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Isaimozhi
Lyrics & meaning

En Kannai

From Bala · 2002

Lyricist
Pazhani Bharathi
Singer
Shankar Mahadevan
Music director
Yuvan Shankar Raja
Details
Bala2002

Lyrics & meaning

Tanglish lyrics English translation
Male
En kannai pidungikol..pennaeGouge out my eyes, girl
Ennai kaadhal kurudan aakkividuMake me blind in love
Unnai mattum kandukollaJust to look at you alone
Oru seyarkkai kannai poruthividuFit me with an artificial eye
Male
Yaanai thadavumLike the blind man
Kurudan kathai polaFeeling the elephant in the story
Haiyo haiyoOh dear, oh dear
Thadavi thadavaiBy feeling and touching again and again
Unnai paarpenaeI will see you
Hai hai hai haiyoo…Hai hai hai haiyoo…
Male
Sirppam pola intha udalThis body is like a sculpture
Naan thottu paarthathum kulaigirathaeThe moment I touch it, it dissolves
Engae engae unthan idaiWhere, oh where is your waist?
Thottu paarthum koodaEven after touching and searching
Adhu kidaikkallaiyaeI couldn't find it
Male
Ohh… kodi kodiyaai penn kootamOh... in the street where crowds of millions of girls
Kadanthu poivarum veedhiyilaePass by back and forth
Idhayam unakku munnaal padutthuMy heart lies down in front of you
Mariyal pannuthaeAnd conducts a blockade protest
Male
Koonthal saattaiyai suzhatrugiraaiYou whip your hair like a whip
Kanneer gundugal veesugiraaiYou hurl tear-gas bombs
Unathu imsai inbam inbamYour torment feels like pleasure, sheer pleasure
Endrae thonuthaeThat is how it feels to me
Male
Alagennum visham yeruthaeThe poison called beauty spreads
Unthan kannaalaeThrough your eyes
Visham kooda amuthaaguthaeEven poison turns into nectar
Pennae…Unthan kaadhalaalaeGirl... because of your love
Male
Vaa vaa vaa…vanthu theendividuCome, come, come... come touch me
En kannai pidungikol…pennaeGouge out my eyes, girl
En kannai pidungikol…pennaeGouge out my eyes, girl
Female
Oohoo…ooooo….Ohooo…oooo…Oohoo…ooooo….Ohooo…oooo…
Male
Kaadhal enbathu vannmuraiyaaIs love an act of violence?
Kanngalthaan athan seimuraiyaaAre the eyes its practical procedure?
Kanngal rendum urasumbodhuWhen both eyes brush against each other
Idhayam yeriyuthaeThe heart catches fire
Male
Pennmai enbathu yerimalaiyaaIs womanhood a volcano?
Poovil sinthidum panimazhaiyaaOr a dewfall showered on a flower?
Irumbu nenjam poovin kaambaaiAn iron heart bends a little
Konjam valaiyuthaeLike the stem of a flower
Male
Manam indru bommai aanathaeMy mind has become a toy today
Pennae unnaalaeGirl, because of you
Konji konji thalaiyai aattuthaeIt nods its head playfully
Unnai kandu aasaiyaalaeDesiring you upon seeing you
Male
Vaa vaa vaa…vanthu vilaiyaaduCome, come, come... come and play
En kannai pidungikol…pennaeGouge out my eyes, girl
Ennai kaadhal kurudan aakkividuMake me blind in love
Unnai mattum kandukollaJust to look at you alone
Oru seyarkkai kannai poruthividuFit me with an artificial eye
Male
Yaanai thadavumLike the blind man
Kurudan kathai polaFeeling the elephant in the story
Haiyo haiyoOh dear, oh dear
Thadavi thadavaiBy feeling and touching again and again
Unnai paarpenaeI will see you
Hai hai hai hai…Hai hai hai hai…
Female
Oohoo…ooooo….Ohooo…oooo…Oohoo…ooooo….Ohooo…oooo…

Beyond the translation

Song interpretation

En Kannai Pidungikol from Bala (2002) is a quirky, upbeat romantic track where the protagonist hyperbolically expresses his intense obsession with his beloved. He playfully asks her to blind him to the rest of the world and grant him specialized sight only for her, likening his desire to touch and perceive her to the ancient parable of the blind men feeling an elephant. Through dramatic imagery, he describes his heart staging a road blockade for her love while braving the 'tear gas' and 'whip-like lashes' of her charms. The track balances intense romantic devotion with playful humor, celebrating how even sweet torture from the beloved turns into pure bliss.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Hyperbole

En kannai pidungikol..pennae / Ennai kaadhal kurudan aakkividu

Extravagant exaggeration asking to have eyes removed so that the protagonist can focus exclusively on his lover.

Simile (Upamai)

Yaanai thadavum kurudan kathai pola

Compares the tactile exploration of the lover's beauty to the parable of the blind men describing an elephant.

Metaphor (Uruvagam)

Koonthal saattaiyai suzhatrugiraai / Kanneer gundugal veesugiraai

Compares hair to a whip and emotional tears/looks to tear-gas bombs during a road blockade metaphor.

Oxymoron

Unathu imsai inbam inbam

Pairs conflicting concepts of torment (imsai) and pleasure (inbam) to show the sweet pain of love.

Did you know?

Trivia

The soundtrack of Bala (2002) was composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, featuring lyrics by Pazhani Bharathi. The song relies heavily on contemporary street-protest imagery mixed with hyper-romantic metaphors, a popular style in early 2000s Tamil cinema dance numbers.

Keep listening

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