Alai – September 23rd

Alai: Wave of Bliss is a collection of Tamil songs by Sounds of Isha, released during the Mahashivarathri celebrations this year. The music is available for download online, on a ‘name-your-price’ basis. Please visit www.soundsofisha.org for more information.

Going by popular request, we are providing lyrics along with translations for each of the Alai songs on the blog. Last week’s song was Oru Murai. This week, it’s September 23^rd.

Composed for a sathsang on the anniversary of Sadhguru’s enlightenment day last year, this song expresses a devotee’s experience of his Guru, describing his movement towards a deeper experience of life and his longing to transcend the cycle of birth and death.

While compiling the track details for the Alai CD printing, we realized we still didn’t have an official name for this song. Since we had performed it for the first time on September 23^rd, we had gotten used to referring to it by this name. But then we realized we couldn’t have chosen a better name for this song than the significant date itself, so we decided to leave it unchanged.

September 23rd

Lyrics with meaning

Nāaṉ maṟandha pāadalai nee pāadi kāaṭṭiṉāy

You sang me the song that I had forgotten

Nāaṇ izhantha yāzhiṉai nee thēdi meeṭṭiṉāy

You strung this veena that had lost its string, and played it for me

Kāaṇukiṉṟa yāavilum uṉ saāyal kāaṭṭiṉāy

You made me feel your presence, in everything I see

Vāaṉavillum nāaṇa vāzhvil vaṇṇam theeṭṭiṉāy

You made this life so colorful, that even the rainbow would be shy

Ōṅgi niṉṟa mooṅgilil nee kāatṟṟu veesiṉāy

You blew air into this tall bamboo

Uḷḷezhuntha ōsaiyai nee geetham āakkiṉāy

And made the sounds into a song

Kāaṉal neeril iṉbam kaṇda kāalam māatṟiṉāy

You changed my life, when I was merely enjoying a mirage

Pāalaiyāy iruntha maṇṇai chōlai āakiṉāy

You made this dry earth into a garden of flowers

Nadakkum nāadagam mudiyumā, Pōṭṭa vēdam kalaiyumā

Will this drama ever end? Will I ever drop this mask?

Adutha pāathiram yēṟkāmal, Aruḷ mazhai eṉakkuthavumā

Will your Grace help stop me taking one more part?

Nāadiṉēṉ uṉṉaiyē pāathaiyai nee kāaṭṭuvāy

I am seeking you, and you will show me the path.