- Lyricist
- Kannadasan
- Singer
- P. Susheela
- Music director
- K. V. Mahadevan
- Movie name
- Idhaya Kamalam
- Movie release year
- 1965
- Lyrics added on
- 27 Aug 2019
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
Unnai Kaanadha Kannum Kannalla is an iconic Tamil romantic track from the 1965 movie Idhaya Kamalam, penned by Kannadasan. The lyrics articulate the sentiment of ultimate emotional integration and romantic devotion, expressing that one's senses, thoughts, and identity hold no value without the presence and companionship of the beloved. The song portrays two lovers as inseparable components of a single existence. Through rich spiritual and maternal imagery—such as comparing the partner to a temple, oneself to the lamp within, and love to embracing a child—the lyricist highlights that true love transcends individual identity, rendering two souls completely indistinguishable and unified before the divine.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Anaphora and Litotes
“Unnai kaanaadha kannum kannalla…”
Repeated negation structure ('X-aadha X-um X-alla') emphasizes total emotional dependence by denying the very utility of eyes, hearts, and words if disconnected from the beloved.
Metaphor
“Ingu nee oru paadhi naan oru paadhi”
Compares the two lovers to two complementary halves of a whole entity, sharing both existence and grief equally.
Metaphor
“Nee endhan kovil naan angu dheebam”
Equates the partner to a sacred temple and oneself to the sanctified lamp inside it to convey absolute devotion.
Simile
“En maeniyil unnai pillaiyai polae”
Uses 'pillaiyai polae' (like a child) to compare romantic embrace to maternal affection, elevating love to a pure, protective, and tender plane.
Did you know?
Trivia
Composed by K. V. Mahadevan and sung by P. Susheela, this song from 'Idhaya Kamalam' (1965) starring Ravichandran and K. R. Vijaya remains one of the most celebrated golden-era melodies in Tamil cinema, renowned for Kannadasan's lyrical depth.
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