Vayakkaadu

Story

Vayakkaadu — a Tamil nattupura paattu honouring the farmers of India, sung in the old ஏலேலோ ஐலசா call-and-response of the paddy fields.

Before the nation wakes, someone is already standing in cold water.

He has been reading the sky since yesterday evening. He knows what the wind did in the night. He has walked the bund with a lantern to see whether the channel held. By the time the rest of us reach for the first coffee, half his day is behind him — and none of it will carry his name.

Meaning in English

Elelo ailasa, we go singing to the paddy fields. Yoke the plough and till the land, and this is the country that ends the hunger of the poor. Scoop up the soil and kiss it and it will pour out gold; guard it like your own eyes and it will shower grain.

Only when you set your foot in the mud can you put rice in your mouth. Plant the seedlings, let the water in, and the paddy will bloom and sway as grains of rice. Hearing the bells of the cattle, a song spreads through the heart, and when the cool wind blows, every worry runs away.

We are a people who live trusting the rain; the farmer's way is to watch the sky. When we toil and spill our sweat, half this world wakes to its morning. Is there a village without ploughing? Is there a country without the farmer? In the lap of Mother Earth, can there ever be anything called sorrow?

Let the golden-bodied paddy ripen, let the rain fall every month. Elelo, elelo, ailasa.

Sections

1. பல்லவி
2. சரணம் 1
3. சரணம் 2
4. முடிவு

Music video