Alaiypayuthey

A song that talks about love and devotion

I often listen to podcasts or music while commuting. Yesterday evening I started a radio session from one of my favourite songs and unexpectedly landed on ‘Alaiyapayuthey’.

Several thoughts emerged as I drove through the frustrating Delhi traffic. It’s kinda interesting because the Tamil word ‘Alaiyapayuthey’ means “waves are flowing/hitting”.

Devotion and Love

Is it right to use a devotional song in a romantic context? It may sound a bit puritanical in a sense. But this is as devotional as one can get in life. The emotion of love is probably the strongest and hardest to handle.

The amount of turbulence that it brings can only be compensated by the steady devotion and patience that one has for god.

This thought has often ruined me but with every iteration of the destruction my faith in it only keeps increasing. Maybe someone worthy of this devotion will turn up. The lyrics of this song is worth examining.

I refer to my favourite music blog Music To My Ears for the most authentic and well-thought translations. The only value I add by reproducing the author’s words is a bit of editing that helps better readability.

Pallavi

alai pAyudE kaNNA en manam migha alai pAyudE
un Ananda mOhana vEnugAnamadil

My mind is as restless as the waves in an ocean as I listen to the happy, bewitching sound of the flute you play.

Anupallavi

nilai peyarAdu shilai pOlavE ninra
nEramAvadariyAmalE migha vinOdamAna muralIdharA en manam (alai)

I stand transfixed like a statue, unaware of even of the passage of time, oh my mysterious flautist!

CaraNam

teLinda nilavu paTTappaghal pOl eriyudE un dikkai nOkki enniru puruvam neriyudE

The moon is clear and shines as bright as the day. I seek you, my brows drawn.

kaninda un vENugAnam kATril varugudE kaNgaL shorugi oru vidham varugudE

The breeze brings in the sound of your mellow flute music and my eyes close involuntarily in ecstasy.

Madhyama kaalam

kaditta manattil urutti padattai enakku aLittu magizhtta vA oru tanitta vanattil aNaittu enakku uNarcci

Come, bless me with your feet and melt my heavy heart, filling me with happiness! Come, embrace me in a lonely grove and make me flower with sensations!

koDuTTu mugizhtta vA kalai kaDal alaiyinil kadiravan oLiyena iNaiyiru kazhal-enakkaLittavA

Come to the waves of the roaring ocean and give me your two feet which are equal to the light of the sun.

kadari manamuruga nAn azhaikkavO idara mAdaruDan nI kaLikkavO idu taghumO idu muraiyO

While I call out for you in despair, are you frolicking with other women?

idu dharumam tAnO kuzhal UdiDum pozhudu AdiDum kuzhaigaL pOlavE manadu vEdanai mighavODu

Is this right? Is it fair? Like your ear-ornaments lurch when you play the flute, so too my mind lurches in grief.

The Movie

I remember watching this movie and it is one of the best works of the famed director Maniratnam. Though I would not give out any spoilers, I must say that the movie has artistic taste.

It shows that the fleeting emotion of love has to go through so much effort and tribulations to reach fruition. The characters demonstrate that love is so messy and chaotic, but if you can stick around and endure, it is probably worth it.

They falter and hurt each other, but eventually they come around.

Sometimes, I feel frustrated to know that this long winding drama. I often check out and say goodbye to too much drama.

But it turns out that people love it. Am I not people?

When I revisit the plot of this movie, I often wonder whether I lacked patience and devotion that this enterprise requires. I don’t know. One can’t award certificates to oneself.

But I highly recommend this movie.

Ciao.