12. North Side, South Side (A Visit from the Raja)

Sung and recorded by Venus Lane, Tiberias, February 11, 2023; IV-127.

Bāsiyuṃ besiyuṃ ŏḷḷa těrivu
Bāsi atippoḷ vaḍakkě těriv

1. Competitive spirit, an air of hustle bustle,
Liveliness, and rivalry are found throughout the street.
Stubborn persistence is found in the north side; 
Surplus strength is found in the south.

2. A very pleasant fragrance is found in the north side.
Flower garland fragrance is found in the north. 
Here comes the Raja, garlanded with flowers!
Tied around his waist is a cloth of fine design.   

3. His body anointed with sandalwood paste,
The Raja Perumpatappu appears in royal splendor
To behold the Jews, who are beautifully adorned.
Among all the peoples, none can surpass them.

4. They go out rejoicing, prancing through the street.
Splendidly adorned, they go into the paḷḷi.    
In harmony they enter, ten of them together.    
In harmony together, they bow down to pray.

This playful song about Jewtown in Kochi was remembered and performed orally by women from both the Kadavumbhagam and Paradesi communities, who resided respectively in the southern and northern sections of the Jewish street. First alluding to rivalry between the two sides, it imagines a visit from the Hindu ruler of Kochi, whose palace was at the northern end of the street. Surrounded by the fragrance of his flower garlands and sandalwood paste, the raja makes an appearance to admire the elegantly adorned Jews who are parading to the paḷḷi,  perhaps in celebration of a holiday or wedding. His appreciation of their boisterous procession can be taken as an indication of the royal favor and public security experienced by the Kerala Jews. Perumpaṭappu is the title of the Kochi dynasty of rulers, who trace their ancestry back to Kodungallur and who were consistent patrons of the Kerala Jews.

While the contents of the song are certainly Jewish, Gamliel (2005, 225) notes that its first two words, “competition and activity,” are a characteristic opening for certain Mappilla Muslim songs from northern Kerala. Zacharia (2005, 199) discusses the vāśippāṭṭtu or competition song genre, in which two singers or groups of singers perform alternate lines or stanzas.

A written text of “North Side, South Side” is found in only one (Paradesi) notebook, as the second part of a riddle song (song 35, “A Green Bird”), perhaps combined because the two short songs share the same simple melody. They were initially recorded together in 2001 by Venus Lane and Rahel Kala, and then Venus recorded this one separately in 2023.