Spirit of Christmas-for all humanity
by K. Thirukumaran
“Mannulagil Indru Devan Irangi Varukiraar”:
Poignant lyrics of “Mannulagil Indru Devan Irangi Varukiraar” was penned by Poet laureate Kannadasan and rendered by Golden voiced Vani Jeyaram, with Immortal music composition by M.S. Viswanathan ~ in Tamil movie ‘Punitha Anthoniyar’ (released in 1977).
My attempt at translating “Mannulagil Indru Devan Irangi Varugirar”:
♫ Video: “Mannulagil Indru Devan Irangi Varukiraar” (with translation)
Twinkling stars in the sky will become Angels
The moon will become the chariot-crib seating God
The Towering Flame of Wisdom
Flame of Virtue, descending willingly
Descending on earth God, today
Amid the good people, as Bundle of Joy, and
To perform countless miracles and usher
As the son on the laps of a puritan
Hearing infant’s lisping lips the heart throbs
Drawing near and sitting on laps mesmerizes
If Vision garnered it is ample to rid sins
If Hands gotten to touch it will end sorrows
God on the laps of disciples
In cuddling the infant, disciples are mother to God
Redeemer arrived to rescue, from cruelty, sins and suffering
To nurture humanity the Shepherd arrived, as Bundle of Joy
Descending on earth God, today
Amid the good people, as Bundle of Joy, and
To perform countless miracles and usher
As son sitting on the laps of a puritan
Descended on earth today, God
Amid the good people, as Bundle of Joy
This song portraying the spirit of Christmas-for all humanity, is the earliest of the two popular songs featured in Tamil moviedom on the birth of Jesus; the other one is “Anbendra Mazhailyile” written by kaviyarasu Vairamuthu and sung by Anuradha Sriram to the music composition of A.R. Rahman in the movie “Minsara Kanavu” (released in 1997).
Nativity scene at historic Franklin, New Jersey, USA. (picture by K. Thirukumaran)
This Nativity scene is kept by The Middlebush Reformed Church, in Franklin, NJ during this year’s Christmas season. The church was organized in 1834 and is listed in the US National Register of Historic Places. The church is located in the path of The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) and the township is named after one of the American Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin (1706 – 1790).
The church entrance is along Route 27, earlier it was known as the King’s Highway. It was traveled by raiding British generals to lure the Continental Army headed by George Washington (1731 – 1799). George Washington was stationed just North of Middlebush and as he moved away the British Generals retreated from here but destroyed a large swathe of farming land.