- Lyricist
- Kannadasan
- Singer
- P. Susheela
- Music director
- M. S. Vishwanathan
- Movie name
- Anbulla Athan
- Movie release year
- 1981
- Lyrics added on
- 18 May 2023
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
This song is a deeply melancholic reflection on a woman's emotional and social struggles in love. Using ocean and pearl metaphors, she describes her journey through life's deep waters carrying her precious purity and love. Though she faced mid-journey adversity, lost her modesty, and missed the auspicious moment of formal union, she mourns her fallen state while longing for her lost happiness. Despite feeling like a damaged oyster shell that has lost its status, she holds firm belief that her beloved possesses the divine compassion of God to truly comprehend her innocent heart and suffering.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Iyaibu (End Rhyme)
“Azhakkadalil neendhi vandhen / Aani muthai yendhi vandhen”
The lines end with matching rhyming suffixes like 'vandhen' / 'vandhen' and 'velaiyilae' / 'paadhiyilae' to create a melodic rhythm.
Uvamai (Simile)
“Aandavan pol avan arivaan”
The lyricist explicitly compares the hero's understanding and divine empathy to God using the comparative word 'pol'.
Uvagam (Metaphor)
“Sippi idhu kettadhudhaan / Seer izhandhu ponadhu thaan”
Life's vast trials are allegorized as a deep ocean ('Azhakkadal'), and her innocence/virtue/child as a precious pearl ('Aani muthu') inside an oyster shell ('Sippi').
Edugai (Second-letter Rhyming)
“Chinnamuthu sittumuthu / Vannamuthu vaasamuthu”
The second consonant 'nna' rhymes consistently across adjacent phrases to build classical Tamil poetic meter.
Did you know?
Trivia
Composed by M. S. Vishwanathan with lyrics by Kannadasan, this song stands out as a classic example of Kannadasan using ocean metaphors ('Aani muthu', 'Sippi') to represent feminine modesty, destiny, and life's tragic turns in 1980s Tamil cinema.
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