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Lyrics & meaning

Unakkum Enakkum Song Lyrics – Varnashramam

From Varnashramam · 2023

Lyricist
Uma Devi
Singers
Saindhavi, Balaji Sree
Music director
Deepan Chakravarthy
Details
Varnashramam2023

Lyrics & meaning

Tanglish lyrics English translation
Female
Unakkum enakkum irukkum uravaiAbout the relationship between you and me
Kaatru vandhu kadhai ezhudhaadhoWon't the wind come and write a story?
Manadhil kidakkum ninaivin alaiyaiThe wave of memories lying in the heart
Kaadhal vandhu thaazh thiravaadhoWon't love come and unlock it?
Female
Irul vandhu thazhuvugaiyilWhen darkness comes and embraces
Nizhal vittu vilagidalaamThe shadow may leave and part ways
Sithathilae padhindhadhellaamEverything that is imprinted in the soul
Nithairaiyil kalaindhidumaWill it dissolve in sleep?
Female
Malaigal iranduTwo mountains
Viralgal pidithu nadanthu poguthaeAre walking together holding fingers
Pogaadha dhooram poagaTo go to untraveled distances
Kaalgal yengudhaeThe feet yearn
Female
Mazhaiyin thuligal tharaiyil vilundhuWill raindrops falling on the ground
Tholaindhu pogumaGet lost and vanish?
Un thozhlil saayumLeaning on your shoulder
Indha nodiyum tholaiyumaWill this moment also get lost?
Female
Oororam vandhu unai thedi ninnuComing to the edge of the village, searching for you and standing
Kaalamum kaaval naan kaathidanumI must stand guard for all eternity
Nee illaiyendraal en vaazhvuWithout you, my life...
Poyinnu angaeyae kallaganumCalling it a lie, I should turn into stone right there
Male
Kannae nee anga kallaagum podhuMy dear, when you turn into stone there
Unai yendhi thaangum naan mannaaganumI should become the soil that holds and supports you
Kaathodu kaatha moochodu moochaagiMerging wind with wind, breath with breath
Onnodu onnaaganumWe should become one with each other
Female
Andha yezhu jenmam kooda edhukkuWhy do we even need those seven lifetimes?
Haa..aaa..aaa…Haa..aaa..aaa…
Andha yezhu jenmam kooda edhukkuWhy do we even need those seven lifetimes?
Ada indha nodi podhum enakkuHey, this single moment is enough for me
Uyir vittu pogum podhumEven when life leaves my body
Unna mattum sumakk avenumI must carry only you
Male
Indha vaeli thaandi odum kilaiyaA branch growing beyond this fence
Indha jaadhi sanam killi eriyumThese caste-minded people will pluck and discard
Mannil paayum kaadhal vaeraBut love's root running deep into the earth
Indha ooru enna senjidumWhat can this town do to it?
Female
Malaigal irandu viralagl pidithuTwo mountains holding fingers
Nadanthu poguthaeAre walking along
Poagaadha dhooram pogaTo go to untraveled distances
Kaalgal yengudhaeThe feet yearn
Female
Mazhaiyin thuligal tharaiyil vilundhuWill raindrops falling on the ground
Tholaindhu pogumaGet lost and vanish?
Un thozhlil saayumLeaning on your shoulder
Indha nodiyum tholaiyumaWill this moment also get lost?

Beyond the translation

Song interpretation

The song 'Unakkum Enakkum' from the film 'Varnashramam' is a poignant, soulful expression of eternal love bound by nature and challenged by societal divisions. The lovers reflect on the permanence of their emotional bond compared to the impermanence of physical life. Even as caste and village barriers attempt to sever their relationship like trimming branches off a fence, they find solace in knowing that their love is rooted deeply within the earth and beyond mortal life. In a profound exchange of devotion, the lyricist Uma Devi captures how the protagonists do not seek multiple lifetimes to prove their love; a single fleeting moment together is sufficient. They express a desire to merge into nature itself—turning to stone and soil, wind and breath—defying all human constructs of separation and mortality.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Metaphor (உருவகம்)

Malaigal irandu viralgal pidithu nadanthu poguthae

Comparing the two resilient lovers to two mountains walking hand in hand ('Malaigal irandu viralgal pidithu').

Metaphor (உருவகம்)

Mannil paayum kaadhal vaera indha ooru enna senjidum

Comparing caste barriers to a fence ('vaeli') and love to roots deep in the soil ('kaadhal vaeru') that societal forces cannot uproot.

Alliteration & Assonance (மோனை / எதுகை)

Kaathodu kaatha moochodu moochaagi

Rhythmic repetition of 'Kaathodu kaatha moochodu moochaagi' creating a breathless, wind-like poetic cadence.

Rhetorical Question (வினா அணி)

Andha yezhu jenmam kooda edhukku

The lyricist uses poetic questions to question the need for traditional concepts like seven births when a single divine moment suffices.

Did you know?

Trivia

'Varnashramam' (2023) features a critically acclaimed social narrative centered around caste discrimination and romantic devotion. Lyricist Uma Devi, known for her deeply emotional and socially charged Tamil poetry in films like 'Kabal' and '96', wrote these lyrics to evoke both nature imagery and resistance against oppressive societal norms.

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