Sojugada sooju mallige

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿದನ್ನೋದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಒತ್ತಿ

Before the Isha foundation event on Feb 21 2020 I had not heard of this song. Couldn’t get enough of it, once I did. A search for the lyrics and meaning yielded not enough to my satisfaction. So I ventured to write it in Kannada, knowing my limitations well, but hoping it will be helpful to some. Here I re write it in English on request from a few folks. This one will be bit longer as a short introduction to the Kannada folk songs is necessary. I fear the kannada version may be better, being in the same language with accessibility of idioms.

The rendition of this song that brought so many listener to tears can be found here, embedded below. I am Immensely grateful to Ananya Bhat for singing this folk song and Isha Foundation for helping it reach my ears.

I have transcribed the lyrics by listening to this live performance and a few other renditions by other singers. It is presented below as performed by Ananya Bhat and also in a compact form that Kannada folk songs are written in. Presented after that are English translation, meaning and musings. Those in a hurry, skip to section “Literal meaning”. A one to one translation from lyrics to meaning is very difficult. Well, the difficulty is that it is limiting and deprives the listener from it’s full beauty. My struggles on the Kannada page bares witness, within the same language! I have listened to alternative renditions and to consider alternative pronunciations and words to extract full breadth of the song.

On the kannada page there are no pictures. The goal of such a songs is to paint all the pictures on the mental canvas. Here, I will try to add pictures later on, of relevant objects so those unfamiliar with Kannada, Karnataka and my lore are not left hanging. All kannada words are in italics

Sojugada Sooju mallige (as sung)

sOjugAda sUju mallige,
mAdEva nimma mande myAle dunDu mallige, 

andAvare mundAvare matte tAvare puShpa, 
chandakki mAle bilpatre, mAdEva nimge 
chandakki mAle bilpatre, tuLasidaLava 
mAdapnA pUjege bandu

mAdEva nimma .. sO|2|

tappale beLagivni tuppava kAysivni, 
kittaLe haNNu tandivni, madEva nimge
kittaLe haNNu tandivni, mAdappa, 
kittaDi baruva parasege

mAdEva nimma So |2|

beTTatkond OgOrge haTTi hambalavyAka 
beTTadmAdEva gatiyendu mAdEva nIvE
beTTadmAdEva gatiyendu  avarindu
haTTi hambalava maretArO mAdEva nimma

mAdEva nimma So |2|

Huchchellu hUnange hechchevo ninna paruse,
hechchAlagAra mAdayya maadayya nIne
hechchAlagAra mAdayya elumaleya,
hechevu gouraLLi kaNiveli

mAdEva nimma So |2|

Sojugada SUjumallige Structure

The below re-order of the verses shows what logic and structure exists inside this seemingly repetitive folk song. The words within  || symbols are salutations to mahadEva

sOjugAda sUju mallige,
mAdEva nimma mande myAle dunDu mallige (p)

andAvare mundAvare matte tAvare puShpa, 
chandakki mAle bilpatre, |mAdEva nimge | tuLasidaLava 
mAdapnA pUjege bandu (… mAdEva nimma…) 

tappale beLagivni tuppava kAysivni, 
kittaLe haNNu tandivni, |madEva nimge| mAdappa, 
kittaDi baruva parasege (… mAdEva nimma…)

beTTatkond OgOrge haTTi hambalavyAka 
beTTadmAdEva gatiyendu |mAdEva nIvE| avarindu
haTTi hambalava maretArO (… mAdEva nimma…) 

huchcheLLu hUnange hechchevo ninna paruse,
hechchAlagAra mAdayya |maadayya nIne| elumaleya,
hechchEvu gouraLLi kaNiveli (… mAdEva nimma…) 

Literal meaning

Wondrous pin-Jasmines for you,
I adorn you with round Jasmines on the crown.

Many Lotus blooms [I bring for you], a garland made of Rice panicles, And bilva leaves and tuLasi leaves for your pooja.

I wash and shine this vessel, I make fresh Ghee in it. I bring oranges, to your festival (market) where the sages come.

Those climbing the mountain, have no use for ‘a home’ or for ‘desires’. With complete surrender to mAdEva, today, they will forget their bondage to their home.

Like the bloom of the tiny yellow wild-sesame flowers, our devotion to you grows. You, the grower, have grown your people in this GouraLLi valley 

The wondrous !

The Kannada jAnapada (folk) literature is rich, old and is more sophisticated than meets the eye. Most works do not have a named author, the songs are sung by village folks by village bands and housewives, passed on to their sons and daughters and deciples. Rarely written down until recent times. A song can have multiple version handed down by different lines orally. Add to that, different accents of Kannada spoken across the region, some words acquire different meanings. Compound that, with the way these songs are sung. Words are stretched to fit the tune and meter (this is by design, and contributes to the folk song’s signature feel). For example in Ananya Bhat rendition, additional time was added as below (shown by ~) by stretching the previous syllable.

tappa~le beLa~givni~ tuppa~va~ kA~ysivni, 
kitta~Le haNNu tandivni~, madEva nimge~, 
kitta~Le haNN~u~ tan~divni, mA~dappa, 
kitta~Di baruva parase~ge~ ..mAdEva nimma…

kittaDi is a Sage (sanyAsi) and kitta~Di = kittADi means “by fight”! While this is an extreme example and easily eliminated, there are more interesting meanings that I do want to keep in play and extract as much rasa from this song. For those of the opinion “this is a folk song, so is it this meaning or that”? I humbly appeal, why not all of them? let them all in so they may paint larger and with more color on the mental canvas? the intent of the poet is of no concern when one is intent on extracting the most out of an art.

I “see” the song so…

The song weaves a vision of the valley below male mahadESvara mountains looking up, towards the abode of lord Shiva through the eyes and mind of the singer. Is She married, a mother? We don’t know. All we know is the intense Bakti she has for mAdEva an incarnation of Shiva. Knowingly or unknowingly she expounds extraordinary wisdom through her simple words. She is our singer.

sOjugAda sUju mallige,
mAdEva nimma mande myAle dunDu mallige, 

Wondrous pin-Jasmines for you,
I adorn you with round Jasmines on the crown.

sOjugAda = wondrous,
sUju =sUji= needle, pin, sharp petalled
mallige = Jasmine (newly coined term pin-Jasmin with sharp petals)
mande = top part of head, crown (not a crown that is worn, part of head). This is an endearing word for head, implies closeness. 
dunDu = round, bulbous

The song begins by painting the picture of shivalinga with sharp petalled and round petalled Jasmines on him, on the top of his head. A black smooth rock with white embellishments on top, not unlike the snow capped Mount Kailash in a back drop of clear dark sky sprinkled with pin-Jasmine-like stars and lit by round-Jasmine-like moon. 

What is so wondrous about Pin Jasmine? Does it symbolize the sharp flow of water from the aBiSEka vessel hanging on the linga? Or is it a picture of sharp spout of Ganga shooting out from his space-Black mane? Perhaps it is the pointed ends of the crescent moon on his crown. So what then is the bulbous Jasmine? Perhaps today is full moon.  all of this creates a picture of mAdEva the Yogi, eyes closed deep in meditation as our singer looks on…

Many songs of male mahadESvara centered on a jasmine theme have been sung. This connection must imply an abundance of the flower and or some underlying belief that I am still unaware of. Do jasmines naturally bloom during Shivarathri?

andAvare mundAvare matte tAvare puShpa, 
chandakki mAle bilpatre, |mAdEva nimge | tuLasidaLava 
mAdapnA pUjege bandu

Many Lotus blooms [I bring for you], a garland made of Rice panicles. And bilva leaves and tuLasi leaves for your pooja.

andAvare = a type of Lotus
andAvare = so they say
andAvare = anda avare = beautiful apsara
mundAvare = a type of Lotus
mundAvare = munda avre = are in front
chandakki = rice panicle, crown flower (ekka flower)
chandakki = chandakke ee = for beautification
chandakki = moon (remember the song chanda mAma chandakki mAma)
bilpatre = bilva leaves
tuLasidaLava = tulsi leaf
pUjege bandu = have come to the pUja

The first 2 words rhyme with Lotus, but I did not find them in dictionary. They can of course be broken to get interesting meanings. first the straight forward one.

Our singer has brought many lotuses for the pooja. She also brings Shiva’s favourites, the ekka flower, the bilva leaves and tulasi leaves. 

Another interpretion would be, beautiful apsaras are in front of me (ahead of me) to beautify your idol with Bilva and tulasi for pooja. While they put them on you some nodoubt fall on the crecent moon resting on your crown (head).

Using the word chandakki = for beautification  we can split the verse into two sides, the imagery of colourful Lotuses which are for beautification, and bilva and tulsi which are green, simple and shiva’s favorites. Symbolizing his preference for detachment, a theme that runs strong through the song.

tappale beLagivni tuppava kAysivni, 
kittaLe haNNu tandivni, |madEva nimge| mAdappa, 
kittaDi baruva parasege

I wash to a shine, the vessel, I make fresh Ghee. I bring oranges, to your festival (market) where the sages come.

We have been calling the singer a girl with no real reason. This verse gives us some indication. While I am sure men have washed dishes for ever, there is something in the way ‘the cleaning of the dish and preparing ghee” is said that makes it sound feminine, at least for that time and era.

Here the most striking metaphors are vessel for the body and Ghee for the mind. The vessel is cleaned with the harsh ash, charcoal and tamarind before it can shine. The body must endure hardship to be worthy to house a mind that is ripe for next levels. Ghee comes to be, after much churn. Milk to curds, curds to butter, butter to ghee. Ghee needs a lot of processing also called samskaara (literal meaning = processing). All this churn is in preparation to what comes in the next verse, ascending the metaphorical mountain. This Ghee in this vessel sublimates and dissappears in a lamp looked over by mAdEva.

The other, more worldly interpretation, which also connects this verse to the final verse is as follows. If we interpret the vessel, ghee and orange as prepreation to participate in the festival market (where sages come), then too, she seeks Shiva’s grace to make a good sale, so that her family is content with life. The material well being of the singer’s family and kin also depends on mAdEva the Shiva incarnate.

beTTatkond OgOrge haTTi hambalavyAka 
beTTadmAdEva gatiyendu |mAdEva nIvE| avarindu
haTTi hambalava maretArO

Those climbing the mountain, have no use for ‘a home’ or for ‘desires’. With complete surrender to mAdEva, today, they will forget their bonds to their (past) home.

Those desirous of climbing the metaphorical mountain of enlightenment have no use for a home and all that comes with it, the samsaara. They have no use for desire itself, which needs purging. With the grace of mAdEva today as they start climbing their bond to their home will melt away.

The first line  haTTi hambala vyAka = ‘a home’ [and] ‘desire’ why?
The last line  haTTi hambala va = home’s bondage, bondage to samsara.

This verse while very profound, is more direct than others in its addressing of spirituality. Verses before disguise as innocent bhakti, but this one, delightfully, fails in doing so. It also betrays the author as more sophisticated than the village girl she said she was.

Huchchellu hUnange hechchevo ninna paruse,
hechchalagAra mAdayya |maadayya nIne| elumaleya,
hechevu gouraLLi kaNiveli 

Like the bloom of tiny yellow wild-sesame flowers, our devotion to you grows. You, the grower, have grown your people in the GouraLLi valley 

Huchchellu = wild sesame, a constant ingredient in the local cuisine.
paruse = devotee
paruse = touch. (the touch of “paras gem”, a mythical gem that turned everything it touched into gold)
hechchu = more, high tide, to increase
hechchalagAra = the causer of hechchu. causer of the high, of growth, of ascent.

The wild-sesame is ingrained (no pun intended) in the lives of the singer’s tribe. its oil is used everywhere. The sesame itself is in most staple recipes of that land. It is also cultivated for a living. Its flowers are used in pooja. To our singer a good crop of wild sesame is good for every one. I picture, rows and rows of wild sesame in bloom hugging the path to the top of the mountain guiding “those who want to climb”. Wild sesame oil in their torches as they climb and in their lamps as they do jAgarNe on Shivaratri.

The ripen sesame drops its petals and holds only a bunch of black grains, this looks like a head. the huge gathering of people at the feet of the mAdESvara hill will seem like a huge crop of wild sesame to mAdESvara from the summit.

The bloom foretells a good crop and hence prosperity. This verse paints the picture of a carpet of yellow in the valley. Imagine a field of wild sesame crop, green at first and one day some yellow dots. The next day some more and very soon like a wave in the high tide the whole field is yellow. This bloom brings great joy and indication of prosperity to these folks, and she feels inrush of devotion to Shiva wash over her in the same way the viewing of the bloom feels.

These waves of inrush she feels are the waves in the butter churn of her mind, the waves that turn the milk to butter to ghee, ready to ascend to the top of the mountain, in a clean vessel, to burn away in his presence, on a shivarathri. Thus bringing the metaphors of this song to a full circle.

Ganesha Krishna Shankarathota
25-Feb-2020
Update Log
1) Corrected typos (thanks friends for pointing out) 25-2-2020
2) Added pictures. Added the connections of sesame seeds, oil, lamp
3) completed the summarization bringing the metaphors into a full circle.

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