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IsaimozhiLyrics · Translation · Meaning

Lyrics & meaning

Kattukkulle Kadhal Kili

From Karimedu Karuvayan · 1985

Lyricist: Vaali
Singer: S. Janaki
Music director: Ilayaraja
Movie name: Karimedu Karuvayan
Movie release year: 1985
Lyrics added on: 15 Jan 2019

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics

↻ English translation

Kaattukkulla kaadhal kiliya kanden

Veettukkulla adha adachu vechen

Kaattukkulla kaadhal kiliya kanden

Veettukkulla adha adachu vechen

Pozhudhirukka parandhiruchae

Pona dhesa marandhiruchae

Kaattukkulla kaadhal kiliya kanden

Veettukkulla adha adachu vechen

Nee pona thadam paathu thaanae

Nizhal thaedi varum indha maanae

Mugam paakka thudichenae naanae

Mundhaana onakkaaga thaanae

Puli koottam kili vettaiyaada

Puzhuvaaga naan theeyil vaada

Punnaana en sogam paada

Podhu koottam naan engu poda

Magaraasan pechu malai yeri pochu

Aanaalum en nenju ala paayudhae

Kaattukkulla kaadhal kiliya kanden

Veettukkulla adha adachu vechen

Pozhudhirukka parandhiruchae

Pona dhesa marandhiruchae

Kaattukkulla kaadhal kiliya kanden

Veettukkulla adha adachu vechen

Vedhachaalum mulaikkaadhu endru

Vedha pottu valarthenae andru

Veragodu vandhenae angu

Veragaagi ponenae ingu

Raasaavae naan inga yaaru

Poovodu seraadha naaru

Yen endru oru paarva paaru

En sogam ondralla nooru

Aagaayam boomi thaangaadhu saami

Azhugindra pennukku aayul kammi

Kaattukkulla kaadhal kiliya kanden

Veettukkulla adha adachu vechen

Pozhudhirukka parandhiruchae

Pona dhesa marandhiruchae

Kaattukkulla kaadhal kiliya kanden

Veettukkulla adha adachu vechen

I found a love parrot in the forest,

And kept it sheltered inside my home.

I found a love parrot in the forest,

And kept it sheltered inside my home.

While daylight still remained, it flew away,

Forgetting its home, it went to a distant land.

I found a love parrot in the forest,

And kept it sheltered inside my home.

Following the trail of your footprints,

This deer comes searching for your shadow.

How my heart yearned just to see your face!

The end of my sari was meant only for you.

While a pack of tigers hunts down the parrot,

I wither in the fire like a helpless worm.

To sing out my deeply wounded grief,

Where can I go to gather a crowd?

That good man's promises have vanished into thin air,

Yet my restless heart still tosses like the waves.

I found a love parrot in the forest,

And kept it sheltered inside my home.

While daylight still remained, it flew away,

Forgetting its home, it went to a distant land.

I found a love parrot in the forest,

And kept it sheltered inside my home.

Even knowing it would never sprout,

I still sowed the seed and nurtured it back then.

I came there carrying firewood,

Only to end up burning like firewood here.

My king, who am I to you here?

Just a plain fiber never woven into flowers.

Look at me just once and ask me why,

For my sorrows are not one, but a hundred.

Neither sky nor earth can bear such pain, my lord,

A woman who constantly weeps does not live long.

I found a love parrot in the forest,

And kept it sheltered inside my home.

While daylight still remained, it flew away,

Forgetting its home, it went to a distant land.

I found a love parrot in the forest,

And kept it sheltered inside my home.

Female

Female

Female

Female

Female

Female

Female

Female

Female

Female

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

The song 'Kaattukkulla Kaadhal Kiliya Kanden' captures the intense grief and helpless longing of a woman abandoned by her beloved. Using rural imagery and nature-based symbolism, she compares her lover to a wild lovebird that she tried to shelter in her home, which eventually escaped and flew away into the unknown. Throughout the track, the protagonist laments her tragic state using haunting metaphors—describing herself as a deer searching for a shadow, a worm writhing in fire, and a fiber string discarded without flowers. She reflects on her unfulfilled devotion and deteriorating well-being, conveying that her grief is too heavy for even the earth and sky to bear.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Metaphor (Uruvagaim)

“Kaattukkulla kaadhal kiliya kanden”

The lover is metaphorically portrayed as a wild parrot ('kaadhal kili') captured from the woods, symbolising his elusive and free-spirited nature.

Metaphor (Uruvagaim)

“Poovodu seraadha naaru”

The speaker compares her wretched state to a bare fiber string ('naaru') that never got the privilege of being woven alongside fragrant flowers.

Simile / Visual Imagery

“Puzhuvaaga naan theeyil vaada”

Her anguish and pain are vividly pictured like a worm squirming in flame ('puzhuvaaga naan theeyil vaada').

Edhukai (Second Letter Rhyme)

“Veragodu vandhenae angu / Veragaagi ponenae ingu”

The Tamil poetic tradition of rhyming the second consonant in consecutive lines is used ('Veragodu' / 'Veragaagi').

Did you know?

Trivia

Though listed with unknown credits in some song indexes, this iconic track from 'Karimedu Karuvayan' (1985) features music composed by Maestro Ilaiyaraaja, rendered poignantly by S. Janaki, with evocative lyrics penned by Vaali.

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From the same album

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