- Lyricist
- Vaali
- Singer
- S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
- Music director
- Ilayaraja
- Movie name
- Mahanadhi
- Movie release year
- 1994
- Lyrics added on
- 11 Jun 2019
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
This poignant song from the movie Mahanadhi reflects deeply on human roots, attachment to one's native land, and the emotional pain of displacement. The lyrics compare the homeland to a mother's lap, emphasizing that no place in the world can match the warmth and sense of belonging that one's native soil provides. Nature itself, symbolized by the river Kaaveri, is depicted as yearning for its departed people. Through vivid analogies like a family of sparrows abandoning their nest, the song explores the inevitability of change, life's forced transitions, and destiny. Despite the lingering sorrow of separation, it closes with a prayerful hope that good things will prevail and bad things will fade as time unfolds.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Personification (Maantharmayam)
“Kaaveri alaigal vandhu / Karaiyil unnai thaedidum / Kaanaamal varutha pattu / Thalai kunindhu odidum”
The Kaaveri river waves are personified as searching for the person on the shore and running away with a bowed head in grief when they cannot find them.
Metaphor (Uruvagam)
“Aiyaa unkaalgal patta boomi / Thaayin madi”
The native land touched by one's feet is directly equated to a mother's comforting lap.
Visual Imagery (Katchi Uruvagam)
“Than mannai vittoru / Kuruvi kudumbam parandhu pogudhadi”
Paints a vivid, poignant image of a family of sparrows flying away from their long-built nest.
Monai (First-letter Alliteration)
“Than mannai vittoru ... Thaan innaal varaikkum”
Matching starting letter sounds in lines such as 'Kaaveri' and 'Kaanaamal' or 'Than' and 'Thaan'.
Did you know?
Trivia
Mahanadhi (1994) features music composed by Maestro Ilaiyaraaja with lyrics written by Vaali. The film, directed by Santhana Bharathi and co-written by Kamal Haasan, is renowned for its intense emotional realism and commentary on social corruption and human resilience.
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