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Isaimozhi
Pooveli album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Nathiyil Sayum

From Pooveli · 1998

Lyricist
Vairamuthu
Singers
Bharathwaj, Reshma
Music director
Bharathwaj
Movie name
Pooveli
Movie release year
1998
Lyrics added on
11 Mar 2019

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Idhuthaan kaadhala
Idhuthaan …aaan kaadala
Idhuthaan kaadhala
Idhuthaan kaadhala
Nadhiyil sayum naanal polae
Idhayam sayum undhan melae
Saayum manadhai thadukkavum illai
Thaduthaal manadhu ketkavum illai
Idhuthaan kaadhala
Idhuthaan kaadhala
Manam pesaamalae thudikka
Vaai sollaamalae maraikka
Enna peyar solli naan azhaikka
Idhu kaadhalaa
Idhuvae kaadhalaa
Idhuthaan kaadhalaa
Idhuvum kaadhalaa
Idhu kaadhalaa
Idhuvae kaadhalaa
Idhuthaan kaadhalaa
Idhuvum kaadhalaa
Vaazhkai vaazhkai megam polae
Manithargal ellaam adhan thuli polae
Inainthitta thuligal verridam vizhumo
Pirinthitta thuligal oridam vizhumo
Idhuthaan kaadhalaa
Idhuthaan kaadhalaa
Manam yedho ondru ninaika
Vidhi yedho ondril inaika
Enna peyar solli naan azhaika
Idhu kaadhalaa
Idhuvae kaadhalaa
Idhuthaan kaadhalaa
Idhuvum kaadhalaa
Idhu kaadhalaa
Idhuvae kaadhalaa
Idhuthaan kaadhalaa
Idhuvum kaadhalaa
Is this love?
Is this... love?
Is this love?
Is this love?
Like a reed bending toward the river,
my heart leans toward you.
I did not stop my heart from leaning,
and even if I try to stop it, it does not listen.
Is this love?
Is this love?
As my heart aches in silence,
and words stay hidden, unspoken,
by what name should I call this?
Is this love?
Is this really love?
Is this what love is?
Is this also love?
Is this love?
Is this really love?
Is this what love is?
Is this also love?
Life is just like a cloud,
and all people are like its raindrops.
Will drops that merged ever fall apart?
Will drops that parted ever fall in the same place?
Is this love?
Is this love?
As the heart longs for one thing,
and destiny ties it to another,
by what name should I call this?
Is this love?
Is this really love?
Is this what love is?
Is this also love?
Is this love?
Is this really love?
Is this what love is?
Is this also love?
Chorus
Female
Male
Female
Female
Male
Male
Male

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

Idhuthaan Kaadhala explores the quiet, confusing, yet overwhelming realization of falling in love and the mysterious nature of human connection. The protagonist contemplates whether this sudden emotional vulnerability—leaning towards someone like a reed in a river current and being unable to restrain one's own heart—is what people define as love. The song questions how love remains an unspoken emotion that beats within the heart even when words fail to express it. In the second movement, the lyrics reflect philosophically on life, comparing human existence to rain drops originating from a cloud. It muses on how destiny unpredictably unites or separates people regardless of human intention, capturing the profound wonder and uncertainty of romantic awakening.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Upamai (Simile)

Nadhiyil sayum naanal polae / Idhayam sayum undhan melae

Compares the heart bending in love to a flexible reed swaying along a river's flow.

Upamai (Simile)

Vaazhkai vaazhkai megam polae / Manithargal ellaam adhan thuli polae

Compares life to a cloud and human beings to individual raindrops falling from it.

Eybhu (End Rhyme)

Manam pesaamalae thudikka / Vaai sollaamalae maraikka / Enna peyar solli naan azhaikka

Rhyming ending syllables 'thudikka', 'maraikka', and 'azhaikka' creating a rhythmic flow.

Rhetorical Question

Inainthitta thuligal verridam vizhumo / Pirinthitta thuligal oridam vizhumo

Uses philosophical questions about falling raindrops to question fate and relationships.

Did you know?

Trivia

'Pooveli' (1998) was directed by Cheran and featured a popular soundtrack composed by Bharadwaj, with lyrics written by Vairamuthu. The song captures a pivotal emotional realization in the movie.

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