K. S. Chithra and Padmaja Sreenivasan voice ‘Nee Pogiraai’ in Tanuj Menon’s composition for the album ‘Sanjeevan’. Lyricist Sabarivasan Shanmugam crafts a dual lament: a friend mourns companionship lost, while a mother grieves her child. The arrangement balances gentle instrumentation with vocal intensity.
Released: December 5, 2022
Nee Pogiraai
Padmaja Sreenivasan | Tanuj Menon • From “Sanjeevan”
Sabarivasan Shanmugam’s Tamil lyrics present direct questions about unfair loss. A mother recalls carrying her child in the womb, now confronting their lifeless form on the street. The friend compares their bond to joined tree branches suddenly broken midway through life’s journey.
Nee PogiraiYou’re leaving.
Nanbane Nee PogiraiMy friend, you’re leaving.
Thozhane Van PogiraiMy companion, you’re going to the heavens.
Yar PizhaiyoWhose fault is this?
Nee PogiraiYou’re leaving.
Nanbane Nee PogiraiMy friend, you’re leaving.
Thozhane Van PogiraiMy companion, you’re going to the heavens.
Yar PizhaiyoWhose fault is this?
Poo UthirumFlowers are falling,
Punnagai TheeyenilaIs your smile just a flicker of flame in the moonlight?
Thol ThazhuvumOn the shoulders that once embraced you,
Tholgalil Than ThanalaIs there nothing left but burning embers?
Nam SirithaThe sound of our laughter,
Osaiyum OivathuvaWill it finally fade away into silence?
Ther SarinthuAs if a chariot has overturned,
Veedhiyil SaivathuvaMust our life together collapse on the street?
Parvaigal NeeMy eyes are searching for you,
Vara YengutheLonging for your return.
Pathaigal UnnThe paths we walked,
Thadam KettidutheAre asking for your footprints.
Kilaithan PolaveLike branches of a single tree,
Natpinil SernthomadaWe were joined together in friendship.
Pathiyil NeeWhen you break away halfway through,
Murithal MuraiyaIs that really fair?
ParaiyoSpeak to me,
Oru Murai Paraiyo VizhiyeLook at me just once with your eyes.
Viral ThodaTo touch my fingers,
Varaiyo Neeyum UyireWon’t you come back, my soul?
Enathuyirai AnuppukirenI’m sending my own life force to you.
Imai Thiranthu Nee Va VaOpen your eyelids and come back to me.
Nee IndriWithout you here,
Nanum YenWhy do I even exist?
Ethirinil Nee NilladaStand right here in front of me,
Enn Per SolladaAnd call out my name.
ThaniyaneI’m all alone now,
Un NilaaI’m your lonely moon.
KaruvinileThe one I carried in my womb,
Sumantha UnnaiTo see you like this,
Theruvinile ParppathuvoMust I see you lying lifeless on the street?
Thai Paalin EerathilWith the moisture of a mother’s milk still on you,
Marbil ThavazhnthavanYou once crawled upon my chest.
Marappu SelaiyaiLike the end of a fallen garment,
Mannil KidappathaMust you lie here on the bare earth?
Uthirathai UrukkiyeI melted my own blood,
Unathu Thegam SeitheneTo create your precious body.
Uyirathai UthariyeNow you’re casting your life away,
Neeyum Than PovathaAre you really leaving me?
Meendum KaruvoramShould I gather you up again,
Unai Alli SerkkavaAnd take you back into the safety of my womb?
Kalan NerungamalSo that Death cannot come near,
Thunai VaravaShould I come along as your companion?
Nee PogiraiYou’re leaving.
Thangame Nee PogiraiMy golden one, you’re leaving.
Chellame Van PogiraiMy darling, you’re going to the heavens.
Yar PizhaiyoWhose fault is this?
Poo IthazhgalThose flower-like lips,
Mounathil MoozhguvathaAre they drowning in eternal silence?
Pal MazhalaiYour innocent, milky babbling,
Padaiyil VeezhvathuvaIs it falling onto a ‘funeral bier’?
ThooliyilIn your cradle,
Nan Kanda Unn MughamThe face I used to gaze at,
Malaigal SoozhnthidaSurrounded by ‘funeral garlands’,
KanpathuvaIs this how I must see it now?
ThalattileTo the sound of my lullabies,
Thoongiya Enn MaganMy son, who used to sleep so peacefully,
Sanjeevan’s Nee Pogiraai lyrics in English reveal how shared memories amplify grief’s weight. Multiple voices express disbelief at untimely separation. This approach makes the lyrics translation valuable for understanding layered Tamil mourning expressions.
