- Lyricist
- Pulamaipithan
- Singer
- Ilayaraja
- Music director
- Ilayaraja
- Movie name
- Kathirukka Neramillai
- Movie release year
- 1993
- Lyrics added on
- 11 Jan 2019
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
This song is a deeply emotional lullaby sung by a protective father to his motherless child late at night. Comparing the crying child to a gentle musk deer and a fish swimming in tears, the father wonders why the child is awake when the entire town is asleep. He tenderly takes on the role of a mother, comforting the child and promising that he will stay awake vigilantly to protect this blossoming 'fresh rose' from ever wilting again. The lyrics paint a poetic picture of clouds moving across the sky, wondering if they might search for the child's absent mother to bring back her soft lullabies. The father offers his own shoulder as a safe haven, asking the child to lean on him and sleep peacefully wrapped in love and care.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Metaphor (Uvamai)
“Kanneeril neendhum meenae”
The child's sorrowful state is poetically compared to a fish swimming in tears ('Kanneeril neendhum meenae') and a gentle 'musk deer' ('Kasthoori maanae').
Personification
“Oorkolam pogum megam / Ammaavai thedi pogumaa”
Clouds in the sky are personified as traveling in a procession ('Oorkolam') and searching for the child's mother to learn a lullaby.
Second-Letter Rhyme (Ethirai)
“Kasthoori maanae maanae / Kanneeril neendhum meenae”
Tamil poetic rhyme scheme matching the second consonant across lines ('Kasthoori' / 'Kanneeril').
Did you know?
Trivia
Written by veteran lyricist Pulamaipithan, the song emphasizes the emotional depth of fatherhood taking on maternal warmth, a recurring thematic trope in Tamil cinema tender lullabies.
Keep listening
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