Skip to content
Isaimozhi
Cuckoo album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Kalyanamam Kalyanam

From Cuckoo · 2014

Lyricist
Yugabharathi
Singer
Anthony Daasan
Music director
Santhosh Narayanan
Movie name
Cuckoo
Movie release year
2014
Lyrics added on
25 Mar 2017

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Kaadhal kanmaniyae..ae…..
Kalyanamam kalyanam
Kaadhal kanmaniku kalyanam
Kalyanamam kalyanam
Kaadhali ponnuku kalyanam
Onna sirichu meiya pazhagi
Kannal pesi kaathu kedanthu
Oruvar madiyil oruvar sarinthu
Urangidamal kanavum kandu
Kadaisi varaikum varuvathaga
Kathaiyum vittalae
Indru athanaiyelam maranthuvittu
Paranthum vittalae
Kalyanamam kalyanam
Kaadhal kanmaniku kalyanam
Kalyanamam kalyanam
Kaadhali ponnuku kalyanam
………………………….
Kaadhal kanmaniyae…ae….
Koora sela madichu katti
Kunkuma potta nethiyil vechu
Manavarayil ava iruppa maharaniya
Avala kaadhalichavan
Kalangi nippaan appuraniya…
Kalyanam kalyanam kalyanam
Getti melam kaathu polaka
Naadhaswaram onghi olikka
Kacheria rasichirupan ooru munnala
Avala kaadhalichavan
Kathariduvan oosai illama..
Kalyanam kalyanam kalyanam
Sadhi sanatha vanangikitu
Sattunu sattunu sirichukitu
Parisu porula vaangi vaippa
Romba aasaiya
Avala kaadhalichavan
Kasangi nippan saniyaasiya
Vagavagaiya samachu vechu
Vazha elaiyil panthiyum ittu
Purushankku ootividuva
Photo pudikathan
Avala kaadhalichavan
Manasukkula gundu vedikathaan
Mangala thaali kazhuthil aada
Manthira vaartha iyerum odha
Car il eri poiduva
Puguntha veetukku
Avala kaadhalichavan
Vanthiduvanae nadu rottuku
Kalyanam kalyanam kalyanam
Kaadhal kanmaniae….aaee……
Kalyanamam kalyanam
Kaadhal kanmaniku kalyanam
Kalyanamam kalyanam
Kaadhali ponnuku kalyanam
Oh my beloved darling...
A wedding, they say, a grand wedding!
A wedding for my beloved darling!
A wedding, they say, a grand wedding!
A wedding for the girl who was my love!
Laughing together and becoming deeply intimate,
Speaking through eyes and waiting eagerly,
Leaning tenderly on each other's lap,
Dreaming wide awake without sleep,
Promising to stay together until the very end,
She just spun tall tales!
Today, forgetting all of that,
She has flown away!
A wedding, they say, a grand wedding!
A wedding for my beloved darling!
A wedding, they say, a grand wedding!
A wedding for the girl who was my love!
...
Oh my beloved darling...
Draping her silk bridal saree,
Placing a vermilion mark on her forehead,
She will sit on the wedding stage like a queen!
The one who loved her...
Will stand there heartbroken and helpless...
Wedding, wedding, wedding!
As the wedding drums beat loud enough to burst ears,
As the nadaswaram echoes soaring high,
The whole town will enjoy the musical concert,
The one who loved her...
Will wail in agony without a sound...
Wedding, wedding, wedding!
Bowing to kin and relatives,
Flashing quick smiles every now and then,
She will accept gift after gift,
With so much eagerness!
The one who loved her...
Will stand there crushed like a forlorn ascetic!
Cooking a grand feast of varied delicacies,
Laying out the meal on banana leaves,
She will feed her husband,
Just to pose for the picture!
The one who loved her...
Will feel a bomb exploding inside his heart!
As the sacred knot sways around her neck,
As the priest chants holy mantras,
She will get into the car and leave,
Off to her in-laws' home!
The one who loved her...
Will end up stranded in the middle of the road!
Wedding, wedding, wedding!
Oh my beloved darling...
A wedding, they say, a grand wedding!
A wedding for my beloved darling!
A wedding, they say, a grand wedding!
A wedding for the girl who was my love!
Male
Male
Male
Male
Chorus
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Female
Male
Female
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

Kalyanamam Kalyanam from the film Cuckoo is a poignant folk-style lamentation of a heartbroken lover watching the girl he loved marry someone else. The song uses sharp irony and contrast, setting the cheerful, loud, and festive atmosphere of a grand traditional Tamil wedding against the silent agony and devastating helplessness of the abandoned lover.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Irony and Contrast

Manavarayil ava iruppa maharaniya / Avala kaadhalichavan kalangi nippaan appuraniya

Juxtaposes the joyous rituals of the bride (decorating, receiving gifts, posing for photos) with the quiet destruction of the lover's heart.

Imagery

Koora sela madichu katti / Kunkuma potta nethiyil vechu

Creates vivid visual and auditory imagery of a traditional Tamil wedding using elements like silk saree, bindi, getti melam drums, nadaswaram, and banana leaf feast.

Hyperbole

Manasukkula gundu vedikathaan

Exaggerates the internal pain of betrayal comparing it to a bomb exploding inside the heart.

Ethukai (Second Letter Rhyme)

Onna sirichu meiya pazhagi / Kannal pesi kaathu kedanthu

Rhyming of the second consonant sound across consecutive lines in Tamil poetry.

Did you know?

Trivia

Composed by Santhosh Narayanan with lyrics by Yugabharathi for the 2014 romantic drama Cuckoo directed by Raju Murugan, the song captures a deeply emotional moment in the film where visual impairment and heartbreak intersect.

Keep listening

Songs with a similar feeling

From the same album

More songs from Cuckoo

View album

Spot an issue?

Help us improve the lyrics or English translation.