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Isaimozhi
Lyrics & meaning

Engengu Nee Sendra Podhum

From Ninaikka Therindha Maname · 1987

Lyricist
Kamakodi
Singers
K. J. Yesudas, K. S. Chithra
Music director
Ilayaraja
Details
Ninaikka Therindha Maname1987

Lyrics & meaning

Tanglish lyrics English translation
Female
Engengu nee sendra podhumWherever you go,
En nenjame unnai thedumMy heart searches for you.
Male
Aanandha geedham aarambamaakumA song of joy begins,
Kaalangal yaavum nammodu paadumAnd all time sings along with us.
Female
Poongaatru thaalaattum anbae anbaeThe gentle breeze lulls us, my love, my love.
Male
Engengu nee sendra podhumWherever you go,
En nenjame unnai thedumMy heart searches for you.
Male
Kangalin paarvai ambugal polaeWhy does your eyes gaze, like arrows,
Nenjinilae..paaivathum yenPierce into my heart?
Ambugal meendum paainthidum podhuWhen those arrows strike again,
Kaayangalum aariyathaenWhy do even the wounds heal?
Female
Aaridum nenjam theridum neramJust as the healing heart recovers,
Pirindhadhu yeno un uravuWhy did your relationship separate?
Nerungidum podhum neengidum podhumWhether drawing near or moving away,
Mayanguvathaeno en manadhuWhy does my heart get swooned?
Male
Irunenjin thunbam idhu kaadhalthaanThis distress of two hearts is love itself,
Adhu pola inbam edhu kanmaniWhat pleasure can compare to that, my darling?
Poongaatru thaalaattum anbae anbaeThe gentle breeze lulls us, my love, my love.
Female
Engengu nee sendra podhumWherever you go,
En nenjame unnai thedumMy heart searches for you.
Male
Aanandha geedham aarambamaakumA song of joy begins,
Kaalangal yaavum nammodu paadumAnd all time sings along with us.
Female
Poongaatru thaalaattum anbae anbaeThe gentle breeze lulls us, my love, my love.
Male
Engengu nee sendra podhumWherever you go,
En nenjame unnai thedumMy heart searches for you.
Female
Maalai nanneram maarida vendaamMay this good evening hour never change,
Maankuyilae maanguyilaeOh sweet nightingale, oh nightingale!
Kaalangal kooda maarida vendaamMay even time itself never change,
Kanmaniyae kanmaniyaeMy precious one, my precious one!
Male
Sooriyan merkinil sendridattumLet the sun go down in the west,
Chandhiran angae vanthidattumLet the moon arrive there,
Megangal vaanathil nilai perattumLet the clouds hold their place in the sky,
Kadalinil kooda alai nirkattumLet even the waves in the sea stand still,
Female
Unnodu serum oru neramaeThat single moment of uniting with you,
Endrendrum ingae nilaiyaagattumMay it stay eternal forever here!
Poongaatru thaalaattum anbae anbaeThe gentle breeze lulls us, my love, my love.
Female
Engengu nee sendra podhumWherever you go,
En nenjame unnai thedumMy heart searches for you.
Male
Aanandha geedham aarambamaakumA song of joy begins,
Kaalangal yaavum nammodu paadumAnd all time sings along with us.
Female
Poongaatru thaalaattum anbae anbaeThe gentle breeze lulls us, my love, my love.
Male
Engengu nee sendra podhumWherever you go,
En nenjame unnai thedumMy heart searches for you.

Beyond the translation

Song interpretation

This song is a tender expression of romantic devotion and the inescapable pull of true love. The speaker describes how their heart persistently seeks out their beloved, regardless of physical separation or distance. The lyrics portray love as a beautiful paradox where the gaze of the lover acts as an arrow that wounds yet heals the heart simultaneously. The song concludes with a passionate plea to freeze time during moments of togetherness, wishing that nature's cycles could pause so that their union remains everlasting.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Simile (Upamai Ani)

Kangalin paarvai ambugal polae

Compares the sharp, piercing look of the beloved's eyes directly to arrows ('ambugal polae').

Antithesis (Muran Ani)

Nerungidum podhum neengidum podhum

Uses contrasting ideas of drawing near ('nerungidum') and drifting away ('neengidum') within the same line to illustrate emotional flux.

Monai (Initial Rhyme / Alliteration)

Engengu nee sendra podhum / En nenjame unnai thedum

Repetition of the initial 'E' sound ('Engengu' and 'En') across adjacent lines.

Did you know?

Trivia

The movie 'Ninaikka Therindha Maname' (1987) shares its title with a famous classic Tamil song from 'Anandhi' (1965). The lyrics for this soundtrack were penned by poet Kamakodi.

Keep listening

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