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Isaimozhi
Senthamizh Selvan album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Kuyile Ilaman

From Senthamizh Selvan · 1994

Lyricist
Vaali
Singer
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
Music directors
K. V. Mahadevan, Ilayaraja
Movie name
Senthamizh Selvan
Movie release year
1994
Lyrics added on
9 Dec 2019

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Kuyilae ila maanguyilae…
Undhan koottil irundhu
Veliyil vandhu paadu…
Kettu adhai thaan kettu
Mella thirumbum
Enadhu thaayin pazhaiya ninaivu
Kuyilae ila maanguyilae…
Undhan koottil irundhu
Veliyil vandhu paadu…
Kettu adhai thaan kettu
Mella thirumbum
Enadhu thaayin pazhaiya ninaivu
Mayilae malai vaazh mayilae
Vanna chiragai virithu
Azhagu nadanam aadu
Paarthu adhai thaan paarthu
Mella theliyum mayangi thavikkum
Thaayin manadhu
Piravaadha thamizh kondu
Isai paadinaal
Thiravaadha kadhavaedhum
Kidaiyaadhammaa
Tholai dhooram irukkindra
Thodu vaan varai
Thamizh paadal poi chaera
Thadai yaedhammaa
Oru naal varum thirunaal varum
Naan yaar endru thaai kandu
Maganae enalaam
Vizhi eeramum mana baaramum
Ini oindhingu naan annai madiyil vizhalaam
Kuyilae ila maanguyilae…
Undhan koottil irundhu
Veliyil vandhu paadu…
Kettu adhai thaan kettu
Mella thirumbum
Enadhu thaayin pazhaiya ninaivu
Kuyilae ila maanguyilae…
Aaa….aaa….aa…haa…aa…aaa….aa…
Aaa…aaa…aa….haha aa…aa…aa…haa…aaa…aa…
Dhinam thorum ammaavai
Neeraatuven
Thalai vaari azhagaaga
Poo choottuven
Pasi aara manivaayil soroottuven
Thaai pola naan maari thaalaattuven
Munnooru naal
Madi thaanginaal
Andha thaai thaanae
Naan potrum kadavul vadivam
Pala koyilo pala dheivamo
Ingu veraedhu naan kaana
Ulagam muzhudhum
Kuyilae ila maanguyilae…
Undhan koottil irundhu
Veliyil vandhu paadu…
Kettu adhai thaan kettu
Mella thirumbum
Enadhu thaayin pazhaiya ninaivu
Mayilae malai vaazh mayilae
Vanna chiragai virithu
Azhagu nadanam aadu
Paarthu adhai thaan paarthu
Mella theliyum mayangi thavikkum
Thaayin manadhu
Kuyilae ila maanguyilae
O cuckoo, sweet young cuckoo...
From inside your nest,
come out and sing...
Hearing that, only by hearing that,
will slowly return—
my mother's old memories.
O cuckoo, sweet young cuckoo...
From inside your nest,
come out and sing...
Hearing that, only by hearing that,
will slowly return—
my mother's old memories.
O peacock living on the hills,
spread your colorful feathers
and dance a graceful dance!
Watching that, only by seeing that,
will slowly clear up, the troubled and confused
heart of my mother.
With sweet and timeless Tamil,
if a melody is sung,
there is no closed door
that will not open.
All the way to the far-off
distant horizon,
for a Tamil song to reach,
what barrier could there be?
A day will come, a joyous day will come,
when mother realizes who I am
and calls out, "My son!"
The tears in my eyes and the heaviness in my heart
will finally rest, and I can lie in my mother's lap!
O cuckoo, sweet young cuckoo,
from inside your nest,
come out and sing.
Hearing that, only by hearing that,
will slowly return—
my mother's old memories.
O cuckoo, sweet young cuckoo...
Aa... aa... aa... haa... aa... aa... aa...
Aa... aa... aa... haha aa... aa... aa... haa... aa... aa...
Every single day,
I will shower my mother with care,
comb her hair neatly,
and adorn it with flowers.
To soothe her hunger, I will feed rice into her precious mouth,
and turning into a mother myself, I will sing her lullabies.
For three hundred days,
she carried me in her womb;
isn't that mother
the very form of God I revere?
Why do I need many temples or many gods?
What else is there for me to see
in this entire world?
O cuckoo, sweet young cuckoo...
From inside your nest,
come out and sing...
Hearing that, only by hearing that,
will slowly return—
my mother's old memories.
O peacock living on the hills,
spread your colorful feathers
and dance a graceful dance!
Watching that, only by seeing that,
will slowly clear up, the troubled and confused
heart of my mother.
O cuckoo, sweet young cuckoo...
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Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

This soulful song expresses a son's tender love and deep concern for his mother who has lost her memory and mental clarity. He appeals to nature—specifically the cuckoo and the mountain peacock—to sing and dance, hoping that the sights and sounds of nature will awaken his mother's forgotten past and soothe her troubled mind. He praises the power of Tamil music to open any closed door and heal any distance, praying for the blessed day when his mother recognizes him and calls him her son again. In the second stanza, the protagonist declares his devotion by taking on the role of a mother to his own mother. He pledges to bathe her, comb her hair, adorn her with flowers, and feed her lovingly every day. He reveres her as his true living god who bore him for three hundred days in her womb, concluding that no temple or deity in the entire world holds greater divinity for him than his mother.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Apostrophe (Personification/Addressing Nature)

“Kuyilae ila maanguyilae…”

The singer addresses the cuckoo bird ('Kuyilae') and the peacock ('Mayilae'), entreating them to sing and dance to heal his mother.

Monorhyme / Edhugai (Second-letter Harmony)

“Piravaadha thamizh kondu / Thiravaadha kadhavaedhum”

The Tamil poetic device 'Edhugai' is seen with matching second letters ('ra') in 'Piravaadha' and 'Thiravaadha'.

Metaphor / Role Reversal

“Thaai pola naan maari thaalaattuven”

The son adopts the role of a mother ('Thaai pola naan maari'), poetically reversing the maternal care dynamic.

Hyperbole / Deification

“Naan potrum kadavul vadivam”

Comparing the mother to a living manifestation of God ('kadavul vadivam') and superior to all temples.

Did you know?

Trivia

The film 'Senthamizh Selvan' (1994) stars Prashanth and Sukanya. The soundtrack was composed by M. S. Viswanathan and Ilaiyaraaja (credited jointly or as MSV-Raja collaboration in this era), featuring lyrics written by the veteran lyricist Vaali.

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