- Lyricist
- Thanjai N. Ramaiah Dass
- Singers
- S. C. Krishnan, Swarnalatha
- Music director
- G. Ramanathan
- Movie name
- Kathanayaki
- Movie release year
- 1955
- Lyrics added on
- 30 Sept 2025
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
This playful folk-style song from Kathanayaki (1955) presents a humorous banter between a shepherd girl and a persistent male suitor. The girl initially sings 'Aalolam'—a traditional chant used by farm guards to scare away animals from eating crops—demanding that stray cattle, sheep, and goats leave her field alone. The suitor enters, referencing the mythological story of Lord Murugan pursuing Valli, asking for her 'address' and expressing his willingness to go in disguise if she rejects him. The lyrics combine traditional Tamil folk idioms with humorous contemporary English loanwords (such as 'spoil', 'sense', 'address', 'jambar', 'fraudu', and 'father'), a signature style of lyricist Thanjai N. Ramaiah Dass. The heroine responds by calling him out on his foolishness and warning him that her father is about to arrive.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Folk Refrain (Aalolam)
“Aalolam….aalolam”
Aalolam is an ancient Tamil pastoral vocalization used by farm wardens to shoo birds and animals away from grain crops.
Incremental Repetition (Climax/Epanalepsis)
“Maarkkaththil kanda kanda kanda kanda kanda”
The phrase 'Maarkkaththil kanda' builds incrementally line by line, adding rhythmic momentum before delivering the key detail of the sentence.
Code-Mixing / Tanglish Parody
“Payiraiyellaam spoil pannaathae”
Blending English words like 'spoil', 'sense', 'address', 'fraudu', and 'father' into a traditional pastoral Tamil setting for comedic effect.
Emonai / Rhyme (Monai and Ethirai)
“Bedhai ennai thaali kattum / Pedi pola odi vanthu”
Assonance and internal rhyming between 'Fraudu' / 'Bedhai' / 'Pedi' / 'Bodhai' creates a bouncy rhythmic structure.
Did you know?
Trivia
Lyricist Thanjai N. Ramaiah Dass was renowned in 1950s Tamil cinema for introducing early forms of 'Tanglish' in comedy tracks. In this song, he reimagines the classical Valli-Murugan romance through an urbanized comedy lens set to traditional tunes composed by G. Ramanathan.
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