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Vaidehi Kathirunthal album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Azhagu Malaraada

From Vaidehi Kathirunthal · 1984

Lyricist
Vaali
Singers
S. Janaki, T. S. Raghavendra
Music director
Ilayaraja
Movie name
Vaidehi Kathirunthal
Movie release year
1984
Lyrics added on
10 Feb 2018

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Saaa…..saaaa…..
Maga maga sa magamaga sa sasaa
Azhagu malar aada
Abhinayangal kooda
Silamboliyum pulambuvadhai kel
En silamboliyum pulambuvadhai kel
Azhagu malar aada
Abhinayangal kooda
Silamboliyum pulambuvadhai kel
Viral kondu meetaamal
Vaazhgindra veenai
Kulir vaadai konjaamal
Kodhikkindra solai
Pagaliravu pala kanavu
Iru vizhiyil varum pozhudhu
Azhagu malar aada
Abhinayangal kooda
Silamboliyum pulambuvadhai kel
…………………………….
Ahh..aaaaa….aaaa…
Aagaayam illaamalae oru nilavu
Tharai meethu thalaaduthu
Aadhaaram illaamalae oru kodiyum
Aadaamal thalai saayuthu
Thaalathil seraadha
Thani paadal ondru
Sangeedham kaanaamal
Thavikkindrathu
Vidiyaatha iravedhum
Kidayadhu endra
Oor sonna vaarthaigal
Poiyaanathu
Vasandham ini varumaa
Vazhvinimai perumaa
Oru pozhudhu mayakkam
Oru pozhudhu kalakkam
Bathiledhum illaadha kelvi
Azhagu malar aada
Abhinayangal kooda
Silamboliyum pulambuvadhai kel
Viral kondu meetaamal
Vaazhgindra veenai
Kulir vaadai konjaamal
Kodhikkindra solai
Pagaliravu pala kanavu
Iru vizhiyil varum pozhudhu
Azhagu malar aada
Abhinayangal kooda
Silamboliyum pulambuvadhai kel
Aaa aaa aaahh..
Oodhaadha pullanguzhal
Enadhazhagu
Soodaadha poovin madal
Theigindra manjal nilaa
Oru thunaiyai
Thedaadha vellai puraa
Poongaatru medhuvaaga
Pattaalum podhum
Pon meni neruppaaga
Kodhikindradhu
Neer ootri paayaadha
Nilam pola naalum
En meni tharisaaga
Irukkindrathae
{Thanimaiyilum thanimai
Kodumaiyilum kodumai
Inimai illai vaazhvil
Etharku indha ilamai} (2)
Verenna naan seidha paavam
Azhagu malar aada
Abhinayangal kooda
Silamboliyum pulambuvadhai kel
Viral kondu meetaamal
Vaazhgindra veenai
Kulir vaadai konjaamal
Kodhikkindra solai
Pagaliravu pala kanavu
Iru vizhiyil varum pozhudhu
Azhagu malar aada
Abhinayangal kooda
Silamboliyum pulambuvadhai kel
…………………………………….
Saa... Saaa...
Ma ga ma ga sa, ma ga ma ga sa sa saa
As the beautiful flower dances,
And dance gestures join in,
Listen to the anklet bells wailing!
Listen to my anklet bells wailing!
As the beautiful flower dances,
And dance gestures join in,
Listen to the anklet bells wailing!
Without fingers plucking its strings,
A veena that merely lives on;
Without the cool breeze caressing it,
A garden that burns inside;
Day and night, when countless dreams
Rise in these two eyes...
As the beautiful flower dances,
And dance gestures join in,
Listen to the anklet bells wailing!
...
Aah... aaaa... aaa...
Without a sky, a moon
Sways gently upon the ground;
Without any support to cling to, a vine
Droops its head without swaying.
Untouched by any rhythm,
A solitary song,
Finding no music,
Yearns in anguish.
"There is no night
That never turns to dawn"—
The words the world told me
Have turned out to be false.
Will spring ever come again?
Will life ever find sweetness?
One moment brings a daze,
Another brings distress—
A question that has no answer!
As the beautiful flower dances,
And dance gestures join in,
Listen to the anklet bells wailing!
Without fingers plucking its strings,
A veena that merely lives on;
Without the cool breeze caressing it,
A garden that burns inside;
Day and night, when countless dreams
Rise in these two eyes...
As the beautiful flower dances,
And dance gestures join in,
Listen to the anklet bells wailing!
Aah aah aaah...
An unplayed flute
Is my beauty;
Petals of a flower never worn in hair,
A fading golden moon,
A companion—
A white dove that never sought one.
Even if the gentle flower-breeze
Softly brushes against me,
My golden body
Burns like fire.
Like land left unwatered
Day after day,
My body remains
Dry and barren.
The deepest loneliness of all,
The greatest cruelty of all,
There is no sweetness left in life—
Why was I given this youth?
What other sin did I commit?
As the beautiful flower dances,
And dance gestures join in,
Listen to the anklet bells wailing!
Without fingers plucking its strings,
A veena that merely lives on;
Without the cool breeze caressing it,
A garden that burns inside;
Day and night, when countless dreams
Rise in these two eyes...
As the beautiful flower dances,
And dance gestures join in,
Listen to the anklet bells wailing!
...
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Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

Azhagu Malar Aada is a poignant Bharatanatyam-style classical song from the film Vaidehi Kathirunthal (1984). The song expresses the deep grief, loneliness, and unfulfilled desires of a dancer whose beauty and youth remain unappreciated and isolated. Dressed in full dance attire, she laments that her dance anklets sound not of joyful rhythm, but of weeping tears. She compares her existence to an unplucked Veena, an unplayed flute, and a drought-ridden barren land. Through vivid imagery crafted by lyricist Vaali, the song captures the pain of solitude and unrequited life. Composed by Maestro Ilaiyaraaja and sung with immense pathos by S. Janaki, the track remains one of the finest classical dance-lament melodies in Tamil cinema history.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Metaphor (Uvamai / Uruvagam)

Viral kondu meetaamal vaazhgindra veenai

Compares the woman's unfulfilled life and untouched body to an unplucked veena and an unblown flute.

Personification

Silamboliyum pulambuvadhai kel

Attributes human emotions and weeping (lamenting) to the dancer's inanimate anklets.

Monai / Edhugai (Rhyme & Alliteration)

Thanimaiyilum thanimai / Kodumaiyilum kodumai

Matches initial sound structures and second consonant rhythms across lines to create classical poetic symmetry.

Keep listening

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