NITYABHĀGYAVA HONDABAHUDAYYĀ, Text: Solomon David, Music: traditional (for details see below), recorded at KTC, Mangalore 2010 Tabla player: Praveen Praveen P. Harmonium player: Vijaya Sujaya Translation by Rev. Paul Shindhe, Kassel: O man, you can have eternal life through Christ. :| The eternal life, that Christ gives, you cannot get truly through almsgiving or baptism. 1. O man, with anxiety humble yourself before the Father, praise Him always, trust in the compassionate Lord and confess your sins… 2. O man, you ran to God, when you came to know that you had committed uncountable sins and that you walked in the way of evil and with the heart of humbleness you were desiring that your sins should be washed away … 3. O man you search Christ, when you come to know that you die eternally and have no alternative, because you have forgotten the justice of the protective God … ................................................................................... Although this recording is not perfect from the optical point of view it is a most interesting document under the perspective of what makes an Indian tune Indian. If you listen to this song you may agree that the music does sound Indian somehow, no doubt. The raga, which is used here, sounds strange to Western ears and resembles oriental, Mediterranean music, and indeed the scale is almost similar to the Jewish evergreen HAVA NAGILA (הבה נגילה). Only the seventh note differs from what is called in Jewish terms Ahawo-Rabbo-Steiger or Jischtabach-Steiger. But this charming tune for Lyric 102 in its oriental garment is nothing but a most wonderful replacement of an old Western tune in C-major, which can be found in V.J.Samuels collection of Kannada Lyrics, edited in Belgaum 1956. The melody here is still the same as the one from Samuel's staff notation, only the raga has been orientalized somehow by several alterations and the rhythm is more vivid now. Just for fun and to get an impression of what I am talking about play the tune from the above mentioned music sheet one time in the correct "oriental" garment and once bare of all flats in C-major. The difference is incredible - but the result, which is the melody of this recording, is really wonderful.
