Ho Ga Rella Binde

Ho, ho ga, the wave breaks //
in the sound of the sea, ho ho ga the wave breaks

Rowing and rowing, my arms ache //
the rising tide wears me down
cutting through the waves I row the boat //
toward the river mouth
that ho ho ga, the wave breaks
ho ho ga the wave breaks
in the sound of the sea, ho ho ga the wave breaks

Shivering in the cold // alone in this watch of the night
shivering in the cold, alone in this watch of the night
sleepless, worn out, letting out sighs //
I go on watching the sea
that ho ho ga, the wave breaks
ho ho ga the wave breaks
in the sound of the sea, ho ho ga the wave breaks

With the sound of song my weariness flees, ho ho ga //
now the sweetness of life is felt // the honey-nectar flows
that ho ho ga, the wave breaks
ho ho ga the wave breaks
in the sound of the sea, ho ho ga the wave breaks
ho ho ga the wave breaks //

This is a classic sea-song from the pioneering Sunil Santha, sung in the voice of a fisherman out on the water. Its refrain, ho ho ga, ralla binde, is the rhythmic call a rower gives as the wave breaks, the sound of the sea itself worked into the melody. From the first line you are put in the boat, in the rise and crash of the waves.

The middle is honest about the labour. Rowing and rowing, his arms ache, the high tide wears him down, and he cuts through the waves toward the river mouth. He shivers in the cold, alone in the watch of the night, sleepless and sighing as he keeps his eyes on the sea. It is an unglamorous picture of the hard, lonely work of fishing.

And then the song turns it sweet. With the sound of song, he says, his weariness flees, ho ho ga, and now the sweetness of life is felt, the honey-nectar flowing. That is the quiet magic of the piece: the same singing that keeps rhythm for his oars also lifts the exhaustion and makes a hard life taste like honey. It is Sunil Santha dignifying the ordinary worker, turning a fisherman’s toil into something worth singing about.