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Kondattam album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Unnoduthaan Kanaavile Sad

From Kondattam · 1998

Lyricist
Kalidasan
Singers
Maragathamani, K. S. Chithra
Music director
Maragathamani
Movie name
Kondattam
Movie release year
1998
Lyrics added on
18 Jul 2019

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Unnodu thaan kanaavilae
Ninaivu mayangi kidappen
Unnodu thaan kanaavilae
Ninaivu mayangi kidappen
Nee indri naanaa
Neer indri meenaa
Uyirum urugudhu vaa…aaa…
Oru veesaatha kaatru
Arangaeraadha paattu idho
Unnodu thaan kanaavilae
Ninaivu mayangi kidandhen
Haa..aaa…aaa…
Haa….aaa….aaa……….
Kelvi andru vidai veru indru
Kannil kanneer ulaa
Female :Poovilum nee
Sudum thee enbathaal
Engae sendraai nilaa
Manadhil veesum puyalai
Rasiththu vaazhum mazhalai
Female :Enadhu kaadhal kobam
Thiriyai maatrum deebam
Male :Adi naanae seidhen paavam
Unnodu thaan kanaavilae
Ninaivu mayangi kidappen
Nee indri vaazhven
Un ninaivaalae theiven
Irandu manam enadhu…uu
Oru veesaatha kaatru
Arangaeraadha paattu idho
Unnodu thaan kanaavilae
Ninaivu mayangi kidappen
Haa..aaa…aaa…
Haa….aaa….aaa……….
Sogam ennum sudum megathukkul
Orae nilaa idhoo
Male :Vaedhanaiyai vizhaa nadathum
Endhan nenjam adho
Marakka thaanae paarthen
Ninaivai meendum korthen
Male :Malarnthum vaazhum poovae
Madindhu vaazhgindraaiyae
Female :Idhu naanae yetriya theeyae
Unnodu thaan kanaavilae
Ninaivu mayangi kidandhen
Female :Nee indri vaazhven
Un ninaivaalae theiven
Irandu manam enadhu…uu
Male :Oru veesaatha kaatru
Arangaeraadha paattu
Female :Idho……………………
Only with you, in dreams,
I lie lost in thoughts.
Only with you, in dreams,
I lie lost in thoughts.
Can I exist without you?
Can a fish live without water?
My soul is melting, please come...
A breeze that never blew,
a song never sung on stage, is here.
Only with you, in dreams,
I lay lost in thoughts.
Haa... aa... aa...
Haa... aa... aa...
The question was one back then, the answer is different today,
as tears drift across my eyes.
Female: Even in a flower, you are
a burning fire,
so where did you go, my moon?
The storm blowing inside the heart,
like a child who enjoys it and lives on...
Female: My love-filled anger
is like a lamp changing its wick.
Male: Oh, it was I who did wrong.
Only with you, in dreams,
I lie lost in thoughts.
I will live without you,
but I will fade away in your memories.
My mind is torn in two...
A breeze that never blew,
a song never sung on stage, is here.
Only with you, in dreams,
I lie lost in thoughts.
Haa... aa... aa...
Haa... aa... aa...
Inside the burning cloud of sorrow,
here is a lonely moon.
Male: Celebrating its pain like a festival,
there goes my heart.
I only tried to forget,
but I strung the memories together again.
Male: Oh flower that should bloom and live,
you live on while withering away.
Female: This is a fire I lit myself.
Only with you, in dreams,
I lay lost in thoughts.
Female: I will live without you,
but I will fade away in your memories.
My mind is torn in two...
Male: A breeze that never blew,
a song never sung on stage...
Female: is right here...
Female
Female
Male
Male
Chorus
Male
Male
Female
Female
Chorus
Female
Female
Male

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

Unnodu Thaan Kanaavilae is a melancholic romantic duet expressing intense longing, emotional distress, and grief caused by separation. The protagonists reflect on their deep soul connection and describe how living apart leaves them feeling as helpless as a fish out of water or an unperformed song waiting for an audience. They grapple with the regret of self-inflicted wounds and broken expectations while acknowledging that memories of each other continue to linger. Rich in poetic metaphors of hot clouds, unblown winds, burning fires, and fading flowers, the song explores the paradox of trying to forget someone while simultaneously clinging to their memory. Despite the pain and split state of their hearts, their love remains eternal and unshakeable.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Analogy / Metaphor (உவமை / உருவகம்)

Nee indri naanaa / Neer indri meenaa

Compares living without the beloved to a fish living without water.

Metaphor (உருவகம்)

Sogam ennum sudum megathukkul

Describes sorrow as a burning or scorching cloud ('sudum megam').

Imagery / Symbolism (முரண் உவமை)

Oru veesaatha kaatru / Arangaeraadha paattu idho

Uses contrasting images of wind that doesn't blow and a song that never premiered to represent unexpressed love and stifled emotions.

Rhyme / Monai & Edhugai (மோனை / எதுகை)

Marakka thaanae paarthen / Ninaivai meendum korthen

Consonance and rhythmic internal rhyming with 'Marakka' and 'Ninaivai' along with matching end rhymes.

Did you know?

Trivia

Kondattam (1998) is a Tamil family drama film directed by K. S. Ravikumar starring Arjun and Kausalya. The music for the film was composed by the renowned maestro Maragathamani (M. M. Keeravani), featuring soulful orchestration and emotionally rich vocal performances.

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