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Jagame Thandhiram album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Kalarey Kalarvasam

From Jagame Thandhiram · 2020

Lyricist
Anthony Dasan
Singer
Anthony Daasan
Music director
Santhosh Narayanan
Movie name
Jagame Thandhiram
Movie release year
2020
Lyrics added on
6 May 2021

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Aiyaa kalarae kalarvasam kalarae kalarvasam
Karthigayum poo vaasam
Indha sandala seemayila nee vittu ponadhu thaan
En manasa rambam pottu arrukudhaiyaa
Nee pona yedam periya edam
Periya edam punniyavan vaazhum edam
Thedum edam kedaikkalenu
Thedum edam kedaikkalenu
Thembalayae en raasa
Thaalamullu pallathukku pallathukku
Thalamuzhuga ponadhenna
Aiyaa thalamuzhuga ponadhenna
Thaalamullu thachadhunnu
Thaalamullu thachadhunnu
Thala saanja maayam enna
Aiyaa thala saanja maayam enna
Aiyaa paakamecha aramannaiyum
Aramannaiyum panjaanga saavadiyum
Unnaku panjaanga saavadiyum
Sekkanummu nenachavara
Sekkanummu nenachavara
Aaradi thaan panju metha
Unakku aaradi thaan panju metha
Aiyaa dhesadhi dhesamengum dhesamengum
Kottakatta nenacha paavi
Aya kotta katta nenacha paavi
Aaradi kotta ippo
Indha aaradi kotta ippo
Neeti padukka nimmadhiyo
Nee neeti padukka nimmadhiyo
Aiyaa neeti padukka nimmadhiyo
En aiyaa
En aiyaa
En aiyaa
Ennai peththa aiyaa
Oh father, glowing with charm, glowing with life,
Fragrant as blossoms in the month of Karthigai,
In this cruel, cursed land, your leaving me behind
Saws through my heart like a blade, oh father.
The place you have gone to is a great place,
A great place where righteous souls live.
Though you did not find the place you searched for,
Though you did not find the place you searched for,
You never broke down and wept, my king.
Into the ditch of sharp screwpine thorns,
Why did you go to plunge your head and wash your hands of life?
Oh father, why did you go to plunge yourself away?
Just because a thorn pierced you,
Just because a thorn pierced you,
What mystery made you bow your head and pass away?
Oh father, what mystery made your head fall lifeless?
Oh father, palaces admired by everyone,
Palaces and grand resting halls,
Grand resting halls for you,
For you who thought it was all paradise,
For you who thought it was all paradise,
A six-foot grave is now your cotton mattress.
For you, six feet of earth is your cotton bed.
Oh father, across lands and kingdoms far and wide,
You poor dreamer who wanted to build a fortress,
Oh father, you poor dreamer who wanted to build a fortress,
In this six-foot fortress now,
In this six-foot fortress now,
Do you find peace as you stretch out to sleep?
Do you find peace as you stretch out to lie down?
Oh father, do you find peace as you stretch out to sleep?
Oh my father,
Oh my father,
Oh my father,
The father who brought me into this world!
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

This song is a soul-stirring 'Oppari' (traditional Tamil funeral lament) that reflects on the transience of life, ambition, and worldly power. It laments the passing of a prominent figure/fatherly figure who once harbored grand dreams of conquering lands, building palaces, and acquiring vast wealth. The lyrics highlight the bitter irony of human existence: no matter how large a person's empire or ambitions are, every human ultimately ends up requiring only a simple six-foot plot of land for their final rest. Through evocative imagery of nature, thorns, and graves, the singer expresses intense grief while questioning the peacefulness of eternal sleep.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Metaphor

“En manasa rambam pottu arrukudhaiyaa”

Compares grief and heartbreak to the excruciating physical action of sawing through a heart with a saw blade.

Irony / Contrast

“Aya kotta katta nenacha paavi... Indha aaradi kotta ippo”

Contrasts the deceased's vast ambition of building grand fortresses across nations with the humble reality of a six-foot grave.

Anaphora / Repetition

“En aiyaa / En aiyaa / En aiyaa”

Repetition of emotional vocatives and questions to accentuate the depth of mourning in traditional Oppari style.

Emonai (Tamil Alliteration)

“Thaalamullu thachadhunnu / Thala saanja maayam enna”

Matching initial consonant sounds ('Th') in consecutive words/lines to maintain rhythm in folk chant.

Did you know?

Trivia

This track is composed in the authentic Tamil 'Oppari' (elegy) genre by Santhosh Narayanan for Karthik Subbaraj's gangster drama 'Jagame Thandhiram' (2021). Sung and written by popular folk artist Anthony Daasan, the song roots the movie's thematic focus on mortality and loss amidst international crime narrative themes.

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