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Kai Naattu album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Oorengum Unnai Thedutho Duet

From Kai Naattu · 1988

Lyricist
Mu. Metha
Singers
P. Jayachandran, Vani Jairam
Music director
Chandrabose
Movie name
Kai Naattu
Movie release year
1988
Lyrics added on
19 Feb 2021

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Oorengum unnai thedutho
Megangal andha vaanilae
Mazhai naalilae kudaiaanaval
Nanaigindrathae kangalae
Oorengum unnai thedutho
Megangal andha vaanilae
Mazhai naalilae kudaipolavae
Nanaigindrathen penmaiyae
Andha naalin gnaabagam
Engal anbin thaayagam
Male :Ezhai nenjil vaazhum
Undhan poo mugam
Female :Un veenaithaan pon veenaithaan
Nee illaiyel oomai naan
Oorengum unnai thedutho
Megangal andha vaanilae
Female :Mazhai naalilae kudaipolavae
Nanaigindrathen penmaiyae
Koovum kaadhal gokilam
Ingu endhan gokulam
Female :Kannan ennum kalvan
Kaiyil porkalam
Male :Senthaamarai en verthatho
En thaamarai poothatho
Oorengum unnai thedutho
Megangal andha vaanilae
Mazhai naalilae kudaipolavae
Nanaigindrathen penmaiyae
Oorengum unnai thedutho
Megangal andha vaanilae
Mazhai naalilae kudaiaanaval
Nanaikkindrathae kangalae
Are they searching everywhere for you,
the clouds up in the sky?
She who was an umbrella on a rainy day,
now her own eyes are drenched.
Are they searching everywhere for you,
the clouds up in the sky?
Just like an umbrella on a rainy day,
my womanhood is getting drenched.
The memories of those past days
are the true home of our love.
Male: Living inside this poor heart
is your flower-like face.
Female: I am your veena, your golden veena;
without you, I am voiceless.
Are they searching everywhere for you,
the clouds up in the sky?
Female: Just like an umbrella on a rainy day,
my womanhood is getting drenched.
The calling cuckoo of love,
here is my Gokulam (abode of Krishna).
Female: In the hands of the thief named Kannan (Krishna),
I am a golden cup.
Male: Why did the red lotus perspire?
Has my own lotus bloomed?
Are they searching everywhere for you,
the clouds up in the sky?
Just like an umbrella on a rainy day,
my womanhood is getting drenched.
Are they searching everywhere for you,
the clouds up in the sky?
She who was an umbrella on a rainy day,
now her own eyes are drenched.
Male
Female
Female
Male
Male
Female
Male

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

Oorengum Unnai Thedutho from Kai Naattu (1988) is a soulful romantic duet that beautifully expresses longing, emotional shelter, and deep romantic devotion between two lovers. Using nature and rain imagery, the song compares the restless search for a beloved to clouds wandering across the sky. The female protagonist views herself as a protective umbrella during life's downpours, yet finds her own emotions and eyes drenched in tearful devotion, feeling completely mute and incomplete without her partner.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Simile (Upamai)

Mazhai naalilae kudaipolavae

Compares the woman's protective nature to an umbrella on a rainy day ('Kudaipolavae').

Metaphor (Uruvagam)

Un veenaithaan pon veenaithaan

Compares the beloved's face directly to a flower ('poo mugam') and the speaker's voice/life to a golden instrument ('pon veenaithaan').

Paronomasia / Sound Play (Edhugai)

Koovum kaadhal gokilam / Ingu endhan gokulam

Uses phonetic similarity between 'gokilam' (cuckoo bird) and 'gokulam' (pastoral sanctuary of Krishna) to build poetic harmony.

Rhetorical Question

Senthaamarai en verthatho / En thaamarai poothatho

The male protagonist poetically questions if his lotus-like lover is sweating from bashfulness or blooming in love.

Did you know?

Trivia

This track was composed by Chandrabose, a notable music director in 1980s Tamil cinema who crafted many memorable melodies for rural and family dramas. The lyrics were penned by renowned Tamil writer and Sahitya Akademi awardee Mu. Metha, bringing his signature literary grace to mainstream film music.

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