Tharattu pattu, first music that we listen to after birth

It is a pure form of music which is from the heart of a mother

Image source:Wikimedia(Museum Syndicate)

Malayalam lullabies

Tharattu pattu or Malayalam lullabies, one of the folk forms of music of the region, however apart from films, the use and exposure for this kind of music in the mainstream is minimal. Or we have not even classified this in our folk song category which is unfortunate.

In Malayalam, there is a rich collection of traditional lullabies. One of the most famous is ‘Omanathinkal Kidavo‘, written and composed by poet lyricist Irayimman Thambi. This lullaby was for the queen of Travancore to sing to her son young prince Swathi Thirunal, who later became the king and a famous musician.

Image source: Sai Viswanath(Pexels)

In general, if you look at lullabies, it is a pure form of music which is from the heart of a mother for her baby. And the words and sounds used are so easy set in your local language. Kerala is no different. The tunes are generally not pre-organized, however is sung in a slow pace. It automatically gets infant to sleep, and keeps the baby feel secure and comfortable enough.

In addition to helping baby fall asleep, many researchers believe there are other benefits to having a mother sing a lullaby to her baby. One of them is the bond it forms between the mother and the child, giving the child a sense of wellbeing. It also shares and develops communication between mother and the baby. This in fact also helps in improving language skills of your child. Today in Kerala like many other parts of world, singing of lullabies occurs less and less by mothers of present day. The language skills of your children are suffering as a result.

One of the lullaby from the movie ‘Valsalyam’ in the voice of Dr. K.S. Chitra

Mayesh Babu