Ninna Nenapu

2009-06-16T18:52:00.000-07:00

Thoughts of you (Ninna Nenapu translation)

2009-04-14T10:04:00.000-07:00

The ripples are still,
the water is clear.
The pebble lies
on the pond's bed.
That's thoughts of you.

The trees are dark,
all blackened with soot.
High up there sprouts
a leaf in parrot-green.
That's thoughts of you.

The palace is in ruins.
On a lone, broken pillar,
a filigree flower
refuses to fade.
That's thoughts of you.

I string grand words
and declaim to the world,
when a voice whispers
caution into my ear.
That's thoughts of you.

As my mind grapples
with difficult poetry,
a song enters my heart
to haunt me softly.
That's thoughts of you.

(Meaning to post this for a long time, but hadn't been able to sit down and translate... Bageshree has written two versions of Ninna Nenapu, one sung by Nitin and the other by Kalavathy on our album. This is the version sung by Nitin. -- Ram)

2008-03-20T10:28:00.000-07:00

But I do keep listening every now and then

2008-03-20T10:26:00.000-07:00

All thoughts on Ninna Nenapu got disrupted by work, work and work!

Review in Kannada Times

2008-02-25T23:10:00.000-08:00

This week's edition of Kannada Times (it's a news and features weekly published from Bangalore) gives the album a flattering review. Catch it if you can. It says no album in Kannada has been so intoxicating in years!

Buying in the US

2008-02-14T22:31:00.000-08:00

Music lovers in the US can order Ninna Nenapu from Kannada Store:
www.kannadastore.com/product_info.php?products_id=1802&osCsid=af130df07d331a1 - 31k

The CD is priced at $ 2.50.

Ninna Nenapu

2008-02-08T07:42:00.001-08:00

(Field of) associations, references, (dis)connections, perceptions (part/whole) that Ninna Nenapu album evokes - relevant and not-so-relevant

*-Alaipayuthe (Pacha Nirame)

-Minnale (Vaseegara)

-Kaakha Kaakha (Uyirin Uyire, Ondra Renda, Thodhu Varuma).

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* Among unself-conscious, casual (untrained?) listeners: younger lot could take to Suchitra's songs (except Kalla Bekkanthe?), older/elderly - Nitin's, Supriya, Kalavathi. The young say Suchitra's songs are filmy,peppy, dancy,playful, bindass, and the older/elderly see Nitin and co' songs as peaceful, emotional, moving, nostalgic, relaxing, restrained; Suchitra's songs modern and Nitin's traditional.

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* That album on a larger plane is divided between or characterised by fundamentally two moulds/frames/moods/styles - Suchitra on one hand and Nitin on the other. The songs/mood/pace infact follow in that order one after the other and acquire a pattern?

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*To continue...

Translation plans

2008-01-04T12:42:00.000-08:00

I've been planning to sit down and translate Bageshree's poems into English for the benefit of those who do not follow Kannada.

Will do so as soon as I can. Tarave marave, whose transliteration I posted here earlier today, is characterised by an angst against time passing us by.

We put in two verses in English in the course of the song. Suchitra wrote them:

Mock away all you like
Only whisper your secrets to me.

Store away all my tears
And I know renewed I will be.

These lines are not translations of what Bageshree has written in Tarave marave, but a sort of thematic summing up.

Tarave Marave (Words)

2008-01-04T04:03:00.000-08:00

edeya gUDa kattalalli
koraLu kaTTi kUta hakkiya
hIge hasira hottu niMtu haMgisuvudu
tarave, marave?

jalada jADa arasi aledu
sOtu koraDalu Ata jIvava
hIge hasira hottu niMtu haMgisuvudu
tarave, marave?

saridu hOda sogasanella
seLedu taruva guTTa usurade
hIge hasira hottu niMtu haMgisuvudu
tarave, marave?

kariya kalla keLage siluki
konaralArade koragO bIjava
hIge hasira hottu niMtu haMgisuvudu
tarave, marave?

Where can I buy it?

2008-01-03T11:30:00.001-08:00

Lahari, south India's biggest label, is distributing Ninna Nenapu. They have a big network, and its director Velu told me last week he would be sending copies to the stores soon.

I am now in Mumbai, so I really don't know if the album has reached the stores, but I can give you the number of Lahari in case you have trouble finding a copy.

Lahari Recording Company: (080) 2670 6519 (Shaila is usually in charge. In her absence you could ask for Murthy. I presume they should be able to guide you to stores where Ninna Nenapu is available).

In case they can't help and you are desperate for a copy, you could call The Music Mint on (080) 2663 8845. The studio has some copies as of today, maybe 15 or so...

The CD is priced at Rs 30.

Preview on themusicmint.com

2008-01-03T10:21:00.000-08:00

themusicmint.com updated with Sound clips of Ninna Nenapu

Ninna hejje daniyilla (Words)

2008-01-03T03:22:00.000-08:00

ninna hejje daniyilla
ninna neraLa suLivilla
aadarU
nanna mAtella ninna joteyallE

nasuku bidda kanasinalli
nusuLi baMda bhrame nInu
aadarU
nanna mAtella ninna joteyallE

saMje kaDala tere Eri
kaLedu hOda jhaLa nInu
aadarU
nanna mAtella ninna joteyallE

Eliot on Kalla Bekkanthe

2007-12-19T18:53:00.000-08:00

Eliot, a singer, songwriter and guitarist from Toronto was in the studio Sunday, 16 Dec 2007. Once we had walked through how he was planning his work, and how we could schedule studio slots with him for January, we played him "Kalla Bekkanthe".
The first comment he made was about the sound -"very rich".
His ears latched on to the harmonium and the violin. When the solo strings interlude came up, he was fully into the song. Though he couldn't make out the language, in fact, he asked me if it was a Hindi song, he came up with, " But this is such a playful song. The form is so strange and playful. What are the lyrics about? The chord progressions are unique perhaps because Ram is into Indian music?"
And yes, he did ask whose voice it was, that was so good and "smoky"!

Ninna Nenapu words

2007-12-19T06:22:00.000-08:00

Nitin sang this for the album, but I had first recorded Kalavathy singing this song in 1989. She came back in 2007 to sing a second version. When she first sang this song, she was so moved by the words she broke down and cried. Will post the first version some time. You can even hear her sigh during the interlude!

Copy paste this on to Baraha if you wish to read it in Kannada. It's free to download.

ninna nenapu

omme kadaDida koLavu
matte tiLiyAgiralu
taLadi malagiha kallu
ninna nenapu

hoge hiDidu kariyAda
sAluvRukShada tudiya
giLiya hasurina chiguru
ninna nenapu

muridu biddaramaneya
moolekaMbada mEle
bADada kusuri hoovu
ninna nenapu

nooru janagaLa naDuve
nakku nalidAdutire
dhuttaneraguva duguDa
ninna nenapu

manake eTukade hOda
kliShTa kAvyada naDuve
iLidu kADuva hADu
ninna nenapu

Coffee and cover art

2007-12-19T05:48:00.000-08:00

Raghav Shreyas, my friend, had taken some coffee house pictures for the cover of Ninna Nenapu. He wanted to take the final pics after we had checked out the trial rolls.

But as it turned out, he fell ill, and couldn't do the final round. He is much better now, thanks to some unconventional new treatments, and his mother Vasanthi's determination to get him back on his feet.

At the last moment, I took this picture at the Barista inside the Leela Palace. Those of us on the early morning shift at MiD DAY sometimes stroll up for coffee to this cafe.

We used Raghav's pictures on the CD, and on the flip side of the jacket.

Ram

Ninna Nenapu

2007-12-19T02:47:00.000-08:00

I started working on this album sometime in 2002. It finally got done in December 2007. Someone said a translation is never completed, it is abandoned. Same with this album. I had to let it go! Lahari is distributing it, and some friends have already heard it.

Ram