Poem set to musicMalayalam1907
Veena Poovu
വീണപൂവ്
Veena Poovu, meaning The Fallen Flower, is the poem that is widely seen as the start of modern Malayalam poetry. Kumaran Asan published it in 1907, and its opening stanzas are still recited and sung across Kerala.
- Written by
- Kumaran Asan (died 1924)
- In the video
- V. Madhusoodanan Nair
- Context
- Khandakavya (short narrative poem) on a fallen flower; opening stanzas
- Year
- 1907
- Language
- Malayalam
Veena Poovu lyrics with English translation
Opening four stanzas only; the complete poem has 41 stanzas and is available at the source link. Stanza numbers omitted.
ഹാ! പുഷ്പമേ, അധികതുംഗപദത്തിലെത്ര ശോഭിച്ചിരുന്നിതൊരു രാജ്ഞികണക്കയേ നീ ശ്രീ ഭൂവിലസ്ഥിര-അസംശയ-മിന്നു നിന്റെ- യാഭൂതിയെങ്ങു പുനരെങ്ങു കിടപ്പിതോർത്താൽ?
Ha! pushpame, adhikathungapadathilethra shobhichirunnithoru rajnikanakkaye nee shree bhuvilasthira-asamshaya-minnu ninte- yabhoothiyengu punarengu kidappithorthal?
Ah, flower! How splendidly you shone, like a queen, upon your lofty seat; fortune on this earth is fleeting, beyond doubt - today, where is your glory, and where do you lie, when one thinks of it?
ലാളിച്ചു പെറ്റ ലതയമ്പൊടു ശൈശവത്തിൽ പാലിച്ചു പല്ലവപുടങ്ങളിൽ വെച്ചു നിന്നെ; ആലോലവായു ചെറുതൊട്ടിലുമാട്ടി, താരാ- ട്ടാലാപമാർന്നു മലരേ, ദലമർമ്മരങ്ങൾ
Lalichu petta lathayambodu shaishavathil palichu pallavapudangalil vechu ninne; aalolavayu cheruthottilumatti, thara- ttalapamarnnu malare, dalamarmmarangal
In your infancy the vine that bore you cherished you lovingly, holding you in the cups of her tender leaves; the swaying breeze rocked your little cradle, and the rustling leaves, O blossom, sang you lullabies.
പാലൊത്തെഴും പുതുനിലാവിലലം കുളിച്ചും ബാലാതപത്തിൽ വിളയാടിയുമാടലെന്യേ നീ ലീലപൂണ്ടിളയ മൊട്ടുകളോടു ചേർന്നു ബാലത്വമങ്ങനെ കഴിച്ചിതു നാളിൽ നാളിൽ
Palothezhum puthunilavilalam kulichum balathapathil vilayadiyumadalenye nee leelapoondilaya mottukalodu chernnu balathvamangane kazhichithu nalil nalil
Bathing deep in fresh moonlight, white as milk, playing in the early sun without a care, you spent your childhood, day after day, happily among the young buds.
ശീലിച്ചു ഗാനമിടചേർന്നു ശിരസ്സുമാട്ടി- ക്കാലത്തെഴും കിളികളോടഥ മൗനമായ്‌ നീ ഈ ലോകതത്വവുമയേ, തെളിവാർന്ന താരാ- ജാലത്തൊടുന്മുഖതയാർന്നു പഠിച്ചു രാവിൽ
Sheelichu ganamidachernnu shirassumatti- kkalathezhum kilikalodatha maunamay nee ee lokathathvavumaye, thelivarnna thara- jalathodunmukhathayarnnu padichu ravil
Keeping company with the morning birds, nodding your head, you learned to sing; and then, in silence, at night, turned eagerly toward the bright host of stars, you learned the truth of this world.
Translation: Lyriccs (original translation). Transliteration: Lyriccs.
The story behind Veena Poovu
N. Kumaran Asan (1873-1924), a disciple of Sree Narayana Guru, was one of the great trio of modern Malayalam poets together with Ulloor and Vallathol. A popular story holds that he was moved to write the poem after seeing a fallen flower while walking.
Veena Poovu appeared in December 1907 in the periodical Mithavadi. Its forty-one stanzas, a short form known as khandakavya, broke away from the ornate court poetry of the time and used a single small subject to reflect on life and death. The poem's centenary was celebrated in Kerala in 2007, and recitations by poets such as V. Madhusoodanan Nair have kept it alive for new listeners.
What Veena Poovu means
The poem addresses a flower that has fallen to the ground. In the opening stanza the poet recalls how it once shone like a queen at the top of its plant, and asks where that glory is now, noting that fortune on earth is never permanent.
The following stanzas trace the flower's life as if it were a child's: the vine that bore it cradles it among the leaves, the breeze rocks it and the rustling leaves sing lullabies; it bathes in moonlight, plays in the morning sun, learns songs from the birds and studies the stars at night. This tender account of growth gives weight to the loss that follows in the later stanzas, where the flower's fall becomes a meditation on the brevity of every life.
Quick facts
- Written by Kumaran Asan and published in December 1907 in Mithavadi.
- The poem has 41 stanzas.
- Widely regarded as the beginning of a new era in Malayalam poetry.
- Its centenary was celebrated in Kerala in 2007.