Kanmani Anboodu - Guna

Guna is a mad love story. A mentally retarded man is fed the idea that there is a special girl for him. Guna is able to pick locks very well, and a crooked uncle needing to break into a temple treasury randomly points to a girl saying that is Guna’s Abiraami - a name that they have created. Following a botched robbery and chaos, Guna ends up taking away Abiraami/Rohini to a remote mountain top. Guna is ardently and honestly in love. Abiraami on the other hand reacts as a scared kidnapped person would. Over time though, Abiraami seems to understand Guna. To say that Abiraami loves Guna is a stretch, but she does begin to accept him.

Again, one of Kamal’s amazing power packed performances. Classic Ilayaraaja music. And a girl so pretty, that some of us when in school scaled the hostel walls and ran off to see the movie again for a second time with money we hardly had. ha ha. Ridiculous! But was fun then - a short term school kid obsession with a film actress.

In the context of this song, Guna has moved themselves to some hidden caves. There he is attempting to write a letter to her.

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Male: Ezhudhu, ezhudhu

Write, write …

Female:Enne ezhudhurathu

What to write?

Male: Letter
Female: Yaarukku

To whom?

Male: Unakku

To you?

Female: Enakka?

To me?

Male: Enakku ezhudha varaadhu? Ippodhaa kazhethu pooda kathikku...

I don’t know how to write. Only recently I learnt to put a sig...

Female: Wait, wait, Enakku nee ezhuthira letter, naan ezhuthi …

The letter that you are writing to me, I write it and ...

Male: … enakku padichu katteettu, nee padi.

… and you read it out for me, and then you read.

Female: I like it. Chollu.

Ok, tell me.

Male: Kanmani anboodu kaadhalan naan …
naan, ezhuthum, kaditham … illae … kadithaasi, chey kadithamae irukkattam. padi.

My dear, with love … this lover is writing to you … a letter, a note? no, just put letter. read.

Kanmani anboada kaadhalan, naan eludhum kadidhamae

Male: Paattaavae padichittiya? Appo naanum … mothale kanmani sonnele, inge ponmani poottukko. Ponmani un veettile soukyama? Naan ingae soukyam.

You made a tune of it! In that case, I too … first I said my dear no, now put my darling. My darling, are you fine at home? I’m fine here.

Ponmani unn veetil sowkiyamaa? Naan ingu sowkiyamae,

Male: aaha, unnae nenaichu paakkumboothu kavithae manasilae aruvi maathiri kottudhu. Aaana athe ezhuthanoonu okkaantha antha ezhuthu thaan, vaarthae

Lovely! When I think of you, poetry flows in my mind like a stream, but when I try to put it down in words … that writing … those words …

Unnai enni paarkkaiyil kavidhai kottuthu,
Adhai elutha ninaikkauyil vaarthai mootuthu,

Male: Athaan, athae thaan. Pramaadham. Kavithe, kavithe. Padi.

That’s it. Perfect. Poetry, poetry! Read.

Kanmani anboada kaadhalan, Naan eludhum kadidhamae,

My dear, this letter is written with affection by this lover

Ponmani unn veetil sowkiyamaa? Naan ingu sowkiyamae,

My darling, are you fine at home? I’m doing fine here.

Unnai enni paarkkaiyil kavidhai kottuthu,

When I think of you each time, verses flow in my mind

Adhai elutha ninaikkauyil vaarthai mootuthu,

But when I consider writing it down, I am stumped for words

Male: mmmm … enakku undaana kaayam athu thannaalae aaridum. athu ennamoo enru theriyila, enna maayamoo ennu theriyile, enakku onnum aavurathillae. ithuvum ezhuthukkae. nadu naduvile maanae, thenae, ponmaanae ellaam poottukkanum. intha paaru, enakku enna kaayam irundhalum athu yen odambu thaangidum. on odambu thaangumo? thaangaathu. abiraami. abiraami abiraami.

Wounds on me automatically heal. I don’t know what it is or what magic it is, but nothing happens to me. Write this also. And in between put my dear, my darling and all. See, whatever happens to me, my body will take it, but will yours? No, it won’t. Abiraami, [my] abiraami.

Female: athuvum ezhuthanuma.

Should I write that also?

Male: Heh heh. Ille … athu kaathal. yen kaathal yenna yennu sollaamae yenge yenge azhukeya varudhu. aana naan azhuthu yen soogam unnae thaakkudumo enru nenaikkum poothu, varuka azhugai koode ninnurathu.

Heh heh … no … that’s just my love. I’m unable to express my love, and because of that sadness hits me in waves. But when I think that if I cry then you will also feel sad, my sadness also stops.

Male: Manithan unarnthu kolla, ithu manitha kaathal allae. Atheyum thaandi, ithu punithamaanathu.

That man should be provoked by our love, this is not mortal love.
Way beyond that, this love is divine.

Undaana kaayam yaavum, Thannaalae aari poagum,
Maayam enna ponmaanae ponmaanae,

That my hurts heal automatically, I don’t know what magic that is

Enna kaayam aana podhum, Yen maeni thangi kollum,
Undhan maeni thaangaadhu senthaenae,

Whatever the wounds my body can handle it, but yours cannot

Enthan kaadhal ennavendru sollaamal, Aenga aenga alugai vanthathu,

Unable to express my love, I heave with approaching tears

Enthan soagam unnai thaakkum, Endrenumbothu vandha alugai nindrathu,

But thinking that my sadness will affect you, my tears stop

Manithar unarndha kolla, Idhu manitha kaadhal alla,
Adhaiyum thaandi punithamaanathu,

That man should be provoked by our love, this is not mortal love.
Way beyond that, this love is divine.

Abiraamiyae, thaalattum saamiyae, Naandhaanae theriyumaa?

Abiraami, I’m the lord that cradles you, do you know that?

Sivagaamiyae sivanil neeyum paadhiyae, Adhuvum oonakku puriyumaa?

Siva’s wife, half of siva is you, do you understand that?

From what I see there seems to be relationship between the name Abirami and the God Siva, but I don’t know what that is. Abirami is a common name Tamilnadu. An early search connected it to Lakshmi, which might not be right, as Lakshmi is lord Vishnu’s consort.

Suba laali laali laali laali,
Abiraami laali laali laali...

The context is wonderful, but you can skip to the start of the song picturisation at 4:00.

Elangaathu Veesudhey - Pitamagan

Hindu philosophy holds that man goes through a series of rebirths based on one’s karma until the time he transcends mortal life and becomes one with God. To aid this series of rebirths, Hindu culture requires the son to cremate his parents. Ancestors are one’s ‘pitr’ (pronounced pithr). But if a son does not do the funeral rites of his father, the dead soul cannot ascend to heaven or descend to hell, as his karma might be, so that the cycle of rebirths may continue. Instead, the soul is stuck for eternity in a state of ‘pit’ (pronounced pith) - the worst that could happen.

Pitamagan - means the son of such a soul. Vikram and Surya the main protagonists play one of their career best roles in Bala’s violently earthy film. Vikram is abandoned as a child in a graveyard and is brought up by a man who takes care of the graveyard. In order that the abandoned dead may continue their cycle or rebirths, Vikram performs the funeral rites and cremates them. He meets Surya, a petty conman, who befriends the unsociable, mentally unstable loner. He also meets Surya’s girlfriend and another rough and tumble woman, Sangeetha, who is selling hashish on the sly.

In the context of this song, the hostile, antisocial Vikram is slowly experiencing a new world, opening up to friendships for the first time ever, and receiving a somewhat pitied attraction from Sangeetha, which he also seems to respond to in his own oafish ways. Ilayaraja has been overshadowed by Rahman off late in the music scene, but pieces like this bring back his greatness.

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Elangaathu Veesudhey

A cool wind blows

Isai Poala Paesudhey

It speaks like music

Elangaathu Veesudhey

Isai Poala Paesudhey

Valaiyaadha Moongilil

On a path with no turns

Raagam Valainchu Oadudhey

This melody runs swaying

Maegham Muzhichu Kaetkudhey

The clouds look on wide-eyed, [while]

Karum Paarai Manasula

In a hardened, black heart …

Mayil Thoagai Virikkudhey

… a peacock spreads its tail

Mazhai Chaaral Thelikkudhey

… a light rain drizzles

Pul Veli Paadhai Virikkudhey

… a green grass lays a path

Vaanavil Kudaiyum Pudikkudhey

… a rainbow shelters us like an umbrella

Pul Veli Paadhai Virikkudhey

Vaanavil Kudaiyum Pudikkudhey

Maniyin Oasai Kaettu Mana Kadhavu Thirakkudhey

To the sound of bells this mind’s door opens

Puthiya Thaalam Poattu Udal Kaatril Midhakkudhey

To a new tune, this body walks on wind

Pinni Pinni Chinna Elaiyoadum

Like entwined dry leaves

Nenjai Allum Vanna Thuni Poala

Like a colored robe that hugs the chest

Onnukkonnu Dhaan Inanchi Irukku

There is one fated for each one

Uravu Yellaam Amanchi Irukku

All relationships are defined like that

Alli Alli Thandhu Uravaadum

To generously tear of one’s self

Annamadi Indha Nilam Poala

Like this ever giving land

Silarukku Dhaan Manasu Irukku

Very few have such a mind

Ulagam Adhil Nilaichu Irukku

And the rest of the world is dependent on them

Naethu Thanimaiyila Poachu, Yaarum Thunai Illai

Yesterday was spent alone, with no one to support

Yaaro Vazhi Thunaikku Vandhaal Yaedhum Inai Illai

If one came along on a journey, _tbd_

Ulagathil Edhuvum Thanichu Illaiyae

Nothing is alone in this world

Kuzhalil Raagam Malaril Vaasam Saerndhadhu Poala

The melody joins the flute, and the fragrance joins the flower

Manasula Enna Aagaayam

What is that hurt in your heart

Dhinam Dhinam Adhu Pudhir Poadum

That sows itself again everyday

Ragasiyathai Yaaru Arincha?

Who knows those secrets?

Adhisayathai Yaaru Purincha?

Who understands the surprising?

Vidhai Vidhaikkira Kai Dhaanae

The hand that spreads the seed

Malar Parikkudhu Dhinam Dhoarum

Is also the hand that plucks the bud

Malar Thodukka Naarai Eduthu

And then somebody takes the string

Yaar Thodutha Maalaiyaachu?

And who is that who made the garland?

Aalam Vizhudhilae Oonjal Aadum Kili Yellaam

The birds swinging on the falling roots of the banyan tree

Moodum Siragilae Mella Paesum Kadhaiyellaam

Its descending wings whispers all the stories of the day

Thaalaattu Kaettidaamalae, Thaayin Madiya Thaedi Oadum

Without need for a lullaby, a child finds its mothers lap …

Malai Nari Poalae.......

… and even the feared mountain lion

Vidai Kodu Engal Naade - Kannathil Muthamittaal

Set against the ethnic conflict between the Tamils and the Sinhalese in Tamilnadu, Kannathil Muthamittaal is a touching story of a little girl and her adoptive parents in search of the girl’s real mother. An idealistic father, a girl who has become increasingly distant from her adoptive parents after learning that she was adopted, and the mother who provides equal love are scripted in various dimensions by Maniratnam. Along with Vairamuthu and Rahman, they produce another relevant masterpiece.


The setting for this song is in Sri Lanka. The Tamils are being driven away again by conflict. The song is granted to a person with a coarse voice - a fitting choice that gives a certain authenticity. The singer is heartbroken in being separated from his homeland. He bids his farewell but distantly hopes that one day, maybe, he’ll be back again. The song is of two parallel stories - the separation of a child and her mother as much as the separation of a man and his motherland, both separated by conflict.

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vidai kodu engal naade

grant me farewell my land

kadal vaasal thelikkum veede

where the sea washes against our doorstep

Sri Lanka is an island, and within that the Tamils occupied mostly the northern region that hugged the coast

panai mara kaadae, paravaigal koode

you, the forests of palm and you pigeons

marumurai oru murai paarpoma?

will I ever see you again?

udhattil punnagai pudhaithom

as we part, let us spread a smile across our lips

uyirai udambukkuL pudhaithom

let us hide our soul in our bodies

verum koodugaL mattum oorvalam pogindrom

we are journeying from here only as empty shells

vidai kodu...

grant me farewell

kandhal aanaalum thaai madi pol
oru sugham varuma? varuma? (2)

even if our mother is dressed in rags, is there anything more comforting than her lap?

it is very common to personify the country as one's mother - motherland being an obvious portmanteau

sorgam sendralum sondha oor pol
oru sudhandhiram varuma? varuma?

even if we go to heaven, will it ever be as comfortable as our own village

kaN thirandha desam ange

in this country I opened my eyes

kaN moodum desam enge? (2)

but I know not where they will shut

pirivoam nadhighale pizhaithaal varugirom

let us break up now you rivers, and if errors are made I shall try to come back

meendum thaayagam azhaithaal varugirom

if my motherland weeps again, I shall come try to back

kanneer thiraiyil pirandha mannai
kadaisiyaaga paarkindrom

this land that was born on a floor of tears, is this the last time we shall see each other?

vidai kodu...

grant me farewell

engaL sangeetham piLLaiyin azhugaiyile tholaithom (2)

our music has been lost among the cries of our children

engaL iLam thingaL vedikuNdu pudhaiyile pudhaithom

our !tbd! Has been lost among the noise of bombs

mun nilavil malaril kidandhom,

we used to sleep in the moonlight on flowers

pin iravil mullil kizhindhom

now we spend the night on thorns

kadal neer paravai dhaan irundhaal sandhippom

you sea gulls, if you remain maybe we'll meet again

vaname malaigaLe vaazhndhaal sandhippom

you rivers and mountains, if you survive we'll meet again

thalaiyil konjam nenjil adhigam

with little in our hands, but much weight in our hearts

sumaigaL sumandhu pogindrom

we are leaving with our baggage

vidai kodu...

grant me farewell

Aareyum Bhaava Gaayakanaakkum - Nakhakshathangal

“You are so beautiful, that you make me sing”. Or maybe a few other different interpretations. Whatever it is, I doubt if English can ever do justice to this song. Director Hariharan and writer M.T. Vasudevan Nair have frequently handled light movies with a melancholy theme, and produced some of malayalam cinema’s all time classics. This story is about teenage love among two poor kids. The girl is working as a servant in a rich household. The boy comes there to be a servant too, but gains a little more respectable work with the family when they learn that he is educated. Set in the 1980s, there is a certain purity to the entire movie, the kind of feeling that makes you want to reach out to it, but really can’t.

The third point in the triangle is the rich family’s only daughter who is born deaf and dumb. In India, women, especially in times earlier, become less ‘valuable’ if they have ‘defects’. Knowing that the girl won’t find a suitable husband of their own level and class, and seeing this new mild mannered, well educated boy who has done well for himself, the elders decide to get them married. This song is as the deaf and dumb girl imagines - she assumes that the boy is in love with her.

p.s. this song is so simple and yet has stuck in my head for ever. I tried to translate it but I didn’t like what I had come up with. I didn’t want to ruin the song, so I was thinking of trashing the effort. Then I saw the video which had subtitles and I liked that better than mine. So I’ve pretty much put that now.

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Aareyum bhaava gaayakanaakkum, Aathma soundaryamaanu nee

You have that inner beauty that makes a poet of anybody

Aathma/aathmaavu means soul in a literal translation - so a soulful beauty could word as well. ‘Gaayakan’ is actually a singer, but poet works well too in the context of the movie.

Namra sheersharaay nilppoo nin munnil, Thamra nakshatra kanyakal }2

the stars stand before you, their heads bowed in humility

Aareyum bhaava gaayakanaakkum, Aathma soundaryamaanu nee

Aa..aa..aa..aa.

Kinnara mani thamburu meetti, ninne vaazhthunnu vaanavum}2

the skies sing your praise to the sound of heavenly bells

Thamburu/Tanpura is Indian stringed instrument, but the translation has skipped the name for smoothness. However, isn’t the tanpura more of an accompanying instrument and not necessarily a lead instrument like maybe the veena or the sitar? It ought to be fairly rare to find a song being played for a lover on an accompanying instrument.

Mannile kilippaithalum, mulam thandil moolunna thennalum

even the fledgling on earth, and the breeze that hums in the bamboos

Innithaa nin prakeerthanam ..
Aa..aa..aa..aa.
Ee prapancha hridaya veenayil

Today we hear your praise
In the heartstrings of the universe

’Hridaya veena’ is a veena of the heart - these are the kind of things that make no sense when you translate, but it sounds so right in its original language. Definitely better to completely skip it in the translation and put a phrase that would be somewhere in that same zipcode.

Aa..aa..aa..aa.
aaaaaa..aaaa..aaaaa…aaaaaa..aaaa
(Aareyum bhaava...nee)
(Music)

Aa..aa..aa..aa.}3

Ninte shaleena mounamaakumee ponmanicheppinullilaaay}2

Hidden in the bejeweled box of your serene silence

Moodi vacha nigooda bhaavangal, pookkalaay shalabhangalaay

Those unfathomable fields have today become flowers and butterflies

Innithaaa.. nrithalolaraay …

Today they are dancing

Aa..aa..aa..aa.

Ee prapancha nadana vedhiyil

In the dance hall of the universe

Aa..aa..aa..aa.
aaaaa…aaaaa…aaaaaa.aaaaaa.aaaaa
(Aaareyum bhaava....kanyakal)
(Aareyum bhaava...nee)

Bombay - Malarodu Malar Ingu

This song from the movie Bombay is hardly of note in the movie and I don’t think it pictured in the official soundtrack. But it’s simple and relevant. The setting is after the riots in Mumbai, following the Babri Masjid demolition, have subsided. Arvind Swamy the Hindu husband and Manisha Koirala playing his Muslim wife, already having found out a little earlier that both their fathers died during the riots, have been searching for their missing sons Kabir and Kamal. The song starts at the point where they catch sight of each other across the street after a frantic search. At the same time there is a spontaneous outpouring of people of different religions onto the street forming a human chain of solidarity. For a scene like that, I could have gone “pffft, what over-the-top-jingoistic-feel-good-drama” … but somehow that didn’t happen. I still continue to be moved by this song. The father wails in relief on seeing his children, while the mother rushes forward to gather them. And in that meeting of different religions and families … that union is what is depicted and yearned for in this song.

The tune of this song is however super famous as the theme music for the movie. I was also pleasantly surprised to see it being used in the Nicolas Cage movie, Lord of War.

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மலரோடு மலர் இங்கு மகிழ்ந்தாடும் போது

Malarodu malar ingu magizhnthaadum pothu

When flowers here dance happily with each other

மனதோடு மனம் இங்கு பகை கொள்வதேனோ

Manathodu manam ingu pagai kolvatheno

Why must a heart here hold vengeance against another?

மதம் என்னும் மதம் ஓயட்டும்

Madham ennum madham oayattum

May now the separation of religions disappear

தேசம் மலர் மீது துயில் கொள்ளட்டும்

Dhesam malar meethu thuyil kollattum

May the nation now sleep on a bed of flowers

வழிகின்ற கண்ணீரில் இனம் இல்லையே

Vazhigindra kaneeril inam illaiye

Shed tears are not separated by caste

உதிரத்தின் நிறம் இங்கு வேறில்லையே

Udhiraththin niram ingu vaerillaiye

The blood in our veins is not different in color

காற்றுக்கு திசை இல்லை தேசம் இல்லை

Kaattrukku dhisai illai dhesam illai

The wind has no direction, nor a country

i.e. The wind does not blow in a particular direction for one particular group, nor for a particular region

மனதோடு மனம் சேரட்டும்

Manathodu manam serattum

So allow one’s heart to connect with another’s

மலரோடு மலர் இங்கு...

Malarodu malar ingu...

துளி எல்லாம் கை கோர்த்து கடல் ஆகட்டும்

Thuli ellaam kai korthu kadal aagattum

May little drops join hands and become a sea

கடலோடு கடல் சேரட்டும்

Kadalodu kadal serattum

May the seas themselves join with each other

துகள் எல்லாம் ஒன்றாகி மலை ஆகட்டும்

Thugal ellaam ondraagi malai aagattum

Let the pebbles unite and become a mountain

விண்ணோடு வின் சேரட்டும்

Vinnodu vin serattum

Let the skies join with the heavens

விடியாத இரவொன்றும் வானில் இல்லை

Vidiyaatha iravondrum vaanil illai

There is no night sky that will not become dawn

ஒளியோடு ஒளி சேரட்டும்

Oliyodu oli serattum

May song join song

Pinneyum pinneyum - Krishnagudiyil Oru Pranayakaalathu

Girish Puthencherry’s award winning lyrics are set to charming music by Vidyasagar and sung by Yesudas. The song is sung by a lover who is eagerly but patiently awaiting the coming of the girl of his affections. The actor, Jayaram, plays a station master at a railway post in a hill station. And that’s why there is also the theme of a train running through the song as she will be coming by it.

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പിന്നെയും പിന്നെയും ആരോ കിനാവിന്റെ പടി കടന്നെത്തുന്ന പദനിസ്വനം

pinneyum pinneyum aaro kinaavinte padi kadannethunna padha nishwanam

over and over again, i hear the footsteps of somebody stepping over the threshold of my dreams

പിന്നെയും പിന്നെയും ആരോ നിലാവത്ത് പൊന്‍വേണുവൂതുന്ന മൃദുമന്ത്രണം

pinneyum pinneyum aaro nilaavathu pon venu oothunnu mridhu mandranam

over and over again, i hear the music from somebody playing the golden flute in the moonlight

പിന്നെയും പിന്നെയും ആരോ

pinneyum pinneyum aaro

over and over again, i hear somebody

പുലര്‍ നിലാ ചില്ലയില്‍ കുളിരിടും മഞ്ഞിന്റെ പൂവിതള്‍ തുള്ളികള്‍ പെയ്തതാകാം

pular nila chillayi kuliridum manjinte poovithal thullikal peythathaavam

it could be the sound of the cool morning dew drizzling droplets of mist on the leaves

അലയുമീ തെന്നലെന്‍ കരളിന്റെ തന്ത്രിയില്‍ അലസമായ് കൈ വിരല്‍ ചേര്‍ത്തതാകാം

alayumee thennalen karalile thanthriyil alasamai kai viral cherthathaavam

it could be the sound of the wandering breeze lazily clasping the fingers of my soul

മിഴികളില്‍ കുറുകുന്ന പ്രണയമാം പ്രാവിന്റെ ചിറകുകള്‍ മെല്ലെ പിടഞ്ഞതാകാം

mizhikalil kurukunna pranyamam praavinte chirakukal melle pidanjathaavam

or it could be the sound of the fluttering wings of love on my eyelids

In kerala, when your eye twitches, it is said that somebody who loves you is thinking of you. I think the writer has here personified it, or rather pigeon-ified it and likens it the twitching to a fluttering bird.

താനേ തുറക്കുന്ന ജാലക ചില്ലില്‍ തെളി നിഴല്‍ചിത്രം തെളിഞ്ഞതാകാം

thane thurakkunna jalaka chillil theli nizhal chithram thelinjathavam

or it could be from the appearance of a clear beautiful face in a magically opening window

over and over again, i hear somebody

തരളമാം സന്ധ്യകള്‍ നറുമലര്‍ തിങ്കളിന്‍ നെറുകയില്‍ ചന്ദനം തൊട്ടതാകാം

tharalamam sandhyakal narumalar thinkalin nerukayil chandanam thottathaavaam

it may have been from the _tbd_ twilight putting a touch of sandalwood on the forehead of _tbd_

കുയിലുകള്‍ പാടുന്ന തൊടിയിലെ തുമ്പികള്‍ കുസൃതിയാല്‍ മൂളി പറന്നതാകാം

kuyilukal padunna thodiyile thumpikal kusrithiyal mooli parannathaavam

it may have been the mischievous butterflies humming while darting away from the _tbd_ where the mynas sing

അണിനിലാ തിരിയിട്ട മണിവിളക്കായ് മനം അഴകോടെ മിന്നി തുടിച്ചതാകാം

aninila thiriyitta mani vilakkai manam azhakode minni thudichathaavaam

it may have been my heart, like a lamp wick, shuddering and sparkling joyfully

ആരും കൊതിക്കുന്നോരാള്‍ വന്നു ചേരുമെന്നാരോ സ്വകാര്യം പറഞ്ഞതാകാം

arum kothikkunnoraal vannu cherumennaaro swakaryam paranjathavam

or it may have been somebody secretly whispering that somebody you are anxiously awaiting is about to join you

Unnodu Naan Iruntha - Iruvar

Iruvar, loosely translated to 'Duo' in English, narrates critical periods of Tamilnadu's political history accounted around a friendship that became and later broke. It is based on the relationship between the late actor MG Ramachandran who became the most popular political leader and chief minister of Tamilnadu, and the writer/poet Karunanidhi who has been the chief minister of Tamilnadu often. Technically the film is more than just the lead pair; it is about an ensemble of brilliant people: Maniratnam's direction, Rahman's music, Vairamuthu's lyrics, Mohanlal's acting - one among a line of outstanding actors, Santosh Sivan's camera work. I remember watching it for the first time, loving it for everything. I must admit that the heavy set, literary Tamil spoken in sections of the film was above my head and I probably didn't understand quite a bit of the nuances. Though I was overall enthralled by the movie, I was hoping against hope that it would be a huge commercial success too. That it probably wasn't, but almost every person I've ever discussed this film with has described it with much respect. Oh well, it's one of those things. :-)

This song - more a recital than a song - is in the setting of a poet who is passionately in love within an extra marital affair. The rendition itself is by Arvind Swamy in a voice shaking with passion against a rising crescendo of Rahman's music. Maniratnam chooses an austere, single scene shot, and yet the setting is raw and sensuous. So much in two minutes.

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unnoadu naan irundha ovvoru maNi thuLiyum
maraNa padukkaiyilum maRakkaadhu kaNmaNiyae

every moment that i have spent with you, i will not forget even in my death bed

thonnooRu nimidangaL thottaNaitha kaalam dhaan
ennooRu aaNdugaLaai idhayathil kalangudhadi

the ninety minutes that we spent together, pounds around in my chest like it was eight hundred years

paarvaiyilae sila nimidam

the few minutes we spent gazing at each other

bayathoadu sila nimidam

the few minutes we spent in fear

katti aNaithabadi kaNNeeril sila nimidam

the few minutes we spent in tears, knowing that we were chained by mores

ilakkaNamae paaraamal
ella idangaLilum muththangaL vidhaitha moahathil sila nimidam

without concern for appropriateness, the few minutes we spent laying kisses all over each other

ilakkanam is grammar, and i've loosely translated it to appropriateness in context

unnoadu naan irundha ovvoru maNi thuLiyum
maraNa padukkaiyilum maRakkaadhu kaNmaNiyae

every moment that i have spent with you, i will not forget even in my death bed

edhu jnayam edhu bhaavam iruvarukkum thoandravillai

which is acceptable and which is our personal feeling, neither of us considered it

adhu irava adhu pagala adhai patri aRiyavillai

had the day dawned, had the night set, neither of us knew it

yaar thodanga? yaar mudikka? oru vazhiyum thoandravillai

who started this, who's going to end this. neither of us saw a way

iruvarumae thodangivittoam idhu varaikkum kaeLvi illai

we started it together, and now there exists no questions

acham kaLaindhaen aasaiyinai nee aNaithaay

my fear disappeared, when you ignited my lust

aadai kaLaindhaen vetkathai nee aNaithaay

your robes were shed, and your modesty disappeared

kaNda thirukoalam kanavaaga maRaindhaal

even if i recall that captivating face as nothing but a dream

kadaisiyil azhudha kaNNeer kaiyil innum ottudhadi

I will still feel that last tear you shed as a wetness on my palm

unnoadu naan irundha ovvoru maNi thuLiyum
maraNa padukkaiyilum maRakkaadhu kaNmaNiyae (2)

every moment that i have spent with you, i will not forget even in my death bed