Friday, June 11, 2010

Rhyme away

Here's my bit for the Tulika Blogathon - Not sure if I'm on time...but nevertheless..

The story is  - The housefly (called Eee in Tamil) is suffering memory loss a la Ghajini ;). So she goes around asking everything and everyone... the pun here is that the fly's name is the simplest to remember (Eee) but she forgets that and remembers every other name in the world... she starts with the calf... and ends with the horse...but does she finally remember the name?

PS: I've corrected the first line after MIL pointed out a mistake.

Kozhu kozhu kanne chubby chubby calf
kannin thaaye  the calf's mother
kannu meikkira ayaan  the cowherd who grazes the cattle
ayaan kai kole The stick in the cowherd's hand
kola valartha kodimarame  the tree that gave the stick
kodimarathil irukkum kokke the crane that is perched on the tree
Kokku nikkum kulame the in which the crane stands
kulathil irukkum meene the fish in the pond
meen pidikkum valaya the fisherman who is catching the fish
valayan kai chatti the pot in the hand of the fisherman
chatti munayum kosava the potter who made the pot
kosavan kai manne the clay in the hands of the potter
mannail irukkum pulle the grass that grows on the clay (means the ground here)
pullai thingum kudiraai the horse who eats the grass
en peru enna? what is my name?
  And the horse neighs
Hhhee ..Eeeeeee

And that's how the fly remembers its name!! I like the way one thing leads to the other so logically. B Athai Paati used to say this to Pattu when she was 9 months old and when she was barely 10 months she used to finish every line and by 12 months she said the whole thing all by herself! And she used to wait with bated breath for us to say 'eeeee' :D

This one was alos Pattu's favourite and she used to do it with actions.

Aanai Aanai Elephant Elephant
Azhagar Aanai Azhagar's (Lord Krishna) Elephant
Arasanum Arasiyum yerum Aanai Elephant on whom the king and the Queen ride
Kovilai kandaal kumbidum Aanai Elephant that prays/ bows when he sees a temple
kattikkarumbai murikkum Aanai Elephant that twists the sugarcane
kaaveri aatrai kalakkum aanai Elephant that churns the kaaveri river
kutti aanaikku kombu molachudaam little Elephant has grown a tusk
pattanamella paakkavarum People of the city, please come and see...

Many a morsel have been successfully fed, thanks to these :)

Another favourite of mine is Biscuit Biscuit, Nila Nila and Kaiveesamma , and the kuruvi kadai go over to Hema's for a more detailed account.

To add to Hema's rich list is, 'kola kolaya mundirikka naraya naraya suthi vaa' - this is the desi version of 'I sent a letter to my father ...postman came and picked it up and put it in my pocket' game.
And one more ...

Oru kodam thanni oothi oru poo poothadu (We watered the plant with one pot of water and the plant gave one flower) and it goes on and on like that. it is a game and it ends when all the players have been counted...

Last one... eh promise pa.. this is a malayalam rhyme

Kaake kaake koodevide Crow crow where's your nest?
Kootinakathoru kunjunde There's a little one in the nest
Kunjinu theetta kodukkaanjal If you don't give food to the little one
Kunju kidannu karanjyeedum The little one will cry
Kaake kaake nee tharumo Crow crow, will you give?
Ninnude kayyile neiyappamThe neiyappam (It is a sweet made of rice flour and jaggery) in your hand?
Illa tharilla neiyappam No I will not give Neiyappam
Ayyo Kaake Pattiche Oh crow you fooled me!

 Edited to add two more.
Each of the Tamil alphabets are represented in every line of this rhyme

amma inge vaa vaa   
aasai mutham thaa thaa 
ilaiyil choru potu 
eeyai thoora otu   
unnai pondra nallaar  
ooril yaavar ullaar   
ennaal unakku thollai 
ethum inge illai
aiyam indri solluven  

ottrumaye balamaam
oodum seyale nalamaam
avvai sonna mozhiyaam
ahde enakku vazhiyaam


This one is about the sweet mangoes..

Maambazhamaam Maambazham
Malgova Maambazham
Selathu Maambazham
Thithikkum Maambazham
Azhagana Maambazham

Alva pondra Maambazham
Ungalukkum vendumaa?
Ingu oodi vaarungal
Pangu pottu thinnalaam


This is about Dosai - the making of it and the eating of it and some math adding up to 10.

Dosai amma dosai 
amma vaartha dosai
arisi maavum ulundu maavum arachu vaartha dosai
appavukku naalu
ammavukku moonu
annanukku rendu
thangaikku onnu
aaga motham pathu
thinna thinna aasai
innum kettaaa poosai

This one is more like Rock-a-by baby

Saanjaadamma saanjaadu
Thanga kodame saanjaadu
velli vilakke saanjaadu

Mayile mayile
saanjaadu
vannakkiliye saanjaadu

Kattikarumbe
saanjaadu
Inikkum thene saanjaadu

.... and this goes on, I used to add my own verses like


Pattu kutty saanjaadu
Chutti kutty saanjaadu
chamathu kutty saanjaadu
vaalu kutty saanjaadu

etc etc...

11 comments:

bitsofchocolate said...

First Malayalam rhyme that I've seen - coolness !

Asha said...

With these rhymes and riddles, you took me back to my childhood.

Shankari said...

The aanai aanai and the chaanjadamma was a favourite at home too :) My mom used to sing these to Narad all the time!

Pooh! said...

I realized I have been making up lyrics for Aanai Aanai.
Thanks

Aryan-Arjun said...

wow....they are super rhymes...my mom used to say all these things to aryan and he loved it a lot..especially biscuit biscuit...!!!!!
Very good collection

Uma said...

PV - that's the only Mal rhyme I know :)

Asha - Oh they do bring in fond memories, don't they!

Shankari - Pattu loves those as well. She used to sing Anai Anai with actions :)

Pooh - Oh, then you should definitely post your version :D
These are quite likely to have different versions since they are only passed on through word of mouth.

Aryan - Biscuit biscuit is my fav too ..such a silly one actually :D

lostworld said...

Brought back some childhood memories! :) Many of these used to be sung to us by my granny.

Uma said...

lostworld - These are quite common ones... oh, yes, brings back all those sepia tinted memories :)

lavanya said...

Thanks :D
was searching the whole web for anai anai

lost memories
thanks a lot
-Lavanya

Ranga said...

Makes me nostalgic!
Years since I have heard these rhymes. Thanks for posting

Shruthi said...

Love it! My mom introduced to the little one and now I can continue to sing thanks to you!!!

There is another counting one -

Onnu rendu, Rojapu Chendu
Moonu, Naalu, Mulaiela Thoongu
Anju Aaru, Aaruellam Neeru
Ezhu Ettu Ennkau oru laddu
Ombodhu Pathu, odiva chamathu