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Lullabies

From Folklore of Andhra Pradesh; By B. Rama Raju; and Folklore of Assam; By Jogesh Das; Published by National Book Trust, India.

This is a lullaby that is sung in Andhra Pradesh

For a baby girl

The bean flower is red
and so the beak of the parrot,
Tamarind sprouts are red
and so too the ripening fruit,
Rakkisa fruit is red,
and so the copper chalice,
The rubies preserved in the royal palaces are red,
Our baby girl is red among our babies.

And here's another one.

For a baby boy

Don’t cry, O baby, my dearest,
If you cry, your eyes shed profuse tears,
I can’t bear the sight of those tears.
How is it those golden eyes don’t shed tears of milk?

A popular song sung for children in Assam

Sister Moon, give me a needle.
What for? To stitch a bag.
Why the bag? To keep money in.
Why the money? To buy an elephant.
Why buy an elephant? To ride on it.
Paniram rides home on the elephant
And people turn their heads to look at him.