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Kalyana Kacheri album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Yen Peru Meenatchi

From Kalyana Kacheri · 1987

Lyricist
Gangai Amaran
Singer
S. Janaki
Music director
Ilayaraja
Movie name
Kalyana Kacheri
Movie release year
1987
Lyrics added on
31 Jan 2019

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
En peru meenaatchi
En ooru pollaachi
Maanai kettu thaan meenai kettu thaan
Kanna vaanginenga
Thaenai kettu thaan paalai kettu thaan
Sollai vaanginenga
Yaarai kettu naan maalai vaanguven
Manasu thaangalinga
En peru meenaatchi
En ooru pollaachi
Sodi serala
Oru maamankaaran thaan
Vaadi poguren
Andhi maala neram thaan
Aaru maasamaa soru thingala
Thookkam pottadhilla
Ada nooru maappilla ooril irukkuraan
Yennu kettadhilla
Podala innum parisam thaan
Maattala nalla purusan thaan
Ilan maan thaan naan thaan yenguguren
En peru meenaatchi
En ooru pollaachi
Maanai kettu thaan meenai kettu thaan
Kanna vaanginenga
Thaenai kettu thaan paalai kettu thaan
Sollai vaanginenga
Yaarai kettu naan maalai vaanguven
Manasu thaangalinga
En peru meenaatchi
En ooru pollaachi
Naethu raathiri thookkam pochunnu
Paattu paaduraanga
Ada kaala thookkiyae kamalahaasan pol
Aattam aaduraanga
Naanumae chinna ponnu thaan
Venumae sondham onnu thaan
Ada yaaro yaaro maappilla thaan
En peru meenaatchi
En ooru pollaachi
Maanai kettu thaan meenai kettu thaan
Kanna vaanginenga
Thaenai kettu thaan paalai kettu thaan
Sollai vaanginenga
Yaarai kettu naan maalai vaanguven
Manasu thaangalinga
En peru meenaatchi
En ooru pollaachi
My name is Meenakshi,
my hometown is Pollachi.
Borrowing from the deer and the fish,
you gave me these eyes.
Borrowing from honey and milk,
you gave me my sweet speech.
Whose permission should I seek to receive a wedding garland?
My heart just cannot bear the wait!
My name is Meenakshi,
my hometown is Pollachi.
I haven't paired up
with a suitor of my own.
I am wilting away
every evening at dusk.
For six months I haven't eaten well,
and I haven't slept a wink.
There are a hundred young men in this town,
yet no one has asked for my hand.
No engagement gift has been offered yet,
no good husband has come along yet.
Like a young deer, I am left longing.
My name is Meenakshi,
my hometown is Pollachi.
Borrowing from the deer and the fish,
you gave me these eyes.
Borrowing from honey and milk,
you gave me my sweet speech.
Whose permission should I seek to receive a wedding garland?
My heart just cannot bear the wait!
My name is Meenakshi,
my hometown is Pollachi.
Singing that they lost their sleep last night,
people are singing away songs!
Kicking up their heels like Kamal Haasan,
they are dancing all around!
I too am just a young girl,
and I truly need a man of my own.
Oh, whoever is going to be my groom?
My name is Meenakshi,
my hometown is Pollachi.
Borrowing from the deer and the fish,
you gave me these eyes.
Borrowing from honey and milk,
you gave me my sweet speech.
Whose permission should I seek to receive a wedding garland?
My heart just cannot bear the wait!
My name is Meenakshi,
my hometown is Pollachi.
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Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

'En Peru Meenaatchi' is a lively folk-style track sung from the perspective of a young rural woman named Meenakshi from Pollachi. She playfully laments her single status and her deep longing for marriage and companionship. Although her eyes are as captivating as a deer's or a fish's and her words are as sweet as honey and milk, she expresses frustration that no suitable groom or maternal uncle has come forward with a marriage proposal.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Iyaipu (Rhyming)

En peru meenaatchi / En ooru pollaachi

End-rhyme created by matching suffix sounds 'meenaatchi' and 'pollaachi'.

Metaphor (Uruvam)

Ilan maan thaan naan thaan yenguguren

The speaker directly compares herself to a young, tender deer ('ilan maan') experiencing yearning.

Pop Culture Simile (Upama)

Ada kaala thookkiyae kamalahaasan pol / Aattam aaduraanga

A modern pop-culture simile comparing the dancers' energetic style and high leg kicks to the iconic dance moves of actor Kamal Haasan.

Hyperbole (Uyarvu Navitchi Ani)

Aaru maasamaa soru thingala / Thookkam pottadhilla

Exaggeration describing her intense yearning and heart-sickness through claims of not eating or sleeping for six months.

Did you know?

Trivia

Written by Gangai Amaran for the 1987 film 'Kalyana Kacheri', the song features a popular cultural reference to Kamal Haasan ('Kamalahaasan pol aattam aaduraanga'). This line reflects the massive craze surrounding Kamal Haasan's signature dance style during the 1980s in Tamil Nadu.

Keep listening

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