Kurulu Adare Lyrics by Sunil Santha

Bird love, an ocean of joy

Covering this orange tree by the doorway,
saying the sun is harsh, the bulbul birds are calling,
singing their sweet songs, sharing joy with the world,
now swinging at leisure in the orange tree

Chasing each other all over the garden since morning,
at this hour, with the sun overhead, covering this tree,
the pair in a single embrace, settling down to rest,
love without any obstacle, now at peace

Bulbul, that bride of yours,
who made the two of you a couple, ah, what a beauty!
the two of you look just like milk and honey,
who was the matchmaker that brought your love together?

In which village will you build your nest this time?
Our guava tree is fine, don’t go away,
having bathed in the ocean of love, having built a mansion of love,
make chirping little ones, build it, you couple

Bulbul, that little princess of yours,
look, she draws closer still, nestling into you,
share a couple of kisses, speak a word of love,
comfort her, my dear, O bulbul

This is a delightfully gentle song that watches a pair of birds in love and treats them exactly like a human couple. The birds are konda kurullo, red-vented bulbuls, common garden birds whose lively chatter every Sri Lankan knows. They cover the orange tree by the doorway, complain that “the sun is harsh,” sing their sweet songs and “share joy with the world,” and the singer looks on with pure affection, as if watching neighbours he is fond of.

The charm is in how completely he humanizes them. He calls the female bulbul the male’s “bride” and asks, teasingly, “who made the two of you a couple? who was the matchmaker, the kapuwa, that brought your love together?” In a Sinhala village the kapuwa is the go-between who arranges a marriage, so the birds are given a full little wedding story. The pair look “just like milk and honey,” the classic image of two things that belong perfectly together.

The last verses turn into warm, fatherly advice. He wonders which village they will nest in “this time,” and coaxes them to stay: “our guava tree is fine, don’t go away.” He blesses their home-making, “having bathed in the ocean of love, built a mansion of love, make chirping little ones,” and finally, seeing the female nestle closer, urges the male to “share a couple of kisses, speak a word of love, comfort her.” What the listener is left with is a tender, smiling celebration of love and domestic happiness, painted through two little birds building their nest in a backyard tree.