- Lyricist
- Vaali
- Singer
- Arun Mozhi
- Music director
- Ilayaraja
- Movie name
- Thambi Durai
- Movie release year
- 1997
- Lyrics added on
- 13 Dec 2018
Lyrics & meaning
♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Kanyaakumari neeyae…
Ennai kanneduthu
Paarkka vendum neeyae
Kanyaakumari neeyae…
Ilam kanyaakumari neeyae
Ennai kanneduthu
Paarkka vendum neeyae
Nallazhagu mangai neeyae
Nalla vaarthai solluvaayae
Ohoo ooo…
Kanyaakumari neeyae
Niruthu niruthu
Yaara paarthu
Kannyakumarinnu paadra
Yedho pona poguthu ellorum
Paada solranghlae
Sari paadattum vitta
Enna paartha kanyakumarinnu paadra
Ada onna illama
Idho odittu irukkae aaru
Itha thaan kanyakumarinnu sonnen
Hmm kumm
Kaala kaalamaaga
Odugindra aarai
Kanyaakumari endru sollalaamae
Mudhumai indri naalum
Ilamai kondadhaalae
Kumari endru naalum kollalaamae
Meen irukkum suvai
Thaen irukkum
Kuru kurukkum
Nalla nadai irukkum
Iru iru ippo
Meen irukkum suvai
Thaen irukkumnnu
Enna thaanae paaduna
Aprom enna
Kuru kurukkum
Nadai irukkum
Athu vanthu
Meenu aathula irukkuthu maa
Eduthu suvachu paartha
Thaen maadhiri irukkudhuma
Athu poradha paarthu
Kuru kurunnu nadandhu
Pora maadhiri ila
Kanivaai sirikkum
Sugamaai anaikkum
Ninaithaalae inikkum
Manathai izhuthu
Mayakkum azhagiya
Kanyaakumari neeyae…
Ennai kanneduthu
Paarkka vendum neeyae
Valaiya neliya paarthen
Valaiyal osai ketten
Valaiyai veesi paarkka aasai aanen
Itha paaru
Oru alavu thaan irukku
Athu enna
Valaiyal osai ketten
Valaiyai veesi aasai aanen
Adhuvaa
Alaiyin osai kelu
Valaiyil osai polae
Valaiyai aathil yaarum veesalaamae
Amaidhi kollum
Idhu aarparikkum
Anai endru sonnaal
Marudhalikkum
Ippo nee maathavae mudiyathu
Nee kandippa
Enna thaan paadittu irukka
Yemma anaiya katti vecha
Thanni maruthalikkadha
Ada paiyana konjam pada vidumaa
Uravaai ninaithu
Karathaal yevanum
Pidithaal vilagum
Oruvan madiyil kalakkum azhagiya
Kanyaakumari neeyae
Athu enna
Karathaal pidithaal vilagum ketta
thanniya kaiyaala pudicha
Vilagum nu solluvaa
Oruvan madiyil kalakkum
Na enna nu ketta
Kadal la kalakradha thaan sonnen
Oruvan naan samudhira raajan nu
Solla pora..seri seri paadi thola
Kanyaakumari neeyae…
Ennai kanneduthu
Paarkka vendum neeyae
Nallazhagu mangai neeyae…ae
Nalla vaarthai solluvaayae
Ohoo ooo…
Kanyaakumari neeyae
Ennai kanneduthu
Paarkka vendum neeyae
You are Kanniyakumari...
Turn your eyes
and look at me.
You are Kanniyakumari...
You are a young maiden...
Turn your eyes
and look at me.
You are such a beautiful girl,
speak a kind word to me.
Oho oho...
You are Kanniyakumari...
Stop it, stop right there!
Looking at whom
are you singing "Kanniyakumari"?
Just letting it go because everyone
is asking you to sing,
thinking, fine, let him sing...
are you looking at me and singing "Kanniyakumari"?
Oh, not about you!
Look at this river flowing here,
I was only calling this river Kanniyakumari!
Mmh-hmm!
Flowing through the ages,
a running river
can well be called Kanniyakumari.
Without aging day by day,
because it stays forever youthful,
it can always be called a maiden.
It has fish whose taste
is sweet as honey;
it moves with playful mischief,
and has a graceful walk.
Wait, wait! Now...
"Fish with a taste
sweet as honey"—
weren't you singing about me?
And what about
"playful glances
and a graceful walk"?
Well, you see...
The fish are in the river, my girl!
If you taste them,
they are sweet like honey!
And watching them dart around,
doesn't it look like someone
walking with brisk little steps?
It smiles so tenderly,
it embraces so warmly,
just thinking of it feels sweet;
drawing the heart
and charming it, you beautiful
Kanniyakumari...
Turn your eyes
and look at me.
I saw it curving and swaying,
I heard the sound of bangles,
and I longed to cast a net and catch it.
Look here,
there is a limit to this!
What was that about
"I heard the sound of bangles,
and longed to cast a net"?
Oh, that?
Listen to the sound of the ripples—
it sounds just like jingling bangles!
And anyone can cast a fishing net in a river, can't they?
It stays calm,
and then it roars with passion;
if a dam tries to block it,
it defies and overflows!
Now you cannot wriggle out of this!
You are definitely
singing only about me!
Hey girl, if a dam is built,
won't the river water resist it?
Ah, let the poor boy sing a little!
Thinking of it as one's own,
if any man tries
to grasp it with his hands, it slips away,
only to blend into the lap of the one—you beautiful
Kanniyakumari!
What is this now?
If I ask about "slips away if held by hand",
you'll say "if you hold water in your hand,
it slips away"!
And for "blends into someone's lap",
if I ask what you meant,
you'll say "I meant the river joining the sea"!
And that "that one is the Ocean King",
you'll claim! Fine, fine, just sing and get it over with!
You are Kanniyakumari...
Turn your eyes
and look at me.
You are such a beautiful girl,
speak a kind word to me.
Oho oho...
You are Kanniyakumari...
Turn your eyes
and look at me.
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Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
This playful track features a comedic and romantic debate between the hero and heroine. The male singer sings complimentary lines comparing the heroine to the eternal and beautiful Kanyakumari (and a river), while the heroine interrupts repeatedly to catch him flitting between flirtatious praise of her and clever double entendres about the actual river flowing beside them. Whenever she accuses him of singing about her, he wittily deflects by applying every line to physical characteristics of the river (fish, water flow, dams, and waves).
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Double Entendre (Shleshalamkara)
“Kanyaakumari neeyae…”
The entire song hinges on double meaning where 'Kanyakumari' refers simultaneously to a young virgin woman and the virgin river / cape.
Metaphor (Uvamai)
“Alaiyin osai kelu valaiyil osai polae”
Comparing the rhythmic sound of river waves to the jingling sound of bangles ('Valaiyal osai').
Rhyme / Monai
“Kaala kaalamaaga”
Initial rhyming and phonetic repetition across adjacent lines ('Kaala kaalamaaga' and 'Mudhumai indri naalum').
Did you know?
Trivia
This track is a classic example of the 'Tharkka Paattu' (Debate Song) genre popular in Tamil film music, where the lyrics double as conversational dialogue interrupting the musical meter.
Keep listening
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