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Isaimozhi
Lyrics & meaning

Ninakka Vaithai Pesa

From Thanga Malar · 1969

Lyricist
Kannadasan
Singer
P. Susheela
Music director
T. G. Lingappa
Details
Thanga Malar1969

Lyrics & meaning

Tanglish lyrics English translation
Female
Ninaikka vaithaai pesa vaithaaiYou made me think, you made me speak
Ninaikka vaithaai pesa vaithaaiYou made me think, you made me speak
Deva devaOh Lord, Oh Lord
Ondrai ninaikkum bothu maraithu kondaaiJust as I thought of one thing, you hid away
Deva devaOh Lord, Oh Lord
Female
Ninaikka vaithaai pesa vaithaaiYou made me think, you made me speak
Deva devaOh Lord, Oh Lord
Ondrai ninaikkum bothu maraithu kondaaiJust as I thought of one thing, you hid away
Deva devaOh Lord, Oh Lord
Female
Marandhavarai ninaikka vaithaaiYou made me remember the one I had forgotten
Deva devaOh Lord, Oh Lord
Marandhavarai ninaikka vaithaaiYou made me remember the one I had forgotten
Deva devaOh Lord, Oh Lord
Nenjil niraindhavarai pirithu vaithaaiYou separated the one who filled my heart
Deva devaOh Lord, Oh Lord
Female
Ninaikka vaithaai pesa vaithaaiYou made me think, you made me speak
Deva devaOh Lord, Oh Lord
Ondrai ninaikkum bothu maraithu kondaaiJust as I thought of one thing, you hid away
Deva devaOh Lord, Oh Lord
Female
Avar mugathai ninaikka vaithaaiYou made me remember his face
Avar aduthavarai manakka sonnaarHe told me to marry another
Avar mugathai ninaikka vaithaaiYou made me remember his face
Avar aduthavarai manakka sonnaarHe told me to marry another
Evar manadhil enna vaithaai deva devaaWhat have you put in whose heart, Oh Lord, Oh Lord?
Evar manadhil enna vaithaai deva devaaWhat have you put in whose heart, Oh Lord, Oh Lord?
Idhil ennaiyum yaen aada vaithaai deva devaWhy did you make me a plaything in this, Oh Lord, Oh Lord?
Female
Ninaikka vaithaai pesa vaithaaiYou made me think, you made me speak
Deva devaOh Lord, Oh Lord
Ondrai ninaikkum bothu maraithu kondaaiJust as I thought of one thing, you hid away
Deva devaOh Lord, Oh Lord
Female
Kaatchi vaithaai kaanukindra kannai eduthaaiYou provided a sight, but took away the eyes that see
Veenai vaithaai meettugindra viralai eduthaaiYou gave a veena, but took away the fingers that play
Kaatchi vaithaai kaanukindra kannai eduthaaiYou provided a sight, but took away the eyes that see
Veenai vaithaai meettugindra viralai eduthaaiYou gave a veena, but took away the fingers that play
Medai veithaai aadugindra kaalai eduthaaiYou set up a stage, but took away the feet that dance
Medai veithaai aadugindra kaalai eduthaaiYou set up a stage, but took away the feet that dance
Ini maelum enna sothanaikku ennai padaithaaiFor what further trials have you created me?
Ini maelum enna sothanaikku ennai padaithaaiFor what further trials have you created me?
Female
Vaazvahdarkku padaithirunthaal vaazha vidu devaIf you created me to live, then let me live, Oh Lord
Maraivatharkkendru amaithirundhaal azhaithu vidu devaaIf you destined me to perish, then call me away, Oh Lord
Thanga malar manam veesa seidhu vidu devaLet the golden flower spread its fragrance, Oh Lord
Nee samaithu varum sodhanaiyai mudithu vidu devaaPut an end to the trials you have prepared, Oh Lord
Female
Ninaikka vaithaai pesa vaithaaiYou made me think, you made me speak
Deva devaOh Lord, Oh Lord
Ondrai ninaikkum bothu maraithu kondaaiJust as I thought of one thing, you hid away
Deva devaOh Lord, Oh Lord

Beyond the translation

Song interpretation

Ninaikka Vaithaai from the 1969 film Thanga Malar is an agonizing devotional lament addressed to the Almighty. The song captures the protagonist's profound despair and feeling of betrayal by destiny after being separated from her beloved and pushed toward marrying someone else. Through Kannadasan's evocative verses and P. Susheela's heartfelt singing, the protagonist questions God's inexplicable motives in giving happiness only to snatch it away. The emotional core relies on vivid paradoxes—God presenting a beautiful vision while removing the eyes to see it, providing an instrument while robbing the fingers to play it, and building a stage while taking away the feet to dance. Exhausted by divine testing, she pleads with the Lord to either grant her a peaceful life or call her to the afterlife to end her suffering.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Antithesis / Muran

Kaatchi vaithaai kaanukindra kannai eduthaai

Juxtaposes the creation of a spectacle with the removal of the eyes to view it, highlighting the cruelty of fate.

Anaphora

Kaatchi vaithaai / Veenai vaithaai / Medai veithaai

Repetition of the sentence structure at the beginning of consecutive lines to emphasize divine contradictions.

Ethugai (Second Letter Rhyme)

Kaatchi vaithaai / Veenai vaithaai

Harmonious rhyming sound pattern in the second letters/syllables across lines.

Did you know?

Trivia

The song features iconic philosophical lyricism by Kannadasan set to music by T. G. Lingappa, rendered masterfully by P. Susheela. Its classic metaphors comparing life's hardships to incomplete gifts remain widely celebrated in Tamil cinema history.

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