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Sindhu Bhairavi album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Naan Oru Sindhu

From Sindhu Bhairavi · 1985

Lyricist
Vairamuthu
Singer
K. S. Chithra
Music director
Ilayaraja
Movie name
Sindhu Bhairavi
Movie release year
1985
Lyrics added on
10 Feb 2017

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Naan oru sindhu kaavadi sindhu
{ Naan oru sindhu kaavadi sindhu
Raagam puriyavilla ulla sogam theriyavilla
Thandhai irundhum thaayum irundhum
Sondham edhuvum illa adhai solla theriyavilla } (2)
Naan oru sindhu kaavadi sindhu
Raagam puriyavilla ulla sogam theriyavilla
{ Illaadha uravuku ennenna pero
Naadodi paatuku thaai thandhai yaaro } (2)
Vidhiyodu naan aadum velayaatu paaru
Velayaadha kaatuku vedha pottadhaaru
Paatu padicha sangadhi undu
En paatukullayum sangadhi undu kandu pidi…iii
Naan oru sindhu kaavadi sindhu
Raagam puriyavilla ulla sogam theriyavilla
{ Pen kandru pasu thedi paarkindra velai
Amma-nu sollavum adhigaaram illai } (2)
En vidhi appodhae therinjirundhaalae
Karbathil naanae karainjirupenae
Thalai ezhuthenna en modhal ezhuthenna
Thalai ezhuthenna modhal ezhuthenna sollungallen
Naan oru sindhu kaavadi sindhu
Raagam puriyavilla ulla sogam theriyavilla
Thandhai irundhum thaayum irundhum
Sondham edhuvum illa adhai solla theriyavilla
Naan oru sindhu kaavadi sindhu
Raagam puriyavilla ulla sogam theriyavilla
I am a Sindhu, a wandering folk song...
I am a Sindhu, a wandering folk song,
No one understands my melody, nor sees the sorrow within.
Though I have a father and a mother,
I have no family to call my own, and I do not know how to say it.
I am a Sindhu, a wandering folk song,
No one understands my melody, nor sees the sorrow within.
What names they give to a bond that cannot exist!
Who are the mother and father to a wandering song?
Look at the game I am forced to play with fate!
Who sowed a seed in a barren wilderness?
Every sung melody has its musical turns,
And my song carries a hidden secret too—find it if you can!
I am a Sindhu, a wandering folk song,
No one understands my melody, nor sees the sorrow within.
Like a little calf searching for its mother cow,
I do not even have the right to call out "Mother."
If only I had known my destiny back then,
I would have dissolved away inside the womb itself.
What is my written fate? Whose initial belongs before my name?
What is my fate, and what is my initial? Won't someone please tell me?
I am a Sindhu, a wandering folk song,
No one understands my melody, nor sees the sorrow within.
Though I have a father and a mother,
I have no family to call my own, and I do not know how to say it.
I am a Sindhu, a wandering folk song,
No one understands my melody, nor sees the sorrow within.
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

Naan Oru Sindhu is a deeply poignant emotional song where a child laments her lack of identity and social recognition despite having living parents. She compares her existence to a rootless, nomadic folk tune ('Kaavadi Sindhu') whose surface rhythm masks a profound inner sadness. The lyrics express the anguish of an unacknowledged child born out of complex adult relationships, denied even the basic right to call her biological mother 'Amma'. Through metaphors of uncultivated land and orphaned melodies, the singer questions fate and society's cruelty, wishing she had dissolved in the womb rather than enduring a life without an initial or family name. It stands as a powerful thematic piece about identity, innocence, and emotional isolation.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Metaphor (Urvagam)

Naan oru sindhu kaavadi sindhu

The singer equates herself directly to 'Kaavadi Sindhu', a folk song genre, highlighting her nomadic, unanchored, and emotionally heavy life.

Wordplay / Pun (Sleshhai)

Paatu padicha sangadhi undu / En paatukullayum sangadhi undu kandu pidi…iii

The word 'sangadhi' is used cleverly to mean both musical variations in Carnatic music and news/truth/facts in colloquial Tamil.

End Rhyme (Iyaibu)

Raagam puriyavilla ulla sogam theriyavilla

The line ends with matching sound structures ('puriyavilla' and 'theriyavilla') to enhance the melancholy rhythm.

Did you know?

Trivia

Composed by Ilaiyaraaja and rendered by K. S. Chithra with lyrics by Vairamuthu, this song won K. S. Chithra her first National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer. The composition brilliantly blends classical sensibilities with native Tamil folk structures to reflect the film's core themes.

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