Skip to content
Isaimozhi
Sakkarai Panthal album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Mazhai Megam Moodum

From Sakkarai Panthal · 1988

Lyricist
Gangai Amaran
Singer
Asha Bhosle
Music director
Ilayaraja
Movie name
Sakkarai Panthal
Movie release year
1988
Lyrics added on
11 May 2021

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Aa…..aaa….aa….aa…..
Aa…..aaa….aa….aa…..
Mazhai megam moodum neram
Ival nenjil nooru paaram
Alai pola varum pogum
Adhil vaadum ival theam
Mazhai megam moodum neram
Ival nenjil nooru paaram
Koodu thediya paingili
Kaana yaengum nimmathi
Koodu thediya paingili
Kaana yaengum nimmathi
Kanneeril kalangum…mm…
Ennaalum mayangum….mm….
Kanneeril kalangum…mm…
Ennaalum mayangum….mm….
Swaram thedum oru veenai
Sugam thedum oru paavai
Adhu saerum kaalam eppothu
Mazhai megam moodum neram
Ival nenjil nooru paaram
Aa…..aaa….aa….aa…..
Aa…..aaa….aa….aa…..
Paadi paarththathu poonguyil
Paranthu thavikkum oru mayil
Paadi paarththathu poonguyil
Paranthu thavikkum oru mayil
Anbennum sugamae
Illaatha manamae
Anbennum sugamae
Illaatha manamae
Dhinam pasamthanai thedum
Kanam paarvai alai modhum
Nilai maarum kaalam eppothu
Mazhai megam moodum neram
Ival nenjil nooru paaram
Alai pola varum pogum
Adhil vaadum ival theam
Mazhai megam moodum neram
Ival nenjil nooru paaram….
Aa... aah... aa... aah...
Aa... aah... aa... aah...
As dark rain clouds cover the sky,
A hundred burdens weigh on her heart.
They come and go like restless waves,
And her body withers in that pain.
As dark rain clouds cover the sky,
A hundred burdens weigh on her heart.
Like a little parrot searching for its nest,
She yearns to find some peace.
Like a little parrot searching for its nest,
She yearns to find some peace.
She breaks down in tears... mm...
She faints in sorrow every day... mm...
She breaks down in tears... mm...
She faints in sorrow every day... mm...
Like a veena (stringed instrument) searching for its notes,
She is a young woman seeking happiness.
When will the time come for it to reach her?
As dark rain clouds cover the sky,
A hundred burdens weigh on her heart...
Aa... aah... aa... aah...
Aa... aah... aa... aah...
The sweet cuckoo tried to sing,
While a peacock flies around in distress.
The sweet cuckoo tried to sing,
While a peacock flies around in distress.
The sweet comfort called love...
Is missing in this heart...
The sweet comfort called love...
Is missing in this heart...
Every day it longs for affection,
While heavy waves of sadness surge in her sight.
When will the time come for her fate to change?
As dark rain clouds cover the sky,
A hundred burdens weigh on her heart.
They come and go like restless waves,
And her body withers in that pain.
As dark rain clouds cover the sky,
A hundred burdens weigh on her heart...
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

The song 'Mazhai Megam Moodum Neram' expresses a woman's profound grief, loneliness, and emotional yearning. Overcast rain clouds serve as a metaphor for the heavy sorrow clouding her heart. The lyricist Gangai Amaran paints her emotional distress using vivid imagery of nature—a bird searching for a home, a veena longing for music, and a restless peacock yearning for comfort.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Simile (Upamai)

Alai pola varum pogum

Compares the rising and falling of emotional distress to ocean waves.

Metaphor (Uruvagam)

Swaram thedum oru veenai / Sugam thedum oru paavai

Compares the maiden searching for joy to an unstrung/unplayed Veena looking for its melodic note.

Alliteration (Monai)

Mazhai megam moodum neram

Repetition of the initial 'm' sound in 'Mazhai', 'megam', and 'moodum'.

Did you know?

Trivia

Written by Gangai Amaran for the 1988 film 'Sakkarai Panthal', this song uses traditional Tamil poetic tropes connecting nature's cloudy skies to a heroine's inner sorrow and emotional turmoil.

Keep listening

Songs with a similar feeling

From the same album

More songs from Sakkarai Panthal

View album

Spot an issue?

Help us improve the lyrics or English translation.