Nallai Allai... That Poetry and Lost Love Go Unspoken

Every once in a while there comes a poem or a melody that leaves you smiling for no reason. Nallai Allai from Maniratnam's latest, is one such rare combination of a song of simple being yet complex meaning. A chance switching of channels caught me watching Karthik, the hero of Katru Veliyidai singing the opening lines of the song. It brought a smile instantly. Later that evening a "sangam poetry" exploring cousin messages asking if I heard the song and talks about a specific stanza where Vairamutthu pens stunningly a lover's yearning to touch the evolving face of his beloved by using the analogy of the stages of a flower blooming.
"Mugai Mugil Muthendra Nilaigalile
Mugam Thoda Kaathirunthen
Malar Endra Nilai Vittu
Poothirunthaal Manam kolĺa (மணம் கொள்ள) Kaathirunthen
Magarantham Thedi Mugarum Munne
Veyil Kaattil Veezhnthuvitaai"

I was hooked. I just had to hear the song and reckon. The obvious classic poetry reference in the haunting refrain "Nallai Allai" was enough to set my senses soaring. Sheer beauty that image from the 47th song of Kurunthogai invokes... Nallai Allai simply put means, "This is Not Fair"

The context of the Kurunthogai song is that a young girl sings to the moon for her lover who comes to walk by at night. She just scolds the moon that the nature of the moon and the illusions it conjures are simply  not fair.

Here is the text if the 47th Song from Kurunthogai:

பாடல்

கருங் கால் வேங்கை வீ உகு துறுகல்
இரும் புலிக் குருளையின் தோன்றும் காட்டிடை
எல்லி வருநர் களவிற்கு
நல்லை அல்லை நெடு வெண்ணிலவே!


Roughly (even badly) translated to : The moonlight makes believe that the image created by the huge Vengai tree whose flowers shed and cover a boulder that lies close by look like a young tiger cub... similarly the moonlight camouflages her image to the eyes of the lover who comes in search of his lady - this is unfair.
And Vairamutthu uses this larger image by simply using the two words Nallai Allai. Beauty!

This is not the first time the Kurunthogai inspires Vairamutthu. The ethereal melody Narumugaiyea draws from the 40th song of the same work. He seems to be the bridge connecting a lost era in poetry to an era of empty noises so the discerning, verse starved listener can actually negotiate life. His use of the words "yakkai thiri, kadhal chudar anbe... piravi pizhai kadhal thiruttham" in a disco number fetured in Aytha Ezhutthu is another fine example of bridging the classical with contemporary.

Moving on... back to the rest of Nallai Allai...

Vaanil Thedi Nindraen
Aazhi Nee Adainthaai
Aazhi Naan Vizhunthaal
Vaanil Nee Ezhunthaai


The word aazhi... root of the lovely utterance aazham meaning depth of the sea. What better way to describe pursuit than use the images of the abyss and galaxy! And when Satya Prakash with that husk and plea says "Ennai Natchathira Kaattil Alaiya Vittaai... Naan Endra Ennam Tholaiya Vittaai" one wants to rush to the aching heart and light a lamp or two for him to find his way back to life. Kudos Satya Prakash for that unperturbed, silky rendition. You do complete justice to ARR, Vairamutthu, Manirathnam, and Karthik's unmistakable glint of eye charms.

Just when you recover from the plight of the distressed, bewilderness the next stanza hits you with...

Oligalin Thedal Enbathellaam
Mounathil Mudikindrathe
Mounathin Thedal Enbathellaam
Gnanathil Mudikindrathe
Naan Unnai Thedum Velaiyile Nee
Megam Soodi Odi Vittaai

An extension of the search in the sky metaphor... the first and last line are brilliant. Juxtaposing silence, knowledge and bereavement.

Then comes the lines that actually introduced the song to me, made me take notice. I would have entirely missed the point had my cousin not brought it up.

Mugai Mugil Muthendra Nilaigalile
Mugam Thoda Kaathirunthen
Malar Endra Nilai Vittu
Poothirunthaal Manam மணம் கொள்ள Kaathirunthen
Magarantham Thedi Mugarum Munne
Veyil Kaattil Veezhnthuvitaai

In his words I quote "We were breaking our heads on why mugil( cloud) has to come here when he is talking about flowers. Google panninappo vandhudhu arumbu, mottu, mugai...So adhula mugai denotes the phase when petals start to just open up out of the bud . That process is called "mugizhdhal"

Unquote.

How beautifully the yearning of a lover who wants to touch the face of his beloved is described! But alas! before he could wed his priced flower, just bloomed, she is lost in the forest of aridness. Heart wrenching!

And then the last few lines extending the flower metaphor...

Nallai allai naaarum poove nee nallai allai. Mullai kollai nee nallai allai....

Still trying to understand the "naarum poove nee" bit. Is it simply referring to the fragrance of the flower or a reference to the bird naarai which thrives on the water lilly? Adding to the uncertainty is the closing part which uses the term Mullai kollai nee nallai allai. I am still figuring it out. And I am reminded of another beautiful melody in which the same Vairamutthu says "kavidhai vadivin suvai arttham puriyum varai" the flavour of poetic lines last until comprehension... I beg to differ. This song simply gets more beautiful as I decipher the meaning of each word layered rooted and drenched in sheer beauty of sangam.

Vairamutthu aiyya you have outdone yourself. And thanks to the Mozart of Madras for the simple melody that allows the poetry to thrive.