Is Life of Pi’s Tamil lullaby plagiarised?

The lyricist of the song Bombay Jayashri might have bagged an Oscar nomination for penning the song, but she finds herself in trouble as Malayalam poet Iryimman Thampi’s relatives claim that the song is a rip-off of Thampi’s 18th century creation

Lyricist Bombay Jayashri has bagged an Oscar nomination for the composition of the Tamil lullaby that features in Ang Lee’s much acclaimed film Life Of Pi. But now the composition is caught in a plagiarism row for being uncannily similar to the famous Malayalam lullaby, Omanathinkal kidavo, composed by Malayalam poet Iryimman Thampi in the18th century. While everyone is waiting to see how the Academy will respond to this case, we converted the melodious Tamil lullaby into English for our readers. Take a look!

Kanne Kanmaniye

Kannurangi Ponne

Mayilo, thogai mayilo

Kuyilo, koovum kuyilo

Nilavo, Nilavi oliyo

Imaiyo, Imaiyin kanavo

Rararo rararo

Rarao rarao

Malarao malaria amudho

Kaniyo, senkaniyin suvaiyo

Rararo rararo

My dear one, the jewel of my eye

Sleep my dear precious one

You are the peacock, the dancing peacock

You are the koel, the singing koel

You are the moon, the light of the moon

You are the eyelid, dreams that wait on the eyelids

Rararo, rararo

You are the flower, the nectar of the flower

You are the fruit, the sweetness of the fruit

Rararo, rararo