நான் அன்றி யார் வருவார் Naan Andri Yaar Varuvaar

நான் அன்றி யார் வருவார் | Naan Andri Yaar Varuvaar — Between Absence and Arrival

🎬 Film: Maalaiyitta Mangai (1958)
🎵 Music: Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy
🖋️ Lyrics: Kannadasan
🎙️ Singers: T. R. Mahalingam, A. P. Komalam
🎼 Rāgams: Ābhōgi & Vālaji

🎧 Listen:

I. Prelude — The Question and the Frame

“நான் அன்றி யார் வருவார், அன்பே நான் அன்றி யார் வருவார்”
“Who will come except me, my dear; who will come except me?”
Kannadasan frames the song as a repeated, intimate question: not merely a call for companionship, but an ontological probe. The refrain acts like a bell — calling both to a beloved and to the self that seeks.

II. The Exact Lyrics (Tamil → Transliteration → English)

• நான் அன்றி யார் வருவார் அன்பே நான் அன்றி யார் வருவார்
  Naan indri yaar varuvaar, anbē, naan indri yaar varuvaar
  Who will come except me, my dear? Who will come except me?
• இளநங்கை உன்னை வேறு யார் தொடுவார்
  Ilanangai unnai veru yaar thoduvaar
  Young woman, who else will touch you?
• நான் அன்றி யார் வருவார் அன்பே நான் அன்றி யார் வருவார்
  (repeated chorus)
• ஏன் இல்லை இன்றொருவன் அருகில் வந்தான்
  Yen illai indroruvan arugil vandhaan
  Why is it — today someone came close?
• முத்தம் எனக்கே என்றான் கொண்டான் தந்தான்
  Muththam enakke endraan, kondaan, thanthaan
  He said “a kiss is for me,” he took it and gave it.
• பேசாமல் பேசுகின்றான்
  Pesamal pesugiraan
  He speaks without speaking.
• வண்ணம் பாடாமல் பாடுகின்றான்
  Vannam paadamal paadugiraan
  He sings without singing a song.
• வண்ணப் பாவை உந்தன் இதழ் கோவை தன்னில் இந்த காயம் என்ன வந்த மாயம் என்ன
  Vannap paavai unthan idhazh kovai thannil, intha kaayam enna, vantha maayam enna
  Oh colourful maiden, on your lips like a garland — what is this wound? What is this magic?

II-A. The Rāgam Ābhōgi — The Grammar of Yearning

To understand the tender grammar of Naan Indri Yaar Varuvaar, one must first pause at the architecture of its melodic soul — Ābhōgi.

A derivative (janya) of the 22nd Mēḷakarta, Kharaharapriya, Ābhōgi is an audava–audava rāgam — meaning it draws upon five notes each in ascent and descent, omitting pañchamam and niṣādam. Its symmetric structure reads:

Ārohaṇam: S R₂ G₂ M₁ D₂ Ṡ
Avarohaṇam: Ṡ D₂ M₁ G₂ R₂ S

Within this pentatonic brevity lies poetic restraint. The jīva swara — the living tone — is G₂ (sādhāraṇa gāndhāram), tender and tremulous; while D₂ (chatusruti dhaivatam) gives it a subtle afterglow. Ābhōgi’s lineage is unmistakably Carnatic, yet it has wandered gracefully into Hindustani music, where it aligns with the Kafi thaat and occasionally manifests as Abhogi Kanada.

The rāgam’s very design suggests incompleteness — a deliberate incompletion that feels emotionally whole. The absence of pañchamam and niṣādam lends Ābhōgi its distinctive inward ache: an introspection suspended between supplication and serenity.

In the alchemy of Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy, this rāgam becomes a voice of hesitation and humility — the sound of a heart waiting for recognition. When the melody later tilts towards Vālaji, it isn’t a sharp departure but a Graha bhedam — a shift of tonic that subtly reorients the same notes into a new radiance. Thus, yearning (Ābhōgi) melts into revelation (Vālaji).

It is perhaps this metamorphosis — one raga becoming another without losing itself — that mirrors the lyric’s own philosophical movement: from “Who will come without me?” to “Who am I, without you?”

(For reference: Ābhōgi – Wikipedia, Vālaji – Wikipedia, Graha bhedam on Ābhōgi)

III. Rāga & Texture — Ābhōgi’s Yearning and Vālaji’s Luminescence

The song’s emotional architecture rests on a deft pairing of Ābhōgi (melancholy, introspective) and Vālaji (open, luminous). Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy employ minimal orchestration — flutes, muted strings, and rhythmic patience — so that silence itself becomes part of the melody.

IV. Lyricism & Imagery — Kannadasan’s Quiet Metaphysics

Kannadasan transforms everyday intimacy into quiet philosophy. Each paradox — “பேசாமல் பேசுகின்றான் / வண்ணம் பாடாமல் பாடுகின்றான்” — suggests a presence beyond articulation. The final image of the wounded lips is both sensuous and spiritual — the beloved as mirror of the soul’s own ache.

V. Performers — Mahalingam & Komalam as Dialogic Agents

T. R. Mahalingam lends devotional gravitas; A. P. Komalam replies with softness. Their interplay is not romantic banter but the dialogue of self and reflection. Each phrase seems to answer the other’s silence.

VI. Closing Reading — Wound, Wonder, and the Responsibility of Presence

“Who will come except me?” is not boast but vow. It is the lover’s promise, the devotee’s responsibility, the artist’s duty. The closing question — “இந்த காயம் என்ன? வந்த மாயம் என்ன?” — leaves us hovering between pain and enchantment. It is the human condition, sung into eternity.

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