Skip to content
Isaimozhi
Lyrics & meaning

Anbana Thayai

From Mahanadhi · 1994

Lyricist
Vaali
Singer
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
Music director
Ilayaraja
Details
Mahanadhi1994

Lyrics & meaning

Tanglish lyrics English translation
Male
Anbaana thaayai vittuLeaving the loving mother,
Engae nee ponaalumWherever you may go,
Neengaamal unnai suttrumWithout leaving, surrounding you
Ennangal ennaalumWill be my thoughts every day.
Aiyaa unkaalgal patta boomiSir, the land touched by your feet
Thaayin madiIs like a mother's lap.
Engaeyum yaedhum illaNowhere is there anything
Eedu sollum padiThat can match its value.
Male
Kaaveri alaigal vandhuThe waves of the Kaaveri river will come
Karaiyil unnai thaedidumSearching for you on the shore.
Kaanaamal varutha pattuGrieved at not finding you,
Thalai kunindhu odidumThey will run away hanging their head.
Male
Oru bandham enbadhumWhat is called a bond
Paasam enbadhum veru vitta idamAnd affection, are rooted in this place.
Idhai vittaal un nenjai vaazha vaippadhuLeaving this, to keep your heart alive,
Veru endha idamWhich other place is there?
Male
Than mannai vittoruLeaving its native soil,
Kuruvi kudumbam parandhu pogudhadiA sparrow family flies away.
Thaan innaal varaikkumThe nest where until today
Irundha koottai marandhu pogudhadiIt lived, it forgets and leaves behind.
Indha nenjil ippadi aasai vandhoruIn this heart, a desire arose
KolamittadhadiAnd drew a sacred pattern.
Idhil nanmai koodattum theemai odattumLet goodness gather here and evil run away,
Kaalam vitta vazhiFollowing the path paved by time.

Beyond the translation

Song interpretation

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.

Keep listening

More from Mahanadhi