76. Herzl the Great

Rivka Yehoshua. Recorded by Marcia Walerstein-Sibony, Moshav Aviezer, September 22, 1981; I-35.

Kīṟttiyeṟuṃ hěṟsěl mahāně   (x2)
Svarājyaṃ āśicca mahāně   (x2

1. Herzl the great, the most famous!   (x2) 
He was the noble one who hoped
For our national self-rule.

2. Savior of the Siyon Sangam!   (x2)
To Israel where the honey flows,
To live forever all the Jews will go.

Anjju pattu vaṟṣaṅṅaḷkkuḷḷil svarājyaṃ kiṭṭumě
Paṟañña nābiyě
Aṅu āśayěllāṃ ŏttu pokumě
Sandoṣaṃ nāmě

3. “In five or ten years,” the prophet said,
Our self-rule will be achieved.”
If your wishes do come true,   
In our own country we’ll rejoice.

Chorus:

Herzl the great, the most famous,
Herzl the great, the most famous!

This is a 1950s Kerala Jewish tribute to Theodore Herzl (1860–1904), founder of the Zionist movement in Europe, who advocated for and prophesied the creation of an independent Jewish state. It makes use of the term swaraj (self-rule), a key concept advanced by Mahatma Gandhi in the Indian Independence movement. The tune is said to have been borrowed from an unidentified Hindi film that was popular in Kerala at the time.