To the Teachers - Kirtan Lounge, Ananta Govinda & Gopi Kallayil

There's too many people Planning your downfall When your spirit's on trial These nights can be frightening Sleep transports sadness To some other mid-brain And somebody here Will not be here next year So you stand by the board Full of fear and intention And, if you think that they're listening Well, you've got to be joking Oh, you understand change And you think it's essential But when your profession Is humiliation Say the wrong word to our children... We'll have you, oh yes, we'll have you Lay a hand on our children And it's never too late to have you Mucus on your collar A nail up through the staff chair A blade in your soap And you cry into your pillow To be finished would be a relief To be finished would be a relief Say the wrong word to our children ... We'll have you, oh yes, we'll have you Lay a hand on our children And it's never too late to have you To be finished would be a relief To be finished would be a relief (I'm very glad the spring has come The sun shines outside bright The little birds that are on the trees Are singing for delight)

Muddu gare Yashoda mungita muthyamu veedu Diddaraani mahimala Devaki suthudu Anthanintha gollethala arachethi manikyamu Panthamaade Kamsuni pali vajramu Kaanthula moodu lokala Garudapachhaapoosa Chenthala malonunna Chinni Krishnudu Rathikeli rukhminiki rangumovi pagadamu Mithi govardhanapu Gomedhikamu Sathamai Shankhachakrala sandula vaidhooryamu Gathiyai mammu gAche Kamalakshudu Kalinguni thalalapai gappina pushyaragamu Yeleti Sri Venkatadri Indraneelamu Paalajalanidhilona bayani Divya ratnamu Baaluneevale dirige Padmanabhudu Like a pearl (1), dripping with love He (Krishna) wanders On the front porch of Yasoda With flawless wonders This son of Devaki Here, amidst the cowherds He is readily accessible as a ruby (2) on the palm Towards the stubborn antagonist Kamsa He acts like a sharp diamond (3) He shines like an emerald (4) Radiating colors throughout the three worlds He is the little Krishna by our side (He is the little Krishna in our hearts) For the amorous Rukmini He is the One with the coral (5) lips (While subduing Indra's pride) He lifted the Govardhana mount Standing firm as (banded) agate (6) As Lord Vishnu He is eternally decorated with the cat's eye (7) Between the conch-shell and the discus The last refuge for all of us The lotus-eyed One On the heads of Kalinga snake He stands as a bright topaz (8) He rules the Seven Hills as a sapphire (9) Outside the Milky Ocean He appears as the celestial precious stone He roams around as a (innocent) boy The Lord with the lotus in His navel [In Sanskrit there are nine precious gems. Here in this lyric the legendary composer Annamacharya had used all The nine gems and their qualities for describing Lord Vishnu and the Krishna-avatara. This English translation is expressly meant for the Dancers (Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam) And the upcoming aspiring Carnatic singers. Though a novice singer starts out with mere technical (tune, tempo, Etc.) skills, eventually she must master the meaning of each word and Without such in-depth knowledge, The singer would not know where to pause, which phrase to emphasize, And how to distinguish the ka, ca, ta, tha, Pa from their aspirated consonants kha, cha, ... Ultimately all great music (or poetry) recital must spring forth from The true heart. Otherwise the artist enters a state of stasis - soon, Despite a plethora of awards and hefty emoluments, His renderings will fall flat, fall short of the perfection.]