Ponni Nadhi Paakkanumae
1054 years ago, on the 18th day of the Thamizh month “Aadi”, or loosely speaking, sometime in early August, a lone handsome young man was riding his horse along the banks of what we now call the Veeraanam Lake.
Veeranarayanapuram Lake (as it used to be called) is a huge reservoir. It was built by Prince Rajadhitya Chozha, son of Paraanthaka Chozha. The lone rider had heard so much about the lake and the majesty of it. He was already impressed by the irrigation engineering marvel of the Chozhas even before seeing them with his own eyes. As he rode, he was counting the number of sluices along the lake because he had heard that the lake had 74 sluices across it.
He was listening to the songs sung by the women working in the fields. His horse was getting tired and he began to slow down.
The lone rider was Vandhiyathevan, a descendent of the Vaanar clan. He was playing a messenger role on this journey, carrying a message from Aditya Karikalan from Kanchipuram to be delivered to the Prince’s father, Paraanthaka Chozha II (or more popularly known as Sundara Chozhan) in Thanjavur.
He reached the southern end of the lake. That’s where the the lake gets fed by water from the Kollidam river (Vada Kaveri) through the Vadavaaru river. He was completely taken in by the beauty of the lake, the river, the confluence, and much more.
To celebrate the auspicious day of Aadiperukku (A South Indian festival to pay tribute to water sources for their life-sustaining gift), men, women, and children had gathered on the banks of the lake. They had packed food and were enjoying a festive picnic by the water.
Vandhiyathevan was so enamored by everything he saw and heard.
The crops that grew in that part of the world
The flowers the women wore
The ornamental and colorful clothes adorned by the people
The way the children and women ate their food
The pranks the young lovers played on each other
The songs they sang…
and much more.Oh! The songs they sang…
The women were singing folk songs. In different styles — From Oda paattu to Vella paattu, and From Kummi to Chindhu.
They were singing songs in praise of the Chozha kings’ valor, their battle victories, their cherished war wounds, their engineering and architectural wonders, their devotion, etc.
Vandhiyathevan was listening to them all. He couldn’t wait to continue his journey further and see River Kaveri in all her glory.
The above is a loose excerpt from the first chapter of the first of the five books by Kalki and the chapter is titled “Aadiththirunaal” (ஆடித்திருநாள்).
And this setting is presumably the background for the song “Ponni Nadhi Paakkanumae”, the first song from PS1 (Ponniyin Selvan — Part 1), a Mani Ratnam movie, based on / inspired by Kalki’s novel by the same name.
ஓ….
காவிரியால் நீர்மடிக்கு
அம்பரமாய் அணையெடுத்தான்
These lines introduce us to the dam called Kallanai, built by Karikala Chozhan.
நீர் சத்தம் கேட்டதுமே
நெல் பூத்து நிக்கும்
உளி சத்தம் கேட்டதுமே
கல் பூத்து நிக்கும்
பகை சத்தம் கேட்டதுமே
வில் பூத்து நிக்கும்
சோழத்தின் பெருமை கூற
சொல் பூத்து நிக்கும்
The female voice singing these lines is praising the richness of the Chozha land and the bravery of the Chozha kings.
பொன்னி நதி பாக்கணுமே
பொழுதுக்குள்ள
கன்னி பெண்கள் காணணுமே
காற்ற (காத்த) போல
Vandhiyathevan is singing about his yearning to see River Kaveri soon. As a virile and playful young man, he is also not ashamed of sharing his hopes to see beautiful young women along the way. But because Prince Aditya Karikala Chozhan had instructed him very clearly not to get distracted, Vandhiyathevan is very careful to add that he would like to admire the beauty of the women, only like a passing cloud or a quick breeze. (The way AR Rahman sings “காற்ற/காத்த” is a bit insightful and playful.)
பொட்டல் கடந்து
புழுதி கடந்து
தரிசு கடந்து
கரிசல் கடந்து
அந்தோ நான் இவ்வழகினிலே
காலம் மறந்ததென்ன
These lines are a reference to the different terrains Vandhiyathevan has crossed to get here from Kanchipuram. And how he has forgotten himself seeing the beauty of the place. Time for him has come to a standstill.
செக்க செகப்பி
நெஞ்சில் இருடி
ரெட்ட சுழச்சி
ஒட்டி இருடி
அந்தோ நான் இவ்வழகினிலே
These lines tell us that Vandhiyathevan is actually singing/talking to his horse (named “Chemban”). He is sharing all the above thoughts and feelings with his horse as they ride together, and telling him how he has fallen for the beauty of everything he is seeing.
வீரா சோழ புரி
பார்த்து விரைவா நீ
நாவுகழகா தாவும் நதியாய்
சகா கனவை முடிடா
கூடாதே
ஓகோகோ
கடலுக்கேது ஓய்வு
கடமை இருக்குது எழுந்திரு
சீறி பாய்ந்திடு அம்பாக
கால தங்கம் போனாலே
தம்பியே எந்நாளும் வருமோடா
Here, you can hear Vandhiyathevan asking his horse not to tire soon (like a restless sea) as there is much more work to be done and since there is an impending duty to be performed on time. He is asking the horse to hasten his pace and take him to the brave Chozha kingdom to fulfill his dream.
The love he has for his horse is also quite poetically penned by the lyricist in these lines. You can hear Vandhiyathevan referring to the horse as his “சகா”(friend/comrade) and “தம்பியே” (younger brother).
நஞ்சைகளே புஞ்சைகளே
ரம்பைகளை விஞ்சி நிற்கும் வஞ்சிகளே
நஞ்சைகளே புஞ்சைகளே
ரம்பைகளை விஞ்சி நிற்கும் வஞ்சிகளே
These are my favorite lines in this song are and I can’t quite explain why right now. Either the poet is referring to the lushness of the wet and dry agricultural lands by comparing them to “Apsaras” (equivalent of celestial nymphs per Hindu mythology) or he is referring to the women working in the wet and dry agricultural fields by comparing them to “Apsaras”.
Either way, the words just come together so beautifully in the song here and the way AR Rahman sings, it adds an extra punch and gives these lines a lilting groove that’s instantly catchy.
Special mention to Poet/Writer Ilango Krishnan for his re-imagination of the first chapter of the book through these powerful and yet accessible words. His debut as a film lyricist couldn’t have received a better platform than this movie. He had said in an interview that this was the fourth song he wrote for the movie, although this ended up being the first song to be released for public.
Here is the song:
The song is also available in 4 other languages (Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi).
What do I write about the song and the composition other than the fact that I just love it and am hooked on to the song? Hmm..
Maybe I will write something about the album after all songs get released.
—
Footnote: Today (Aug 3, 2022) is ஆடிப்பெருக்கு “Aadipperukku”, the 18th day of the Thamizh month Aadi. Hence this quick scribble.
