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Lyrics & meaning

Annam Pola Pennirukku

From Maalaiyitta Mangai · 1958

Lyricist
Kannadasan
Singer
P. Susheela
Music director
Vishwanathan-Ramamoorthy
Details
Maalaiyitta Mangai1958

Lyrics & meaning

Tanglish lyrics English translation
Female
Annam polae penn irukkuThere is a woman graceful like a swan
Aasai konda manam irukkuThere is a heart filled with desire
Avarai mattum yenoBut why him alone
Innum kaanenHave I not seen yet?
Naan avarai mattum yenoWhy him alone
Innum kaanenHave I not seen yet?
Female
Annam polae penn irukkuThere is a woman graceful like a swan
Aasai konda manam irukkuThere is a heart filled with desire
Avarai mattum yenoBut why him alone
Innum kaanenHave I not seen yet?
Naan avarai mattum yenoWhy him alone
Innum kaanenHave I not seen yet?
Female
Paattu paada kuyilirukkuThere is a cuckoo bird to sing songs
Paarthu pesa kiliyirukku ..aa….aa…aa….There is a parrot to look at and speak with...
Paattu paada kuyilirukkuThere is a cuckoo bird to sing songs
Paarthu pesa kiliyirukku ..There is a parrot to look at and speak with...
Vaarthai indri mayangugiren veenaeI faint wordlessly in vain
Naan avarai mattum yeno innum kaanenWhy haven't I seen him alone yet?
Female
Annam polae penn irukkuThere is a woman graceful like a swan
Aasai konda manam irukkuThere is a heart filled with desire
Avarai mattum yenoBut why him alone
Innum kaanenHave I not seen yet?
Naan avarai mattum yenoWhy him alone
Innum kaanenHave I not seen yet?
Female
Thendralukkum iraiyaanenI became prey even to the gentle breeze
Thaenmadhiyin edhiraanen …aa….aa….aa…I became an enemy to the sweet moon...
Aaa..aaa…aa….Ah... ah... ah...
Thendralukkum iraiyaanenI became prey even to the gentle breeze
Thaenmadhiyin edhiraanen …I became an enemy to the sweet moon...
Kangalukkum pagaiyaanen veenaeI became an enemy to my own eyes in vain
Naan avarai mattum yeno innum kaanenWhy haven't I seen him alone yet?
Female
Annam polae penn irukkuThere is a woman graceful like a swan
Aasai konda manam irukkuThere is a heart filled with desire
Avarai mattum yenoBut why him alone
Innum kaanenHave I not seen yet?
Naan avarai mattum yenoWhy him alone
Innum kaanenHave I not seen yet?
Female
Arugirundhu pesaamalWithout sitting near and talking
Anbu mozhi kooraamalWithout expressing words of love
Arugirundhu pesaamalWithout sitting near and talking
Anbu mozhi kooraamalWithout expressing words of love
Parandhu vittaar thedugiren veenaeHe flew away and I search in vain
En panimalarai yeno innum kaanenWhy haven't I seen my dew-kissed flower yet?
En panimalarai yeno innum kaanenWhy haven't I seen my dew-kissed flower yet?
Female
Annam polae penn irukkuThere is a woman graceful like a swan
Aasai konda manam irukkuThere is a heart filled with desire
Avarai mattum yenoBut why him alone
Innum kaanenHave I not seen yet?
Naan avarai mattum yenoWhy him alone
Innum kaanenHave I not seen yet?

Beyond the translation

Song interpretation

Annam Polae Penn Irukku is a poignant song from the 1958 film Maalaiyitta Mangai, penned by Kannadasan. The song portrays the romantic agony and deep yearning of a young woman longing for her absent beloved. Despite having beauty compared to a graceful swan and a heart filled with love, her existence feels incomplete because she cannot see the one she loves. Nature's pleasant elements, such as singing cuckoos, talking parrots, gentle breezes, and the sweet moonlight, turn into sources of torment for her lonely heart, reflecting the classic Indian literary motif of separation (viraha). She grieves over how her lover departed without sharing tender words, leaving her to search for him in vain like a tender dew-laden flower.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Upamai (Simile)

Annam polae penn irukku

Compares the beauty and grace of the woman to a swan ('Annam polae').

Viraha Tapam (Sangam Motif)

Thendralukkum iraiyaanen / Thaenmadhiyin edhiraanen

Depicts the gentle breeze and bright moon—usually sources of pleasure—as painful tormentors during separation.

Uruvagam (Metaphor)

En panimalarai yeno innum kaanen

Metaphorically refers to the beloved as a delicate dew-covered flower ('panimalar').

Monaai (Initial Alliteration)

Arugirundhu pesaamal / Anbu mozhi kooraamal

Repetition of initial vowel sound 'A' in adjacent words.

Did you know?

Trivia

Maalaiyitta Mangai (1958) was produced by the legendary lyricist Kannadasan under his own banner, Kannadasan Films. The music was composed by the iconic duo Viswanathan-Ramamoorthy, and this memorable track was sung by M. S. Rajeswari.

Keep listening

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