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IsaimozhiLyrics · Translation · Meaning

Lyrics & meaning

Kaalamenum Kadalinile

From Thanga Kalasam · 1988

Lyricist: London Gopal
Singer: K. S. Chitra
Music director: M. S. Vishwanathan
Movie name: Thanga Kalasam
Movie release year: 1988
Lyrics added on: 15 May 2021

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics

↻ English translation

Kaalamenum kadalinilae

Kadhalenum padaginilae

Kaalamenum kadalinilae

Kadhalenum padaginilae

Kaarirulil puyalai kandu

Paai maramendrae yaemaanthaen

Paai maramendrae yaemaanthaen

Kann thirantha kaalam mudhal

Kannaai un mael aasai vaiththaen

Kann thirantha kaalam mudhal

Kannaai un mael aasai vaiththaen

Kaalamellaam kaaththirunthaen

Kadhalaiyae arinthilaiyae

Kadhalaiyae arinthilaiyae

Kaalamenum kadalinilae

Kadhalenum padaginilae

Kaarirulil puyalai kandu

Paai maramendrae yaemaanthaen

Paai maramendrae yaemaanthaen….

Aagaayaththil koyil katti

Aasaiyodu un silai eduththaen

Aagaayaththil koyil katti

Aasaiyodu un silai eduththaen

Poojai seithaen puvi malae

Puriyaatha pudhiraanaen puriyaatha pudhiraanaen

Kaalamenum kadalinilae

Kadhalenum padaginilae

Kaarirulil puyalai kandu

Paai maramendrae yaemaanthaen

Paai maramendrae yaemaanthaen….

Thodaamal thottanaiththaan

Sudaamal sutteriththaan

Thodaamal thottanaiththaan

Sudaamal sutteriththaan

Thedaamal thedugiraen

Paadaamal paadugiraen

Paadaamal paadugiraen

Kaalamenum kadalinilae

Kadhalenum padaginilae

Kaarirulil puyalai kandu

Paai maramendrae yaemaanthaen

Paai maramendrae yaemaanthaen….

In the ocean called time,

In the boat called love,

In the ocean called time,

In the boat called love,

Seeing a storm in the dark of night,

I mistook it for a mast and was deceived,

I mistook it for a mast and was deceived...

Ever since my eyes first opened,

I loved you like my very own eyes,

Ever since my eyes first opened,

I loved you like my very own eyes,

I waited for you all my life,

Yet you never understood my love,

Yet you never understood my love...

In the ocean called time,

In the boat called love,

Seeing a storm in the dark of night,

I mistook it for a mast and was deceived,

I mistook it for a mast and was deceived...

Building a temple in the skies,

I lovingly sculpted a statue of you,

Building a temple in the skies,

I lovingly sculpted a statue of you,

I worshipped it down on earth,

And became an unsolved riddle, an unsolved riddle,

In the ocean called time,

In the boat called love,

Seeing a storm in the dark of night,

I mistook it for a mast and was deceived,

I mistook it for a mast and was deceived...

Without touching, he embraced me,

Without burning, he set me on fire,

Without touching, he embraced me,

Without burning, he set me on fire,

Without searching, I keep searching,

Without singing, I keep singing,

Without singing, I keep singing,

In the ocean called time,

In the boat called love,

Seeing a storm in the dark of night,

I mistook it for a mast and was deceived,

I mistook it for a mast and was deceived...

Female

Female

Female

Female

Female

Female

Female

Female

Female

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

This poignant song expresses the deep pain of unrequited love and emotional confusion. The narrator compares life and love to navigating a fragile boat across a vast, dark ocean. Desperately seeking direction, she mistakes a destructive storm for a guiding mast, symbolizing how she mistook pain or false hope for true affection. Throughout the verses, she reflects on her lifelong devotion, worshipping her beloved like a deity in a sky-high sanctuary built of dreams. Despite her intense devotion, she feels misunderstood and abandoned, lost in paradoxes of longing—embraced without physical touch, burning without fire, and endlessly searching without direction.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Uruvagam (Metaphor)

“Kaalamenum kadalinilae / Kadhalenum padaginilae”

Comparing 'time' to an 'ocean' (Kaalamenum kadal) and 'love' to a 'boat' (Kadhalenum padagu) creates vivid symbolic imagery of life's treacherous emotional journey.

Monaai (Initial Alliteration)

“Kaalamenum kadalinilae / Kadhalenum padaginilae / Kaarirulil puyalai kandu”

Repetition of the initial 'Ka' sound across consecutive words ('Kaalamenum', 'Kadhalenum', 'Kaarirulil') creates rhythmic harmony.

Paradox / Muran (Contradiction)

“Thodaamal thottanaiththaan / Sudaamal sutteriththaan”

Phrases like 'touching without touching' and 'burning without burning' express complex, invisible emotional suffering through contradictory actions.

Did you know?

Trivia

This rare song from the 1988 film 'Thanga Kalasam' features lyrics credited to London Gopal, a lesser-known lyricist of the late 1980s Tamil cinema era.

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