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Sevvanthi album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Ponnattam Poovattam

From Sevvanthi · 1994

Lyricist
Vaali
Singers
Mano, Swarnalatha
Music director
Ilayaraja
Movie name
Sevvanthi
Movie release year
1994
Lyrics added on
11 Dec 2021

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Maanae un kannalae mettu kattu
Paadaatha paattellaam ittu kattu
Paattukku melam pol kaiya thattu
Paarkkira kaalaigal nenja thattu
Paadu pattu ozhachchaen
Onna paaththathumae thavichchaen naanthaan
Machchaan un kannaalae mettu kattu
Paadaatha paattellaam ittu kattu
Paattukku melam pol kaiya thattu
Paarkkira kaalaigal nenja thattu
Paadu pattu ozhachchaen
Onna paaththathumae thavichchaen naanthaan
Kannodu undaana aasaigalum
Female Chorus :Nenodu undaana osaigalum
Male :Kaikoodum ammaadi kaaththirunthaa
Male Chorus :Kann moodi thoongaamal paaththirunthaa
Maanae un kannaalae mettu kattu
Paadaatha paattellaam ittu kattu
Female :Paattukku melam pol kaiya thattu
Paarkkira kaalaigal nenja thattu
Ooty malai saaralilae
Vizhum oosi mazhai thooralilae
Paatedukka thonuthadi
Penn manam pambaramaa aaduthadi
Penn valarkkum koondhalidam
Megam potti ida paarkkuthadi
Potti ittu thottru vittu
Vaan vazhi odi vidum paarungadi
Maanae un kannalae mettu kattu
Paadaatha paattellaam ittu kattu
Paattukku melam pol kaiya thattu
Paarkkira kaalaigal nenja thattu
Paadu pattu ozhachchaen
Onna paaththathumae thavichchaen naanthaan
……………….
My dear, make a tune with your eyes!
Make up songs that have never been sung before!
Clap your hands like a drum to the beat of the song!
Strike a beat in the hearts of the young men watching!
I toiled and worked so hard,
Yet the moment I saw you, my heart began to ache for you!
My love, make a tune with your eyes!
Make up songs that have never been sung before!
Clap your hands like a drum to the beat of the song!
Strike a beat in the hearts of the young men watching!
I toiled and worked so hard,
Yet the moment I saw you, my heart began to ache for you!
The desires that spark in our eyes,
And the sounds that stir within our hearts,
Will all come true, my girl, if you just wait,
Staying awake and watching through the night!
My dear, make a tune with your eyes!
Make up songs that have never been sung before!
Clap your hands like a drum to the beat of the song!
Strike a beat in the hearts of the young men watching!
On the breezy slopes of the Ooty hills,
In the needle-thin drizzle falling down,
I feel like starting a song,
As a woman's heart spins like a top!
With the long hair a woman grows,
The clouds try to compete!
Having lost the race,
Look, they run away across the open sky!
My dear, make a tune with your eyes!
Make up songs that have never been sung before!
Clap your hands like a drum to the beat of the song!
Strike a beat in the hearts of the young men watching!
I toiled and worked so hard,
Yet the moment I saw you, my heart began to ache for you!
...
Male
Female
Female
Male
Female
Male
Male
Female
Chorus

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

This song from Sevvanthi (1994) is a lively and affectionate rural duet expressing the joy and spark of love. The lovers tease each other with romantic banter, describing how a single glance creates melodies and kindles deep affection. Set against a backdrop of nature and hard work, love arrives as a playful disruption that sets the heart spinning with happiness.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Rhyme (Edhugai)

Maanae un kannalae mettu kattu / Paadaatha paattellaam ittu kattu

The end-phrases 'mettu kattu' and 'ittu kattu' create a rhythmic, catchy poetic cadence at the close of consecutive lines.

Simile (Upamai)

Penn manam pambaramaa aaduthadi

The woman's thrilled and whirling heart is compared explicitly to a spinning top ('pambaram').

Personification

Penn valarkkum koondhalidam / Megam potti ida paarkkuthadi

The dark rain clouds are poeticized as sentient beings trying to compete with the dark length of a woman's hair, losing, and fleeing across the sky.

Did you know?

Trivia

Composed by Ilaiyaraaja with lyrics by Vaali, the song features a vibrant folk rhythm characteristic of rural Tamil cinema soundtracks of the mid-1990s.

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