audio recording of Ghantasala's voice piqued my interest in this devotional song. I've also listened to Sri T. N. Seshagopalan's and K. B. Sundarambal's renderings. Of course, I am more drawn to Sri Ghantasala's voice for the clear diction and enunciation. Also, his "ఆలాపన" introduction is quite fresh and refreshing. † The alternate version of the line is given by Ms. Mutya Syama Sundari. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and titles, "భాషా ప్రవీణ" and "సాహిత్య రత్న". Naturally I give deference to her version of the song too. To me, both words do convey appropriate meaning. The former version (తందనాలు) means spending time with frivolous experiments in rhyme and senseless words (the word's origin is బుఱ్ఱకథ). Naturally this third line asks the poignant question: Should a composer merely keep busy with mediocre experiments in music? Such a question haunts every scientist, artist, or inventor. Here in this context, our Tyagayya is lamenting his (our) desperate situation. His artistic talent (music) has a higher goal. It is not aimed at conducting concerts, gathering large audiences, or collecting a huge check. Sadly this sane advice is often ignored and even accomplished musicians hanker after titles and monies. The latter phrase corresponds to endless punishments, trials, and tribulations in life. We will try to look at this song in detail later.) Copyright 2021 by the author