Kolaveri-Di: A song of love

A popular saying in Tamil goes like this: "All that is done is because of a woman, and all that is undone is also because of a woman". Now you may wonder why this Tamil Proxy here? The reason is Dhanush and his 'Kolaveri-Di'.

Kolaveri-Di is a song of love, isolation, and a feeling of unfulfilled relationship. It is a sensation that has obsessed an entire generation of youth. Certainly, people do say that love is the weather of all times, but I always had a feeling of reluctance towards it. However, as Kolaveri-Di swarms swiftly across the romantic paradigms of Indian society, I too have begun to think in such terms.

A lot of people asked me about is the meaning of Kolaveri. And every time I encountered this question, my reply would simple - 'it is blood-thirsty rage'. Now, I feel that it is not blood-thirsty rage or killer-rage (as I happened to see in a web-site) but its meaning is 'obsession' or 'am too obsessed' with special reference to this song. It is the indescribable obsession towards a mate that is being aimed at and shot at in this song. When you are possessive about someone so dear, no matter what they do in response, you just love them. This possessiveness in all its seriousness becomes a strong obsession.

In this song, the modern-day love story is described in a Tanglish way (a mixture of two different languages - Tamil and English). Tanglish because words like Kolaveri, di (similar to ri the likes of O ri chori) and some chosen English words are arranged in different sentences in a disarrayed manner.

The song is an expression of what a boy feels when he is obsessed with a girl and finds himself in a soup at the non-consummation of love or a proposition to that effect. The song is very straight for it is to be understood by a listener who knows not Tamil but should get a total feel through the element of universality that has been achieved by this song number.

Gone are the days when people used to utter to me, "aiyaiyo" as soon as they would come to know that I am a Tamil. Now I think, with this song Dhanush has liberated all Tamils. Now it will be just, 'kolaveri kolaveri di...." that will be uttered by all the non-Tamils to show that they do know something in Tamil.

I feel that the song has expressed a Guy's feeling in a short and crisp manner and expect the girls not to get annoyed but to come up with songs that express themselves (not making a tit for tat of course).