- Lyricist
- Arunraja Kamaraj
- Singer
- Anirudh Ravichander
- Music director
- Dhibu Ninan Thomas
- Movie name
- Kanaa
- Movie release year
- 2018
- Lyrics added on
- 18 Jul 2018
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
Othaiyadi Pathayila from Kanaa (2018) is a rustic and romantic Tamil folk-pop track expressing a young man's tender affection and longing for his love. Set in a rural village backdrop, the protagonist describes running along narrow village tracks searching for his cousin (aththai peththa poonguyil), comparing her beauty to blossoming marigolds, wild champak flowers, and a temple chariot walking on earth. He conveys how her presence brings comfort like a mother's lap and how her indifference turns his heart into rusted iron.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Ethukai (Second letter rhyming)
“Othaiyadi pathayila / Aththai peththa poonguyila”
The second consonant 'th' matches between 'Othaiyadi' and 'Aththai peththa', creating Tamil prosodic harmony.
Monaai (Initial alliteration)
“Vazhiyila pootha / Vizhiyila sertha”
Initial letter 'V' is matched in 'Vazhiyila' and 'Vizhiyila'.
Metaphor (Uruvagam)
“Manasellam kannadi / Odaikatha panthadi”
The speaker directly equates the fragile human heart to a glass object that can shatter if bounced around like a ball.
Simile (Uvamai)
“Tharayil nadakkum therazhagae”
Comparing the grand walking posture of the beloved to a grand temple chariot moving on the ground.
Did you know?
Trivia
Othaiyadi Pathayila was composed by Dhibu Ninan Thomas for the sports drama film Kanaa (2018), which marked actor Sivakarthikeyan's debut as a film producer. Sung by popular composer-singer Anirudh Ravichander with lyrics by Arunraja Kamaraj, the song became a massive viral hit, generating hundreds of millions of views across digital platforms.
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