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Kaalamellam Kadhal Vaazhga album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Oru Mani Adithal

From Kaalamellam Kadhal Vaazhga · 1997

Lyricist
Pazhani Bharathi
Singer
Hariharan
Music director
Deva
Movie name
Kaalamellam Kadhal Vaazhga
Movie release year
1997
Lyrics added on
7 Feb 2017

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
………………………….
Oru mani adithaal kannae un niyabagam
Telephone kuyilae vendum un tharisanam
Pothum kannae nee nadathum naadagamae
Thoongum pothum thoongavillai un niyabagamae
Paadinal antha paadalin swaram nee adiyo … oo
Thedinaal vizhi eeram aavathu enadiyo … oo
Oru mani adithaal kannae un niyabagam
Telephone kuyilae vendum un tharisanam
Vaasam mattum veesum poovae
Vandhu konjam kaatuvaya
Thendral polae engum unnai thedugiren
Naan thedugiren
Thedi unnai paarthu paarthu
Kangal rendum verthu verthu
Sinthum vizhi neeril nanae muzhgugiren
Naan muzhgugiren
Veesidum puyal kaatrilae
Naan otrai siraganen
Kaadhalin sudum theeyilae
Naan eriyum viraganen
Medai thorum paadal thantha vaanmathiyae
Jeevan pogum munbu vanthaal nimathiyae
Pothum kannae nee nadathum naadagamae
Thoongum pothum thoongavillai un niyabagamae
Oh oru mani adithaal kannae un niyabagam
Telephone kuyilae vendum un tharisanam
…………………….
Unthan mugam paartha pinnae
Kan izhanthu povathendral
Kan irandum naan izhapen ippodhae
Naan ippodhae
Unthan mugam paarkum munnae
Naan marainthu povathendral
Kangal mattum appozhuthum moodadhae
Imai moodadhae
Kaadhalae en kaadhalae ennai
Kaanikai thanthu vitten
Sothanai ini thevaiya
Sudum moochinil venthu vitten
Kaadhalenum saabam thantha devathaiyae
Kaanalamo raagam indru povathu yen
Pothum kannae nee nadathum naadagamae
Thoongum pothum thoongavillai un niyabagamae
Oru mani adithaal kannae un niyabagam
Telephone kuyilae vendum un tharisanam
...
When the bell rings, my darling, I remember you.
O songbird on the phone, I long to see you.
Enough, my dear, of this drama you are playing!
Even when I sleep, my memories of you never sleep.
When I sing, aren't you the very melody of that song? Oh...
Why do my eyes well with tears when I search for you? Oh...
When the bell rings, my darling, I remember you.
O songbird on the phone, I long to see you.
O flower that only spreads fragrance,
won't you come and show a glimpse of yourself?
Like the gentle breeze, I search for you everywhere,
I keep searching...
Constantly looking and searching for you,
with both my eyes sweating with tears,
I am drowning in the tears that spill over,
I am drowning...
In this raging storm wind,
I have become a solitary wing.
In the scorching fire of love,
I have become firewood burning away.
O lovely moon who gave me songs for every stage,
if you come before my life slips away, I will find peace.
Enough, my dear, of this drama you are playing!
Even when I sleep, my memories of you never sleep.
Oh, when the bell rings, my darling, I remember you.
O songbird on the phone, I long to see you.
...
After catching sight of your face,
if it means losing my sight,
I will give up both my eyes right now,
right this moment!
Before getting to see your face,
if I am destined to pass away,
even then, these eyes will not close,
my eyelids will not shut.
Love, oh my love,
I have surrendered myself as an offering.
Do you still need to test me?
I have burned away in the heat of my own sighs.
O angel who gave me this curse called love,
is it fair to watch our melody fade away today?
Enough, my dear, of this drama you are playing!
Even when I sleep, my memories of you never sleep.
When the bell rings, my darling, I remember you.
O songbird on the phone, I long to see you.
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Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

This song expresses the intense yearning and emotional agony of a lover who has fallen in love with a woman's voice over the telephone without ever seeing her face. Every phone ring triggers deep memories of her, and her voice feels like a sweet song that haunts his thoughts day and night. He begs her to step out of hiding and reveal herself to him, comparing his state to a single-winged bird caught in a storm and firewood burning in the fire of passion. In the second stanza, his desperation reaches its dramatic peak. He declares that he would gladly lose his eyesight right after seeing her face just once, or if death comes before seeing her, he wishes his eyes to stay open in anticipation. The song beautifully captures the late 90s aesthetic of telephonic romance, highlighting the pain of distance, sweet torture of suspense, and devotion of pure love.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Metaphor

“Telephone kuyilae vendum un tharisanam”

The singer addresses his beloved as 'Telephone kuyilae' (Telephone cuckoo), metaphorically comparing her melodious phone voice to a cuckoo bird's song.

Metaphor

“Naan otrai siraganen / Naan eriyum viraganen”

The protagonist compares himself to a 'single-winged bird' helpless in a storm and 'firewood' burning in the fire of love.

Hyperbole

“Unthan mugam paartha pinnae... Kan irandum naan izhapen ippodhae”

An exaggerated expression of devotion where he states he is willing to go blind immediately after taking a single look at her face.

Ethugai (Second letter rhyming)

“Sothanai ini thevaiya / Sudum moochinil venthu vitten”

Rhyming of the second consonant sound 'th/d' ('So-tha-nai' and 'Su-du-m') across adjacent lines.

Repetition (Anaphora)

“Naan thedugiren... Naan muzhgugiren... Naan ippodhae”

Refrain-style repetition at the end of lines emphasizing the singer's personal state of longing and submission.

Did you know?

Trivia

Composed by Deva with lyrics by Pazhani Bharathi and sung by Hariharan, 'Oru Mani Adithaal' is one of the iconic phone-romance songs of 1990s Tamil cinema. The movie *Kaalamellam Kadhal Vaazhga* (1997), starring Murali and Kausalya, revolves around a protagonist who falls in love with a girl solely through telephonic conversations without knowing what she looks like, making this song the emotional centerpiece of the film.

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