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Lyrics & meaning

Yarukkaga

From Vasantha Maligai · 1972

Lyricist
Kannadasan
Singer
T. M. Soundararajan
Music director
K. V. Mahadevan
Details
Vasantha Maligai1972

Lyrics & meaning

Tanglish lyrics English translation
Male
{ YarukaagaFor whom?
Idhu yarukaagaFor whom is this for?
Indha maaligaiThis palace,
Vasantha maaligaiThis spring palace,
Kaadhal oviyamA portrait of love,
Kalaintha maaligai } (2)Is now a ruined palace.
Male
YarukaagaFor whom?
Idhu yarukaagaFor whom is this for?
Kaadhalae po poGo away, oh love, go away!
Saathalae vaa vaaCome, oh death, come!
Male
{ Maranam ennumA messenger of death
Thoothu vanthadhuHas arrived,
Adhu mangai ennumIt arrived disguised
Vadivil vanthadhu } (2)In the form of a woman.
Male
SorgamaagaWhat I believed to be
Naan ninaithadhuA blissful heaven,
Indru naragamagaHas today turned
Maari vittathuInto a living hell.
Male
YarukaagaFor whom?
Idhu yarukaagaFor whom is this for?
Male
Malarai thaanaeIt was only a flower
Naan parithadhu kaiThat my hand plucked,
Mullin meethu yen vizhunthadhuSo why did it land on thorns?
Male
Uravai thaanaeIt was only togetherness
Naan ninaithadhu ennaiThat I longed for, so why
Pirivu vanthu yen azhaithadhuDid separation come and claim me?
Male
EzhuthungalInscribe this
En kallaraiyil avalUpon my tombstone:
Irakamillaathaval endru"She was a woman without mercy."
Paadungal en kallaraiyilSing this at my tombstone:
Ivan paithiyakaaran endru"This man was driven mad!"
Male
Kangal theetumThat which the eyes paint
Kaadhal enbathu adhuAnd call love,
Kannil neerai varavazhaipathuOnly brings tears into the eyes.
Pengal kaatum anbu enbathuThe affection shown by women
Nammai pithan aaki alaiya vaipathuTurns us into madmen and makes us wander aimlessly.
Male
YarukaagaFor whom?
Male
{ EngirunthuFrom where did this
Sontham vanthadhuBond of love arrive?
Indru engirunthuAnd today, from where did this
Nanju vanthadhu } (2)Poison creep in?
Male
AngirunthuFrom up above,
Aatugindravan dhinamThe Almighty controller,
Aadugindra naadagam idhuDirects this daily theatrical drama!
Male
YarukaagaFor whom?
Idhu yarukaagaFor whom is this for?
Indha maaligaiThis palace,
Vasantha maaligaiThis spring palace,
Kaadhal oviyamA portrait of love,
Kalaintha maaligaiIs now a ruined palace.
Male
YarukaagaFor whom?
Idhu yarukaagaFor whom is this for?
Yarukaaga yarukaaga …For whom? For whom? ...

Beyond the translation

Song interpretation

This heart-wrenching song from the classic movie Vasantha Maligai captures the deep existential grief and heartbreak of the protagonist whose dream of a happy life with his beloved has collapsed. Having built a literal and symbolic 'palace of spring' (Vasantha Maaligai) for his love, he finds himself betrayed by fate, viewing the woman he loved as a messenger of death who transformed his heavenly world into hell.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Muran (Antithesis)

Kaadhalae po po / Saathalae vaa vaa

Contrasts love ('Kaadhal') and death ('Saadhu/Saathal'), bidding love to leave while beckoning death to approach.

Metaphor (Uruvagam)

Kaadhal oviyam kalaintha maaligai

Compares love to an intricate painting ('oviyam') that has been smudged or ruined inside the palace.

Muran (Antithesis)

Sorgamaaga naan ninaithadhu indru naragamaga maari vittathu

Contrasts heaven ('Sorgam') and hell ('Naragam') to convey the drastic reversal of his fortune.

Iyaipu (Rhyme)

Malarai thaanae ... Uravai thaanae

Matching end sounds in parallel lyric structures ('Malarai thaanae' / 'Uravai thaanae') creating a melodic rhythm.

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Trivia

Vasantha Maligai (1972) is one of Nadigar Thilagam Sivaji Ganesan's biggest blockbusters. This tragic song was composed by K. V. Mahadevan and rendered soulfully by T. M. Soundararajan (TMS). Lyricist Kannadasan's evocative lines about writing on a tombstone became deeply iconic in Tamil pop culture.

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