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Isaimozhi
Bhagyalakshmi album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Malai Poluthin

From Bhagyalakshmi · 1961

Lyricist
Kannadasan
Singer
P. Susheela
Music director
M. S. Vishwanathan
Movie name
Bhagyalakshmi
Movie release year
1961
Lyrics added on
12 May 2017

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
{ Maalai
Pozhuthin mayakathilae
Naan kanavu kanden thozhi } (2)
Manadhil
Irundhum vaarthaigal
Illai kaaranam yen thozhi
Kaaranam yen thozhi aa aa aa
Maalai
Pozhuthin mayakathilae
Naan kanavu kanden thozhi
Inbam silanaal
Thunbam silanaal endravar
Yaar thozhi
Inbam kanavil
Thunbam ethiril kaanbathu
Yen thozhi kaanbathu yen
Thozhi aa aa aa
Maalai
Pozhuthin mayakathilae
Naan kanavu kanden thozhi
Manamudithavar
Pol aruginilae oar vadivu
Kanden thozhi mangai en
Kaiyil kungumam thandhaar
Maalai ittaar thozhi
Vazhi
Marantheno vandhavar
Nenjil saainthuvitten thozhi
Avar
Maraven maraven
Endrar udanae marandhu
Vittar thozhi paranthu
Vittar thozhi aa aa aa
Maalai
Pozhuthin mayakathilae
Naan kanavu kanden thozhi
Kanavil
Vanthavar yarena keten
Kanavar endrar thozhi
Kanavar
Endral avar kanavu
Mudinthadhum pirinthadhu
Yen thozhi
Ilamai ellam
Verum kanavu mayam
Idhil marainthadhu sila kaalam
Thelivum
Ariyathu mudivum
Theriyathu mayankuthu ethirkaalam
Mayankuthu ethirkaalam aa aa aa
Maalai
Pozhuthin mayakathilae
Naan kanavu kanden thozhi
Manadhil
Irundhum vaarthaigal
Illai kaaranam yen thozhi
Kaaranam yen thozhi aa aa aa
Maalai
Pozhuthin mayakathilae
Naan kanavu kanden thozhi
In the evening,
in the spell of twilight,
I had a dream, my friend.
Though it is in my heart,
there are no words to speak;
why is that so, my friend?
Why is that so, my friend, ah...
In the evening,
in the spell of twilight,
I had a dream, my friend.
"Joy lasts a few days,
and sorrow lasts a few days,"
who said that, my friend?
Why do I find joy only in dreams,
and face sorrow right before me?
Why, my friend? Why do I see this,
my friend, ah...
In the evening,
in the spell of twilight,
I had a dream, my friend.
Like one who married me,
I saw a figure beside me,
my friend; into this girl's
hands he placed kumkum,
and garlanded me, my friend.
Did I lose
my senses? On the chest of the one who came,
I leaned, my friend.
He said,
"I will never, ever forget,"
yet he forgot me right away,
my friend; he flew away
and left me, my friend, ah...
In the evening,
in the spell of twilight,
I had a dream, my friend.
I asked the one
who came in my dream, "Who are you?"
"Your husband," he said, my friend.
If he is my husband,
why did he part from me
the moment the dream ended?
Why, my friend?
All of youth
is filled with mere dreams;
in this, a part of my life has slipped away.
Without clarity,
without knowing where it ends,
my future wanders in confusion.
My future wanders in confusion, ah...
In the evening,
in the spell of twilight,
I had a dream, my friend.
Though it is in my heart,
there are no words to speak;
why is that so, my friend?
Why is that so, my friend, ah...
In the evening,
in the spell of twilight,
I had a dream, my friend.
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

This classic song 'Maalai Pozhuthin Mayakathilae' from the 1961 film Bhagyalakshmi captures the bittersweet emotions of a woman confiding in her female friend (thozhi). She describes a romantic dream during dusk where a beloved man appeared as her husband, adorning her with kungumam and a garland, only to vanish as the dream shattered, leaving her heartbroken in reality.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Edhugai (Second letter rhyming)

“Inbam silanaal / Thunbam silanaal”

The second consonant 'n' rhymes across lines in 'Inbam' and 'Thunbam'.

Contrast / Antithesis

“Inbam kanavil / Thunbam ethiril kaanbathu”

Juxtaposition of dream-state joy (Inbam kanavil) against real-life grief (Thunbam ethiril).

Anaphora / Apostrophe

“Naan kanavu kanden thozhi”

Direct address to a female confidante ('thozhi') repeated at the end of stanzas to build intimacy and emotional gravity.

Metaphor

“Ilamai ellam verum kanavu mayam”

Comparing youth and passing time to a fleeting, illusory dream state ('Ilamai ellam verum kanavu mayam').

Did you know?

Trivia

Composed by the legendary duo Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy and sung soulfully by P. Susheela, this Kannadasan masterpiece remains one of Tamil cinema's most celebrated melancholy classics. Set in the melancholic raaga Chandrakauns / Suddha Dhanyasi, it brilliantly portrays the transitional, hypnotic mood of dusk ('Maalai Pozhudhu').

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