- Lyricist
- Kannadasan
- Singer
- S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
- Music director
- M. S. Vishwanathan
- Movie name
- Avargal
- Movie release year
- 1977
- Lyrics added on
- 24 Feb 2018
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
Angum Ingum Paadhai Undu from K. Balachander's 1977 masterpiece Avargal expresses the profound emotional dilemma, confusion, and existential crisis faced by the female protagonist. Standing at a critical crossroad in life, she is caught between her painful past, her present circumstances, and an uncertain future. Lyricist Kannadasan uses allegories of crossroad paths, days, and deities to portray her inability to choose a definitive direction. The song explores themes of fate versus human agency, noting that no matter how one tries to script their own life story, fate acts as an editor that alters the narrative. Caught in the middle like a parrot on a swing, her life hangs between being an endless serial, a past memory, or an unsolved riddle.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Metaphor (உருவகம்)
“Gnyaayir undu thingalundu / Endha naal undhan naaloo”
Sunday (Sun/Gnyaayir) and Monday (Moon/Thingal) represent contrasting choices, pathways, and male influences in the protagonist's life.
Personification (உருவகப்படுத்தல்)
“Aval ezhudhum kavidhaigalai / Vidhi pugundhae thiruththudhammaa”
Fate (Vidhi) is personified as a entity that actively enters her life and rewrites/edits the poems (plans) she has written.
Metaphor (உருவகம்)
“Vellaiyulla killai ondru / Naduvil oonjal ondru”
The innocent heroine is metaphorically compared to a pure parrot (killai) trapped on a swing in the middle of conflicting relationships.
Emonai / Monai (Alliteration - மோனை)
“Kannaa endraal murugan vandhaan / Murugaa endraal kannan vandhaan”
Repetition of initial consonant sounds like 'Ka' in 'Kannaa' and 'Kannan' creating rhythmic musicality.
Did you know?
Trivia
Avargal (1977), directed by K. Balachander, features music composed by M. S. Viswanathan with lyrics by Kannadasan, and this iconic song was sung by S. P. Balasubrahmanyam. In the film, the song sequence features Kamal Haasan performing ventriloquism and puppetry to express the internal dilemma of the protagonist played by Sujatha.
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