- Lyricist
- Kannadasan
- Singers
- P. Bhanumathi, Seerkazhi Govindarajan
- Music director
- K. V. Mahadevan
- Movie name
- Kalai Arasi
- Movie release year
- 1963
- Lyrics added on
- 9 Sept 2019
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
This romantic duet from the film Kalai Arasi (1963) explores the sweet torment and ecstatic bliss of romantic love. The lovers question why love causes intense ache during even a brief separation—comparing it to burning embers—while togetherness yields sweet nectar. They discuss the duality of a lover's gaze, which can simultaneously cause love-sickness and serve as its ultimate cure. Throughout the song, poet Kannadasan elevates romantic feelings into classical art forms. A smile becomes fine art, soft words turn into poetry, and coy bashfulness transforms into creative expression. The lovers end by extolling each other as their very soul and radiance.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Antithesis / Paradox
“Ondru noi thandhadhaen / Ondru marundhaanadhaen”
Presents a poetic contradiction where one gaze causes love-sickness ('noi') while another gaze acts as the remedy ('marundhu').
Metaphor (Uruvagam)
“Nam uyirodu uyir serndhu / Perum inba thaen”
Compares the intense happiness of two souls joining to sweet, flowing nectar ('perum inba thaen').
Initial Rhyme (Emonae / Moonae)
“Kalaiyae un ezhil maeni kaniyaavadhaen”
Repetition of consonant/vowel sounds at the beginning of words in successive phrases ('Kalaiyae', 'Kaniyaavadhaen', 'Kanal').
Personification
“Sirikkindra idhazh kooda kalai pesudhae”
Attributes artistic speech and poetry to human lips and spoken words.
Did you know?
Trivia
Kalai Arasi (1963), starring M. G. Ramachandran and P. Bhanumathi, is historically significant for being one of the earliest Indian science-fiction films featuring extraterrestrials and space travel. The soundtrack was composed by K. V. Mahadevan, and this specific duet was sung by P. B. Sreenivas and P. Susheela.
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