- Lyricist
- Kavimani Desigavinayagam Pillai
- Singers
- Ghantasala, P. Bhanumathi
- Music director
- Ghantasala
- Movie name
- Kalvanin Kadhali -(1955)
- Movie release year
- 1955
- Lyrics added on
- 1 Oct 2025
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
This classic song expresses the contentment and bliss of living simply in nature alongside literature, music, and love. Inspired by Omar Khayyam's Rubaiyat, the lyrics celebrate the idea that simple pleasures—cool shade, a gentle breeze, a vessel of nectar, divine songs, literature, and the company of a beloved singer—transform the earthly woods into an absolute heaven on earth.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Iyebu (End Rhyme / Anaphora)
“Veyyirkkettra nizhalundu / Veesum thendral kaattrundu”
Multiple lines end with the word 'undu' (there is), creating a pleasing rhythm and reinforcing the sense of abundance.
Edhugai (Second Letter Rhyme)
“Kayil kamban kaviyundu / Kalasam nirai amuthundu”
Matching second consonants across lines such as 'ey' in Veyyirkkettra and 'ay' in Kayil/Kalasam.
Cultural Adaptation / Metaphor
“Kayil kamban kaviyundu”
The song replaces Khayyam's original 'Book of Verses' with 'Kamban Kavi' (the poetical works of Kamban) to localize the classical literary imagery into Tamil culture.
Did you know?
Trivia
The song is a Tamil adaptation of Edward FitzGerald's translation of stanza XI from Omar Khayyam's Rubaiyat ('A Book of Verses underneath the Bough...'). Renowned Tamil poet Kavimani Desigavinayagam Pillai localized the verse into Tamil poetry in his work 'Omar Khayyam Paadalgal', which was later set to music by Ghantasala for the film Kalvanin Kadhali (1955).
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