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Isaimozhi
Puthu Paatu album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Kumbidum Kai

From Puthu Paatu · 1990

Lyricist
Vaali
Singer
K. S. Chithra
Music director
Ilayaraja
Movie name
Puthu Paatu
Movie release year
1990
Lyrics added on
19 Dec 2018

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Kumbidum kai pola
Kuvinjirundha mottu onnu
Veesiya kaathula thaan
Vaai vedichu poothadhinnu
Aathaa kann thorandhu paathaa
Innaikku thaan
Thaayaagum baakkiyamum
Vandhadhindha kannikku thaan
Like hands folded in prayer,
A bud that was closed tight,
In the breeze that blew,
Burst open and blossomed.
The Mother Goddess opened Her eyes in grace,
And only today,
The blessing of becoming a mother
Has come to this young woman.
Female
Female

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

This song excerpt uses the tender imagery of a tightly closed flower bud opening in the wind to symbolize a young maiden's miraculous transition into motherhood. It frames this life milestone as an act of divine grace, claiming that the Mother Goddess herself opened her eyes to bestow the fortune of motherhood upon the woman.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Simile (Uvamai)

Kumbidum kai pola / Kuvinjirundha mottu onnu

Compares the shape of a closed flower bud to hands folded together in prayer ('Kumbidum kai pola').

Personification

Vaai vedichu poothadhinnu

Attributes human speech/action to the flower bud by describing its blooming as 'opening its mouth' ('Vaai vedichu').

Monaai (Alliteration)

Kumbidum kai pola / Kuvinjirundha mottu onnu

The repetition of the initial consonant sounds ('Ku' in Kumbidum and Kuvinjirundha) creates a melodic Tamil prosodic rhythm.

Keep listening

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