Veenaasai Yen Maname
From Athma Shanthi · 1952
- Lyricist
- T. N. Rajappa
- Singer
- A. P. Komala
- Music director
- T. R. Pappa
- Details
- Athma Shanthi1952
Lyrics & meaning
| ♫ Tanglish lyrics | ↻ English translation |
|---|---|
| Female | |
| Veenaasai yen manamae | Why vain desires, oh my heart? |
| Veenaasai yen manamae | Why vain desires, oh my heart? |
| Vaedhanaiyae jeevidhamae | Life is full of agony. |
| Veenaasai yen manamae | Why vain desires, oh my heart? |
| Vaedhanaiyae jeevidhamae | Life is full of agony. |
| Veenaasai yen manamae | Why vain desires, oh my heart? |
| Female | |
| Vaiyathil kaadhal vaanavillae | Love in this world is like a rainbow. |
| Vaiyathil kaadhal vaanavillae | Love in this world is like a rainbow. |
| Vaanjaiellam verum kaanal neerae | All affection is merely a mirage. |
| Female | |
| Vaiyathil kaadhal vaanavillae | Love in this world is like a rainbow. |
| Vaanjaiellam verum kaanal neerae | All affection is merely a mirage. |
| Veenaasai yen manamae | Why vain desires, oh my heart? |
| Vaedhanaiyae jeevidhamae | Life is full of agony. |
| Veenaasai yen manamae | Why vain desires, oh my heart? |
| Female | |
| Kaadhattra oosi pol vaazhvadho..oo..oo..oo | Is life meant to be lived like an eyeless needle? |
| Kaadhattra oosi pol vaazhvadho.. | Is life meant to be lived like an eyeless needle? |
| Kaadhattra oosi pol vaazhvadho.. | Is life meant to be lived like an eyeless needle? |
| Verattra vaazhai pol naasamaai veezhuvadhoo | Or fall into ruin like a rootless plantain tree? |
| Paedhaigal maaluvadho…. | Do foolish people perish like this? |
வீணாசை ஏன் மனமே
வீணாசை ஏன் மனமே
வேதனையே ஜீவிதமே
வீணாசை ஏன் மனமே
வேதனையே ஜீவிதமே
வீணாசை ஏன் மனமே....
Why vain desires, oh my heart?
Why vain desires, oh my heart?
Life is full of agony.
Why vain desires, oh my heart?
Life is full of agony.
Why vain desires, oh my heart?
வையத்தில் காதல் வானவில்லே
வையத்தில் காதல் வானவில்லே
வாஞ்சையெல்லாம் வெறும் கானல் நீரே
Love in this world is like a rainbow.
Love in this world is like a rainbow.
All affection is merely a mirage.
வையத்தில் காதல் வானவில்லே
வாஞ்சையெல்லாம் வெறும் கானல் நீரே
வீணாசை ஏன் மனமே
வேதனையே ஜீவிதமே
வீணாசை ஏன் மனமே
Love in this world is like a rainbow.
All affection is merely a mirage.
Why vain desires, oh my heart?
Life is full of agony.
Why vain desires, oh my heart?
காதற்ற ஊசி போல் வாழுவதோ...ஓஓஒ...
காதற்ற ஊசி போல் வாழுவதோ
காதற்ற ஊசி போல் வாழுவதோ
வேரற்ற வாழை போல் நாசமாய் வீழுவதோ
பேதைகள் மாளுவதோ....
Is life meant to be lived like an eyeless needle?
Is life meant to be lived like an eyeless needle?
Is life meant to be lived like an eyeless needle?
Or fall into ruin like a rootless plantain tree?
Do foolish people perish like this?
Veenaasai yen manamae
Why vain desires, oh my heart?
Veenaasai yen manamae
Why vain desires, oh my heart?
Vaedhanaiyae jeevidhamae
Life is full of agony.
Veenaasai yen manamae
Why vain desires, oh my heart?
Vaedhanaiyae jeevidhamae
Life is full of agony.
Veenaasai yen manamae
Why vain desires, oh my heart?
Vaiyathil kaadhal vaanavillae
Love in this world is like a rainbow.
Vaiyathil kaadhal vaanavillae
Love in this world is like a rainbow.
Vaanjaiellam verum kaanal neerae
All affection is merely a mirage.
Vaiyathil kaadhal vaanavillae
Love in this world is like a rainbow.
Vaanjaiellam verum kaanal neerae
All affection is merely a mirage.
Veenaasai yen manamae
Why vain desires, oh my heart?
Vaedhanaiyae jeevidhamae
Life is full of agony.
Veenaasai yen manamae
Why vain desires, oh my heart?
Kaadhattra oosi pol vaazhvadho..oo..oo..oo
Is life meant to be lived like an eyeless needle?
Kaadhattra oosi pol vaazhvadho..
Is life meant to be lived like an eyeless needle?
Kaadhattra oosi pol vaazhvadho..
Is life meant to be lived like an eyeless needle?
Verattra vaazhai pol naasamaai veezhuvadhoo
Or fall into ruin like a rootless plantain tree?
Paedhaigal maaluvadho….
Do foolish people perish like this?
Beyond the translation
Song interpretation
Veenaasai Yen Manamae from the 1952 film Athma Shanthi expresses a profound sense of melancholy and philosophical introspection regarding human life and worldly attachments. Addressing the speaker's own mind, the song questions the futility of clinging to earthly desires when existence seems predominantly filled with suffering. Worldly love is portrayed as a beautiful yet brief rainbow, and human affection is dismissed as an elusive mirage in the desert. The lyricist deepens the existential crisis by drawing upon classical Tamil philosophical metaphors, questioning if humans are doomed to live meaningless lives like broken needles or fall helplessly like uprooted banana trees, ultimately lamenting the tragic downfall of fools who fail to realize the temporary nature of mortal existence.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Simile (Upamai)
“Vaiyathil kaadhal vaanavillae”
Compares earthly love to a rainbow, emphasizing its temporary and fleeting beauty.
Metaphor (Uruvagam)
“Vaanjaiellam verum kaanal neerae”
Compares human affection directly to a mirage (kaanal neer), highlighting its deceptive nature.
Philosophical Allusion & Simile (Upamai)
“Kaadhattra oosi pol vaazhvadho..”
Compares a useless, ruined existence to an eyeless needle, referencing saint Pattinathar's famous quote about the vanity of material goods.
Alliteration (Moonaai)
“Veenaasai yen manamae / Vaedhanaiyae jeevidhamae”
The initial 'Va' / 'Ve' sound creates a rhythmic sound motif reflecting despair.
Did you know?
Trivia
The imagery of 'Kaadhattra Oosi' (eyeless needle) is a classic Tamil philosophical trope famously coined by the 10th-century saint Pattinathar ('Kaadhattrus oosiyum vaaraadhu kaan kadaivazhikke'), teaching that not even a broken, eye-less needle accompanies a soul after death. Athma Shanthi (1952) was a early post-independence drama film whose soundtrack prominently featured existential philosophical numbers.
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