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Thanga Kalasam album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Thamarai Ilaiye

From Thanga Kalasam · 1988

Lyricist
London Gopal
Singers
K. S. Chitra, Rajkumar Bharathi
Music director
M. S. Vishwanathan
Movie name
Thanga Kalasam
Movie release year
1988
Lyrics added on
20 May 2021

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Aa….aa….aah..aa…..aa….
Aa….aa….aah..aa…..aa….
Thaamarai ilaiyae thoodhu sellaayo
Thalaivanidam en thuyar sollaayo…oo….
Thaamarai ilaiyae thoodhu sellaayo
Thalaivanidam en thuyar sollaayo…..
Maamannan dhushyanthan mun sellaayo
Maamannan dhushyanthan mun sellaayo
Maadhival sagunthalai manam sollaayo
Maadhival sagunthalai manam sollaayo
Thaamarai ilaiyae thoodhu sellaayo
Thalaivanidam en thuyar sollaayo…oo….
Kadhalan varavai paarththirunthaen
Kadhalan varavai paarththirunthaen
Avan kadhalukeyengi kaaththirunthaen
Kadhalukeyengi kaaththirunthaen
Penn pedhai ennullam thottri vanthaen
Perum vedhanaiyodu naan veettrirunthaen endru
Thaamarai ilaiyae thoodhu sellaayo
Thalaivanidam en thuyar sollaayo…
Maarbinil poonganai thoduththaanae
Kaaman maarbinil poonganai thoduththaanae
Kaaman mangaiyin angam sutteriththaanae
Mangaiyin angam sutteriththaanae
Thaamarai ilaiyin thoodhu arinthaennae
Thaamarai ilaiyin thoodhu arinthaennae
Thaen malar sagunthalai thuyar arinthaenae
Thaen malar sagunthalai thuyar arinthaenae
Thaamarai ilaiyae thoodhu sellaayo
Maamannan dhushyanthan thuyar sollaayo
Sinthanaiyai kollai
Konduthaan sendraan
Sinthanalai thanthae chandhiran pol vanthaan
Vaanmadhithaan vattukindraan senthanalaaga
Thaen mozhiyum meen vizhiyaal sudugindralae
Thaamarai ilaiyae thoodhu sellaayo
Maamannan dhushyanthan thuyar sollaayo…..
Aa.....aa......aah.......aa.....aa.........
Aa.....aa......aah.......aa.....aa.........
O lotus leaf, won't you go as a messenger?
Won't you tell my sorrow to my beloved lord?
O lotus leaf, won't you go as a messenger?
Won't you tell my sorrow to my beloved lord?
Won't you go before the great king Dushyanta?
Won't you go before the great king Dushyanta?
Won't you convey the heart of this woman, Shakuntala?
Won't you convey the heart of this woman, Shakuntala?
O lotus leaf, won't you go as a messenger?
Won't you tell my sorrow to my beloved lord?
I kept watching for my lover's arrival,
I kept watching for my lover's arrival,
I waited, longing for his love,
Longing for his love, I waited.
A simple innocent girl, I tried to comfort my heart,
And sat alone in deep agony—go tell him that!
O lotus leaf, won't you go as a messenger?
Won't you tell my sorrow to my beloved lord?
He struck my chest with a flower-arrow,
Kamadeva (god of love) struck my chest with a flower-arrow,
Kamadeva burned this young woman's body with longing,
He burned this young woman's body with longing!
I have received the message written on the lotus leaf,
I have received the message written on the lotus leaf,
I have understood the sorrow of Shakuntala, sweet as a honeyed flower,
I have understood the sorrow of Shakuntala, sweet as a honeyed flower.
O lotus leaf, won't you go as a messenger?
Won't you tell the sorrow of the great king Dushyanta?
He completely plundered my thoughts
And carried them away with him,
Leaving a burning fire in my heart, he came like the cool moon.
Like the sky's moon turned to red-hot embers, he torments me,
And she of sweet words scorches me with her fish-shaped eyes!
O lotus leaf, won't you go as a messenger?
Won't you tell the sorrow of the great king Dushyanta?
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Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

This song draws deeply from the classical Indian epic story of Shakuntala and King Dushyanta, evoking the traditional literary motif of sending a message through nature—specifically a lotus leaf, a classic metaphor from Kalidasa's 'Abhijnanashakuntalam'. The lyrics depict the agony of love in separation (Viraha Bhava), where the heroine pleads with a lotus leaf to act as her envoy to deliver her pain and devotion to her beloved king. As the song progresses, the narrative flips perspective to acknowledge Dushyanta's own grief and longing, highlighting how the pangs of Kamadeva's arrows and the cool moonlight feel like burning embers to lovers separated by fate.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Thoodhu (Messenger Motif / Personification)

“Thaamarai ilaiyae thoodhu sellaayo”

Addressing the lotus leaf ('Thaamarai ilaiyae') as a messenger to carry feelings of love and sorrow is a classic classical Tamil and Sanskrit literary device (Thoodhu literature).

Simile (Upamai)

“Sinthanalai thanthae chandhiran pol vanthaan”

Comparing the arrival of the beloved to the soothing moon ('chandhiran pol vanthaan') and comparing the lover's eyes to fish ('meen vizhiyaal').

Oxymoron / Paradox

“Vaanmadhithaan vattukindraan senthanalaaga”

The soothing cool moon in the sky ('Vaanmadhi') is described as burning like hot embers ('senthanalaaga'), expressing the pain of separation.

Alliteration (Edhugai / Monnai)

“Maamannan dhushyanthan mun sellaayo”

Repetition of consonant sounds like 'Maamannan' and 'Maadhival', creating a rhythmic musical flow.

Did you know?

Trivia

The lyricist London Gopal references the famous episode from Kalidasa's classical Sanskrit play 'Abhijnanashakuntalam', where Shakuntala writes a love letter to King Dushyanta on a lotus leaf using her fingernails while suffering from the torment of love in the forest hermitage.

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