- Lyricist
- Gangai Amaran
- Music director
- Ilayaraja
- Movie name
- Manjal Nila
- Movie release year
- 1982
- Lyrics added on
- 14 Apr 2021
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
'Bussey Bus-il Colour-re' is a playful, upbeat youth song from the 1982 Tamil movie Manjal Nila, written by Gangai Amaran. The track captures the humorous exuberance of local street youth waiting at a bus stop to admire young women arriving on the public transport bus. The protagonist and his group poetically liken the arriving lady to a divine green parrot and a delicate flower, playfully suggesting that her arrival warrants breaking coconuts and burning incense as if worshipping a deity. Throughout the track, the lyrics employ casual street slang ('machchi'), mythology-inspired teasing (referencing Radha and Krishna), and local cultural references such as Chennai's famous 'Pallavan' buses. The overall vibe is celebratory, lighthearted, and reflective of 1980s Tamil cinema's bus-stop romance tropes.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Metaphor (Uvamaani)
“Nalla pachchikili vanthu erangum”
Compares the attractive young lady arriving at the bus stop to a bright green parrot ('pachchikili') and a tender bud ('manith thalirae').
Antadi (Aandhadhi / Chain Linking)
“Bussey bus-il colour-re / Colour-il pala vidhaththu malarae”
The opening lines chain the ending word/concept of one line to the start of the next (colour -> malarae -> thalirae -> silarae -> ilarae).
Anaphora / Repetition (Adukku Thodar)
“Alli alli koduppaandaa hoi”
Repetition of words like 'alli alli' and 'killi killi' to create rhythm and intensify the emotion of admiration.
Cultural Allusion & Hyperbole
“Namma bus stand-kku thengaai odai / Oodhuvaththi karpooraththa Yaeththi vachchu vendikkalaam”
Uses exaggeration by suggesting lighting camphor and breaking coconuts at a bus stand for a girl, while referencing Pallavan Transport buses.
Did you know?
Trivia
The song references 'Pallavan', which refers to the Pallavan Transport Corporation (PTC), the iconic state-run public bus service operating in Chennai (then Madras) during the 1970s and 1980s before it was reorganized into the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC).
Keep listening
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