Skip to content
Isaimozhi
Lyrics & meaning

Nenja Unakaga

From Sindhubaadh · 2019

Lyricist
Vivek
Singer
Haricharan
Music director
Yuvan Shankar Raja
Details
Sindhubaadh2019

Lyrics & meaning

Tanglish lyrics English translation
Male
Venba I love youVenba, I love you.
Aana kalyanathukku appuramaBut only after marriage,
Pulla peththukalaamCan we have a baby.
Male
Hooo hooo hoooHooo hooo hooo
Nenja unakaaga naanMy heart, just for you,
Padhukki vechenI kept hidden away.
Engum kodukkkamaWithout giving it to anyone else,
Senjum sethukaama vittaLeft uncarved and unworked,
Kora nilavanenI became an incomplete moon,
Nee kidaikaamaWithout attaining you.
Male
Vandhaa vaettiyila kattiIf you come to me, inside my dhoti,
Ada kappenAh, I will hold you safely!
Neththi kottula konjaRight at the temple of your forehead,
Edam keppenI will ask for a little space.
Male
Othha nila kenikkullaInside a single moon's well,
Sitterumbbu seenikkullaInside a tiny ant's sugar,
Enna vaiya maarukkulla veratathaKeep me inside your heart, don't chase me away.
Male
Maththu vecha morukkullaInside buttermilk stirred with a churner,
Maattikitta eee ah polaLike a housefly trapped inside,
Unna suththi vaaren pulla mayakkathaI revolve around you, girl, don't daze me.
Male
Nenjukulla unna vechchuKeeping you inside my heart,
Nitham nitham kaadhalichenEvery single day I loved you.
Motta veiyil sutta koodaEven when the blazing sun burned hot,
Un theruvil thee kulichenI took a bath in fire on your street.
Male
Kitta thatta unna kaattumAlmost every word that represents you,
Ella sollum segarichenI collected all of them.
Maththathellam veesiputtuThrowing away everything else,
Unna peasa arambichen..aaan….aan…I started speaking about you... aaan... aaan...
Male
Vandhaa vaettiyila kattiIf you come to me, inside my dhoti,
Ada kappenAh, I will hold you safely!
Neththi kottula konjaRight at the temple of your forehead,
Edam keppenI will ask for a little space.
Male
Othha nila kenikkullaInside a single moon's well,
Sitterumbbu seenikkullaInside a tiny ant's sugar,
Enna vaiya maarukkulla veratathaKeep me inside your heart, don't chase me away.
Male
Maththu vecha morukkullaInside buttermilk stirred with a churner,
Maattikitta eee ah polaLike a housefly trapped inside,
Unna suththi vaaren pulla mayakkathaI revolve around you, girl, don't daze me.

Beyond the translation

Song interpretation

This track from Sindhubaadh is a charmingly quirky and deeply passionate expression of love by the protagonist towards Venba. It begins with a playful line setting humorous boundaries about marriage and children, before transitioning into a poetic confession of how his heart was kept untouched and incomplete like a half-carved moon until she entered his life.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Simile (Upamai)

Maattikitta eee ah pola / Unna suththi vaaren pulla

Compares his helpless obsession and dizzy state around her to a fly trapped inside a pot of churned buttermilk.

Hyperbole (Athisayokthi)

Motta veiyil sutta kooda / Un theruvil thee kulichen

Exaggerates his devotion by describing standing in the scorching heat on her street as taking a bath in fire.

Metaphor (Uruvagam)

Senjum sethukaama vitta / Kora nilavanen

Refers to himself as an unchiselled stone or an incomplete moon ('kora nilavu') without her presence.

Alliteration & Rhyme (Monai & Ethirhai)

Othha nila kenikkulla / Sitterumbbu seenikkulla

Use of matching internal vowel and consonant sounds creating folk rhythm across short lyrical phrases.

Did you know?

Trivia

The opening line is a humorous monologue delivered in Vijay Sethupathi's distinct, offbeat style. Lyricist Vivek crafted the song to seamlessly blend casual spoken colloquialisms with vivid traditional Tamil rural imagery, paired with Yuvan Shankar Raja's signature folk-acoustic melodies.

Keep listening

More from Sindhubaadh