Skip to content
Isaimozhi
Lyrics & meaning

Vaazhvil Ninaive Kanavaagume

From Dharma Devatha · 1952

Lyricist
Thanjai N. Ramaiah Dass
Singer
G. Kasthuri
Music director
C. R. Subbaraman
Details
Dharma Devatha1952

Lyrics & meaning

Tanglish lyrics English translation
Female
Vaazhvil ninaivae kanavaagumaaWill memories in life turn into a dream?
Valarum kadhal poiyaagumaaWill growing love turn into a lie?
Vaazhvil ninaivae kanavaagumaaWill memories in life turn into a dream?
Valarum kadhal poiyaagumaaWill growing love turn into a lie?
Female
Pennaasai yaavum peraasaithaanaaIs all of a woman's desire merely greed?
Pennaasai yaavum peraasaithaanaaIs all of a woman's desire merely greed?
Bedhai manamae kelaamalae ini thaalaamalaeO innocent heart, without listening, unable to bear it anymore
Oo….ooo…oooo….Oo....ooo...oooo....
Female
Vaazhvil ninaivae kanavaagumaaWill memories in life turn into a dream?
Valarum kadhal poiyaagumaaWill growing love turn into a lie?
Female
Kaanilae maevidum nilaavai polaagumaaWill it become like the moon shining in an empty forest?
Kaanpathellaamae kanavaagumaaWill everything seen turn into a dream?
Ennaalum inbam yaemaattramthaanaaIs everlasting joy just a deception?
Ennaalum inbam yaemaattramthaanaaIs everlasting joy just a deception?
Yazhai manam kelaamalae ini thaalaamalaeO poor heart, without listening, unable to bear it anymore
Ooo…ooo…oo…Ooo...ooo...oo...
Female
Vaazhvil ninaivae kanavaagumaaWill memories in life turn into a dream?
Valarum kadhal poiyaagumaaWill growing love turn into a lie?
Female
Cholai vanamae paalai vanamaaiAs the lush garden turned into a desert
Soozhnthathaalae vaazhvil naanaeBecause it engulfed my life
Ilavu kaaththa killaiyum aanaenI became like the parrot waiting for the silk-cotton fruit
Ilavu kaaththa killaiyum aanaenI became like the parrot waiting for the silk-cotton fruit
Ennai izhanthae yaengugiraen…ooo….Having lost myself, I yearn... ooo...
Female
Vaazhvil ninaivae kanavaagumaaWill memories in life turn into a dream?
Valarum kadhal poiyaagumaaWill growing love turn into a lie?

Beyond the translation

Song interpretation

Vaazhvil ninaivae kanavaagumaa is a poignant lament sung from the perspective of a heartbroken woman questioning the nature of love, desire, and fate. Expressing deep sorrow, she wonders if her cherished hopes and growing love were mere illusions destined to end in betrayal and despair. She reflects on whether a woman's yearning for affection is condemned as greed, comparing her state to a moon wasting its light in an uninhabited forest or a lush garden turning into a barren desert. She invokes the classic Tamil idiom 'Ilavu kaaththa kili' (the parrot waiting in vain for the inedible silk-cotton fruit to ripen) to describe her futile anticipation and shattered hopes. Losing her sense of self amidst overwhelming grief, her troubled heart struggles to endure the anguish of unfulfilled love.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Monai (Initial Rhyme / Alliteration)

Vaazhvil ninaivae kanavaagumaa / Valarum kadhal poiyaagumaa

Repetition of the initial 'V' sound in 'Vaazhvil' and 'Valarum' creates rhythmic harmony across opening lines.

Simile / Proverbial Metaphor (Uvamai)

Ilavu kaaththa killaiyum aanaen

The traditional Tamil metaphor 'Ilavu kaaththa kili' compares a person waiting in vain for something worthless to a parrot waiting for the silk-cotton fruit to open, only to find inedible fluff.

Contrast (Muran)

Cholai vanamae paalai vanamaai

Contrasts 'Cholai vanam' (lush grove) with 'Paalai vanam' (barren desert) to represent the shift from happiness to sorrow.

Rhetorical Question (Vinai)

Pennaasai yaavum peraasaithaanaa

Posing emotional questions asking if love is a lie and female desire is greed.

Did you know?

Trivia

Dharma Devatha (1952) was a bilingual film made simultaneously in Tamil and Telugu by Rohini Pictures. The soundtrack was composed by C. R. Subburaman, one of South Indian cinema's most acclaimed early composers, who tragically passed away at a young age shortly after working on this film.

Keep listening

More from Dharma Devatha