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Isaimozhi
Uyire album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Poongatrile Un Swasathai

From Uyire · 1998

Lyricist
Vairamuthu
Singers
Unni Menon, Swarnalatha
Music director
A. R. Rahman
Movie name
Uyire
Movie release year
1998
Lyrics added on
13 Jan 2017

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Poongatrilae un swasathai thaniyaaga thedi paarthen
Kadalmel oru thuli vizhunthathae athai thedi thedi paarthen
Uyirin thuli kaayum munnae en vizhi unnai kaanum kannae
En jeevan oiyum munnae ododi vaa
Poongatrilae un swasathai thaniyaaga thedi paarthen
Kadalmel oru thuli vizhunthathae athai thedi thedi paarthen
Kannil oru vazhi irunthaal… kanavugal varuvathillai
Kaatrin alai varisai ketkindratha
Ketkkum paatil oru uyir vidum kanneer
Vazhigindratha nenju nanaigindratha
Idhayam karugum oru vaasam varugiratha
Kaatril kanneerai yetri kavithai senthenai ootri
Kannae un vaasal……………….. ododi vaa
Poongatrile un swasathai thani…………………..
Vaanam enghum un bimbam aanaal kaiyil seravillai
Kaatril enghum un vaasam verum vaasam vaazhkai illai
Uyirai verodu killi ennai sentheeyil thalli enghae sendrayo kalli
Oiyum jeevan odum munnae odoodi vaa….
Poongatrilae un swasathai thaniyaaga thedi paarthen
Kadalmel oru thuli vizhunthathae athai thedi thedi paarthen….
In the gentle breeze, I searched all alone for your breath.
A single drop fell into the sea, and I searched and searched for it.
Before my last drop of life dries up, my eyes must see you, my love.
Before my life fades away, come running to me.
In the gentle breeze, I searched all alone for your breath.
A single drop fell into the sea, and I searched and searched for it.
When there is pain in the eyes, dreams do not come.
Can you hear the sound waves of the wind?
In the song you hear, the tears shed by a longing soul...
...do they spill over? Does your heart get drenched?
Can you smell the scent of a burning heart?
Sending my tears on the wind, pouring sweet honey into my verse...
My love, at your doorstep... come running to me!
In the gentle breeze, for your breath, all alone...
Your image fills the whole sky, yet I cannot hold you in my arms.
Your scent is everywhere in the air, but a mere scent is not life.
Uprooting my soul and throwing me into a blazing fire, where did you go, cruel girl?
Before this dying breath leaves me, come running to me!
In the gentle breeze, I searched all alone for your breath.
A single drop fell into the sea, and I searched and searched for it...
Male
Female
Male
Male
Male

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

Poongatrilae from the movie Uyire (Dil Se..) is a poignant composition expressing the deep ache of separation and desperate longing for a beloved. The protagonist searches for traces of his love—her breath in the breeze and her presence in the vast sky—comparing this impossible quest to finding a single drop of water lost in the ocean. He pleads for her return before his fading life departs, emphasizing that mere memories and airwaves cannot substitute true presence.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Hyperbole / Metaphor

“Kadalmel oru thuli vizhunthathae athai thedi thedi paarthen”

Comparing the impossible search for the lover's breath in the wind to looking for a specific drop of water that fell into the ocean.

Ethukai (Second-letter Rhyming)

“Uyirai verodu killi ennai sentheeyil thalli enghae sendrayo kalli”

Rhyming of the second consonant sound ('ll') across words like killi, thalli, and kalli creates a rhythmic poetic flow.

Imagery & Personification

“Kaatril kanneerai yetri kavithai senthenai ootri”

Vivid sensory imagery of sending tears via the wind and pouring poetic honey to convey intense emotional sorrow.

Did you know?

Trivia

Poongatrilae is the Tamil adaptation of 'Ae Ajnabi' from Mani Ratnam's 1998 Hindi film Dil Se.. composed by A.R. Rahman. Lyricist Vairamuthu adapted Gulzar's Hindi lyrics into Tamil, and the rendition by Unni Menon and Swarnalatha received widespread critical acclaim.

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