- Lyricist
- Vairamuthu
- Singer
- S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
- Music director
- Shyam
- Movie name
- Jaathi Pookkal
- Movie release year
- 1987
- Lyrics added on
- 14 Mar 2021
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
Aasaigal Thaeinthathae from Jaathi Pookkal (1987) is a deeply melancholic song about heartbreak, misfortune, and helplessness in the face of fate. The speaker laments how all their cherished dreams and desires have slowly worn away, metaphorically describing how life's beautiful flower garden has transformed into sharp thorns and how their life's vessel has capsized mid-stream. The lyricist Vairamuthu personifies Time as a relentless hunter firing inescapable arrows of adversity. Burdened by unmerited blame and realizing that life is fleeting and mirage-like, the speaker feels like a fallen instrument playing a song of grief, yearning in vain for solace.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Metaphor (Uruvagaim)
“Kaalam ennum vana vedan”
Time is directly conceptualized as a forest hunter shooting fatal arrows ('Kaalam ennum vana vedan').
Simile (Uvamai)
“Kaanal neeraai kadhaiyanathe”
Life's tragedy is explicitly compared to a mirage using the suffix '-aai' ('Kaanal neeraai').
Personification & Metaphor
“Veenai ondru mann melae / Veezhnthae soga pann paaduthe”
A fallen musical instrument (Veena) is personified as singing a song of grief upon the earth.
End Rhyme (Iyaibu)
“Aasaigal thaeinthathae / Poonj cholaiyum mullaanathae”
Matching tail endings with '-athae' across consecutive lines (thaeinthathae, mullaanathae, saainthathae, kangalae).
Did you know?
Trivia
Written by lyricist Vairamuthu, the song employs classic Tamil literary imagery such as 'Kaanal neer' (mirage) and 'Vana vedan' (forest hunter) to express existential sorrow. 'Jaathi Pookkal' is a lesser-known 1980s Tamil drama film featuring emotionally charged compositions.
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