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Isaimozhi
Nadigan album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Enge Nimmadhi Enge Nimmadhi

From Nadigan · 1990

Lyricist
Isaignani Ilayaraja
Singer
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
Music director
Ilayaraja
Movie name
Nadigan
Movie release year
1990
Lyrics added on
20 Jun 2022

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Engae nimmathi nimmathi endru
Thedi paarththaen adhu engaeyum illa
Engae nimmathi nimmathi endru
Thedi paarththaen adhu engaeyum illa
Yaaraaro vanthaanga
Ennaennavo sonnaanga
Enna solli ennaththa panna
Nimmathi illae manusanukku nimmathi illae
Engae nimmathi nimmathi endru
Thedi paarththaen adhu engaeyum illa
Engae nimmathi nimmathi endru
Thedi paarththaen adhu engaeyum illa
Pallikkodam padikkum pothu
Paadaththilae nimmathi illae
Paadamindri vidumurai endraal
Kaasu indri nimmathi illae
Kaasukkaaga melae padikka
Kallooriyil seettum illa
Seettum kidaichchu pattamum kidaichchaa
Velaiyindri nimmathi illae
Thunbam marakka veliyae sendraal
Penni kanndu nimmathi illae
Pennai ninaiththai paduppom endraal
Kanavinilum nimmathi illae
Alai pola alainthaadum manathukku ingae
Konjam nimmathi varumaa
Engae nimmathi nimmathi endru
Thedi paarththaen adhu engaeyum illa
Engae nimmathi nimmathi endru
Thedi paarththaen adhu engaeyum illa
Thaayin thunabam theerppom endru
Velaikkaaga vesham pottaen
Vaayil vantha poiyai solli
Nalla perum vaangi kondaen
Vantha idaththil vaalipa vayathu
Vazhakkam pola velaiyai kaatta
Manthakaasa punnaigaiyaalae
Kanniyavalum kadhalai solla
Nonthu pona manathukkullae
Vanthu vanthu pogum kizhavi
Intha nilaiyil evan irunthaalum
Aaga vendumavanae thuravi
Irunthaalum ponaalum nimmathi varumaa
Manushanukku nimmathi varumaa
Engae nimmathi nimmathi endru
Thedi paarththaen adhu engaeyum illa
Engae nimmathi nimmathi endru
Thedi paarththaen adhu engaeyum illa
Yaaraaro vanthaanga
Ennaennavo sonnaanga
Enna solli ennaththa panna
Nimmathi illae manusanukku nimmathi illae
Engae nimmathi nimmathi endru
Thedi paarththaen adhu engaeyum illa
Engae nimmathi nimmathi endru
Thedi paarththaen adhu engaeyum illa
Wondering where peace of mind is,
I searched everywhere, but it is nowhere to be found.
Wondering where peace of mind is,
I searched everywhere, but it is nowhere to be found.
So many people came along,
and said all kinds of things.
What is the use of whatever they say or do?
There is no peace, a human being has no peace!
Wondering where peace of mind is,
I searched everywhere, but it is nowhere to be found.
Wondering where peace of mind is,
I searched everywhere, but it is nowhere to be found.
When I was studying in school,
there was no peace in the lessons.
When there were holidays without lessons,
there was no peace without any money.
To study further despite having no money,
there was no college seat available.
Even if you get a seat and earn a degree,
without a job, there is no peace.
If I step outside to forget my sorrow,
seeing a woman brings no peace.
If I go to bed thinking of that woman,
there is no peace even in my dreams.
For a restless mind tossed like the waves,
will a little peace ever come?
Wondering where peace of mind is,
I searched everywhere, but it is nowhere to be found.
Wondering where peace of mind is,
I searched everywhere, but it is nowhere to be found.
Hoping to wipe away my mother's pain,
I put on a disguise just to get a job.
Telling whatever lies came to my lips,
I even earned a good reputation.
In that place, my youthful age
played its usual tricks.
With a gentle, sweet smile,
that young girl confessed her love,
while inside my stressed-out mind,
an old woman keeps haunting my thoughts.
Anyone stuck in a situation like this
is bound to become a hermit!
Whether I stay or go, will peace ever come?
Will a human being ever find peace?
Wondering where peace of mind is,
I searched everywhere, but it is nowhere to be found.
Wondering where peace of mind is,
I searched everywhere, but it is nowhere to be found.
So many people came along,
and said all kinds of things.
What is the use of whatever they say or do?
There is no peace, a human being has no peace!
Wondering where peace of mind is,
I searched everywhere, but it is nowhere to be found.
Wondering where peace of mind is,
I searched everywhere, but it is nowhere to be found.
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Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

Engae Nimmathi from the movie Nadigan (1990) is a humorous, energetic, yet reflective song exploring the eternal human search for peace of mind (nimmathi). The protagonist traces the anxieties of every stage of life—school pressure, lack of money, college admissions, unemployment, and romantic distractions—concluding that peace remains tantalizingly out of reach regardless of one's circumstances.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Simile (Upamai Ani)

Alai pola alainthaadum manathukku ingae

Compares the restless human mind wandering aimlessly to restless sea waves using the comparative marker 'pola'.

Monai (Initial Rhyme / Alliteration)

Thaayin thunabam theerppom endru

Repetition of the initial consonant sound 'Th' across 'Thaayin', 'thunabam', and 'theerppom'.

Irony / Paradox (Muran)

Vaayil vantha poiyai solli / Nalla perum vaangi kondaen

The irony of earning a positive reputation and praise through telling spun-up falsehoods.

Epizeuxis (Repetition for Emphasis)

Engae nimmathi nimmathi endru

The word 'nimmathi' is repeated immediately to emphasize the intense, obsessive search for peace.

Did you know?

Trivia

This track was composed and penned by Isaignani Ilaiyaraaja himself for the film Nadigan (1990), directed by P. Vasu. The song's title 'Engae Nimmathi' nods ironically to the famous sad classic of the same name from Pudhiya Paravai (1964) starring Sivaji Ganesan, reinterpreting the existential gloom through Sathyaraj's signature comedic rhythm and disguise plot line.

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