Radha’s Soul Food: Part II

In my previous blog: Radha’s Soul Food: Part I, I had translated the Sambalpuri song, and had mentioned a similar Odia song rendered by Prafulla Kar. In this blog, I share my translation of the Odia song along with brief comments.

Thus Sang Radha

Odia Song: Boile Radhika…[i]

(Translation by Prasanna Dash)

Have you any remedy,

O Dooti,

For my unbearable malady,

To soothe the pangs of separation?

What measures have you tried,

O Radha,

Why no medicine works on you,

Tell me of anything you need,

A favourite dish, maybe?

O Dooti,

Please fetch forthwith

Kunja Binodia kanji,

Fried green banana rounds

from the fruit of the plant

Near the Kadamba tree,

A raita made of Narayana janhi,

Patitapabana dali,

Gobinda-Gopala khechedi,

Garnished with ghee in Hari’s name;

Serve all these delicacies

On the leaf-plate from which Madhusudana ate,

Include in remembrance of Mukunda,

A portion of ukhuda with diced ginger, and

Mohan-bhog for which I pine,

Lastly, a slice of Krushna kagezi lemon

To revive my palate;

After this soul-satisfying meal,

For my siesta,

Spread a Ghanashyama quilt

White and soft as lia.

Make haste,

O Dooti,

Fetch all these items

To get me over my nausea,

For me to once again

Savour the sight, smell, and taste

Of Krushna, life, and food.

That will cure my fever,

Says Purna Rama Bihari.

***

Odia Song and Sambalpuri Song

The lyricist for the Odia song is Purna Rama Bihari, and that for the Sambalpuri song is Gobinda; the singer and composer for the former is Prafulla Kar, and for the latter the singer is Fakir Pattanaik and the composer is Raghunath Panigrahi.

Which of these two songs is the original? Both these songs were released by Saregama India Ltd – the Odia song on 09/01/1988, and the Sambalpuri song on 25/05/1995. Hence, possibly, the Sambalpuri song is an adaptation from the Odia song.

Odia Song: Brief Comments

The song is a complex prayer. The dishes desired by Radha are incidental to the song - the gentle, playful waves of a deep ocean as it were; Radha’s love for Krishna and her reverence for Vishnu constitute the essence of this prayer. Radha fondly recalls the following names – Kunja Binodia, Narayana, Patitapabana, Gobinda, Gopala, Hari, Madhusudana, Mukunda, Mohan, Krushna, and Ghanashyama; of which a few apply to Krishna, and the others are the names of Vishnu.

Madhusudan’s Leaf-plate

Significantly, Radha asks Dooti to serve all these dishes she had ordered on Madhusudan’s plate, either a khali – a leaf-plate, or a piece of plantain leaf. Why from Madhusudan’s plate? Being so much in love with Krishna, she knows that the dishes she has sought are also her lover’s favourite dishes, and imagines him to materialise (Krishna could appear and disappear at will!) and feast upon it. Also, a married woman eats uchhista only if it be prasad offered to God, or from her husband’s plate. Radha is Sri or Lakshmi incarnate and for her Krishna is God, lover, and husband. That is why she desires to partake her meal from Madhusudan’s plate, after he has eaten.

Radha’s viraha: temporary or permanent?

Is the viraha temporary or permanent? The lyricist gives no clue.

While Krushna was at Gopa, sometimes he neglected Radha who suspected him of favouring one or more Gopis, and was torn by jealousy and anguish. However, Krishna always managed to placate her, once placing her lotus-like feet on his head to seek forgiveness: dehi pada pallavam udaram!

Radha with her confidant, pining for Krishna, Gita Govinda illustration, Kangra style, ca 1775-80.

(Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)

But Krishna left Gopa for good, never to return, and the separation for Radha was traumatic and permanent. How did Radha come to terms with her eternal grief? How else but by imagining Krishna’s presence everywhere and in everything around her including in the dishes she ate?

Krishna deserted her physically, but there was nothing Krishna could do if she visualised him in her mind’s eye every moment of her life, and felt his presence in every pore of her body and in every thought in her mind. Krishna could not deny to a devotee, so very much in deep love with him, his eternal togetherness, the Maha Rasa that is the Ultimate Bliss.

Where is Krishna?

Is he at Gopa, Mathura, or Dvaraka? Is Radha an ordinary gopi besotted with Krishna, or is she Lakshmi who resides permanently in Vishnu’s heart? Does she suffer the sorrow of separation from Krishna like an ordinary woman, or does she realise that Krishna, being Vishnu, is all the time with her?

This song is a prayer, and does not attempt to discuss these complex philosophical issues. Radha sings her prayer in her own style and the audience may make their own inference while recalling what God Himself had told Narada:

naham tisthami vaikunthe

yoginam hrdayesu va

tatra tisthami narada

yatra gayanti mad-bhaktah

In this song, Radha, a devotee, sings her soulful prayer.

[i] Odia Song: Boile Radhika…

Lyricist – Purna Rama Bihari

Lyrics Source: You Tube song uploaded by Saregama India Ltd,

Singer & Composer – Prafulla Kar

Released on – 1988-01-09

Link for the song: https://youtu.be/RNZ1lDpvHmY?si=_go5r5l59jDZpxr5

Prasanna Dash