An
Ode to Childhood
All of us have very fond memories of
childhood. It is one place we would like to walk back to and revisit in our
lives.
Of the many beautiful songs from
Malayalam Cinema, there is one which weaves a magnificent magic around the
innocence of childhood – ‘Vennila Chandana Kinnam’ from the movie, Azhakiya
Ravanan. Here, I am attempting to present to you, the essence of the song. I am
not attempting a literal translation, but the endeavor is to help the non Malayalees
enjoy the unparalleled beauty of this song.
I want you to close your eyes, think
of your child hood, your friends from those days, the house where you lived,
the food you liked, the scents you remember, how young your parents were, the
summer vacations and then read the below lines.
Oh
look! the shining, lovely moon has fallen in to the serene lake…
Come,
let us pick it up with our little, tender hands.
When
the birdie sings the melodious harvest song…
Let
us build a cozy nest with its yellow feather.
In
the lush green meadows where the cattle grazes…
Let
us
Enjoy
the tender mangoes…
Ring
in the anklets of the wind…
And
run up the hill of lucky red seeds…
I
shall come and cover your eyes
When
we play hide and seek,
Allow
me a little lie, that I saw you…
Let
us
Be
the King and Queen of those unseen stories...
Get
on the long slow swings during festivities…
Be
the peacock that spreads its long beautiful tail…
Hide
in those hillocks where the clouds run by…
Swim
around like a golden fish…
Board
the rhythms of a boat song…
Let
us
Play
hide and seek…
Bake
mud cookies…
Play
with the stones in the shades of the huge mango tree…
Go
visit the temple…
One
where the leaves of the mighty banyan tree meditate…
Hear
my friend,
Tomorrow
is the first meal of the lovely baby sparrow…
And
then, the tiny squirrel is being fed his first milk…
In
a faraway land, the wind seeds are getting married…
And
then, the little elephant will take bath ever so playfully…
What
really struck me was the fact that most of what this song speaks holds true for
almost all of us, which ever part of India we are from. The magic of Childhood
remains unchanged.
Oh
what a beautiful time Childhood is, isn’t it? How one wishes to hold on to those
days for as long as one lives!
You
may watch the song here 😊
