Great Indian Kitchen Mahathaaya Bharatheeya Adukkala features Mathews Pulickan, Haritha Balakrishnan, and Sulekha Kapadan’s raw rhythmic chant. Their call-and-response vocals mirror domestic labor’s unending cycle.
Released: February 11, 2021
Oru Kudam
Haritha Balakrishnan | Mathews Pulickan • From “Great Indian Kitchen Mahathaaya Bharatheeya Adukkala”
Oru Kudam Lyrics Translation (from “Great Indian Kitchen Mahathaaya Bharatheeya Adukkala”)
Mathews Pulickan and Haritha Balakrishnan contrast emptying pots with mental overload: ‘one eye empties, the other fills the mind.’ Sulekha Kapadan describes escalating labor through spreading songs and intensifying dances.
Oru Kudam PaattA pot full of songs.
Olliyiduthaal ChollamIf I peek inside, I’ll tell you.
Oru Mizhinthiyil KaaliyakkuEmpty it out in one eye.
Maru Mizhinthiyil ManamuttuIn the other, the mind’s full.
Iru Mizhinthiyum KattaaneBoth eyes are searching.
Kattaal Ninne KattolaaIf I find you, I’ll take you.
Enth KattuWhat’s taken?
Chel KattuThe beauty’s taken.
Enth ChelWhat beauty?
Paatt ChelThe song’s beauty.
Enth PaattWhat song?
Ninte PaattIt’s your song.
Enth NeeWho are you?
Ente NeeYou’re my own.
Kaatt MishirinThe wind’s whistle,
Kalampalthe clanging of pots,
Karumaraththin Moolalthe humming of the ebony tree,
Changilin the heart.
Thooli Peyyanu KadalilHeavy rain’s falling in the ocean,
Chaaralavalude Changilumand a drizzle’s in her heart, too.
Pennu NanayanuThe woman’s getting drenched.
Bhoomi KuliranuThe earth’s turning cold.
Pennu PadaranuThe woman’s spreading out.
Mannu KuthiranuThe soil’s getting soaked.
Paatt Padaraninnattam MurukanuThe song spreads and the dance intensifies.
Koottu KuzhalviliThe ‘Kuzhal’ ‘pipe ensemble’ plays together,
Ponthi Muzhanganuit rises and echoes.
ThuravazhichavalattamadanuShe’s let herself loose and she’s dancing.
KatterinjavalShe’s the one who threw the net,
Karalu Kakkanushe’s stealing the heart.
Enth KattuWhat’s taken?
Chel KattuThe beauty’s taken.
Enth ChelWhat beauty?
Paatt ChelThe song’s beauty.
Enth PaattWhat song?
Ninte PaattIt’s your song.
Enth NeeWho are you?
Ente NeeYou’re my own.
Oru Kudam Music Video
Domestic tasks repeat without closure in this composition. The Oru Kudam lyrics translation documents how kitchen work becomes a permanent state, reinforced by Pulickan’s looping folk structure.