- Lyricist
- Vairamuthu
- Singers
- S. Janaki, S. N. Surendar
- Music director
- Sankar Ganesh
- Movie name
- Anjatha Nenjangal
- Movie release year
- 1981
- Lyrics added on
- 6 Aug 2020
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
The song 'En Kaadhal Odangal' expresses the profound melancholy and unfulfilled longing of love. Even as love approaches its destination—metaphorically described as boats reaching the shore or flower arrows striking the heart—a deep sense of sorrow overhangs the protagonist's spirit. The lyrics paint poignant pictures of distress: a fish fallen in fire yearning for water, a wind-swept flower unable to rejoin its tree branch, and a home destroyed with no doorway remaining for celebratory patterns. Through rich imagery, the song portrays a lover navigating the contrast between external romantic beauty and internal agonizing grief, where tears become the sole messenger and silence becomes the only articulate language.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Uruvam (Metaphor)
“En kaadhal odangal / Karai serum nerangal”
Compares love to boats reaching the shore ('En kaadhal odangal karai serum nerangal') and arrows made of flowers striking the heart ('Malar kanai nenjil paaindhadhae').
Uvamaani (Analogy)
“Thee meedhu veezhndha meen ondru / Thannerai meendum thaedum”
Illustrates extreme pain and helplessness by likening the lover's suffering to a fish falling on fire and searching for water.
Contrast / Antithesis
“Sooriyan yenguthu thaamarai thoongudhu”
Highlights emotional duality by contrasting agitation in one eye with silence in the other, and the longing sun with a sleeping lotus.
Personification
“Kannerae endhan thoodhu”
Attributes human actions to tears, giving them the role of messengers conveying inner distress.
Did you know?
Trivia
Written by poet Vairamuthu during the early 1980s, this track showcases his characteristic blend of classical Sangam imagery (such as 'Malar kanai' referring to Kama's flower arrows) with modern melancholic cinematic expression. The song featured in the 1981 film 'Anjatha Nenjangal'.
Keep listening
Songs with a similar feeling
From the same album
More songs from Anjatha Nenjangal
View albumSpot an issue?
Help us improve the lyrics or English translation.