This is probably a song which has not got its due.
As simple as it may appear, the song conveys a strong sense of pathos - it's hard not to be moved by the undercurrent of pain that prevails. I just love the simplicity of the lyrics - have you noticed?
The entire poem that is this song follows a single pattern -
<Metaphor>-ne <Subject> ennu vilichu.
That's it - whether it's the Pallavi or Charanam. Actually, there's just six sentences - that's all of it! And in spite of the same structure, the tunes are different. And what metaphors!
- A nameless (or indescribable) pain is Love.
- The pot of honey that breaks as it falls is a Tear (And just think it through - we'd say tear is saline, at best. And yet the lyricist calls it sweet - by comparing it to honey! And the imagery - a tear drop breaking is compared to a pot breaking - just superb!).
- The golden, ephemeral sun's ray is Imagination (It probably hints at how attractive and yet fleeting imagination is - here before, gone now.)
- The injured bamboo that cries is called a Flute (here, I love how the lyricist compares the sound of the flute, i.e. the music that comes from it as a painful plea; possibly also indicating that the bamboo goes through pain as it transforms into a flute - and the music that comes out of it is indicative of that pain).
- The colours mixed into the tears of the clouds forms a Rainbow (I think this metaphor is sheer genius - it's like combining Science and Art! We know that light when refracted and dispersed by moisture droplets in the air causes a rainbow. He draws the metaphor in such a way that it looks poetic, and yet is logical in some ways).
- The unforgettable 'silent' song (note the oxymoron) is the Mind (I am not sure I've got the essence of this comparison - maybe the lyricist is trying to say that the mind remembers all - and yet it holds all of the memories, which remain in our hearts like an unforgettable song).
This song is indeed a case of less is more.
Credits -
Movie: Sneham (1998)
Song: Perariyathoru Nombarathe
Lyrics: Yousuf Ali Kechery
Music: Perumbavoor G Ravindranath
Singer: K J Yesudas
Lyrics -
Perariyathoru nombarathe Premam ennaro vilichu,
Mannil veenudayunna thenkudathe Kannuneer ennum vilichu.
Thankathin niramulla maayamareechiye Sankalppam ennu vilichu,
Murivettu kezhunna paazhmulam thandine Muralika ennum vilichu.
Manimegha bhaashpathil chaalicha varnathe Maarivil ennu vilichu,
Marakkuvanavatha mouna sangeethathe Maanasam ennum vilichu.
