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Isaimozhi
Sethu album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Vaarthai Thavari Vittai

From Sethu · 1999

Lyricist
Arivumathi
Singer
Ilayaraja
Music director
Ilayaraja
Movie name
Sethu
Movie release year
1999
Lyrics added on
20 Sept 2018

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Vaarthai thavari vittaai
Kannamma marbu thudikuthadi
Kaatril kalanthu vittaai
Kannamma kangal kalanguthadi
Paranthathen maranthathen
Enathu uyirai
Padithathen mudithathen
Unathu kadhaiyai
Eriyuthuae ulagamae soga neruppil
Vaarthai thavari vittaai
Kannamma marbu thudikuthadi
Kaatril kalanthu vittaai
Kannamma kangal kalanguthadi
Nee pona paadhai
Edhuvendru sollu
Naanum un pinnae angae vara
Ippodhum kuda edhuvendru sollu
Un veedu thedi naanum vara
Thaer varum naal varum
Endru ninaithenae
Thee unai theendavoo
Thirumbhi nadanthenae
Bhoomiyin dhevathai
Puzhuthi mann moodalaamoo
Vaarthai thavari vittaai
Kannamma marbu thudikuthadi
Kaatril kalanthu vittaai
Kannamma kangal kalanguthadi
You broke your promise,
Kannamma, my chest aches with pain.
You vanished into the wind,
Kannamma, my eyes are filled with tears.
Why did you fly away, forgetting
my very life?
Why did you read and finish
the story of your life so soon?
The whole world is burning in the fire of sorrow.
You broke your promise,
Kannamma, my chest aches with pain.
You vanished into the wind,
Kannamma, my eyes are filled with tears.
The path you took,
tell me which way it is,
so that I too can follow you there.
Even now, tell me where it is,
so I can come searching for your home.
I believed the day would come
for our wedding procession,
did I turn and walk away
only for the funeral fire to touch you?
Should an angel of this earth
be covered under the dusty soil?
You broke your promise,
Kannamma, my chest aches with pain.
You vanished into the wind,
Kannamma, my eyes are filled with tears.
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

This tragic song captures the profound anguish of a lover grieving the loss of his beloved Kannamma. He feels betrayed by fate because she broke her promise to stay with him and instead departed from this world, merging into the wind. The lyricist conveys his unbearable heartaches, describing how his life feels shattered, how the entire world seems engulfed in the fire of sorrow, and how he desperately wishes to follow her along whichever path her soul took.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Metaphor (Uvamaani)

“Eriyuthuae ulagamae soga neruppil”

'Soga neruppil' (fire of grief) compares intense emotional heartbreak to a burning fire.

Rhyme (Edhugai)

“Paranthathen maranthathen / Padithathen mudithathen”

'Paranthathen' and 'Padithathen' share the second-letter rhyming pattern, creating a rhythmic melancholic flow.

Metaphor / Epithet

“Bhoomiyin dhevathai”

'Bhoomiyin dhevathai' elevates the deceased beloved to the status of an earthly goddess or angel.

Did you know?

Trivia

Although inspired by Mahakavi Subramania Bharati's famous 'Kannamma' poetry line 'Vaarthai thavari vittaai', this rendition was musically composed by Ilaiyaraaja and penned by Arivumathi for Bala's tragic drama Sethu (1999), becoming an iconic anthem of tragic love and grief.

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