6 Sohar Ulārā i [Paramaribo, 1962]
Duties of some castes and professions
I.
jasodrā ke bhaye nandalāla bajā̈o re gvāliniyā
II.
mālin lāye phūl tamolin cūnariyā
III.
bhalā äisan resamavā cīr le āye paṭahāriniyā
jasodrā ke...
IV.
bhalā mālin lāye phūla tamolin bīrauvā
V.
bhalā äise äise bandha lagāy ke le āve paṭahāriniyā
jasodrā ke...
VI.
bhalā mālin kai rąg rąge tamolin kaise calī
VII.
bhalā juga juga jiye tore lāla kahata paṭahāriniyā
jasodrā ke...
[p. 53]
I.
To Yaśodā is born Kṛṣṇa; play (the musical instruments), cowherdess!
IV.
Ah,4 the mālin brings flowers and the tamolin the bīṛā;3
V.
And, oh4 the paṭahāriniyā has sewed on such (beautiful) flowery pieces and brings them along.
To Yaśodā...
VI.
Well,4 in how many colours is coloured the mālin, and how does the tamolin walk?
VII.
May the darling child live for many aeons - says the paṭahāriniyā.
To Yaśodā...
1A gardener's wife or a lady gardener.
2A woman tamolī or a tamolī's wife. Tamolīs deal with betel-leaf and such other mouth-fresheners. Tamolins in India often carried out their trade in association with courtesans, serving the customers and often acting as go-betweens. Their coquettish walk is proverbial.
3Bīṛā, a wrapped up betel-leaf with many spices and mouth-fresheners inside; one of these is cūnā, edible white lime.
4We have included bhalā as an example, but it cannot be accurately translated. See p. 5.
5Wife of a paṭahār, or a woman of such profession. They deal in colourful flowery and other objects and small pieces including of clothing for children.
6Throughout it may be translated as ‘has brought along.’ In these songs a general tense is often used to denote past, present or future according to the context.
