The beauty of this song can only be understood if you understand the character Arjun. He has a disillusioned view of relationships and family from his divorced parents. When he meets Sarah, a paraplegic, he is amazed by her positive outlook and how she deals with life’s adversities. She’s like a breath of fresh air who brings light into his cynical heart.
To listen to the song, click play:
Aethu kari raavilum, oru cheru kasavu* izha thunnum kiraname…
ee hridaya vaathilin pazhuthilum ozhuki varoo
[In any dark night, the ray of light which sews a golden strand…
please flow through my heart’s keyhole too]
Arikilae, puthu mandaaramayi, vidaru nee
Punaruvaan kothi thonnunnoree, pulariyil
[Near me, like a new mandaaram flower, you bloom
Where I feel I could hug someone (for warmth), in this (chilly) morning]
Angu engo nin pon peeli** minnunnuvo,
Athil onnente nenchoram eyunnuvo
[I see your eyelashes flashing
And that sends a dart flying to my heart]
Unarnnu njaan
[And I woke up]
Aethu kari raavilum, oru cheru kasavu* izha thunnum kiraname…
ee hridaya vaathilin pazhuthilum ozhuki varoo
[In any dark night, the ray of light which sews a golden strand…
please flow through my heart’s keyhole too]
Neeyaam, aathmaavin sankalpam enningane…
mindathe mindunnathu entho
[You, my soul’s imagination…
what are you saying without saying to me]
Orkkathirunnappol ennullil nee… vannu
[Even when I wasn’t thinking of you…you came(in my mind)]
Thirasheela maattum orma polave… sakhee
Oru naalamayi poothulanju nee ninnu enthino
[Like a memory peeping from behind a curtain…my friend
Like a flame, you bloomed in my thoughts]
Arikilae, puthu mandaaramayi, vidaru nee
Punaruvaan kothi thonnunnoree, pulariyil
[Near me, like a new mandaaram flower, you bloom
Where I feel I could hug someone (for warmth), in this (chilly) morning]
Njaanaam, ekantha sangeetham innangane…
manveena thedunna neram… padatha pattinte thenthulli nee… thannu
[Me, the lonely music, today was…
searching for a veena… a silent song’s nectar, you… gave me]
Theli neela vaanil eka thaaramaayi, sakhee
Oru raavil doore ninnu nokki… nee enne
[In the clear blue sky, like a single star, my friend
one night, from a distance.. you looked at me]
Aethu kari raavilum, oru cheru kasavu* izha thunnum kiraname…
ee hridaya vaathilin pazhuthilum ozhuki varoo
[In any dark night, the ray of light which sews a golden strand…
please flow through my heart’s keyhole too]
Arikilae, puthu mandaaramayi, vidaru nee
Punaruvaan kothi thonnunnoree, pulariyil
[Near me, like a new mandaaram flower, you bloom
Where I feel I could hug someone (for warmth), in this (chilly) morning]
Angu engo nin pon peeli** minnunnuvo,
Athil onnente nenchoram eyunnuvo
[I see your eyelashes flashing
And that sends a dart flying to my heart]
Unarnnu njaan
[And I woke up]
*kasavu – the gold zari/jari on saree borders. Izha means thread, so light is being compared to a thread of kasavu.
** peeli – not sure if it is meant as a peacock’s feather ( mayil peeli) or eyelashes (kan peeli). I took it as kan peeli as peacock is male and it is weird for the lady to be compared to a male bird.
+ Image copyright to the original uploader
This is such a beautiful translation! Thank you for this 🙂
pin perfect translation brother, kudos to your work.
Thank you so much Thumbi for these meaningful lines ❤️❤️
Very nice and meaningful translation, far better than the automated one from hotstar. Mandaaram can be snowy orchid or white orchid
Peeli is peacock feather
You mean peahen feather, because otherwise they are comparing a girl to a peacock (a male bird). 🙂
I did mention that in the note if you read it.
Kasavu nothing but ray or simply line. In the word ‘kasayati’ kasa means blood rays or blood lines appear on the body after beating with ‘saatai’.
Kasavu has nothing to do with blood in Malayalam. It is a cloth. Have you heard of kasavu saree? That is the off white Kerala saree with gold border we usually wear for Onam festivities.
/punaruvaan kothi thonunnoru ee pulariyil/ for this line , I think your translation may be wrong. It’s /thonunnoru ee/, not thonunnoru. If it so, in the boy’s body a kind of heat (kothi) forms, which appears to (thonunnoru) unite or mate or cuddle with the girl at the dawn. Usually during dawn, the testosterone level is high, so the feeling to mate and body heat is high, it’s what the lyricist tried to convey. If in case my interpretation is wrong, kindly correct me.
Lol, I don’t get what in your suggestion is different than what I have translated there. The “feeling to mate” is taking it to another level which at this point in the movie is probably a stretch. They were still out on innocent dates, so I don’t see why the translation has to take “testosterone levels” into consideration. I went for the emotional feel of the song, not how it sounds physically.
Also thonnunnoree is a combination of three words – thonnunna – oru – ee. So, it is not wrong.
Punaruvaan kothi thonnunn(a)-or(u)-ee pulariyil: In this dawn, where I yearn to cuddle/embrace.
Fell in love with the song without knowing the meaning. Now I know the meaning and it sounds absolutely poetic. THANK YOU.