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Anbulla Appa album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Anbulla Appa Ennappa

From Anbulla Appa · 1987

Lyricist
Vairamuthu
Singers
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. P. Sailaja
Music director
Shankar Ganesh
Movie name
Anbulla Appa
Movie release year
1987
Lyrics added on
13 Feb 2019

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Anbulla appaa
Male :Ennappaa
Female :Ungal kaadhal kadhaiyai
Kettaal thappaa
Male :Appappaa pollaadha pennappaa
Anbulla appaa
Male :Ennappaa
Female :Ungal kaadhal kadhaiyai
Kettaal thappaa
Male :Ahaahahaa pollaadha pennappaa
M… ungalodadhu
Kaadhal kalyaanam thaanae
Of course it was a love marriage
Neenga ammaava
Paarthadhu eppodhu
Nyaabagam undaa ippodhu
Mmm…hahaha
Mudhal muthathaiyum
Mudhal kaadhalaiyum
Marakka mudiyaadhu magalae
Avalai naan paarthadhu…
Malargal vandugalukku paetti kodukkum
Oottiyil oru malar kaatchiyil thaan…
Andha nandhavanathai chandhithaen
Ammaa eppadi
Azhagaa irundhaangalaa
Male :Andha malar kaatchiyil
Azhagaana poovae
Aval mattum thaan
Pookkalellaam aval kanindha
Mugam kaana
Naani koni kunindhu kondana
Ungal mana vaazhkkaiyil
Malarum ninaivugal undaa
Male :Naan thaaiyidam kooda
Paarthadhillai andha paasam
Aval ninaivugalae en swaasam
Anbulla appaa
Male :Ennappaa
Female :Ungal kaadhal kadhaiyai
Kettaal thappaa
Male :Appappappappaa naughty girlappaa
Appaa ammaa ungala
Nallaa gavanichikkittaangalaa
Saelaiyil enadhu
Mugam thudaippaal
Naan sinunginaal
Chella adi koduppaal
Viralgalukkellaam
Sulukkeduppaal
En naga kannil kooda
Azhukkeduppaal
Thaayaai
Avalai paarthadhundu
En thaadhiyaai
Avalai paarthadhundu
Oru thaen kudamaai
Avalai paarthadhundu…
But… aval urangi mattum
Naan paarthadhillai…
Is it…
Ammaa urangi neenga
Paarthadhae illaiyaa
Paarthaen magalae paarthaen
Paarthaen magalae paarthaen
Eppodhu aval kadaisi urakkam kolla
Kan moodinaalo appodhu thaan
Aval urangi naan paarthaen
Appaa…
Male :Aam magalae…
Nee kan thirandhaai…
Aval kan maraindhaal…
En vaanathil… vidi velli ezhundhadhu…
Vennilavu… maraindhadhu…
Dearest Dad...
Male: Yes, my dear?
Female: If I ask you about your love story,
is it wrong?
Male: Oh my, what a mischievous girl you are!
Dearest Dad...
Male: Yes, my dear?
Female: If I ask you about your love story,
is it wrong?
Male: Ahahaha, what a mischievous girl you are!
Mm... yours was
a love marriage, wasn't it?
Of course, it was a love marriage!
When was it
that you first saw Mom?
Do you remember it now?
Mmm... hahaha...
One's first kiss
and first love
can never be forgotten, my daughter.
Where I first saw her...
Where flowers give an interview to the bees,
at a flower show in Ooty...
that is where I met that living garden.
How was Mom?
Was she beautiful?
Male: In that flower show,
the only truly beautiful flower
was her alone.
Seeing her sweet,
lovely face,
all the other flowers bowed shyly in embarrassment.
In your married life,
do you have sweet blooming memories?
Male: Even from my own mother,
I had never seen such affection.
Her memories are my very breath.
Dearest Dad...
Male: Yes, my dear?
Female: If I ask you about your love story,
is it wrong?
Male: Oh my, what a naughty girl you are!
Dad, did Mom take
good care of you?
With the edge of her saree,
she would wipe my face.
If I whined or grumbled,
she would give me a playful slap.
For all my fingers,
she would crack the knuckles to ease them,
and even from the edges of my nails,
she would gently clean away the dirt.
As a mother,
I have seen her.
As a nurse caring for me,
I have seen her.
As a pot full of sweet honey,
I have seen her...
But... her sleeping,
I had never seen...
Is that so?
You never saw Mom
sleeping at all?
I did see her, my daughter, I did.
I did see her, my daughter, I did.
Only when she fell into her final sleep
and closed her eyes forever, then alone
did I see her sleeping.
Dad...
Male: Yes, my daughter...
You opened your eyes...
and her eyes closed forever...
In my sky... the morning star rose...
and the white moon... disappeared...
Female
Female
Female
Male
Female
Male
Female
Female
Female
Female
Male
Male
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Male
Female

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

This poignant duet takes the form of a conversational musical dialogue between a loving father and his inquisitive daughter. The daughter playfully probes into her father's past, asking about his love marriage with her mother. The father nostalgically recalls meeting his late wife at an Ooty flower exhibition, painting a picture of her peerless grace and tender care that surpassed even motherly devotion.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Metaphor (Uruvagakani)

Andha nandhavanathai chandhithaen

The wife is metaphorically described as a blooming garden ('nandhavanam') and a pot of honey ('thaen kudam').

Personification (Tharkurippaetragani)

Naani koni kunindhu kondana

Flowers at the show are personified as shyly bowing low in humility upon seeing the mother's breathtaking face.

Contrast / Antithesis

Nee kan thirandhaai… Aval kan maraindhaal…

The lyricist creates a bitter-sweet contrast between the daughter's arrival into the world and the mother's departure.

Symbolic Imagery

En vaanathil… vidi velli ezhundhadhu… Vennilavu… maraindhadhu…

The daughter is symbolized as the bright morning star ('vidi velli') while the mother is symbolized as the setting full moon ('vennilavu').

Did you know?

Trivia

This emotional song from the 1987 film 'Anbulla Appa' features music composed by the duo Shankar-Ganesh, lyrics penned by Vairamuthu, and vocals performed by S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and K. S. Chithra.

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