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Nadodi Pattukkaran album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Kadhalukku Kangal Illai

From Nadodi Pattukkaran · 1992

Lyricist
Muthulingam
Singers
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Swarnalatha
Music director
Ilayaraja
Movie name
Nadodi Pattukkaran
Movie release year
1992
Lyrics added on
3 Oct 2018

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Kaadhalukku kangal illae maanae
Kaadhaluku kangal illae maanae
Kannukkulla unna vechen naanae
Kaadhal oru thunba kadhaiyo
Kaalam thandha maaya valaiyo
Gangai vellam kannil konden naanae
Kaadhalukku kangal illae maanae
Kannukkulla unna vechen naanae
En raagam ellaam ingae needhaanae
Unai ennaadha naal yedhu poo maanae
Adi unnodu naanum vandhu seraadhu
En dhegam mannil ingae saayaadhu
Gangaikkoru karai kattalaam
Kaavirikkum anai kattalaam
Kaadhalukku veli kattalaama
Hey mannil vachu moodum
Vidhai yaavum payir aagum
Mazhai megam neruppaagi
Pogaathamma
Kaadhalukku kangal illae raasa
Kannukullae unna vechaa rosaa
Kaadhalukku kangal illae raasa
Thanneeril neendhi chellum meen ondru
Sudum venneeril vizhundhaalae ennaagum
Ilam panneeril aadum thanga roja poo
Adhu mul meedhu vizhundhaalae pollaappu
Eppozhudhum manasil unnai enni
Enni irukkum ennai
Thadaithaan seivaaringae yaaru
Mella thulli varum kaathu
Thadai paathu thayangaathu
Ennaalum un nesam maaraadhaiyaa
Kaadhaluku kangal illae maanae
Kannukkulla unna vechen naanae
Kaadhal oru thunba kadhaiyo
Kaalam thandha maaya valaiyo
Gangai vellam kannil konden naanae
Kaadhalukku kangal illae maanae
Kannukkulla unna vechen naanae
Kaadhalukku kangal illae maanae
Love is blind, my dear
Love is blind, my dear
Yet I keep you inside my eyes
Is love a story of sorrow?
Or a tangled web spun by time?
Floods of the Ganga flow from my eyes
Love is blind, my dear
Yet I keep you inside my eyes
You are the melody to all my songs
Is there a single day I do not think of you, my gentle deer?
Without uniting with you, my love,
My body will never rest in this soil
Banks can be built to tame the Ganga,
And a dam can hold back the Kaveri,
Can anyone ever fence in love?
Every seed buried deep in the earth
Will surely sprout into life
A raincloud will never turn
Into fire, my dear
Love is blind, my king
Yet this rose has kept you inside her eyes
Love is blind, my king
When a fish swimming in cool water
Falls into boiling water, what will happen?
When a golden rose swaying in rosewater
Falls onto thorns, it only suffers harm
When I keep thinking of you in my heart
Constantly, every single moment,
Who here could ever stop me?
The breeze that comes dancing softly
Never hesitates when it meets an obstacle
Your love for me will never change, my dearest
Love is blind, my dear
Yet I keep you inside my eyes
Is love a story of sorrow?
Or a tangled web spun by time?
Floods of the Ganga flow from my eyes
Love is blind, my dear
Yet I keep you inside my eyes
Love is blind, my dear
Male
Male
Male
Male
Female
Female
Female
Male
Male

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

This song from 'Nadodi Pattukkaran' expresses the deep, unconditional, and unyielding nature of love between two soulmates facing trials. The lovers convey that true love is blind to social barriers and physical constraints. Through vivid imagery of rivers, seeds, and breeze, they argue that love is a force of nature that cannot be fenced or restrained by human intervention.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Metaphor (Uruvagam)

Kaadhal oru thunba kadhaiyo / Kaalam thandha maaya valaiyo

Compares love directly to a sad story and a net of illusion created by time.

Rhetorical Question

Kaadhalukku veli kattalaama

Uses rhetorical questioning to emphasize that while natural rivers can be dammed, love cannot be fenced or controlled.

Analogy

Thanneeril neendhi chellum meen ondru / Sudum venneeril vizhundhaalae ennaagum

Compares the suffering in love to a fish unexpectedly falling from cool water into boiling water.

Ethukai (Second-letter Rhyme)

Gangaikkoru karai kattalaam / Kaavirikkum anai kattalaam

Rhyming of the second letter 'n' in 'Gangaikkoru' and 'Kaavirikkum' creates melodic harmony.

Did you know?

Trivia

Nadodi Pattukkaran (1992) stars Prashanth and Bhanupriya in the lead roles, with iconic music composed by Maestro Ilaiyaraaja and soulful lyrics crafted by Muthulingam.

Keep listening

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