Couple of days back one of the best singer, composer who changed the outlook of Bhavageete(expressive poetry) and Janapada geete(folk songs) in the Kannada language passed away leaving behind many music lovers in Karnataka. It was a great loss to all of us. I am writing this article to remember the great icon who revolutionsed Bhavageete and Janapada geete.
I would rather call this man the saint singer, because his compositions for the writings of the saint philosopher Shishunala Sharif were so brilliant that it attracted a huge dancing crowd and his compositions added a shine to an already life filled poetry. Infact i was inspired to name this post after the title which simply became the second name for C Ashwath
Whenever i would listen to this song, i would always wonder what is the real meaning hidden in this song. The song starts with Kodagana Koli Nungitta, Nodava Thangi... which literally means the hen swalloed the monkey. At what period/era on this Earth would this be possible. The lyrics then continues saying Aadu aaneya nungi, Gode sunnava nungi... which literally means goat swalloed elephant and wall swalloed the lime water(used to paint the walls). What is Shishunala Sharif trying to communicate to the common people. After listening to the song again and again i unearthed what could be the real spirit, soul behind the poem. I will do a sincere effort here to give my commentary on the poem. Please comment on this article
Shishunala Shariefa lived in North Karnataka and so has used language/objects which are commonly seen in that part of the region. The poem starts with
Kodagana Koli nungitta, noddava thangi Kodagana Koli nungitta...
He says Oh sister, Hen has swallowed the Monkey. The poet starts of with a line that shows respect and dignity our motherland(India) has given to Women. He could have said Oh Brother! but instead has used the word sister to signify the role of women in imparting the right knowledge to the soceity. The hen being a bird literally cannot swallow the monkey but through this Shishunala says there are numerous things which we come across in our daily life which may look very small when looked at it physically but they have the ability to change an object which is bigger than them. As we get along the poem the real meaning behind such puzzled phrases becomes more clear. Then he says
Aadu Aaneya nungi, Gode sunnava nungi, Aadalu bandha patadadavala maddale nungita thangi.. Kodagana Koli nungitta..
The goat swalloed the elephant, the wall swallowed the paint, the drum swallowed the actor who came to enact a play. Paint being the protector of the wall, was swalloed by the wall. Without the drum the actor cannot enact his play, drum becomes a very important asset for an actor without which his profession becomes less attractive.
Ollu onakeya nungi, Kallu gutava nungi, Mellalu bandha mudhukiyannu nellu nungitta thangi.. Kodgana Koli nungitta...
Usually in north Karnataka in order to prepare chilli, turmeric etc powder there is a container made of stone called as Ollu. The material to be powdered is put into the container and then smashed by using a iron pole called as Onake. The iron pole is dropped again and again vertically on the material placed inside the stone container to powder it. So the iron pole swalloed the stone container means without the stone container the purpose of the iron pole is nothing. Similarly to grind rice, wheat flour there is a tool used. A stone slab circular in shape is placed on the floor. Above that another stone slab circular in shape and with the same diameter as the earlier one is placed. The slab on the top has a circular hole at the center where rice/wheat can be poured. There is a slot on the upper surface of the above slab where a wood stick is inserted. It is called as guta. The poet says the stone slabs swalloed the wooden stick. It means without the stone slab the wooden stick has no purpose there. Then he says the wheat swallowed the aged lady who had come to chew the food. This means an aged lady usually can't chew hard food because of the delicacy of the tooth. So wheat being a hard food becomes difficult to be chewed by the aged lady. We can see here the power of the language shishunala disha has used. It is very simple yet very powerful.
Hagga maggava nungi, Maggava lali nungi, Maggadoliruva annanannu maniyu nungitta thangi.. Kodagana koli nungitta...
Magga is a tool used to knit clothes/sarees. Lali is another tool used inside the Magga for knitting purpose. The poet says the rope swalloed the Magga, the magga swallowed the lali and the precious stone used inside the magga swallowed the person who does the knitting using the Magga. The poet depicts the inter dependency that exists between the objects. Without one of the them the person knitting the cloth will not be able to do anything. He is basically trying to say the importance of smaller things to our life even though they may seem to be of less importance because of their smaller size.
Gudda gaviyannu nungi, Gavi iruveya nungi, Govinda guruvina pada nannanu nungitta thangi.. Kodagana koli nungitta...
The poet with humility says his guru's (teacher's) feet swalloed him. Through this he offers his respects and also signifies that his life is inspired by the teachings of his teacher. It was his teacher who taught him what life is all about. The poet is offering his gratitude towards his teacher. He compares his teacher's feet swalloing him to a hill swalloing the cave in it. The cave swalloing the ant. He compares his teacher's feet to a hill and himself to an ant.
Shishunala sharifa has used very simple daily spoken words in his poem to communicate a very strong message to the reader's. Although after reading the poem in this article if you feel less interested then probably a music interleaved version by C Ashwath gives the shine to an already life filled poem. Enjoy the orginal song from the movie shishunala sharifa composed by C Ashwath and sung by Shimoga Subbana
