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Isaimozhi
My Dear Marthandan album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Oh Alagu Nilavu

From My Dear Marthandan · 1990

Lyricist
Piraisoodan
Singer
Mano
Music director
Ilayaraja
Movie name
My Dear Marthandan
Movie release year
1990
Lyrics added on
20 Dec 2021

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Oo…azhagu nilavu sirikka maranthathae
Oo…..malarum sirippil uravai maranthathae
En kanmani pani thuli kann medhilaa
Vinn meedhilae valam varum nee vennilaa
Oo…azhagu nilavu sirikka maranthathae
Imaigal moodum kangalaai naan vaazhgiraen
Idhyam kooda paaramaai naan moozhinaen
Ilaigal moodum kanigalthaan en aasaiyae
Ilakkanamthaan inainthidaa kuilosaiyae
Neer mael azhaiya kolam
Pottaen dhinam dhinam naanum
Ninaiththaal inimaithaan nadanthaal arumaithaan
Ninaive ninaivilae vizhiyilae ezhuthadi
Oo…azhagu nilavu sirikka maranthathae
Oo…..malarum sirippil uravai maranthathae
En kanmani pani thuli kann medhilaa
Vinn meedhilae valam varum nee vennilaa
Oo…azhagu nilavu sirikka maranthathae
Vidhaippathum adhu mulaippathum
Yaar solliththaan
Mulaippathum adhu vilaivathum
Yaar kayilthaan
Malarvathum adhu manappathum
Yaar paarththuthaan
Manappathum adhu nilaippathum
Yaar kettuthaan
Yaaro ezhuthiya paadhai
Purinthaal vilangidum geedhai
Ninaivae vilagidu ninaiththaal vilai kodu
Uravae uravilae urugiyae ezhuthadi
Oo…azhagu nilavu sirikka maranthathae
Oo…..malarum sirippil uravai maranthathae
En kanmani pani thuli kann medhilaa
Vinn meedhilae valam varum nee vennilaa
Oo…azhagu nilavu sirikka maranthathae….oo….
Oh, the beautiful moon has forgotten to smile.
Oh, in its blooming smile, it forgot our bond.
My dear, is that a dewdrop in your eyes?
You are the bright moon circling across the sky.
Oh, the beautiful moon has forgotten to smile... oh...
I live like eyes hidden behind closed eyelids.
Under the heavy weight of my heart, I have sunk.
My desires are like fruits hidden beneath leaves.
Like the cuckoo's song that follows no formal grammar.
A beautiful pattern drawn on water,
is what I kept drawing day after day.
It is sweet to imagine, and wonderful if it comes true.
Oh memory, write this down in your thoughts and your eyes!
Oh, the beautiful moon has forgotten to smile.
Oh, in its blooming smile, it forgot our bond.
My dear, is that a dewdrop in your eyes?
You are the bright moon circling across the sky.
Oh, the beautiful moon has forgotten to smile... oh...
Sowing the seed and its sprouting—
on whose word does it happen?
Sprouting and growing into a harvest—
in whose hands does it rest?
Blossoming and spreading its sweet scent—
under whose watch does it happen?
Spreading its scent and lasting on—
who asked for that to happen?
It is a path written by someone else.
If you understand it, the Gita (sacred teaching) becomes clear.
Oh memories, fade away; if you dwell on them, you must pay the price.
Oh dear one, melt into this bond and write it down.
Oh, the beautiful moon has forgotten to smile.
Oh, in its blooming smile, it forgot our bond.
My dear, is that a dewdrop in your eyes?
You are the bright moon circling across the sky.
Oh, the beautiful moon has forgotten to smile... oh...
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Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

The song is a poignant, introspective melancholy tune expressing heartbreak, longing, and philosophical reflection on life's unpredictable nature. The protagonist compares their lost love or emotional state to a beautiful moon that has forgotten how to smile, lamenting a relationship that dissolved like a pattern drawn on water.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Metaphor

“Vinn meedhilae valam varum nee vennilaa”

Compares the beloved directly to the white moon orbiting the sky.

Simile / Analogy

“Neer mael azhaiya kolam Pottaen dhinam dhinam naanum”

Compares futile efforts in love to drawing rangoli patterns on water that disappear immediately.

Iyaipu (Rhyming end words)

“Vidhaippathum adhu mulaippathum / Mulaippathum adhu vilaivathum”

Repetitive rhythmic ending suffixes (-athum) creating a poetic rhythm across lines.

Personification

“Oo…azhagu nilavu sirikka maranthathae”

Attributes the human ability of smiling and forgetting to the moon.

Did you know?

Trivia

My Dear Marthandan (1990) is a Tamil comedy-drama film directed by Prathap K. Pothan and produced by Kamal Haasan under Raj Kamal Films International. Although the song's lyricist is Piraisoodan, the film's iconic musical score was composed by Maestro Ilaiyaraaja, starring Prabhu and Gautami in the lead roles.

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