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Isaimozhi
Lyrics & meaning

Kaatru Veliyil

From Un Samayal Arayil · 2014

Lyricist
Pazhani Bharathi
Singer
Ilayaraja
Music director
Ilayaraja
Details
Un Samayal Arayil2014

Lyrics & meaning

Tanglish lyrics English translation
Male
Kaatru veliyil unnai koovi azhaikkindrenI call out to you in the open expanse of the wind.
Modhum alaiyil unnai thaedi thavikkindrenI search for you and suffer amid the crashing waves.
Male
Kaatru veliyil unnai koovi azhaikkindrenI call out to you in the open expanse of the wind.
Modhum alaiyil unnai thaedi thavikkindrenI search for you and suffer amid the crashing waves.
Oru kadal pol indha iravu thoongavillai manadhuLike a vast ocean tonight, my heart cannot sleep.
Miga uyarathil andha nilavuThat moon hangs at a great height.
Mangalaana kanavu mangalaana kanavuA hazy dream, a hazy dream.
Sandhikkavum illai pirindhidavum illaiWe have not met, nor have we separated.
Maunathin mayakkam idhuThis is an intoxicating spell of silence.
Oru vaarthaikku thavikkiradhuIt aches desperately for just a single word.
Male
Kaatru veliyil unnai koovi azhaikkindrenI call out to you in the open expanse of the wind.
Modhum alaiyil unnai thaedi thavikkindrenI search for you and suffer amid the crashing waves.
Male
Pul vazhiyil udhirndhu kidappadhuWhat lies fallen along the grassy path,
Pookkal alla en kangalAre not flowers, but my longing eyes.
Pul vaanil minni thavippadhuWhat glimmers and yearns in the sky,
Meengal alla en nenjamAre not stars, but my aching heart.
Sandhikkavum illai pirindhidavum illaiWe have not met, nor have we separated.
Maunathin mayakkam idhuThis is an intoxicating spell of silence.
Oru vaarthaikku thavikkiradhuIt aches desperately for just a single word.
Male
Kaatru veliyil unnai koovi azhaikkindrenI call out to you in the open expanse of the wind.
Modhum alaiyil unnai thaedi thavikkindrenI search for you and suffer amid the crashing waves.

Beyond the translation

Song interpretation

The song conveys a profound sense of romantic yearning and emotional limbo. The speaker calls out to an elusive beloved across nature's vastness—in the wind, waves, and night sky. Trapped in a state of silent enchantment where they have neither officially met nor truly separated, the speaker hungers for even a single word of connection while enduring a sleepless, dreamlike night.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Simile (Uvamai)

Oru kadal pol indha iravu thoongavillai manadhu

Compares the restless, vast night to an ocean ('Oru kadal pol indha iravu').

Paradox / Anti-thesis

Sandhikkavum illai pirindhidavum illai

Expresses emotional limbo through contradictory states of neither meeting nor parting.

Metaphor (Uruvagaim)

Pookkal alla en kangal ... Meengal alla en nenjam

Compares fallen eyes on the grass to dropped flowers, and the longing heart to stars in the sky.

Did you know?

Trivia

The film 'Un Samayal Arayil' (2014) was directed by Prakash Raj, who also starred alongside Sneha. The soundtrack was composed by Maestro Ilaiyaraaja. The song's opening imagery pays homage to Mahakavi Subramania Bharati's iconic poem 'Kaatru Veliyidai Kannamma'.

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