- Lyricist
- Pattukkottai Kalyanasundram
- Singer
- Jikki
- Music director
- Vishwanathan-Ramamoorthy
- Movie name
- Paasavalai
- Movie release year
- 1956
- Lyrics added on
- 3 May 2020
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
This poignant song expresses the deep anguish and despair of a virtuous woman who finds her once-happy household reduced to utter chaos and grief. She questions her destiny and wonders why divine justice seems to have gone silent or fallen asleep, leaving her to suffer despite her innocence and purity of heart. The lyricist draws vivid imagery, comparing her plight to a helpless speck of straw tossed in a stormy ocean and to threshold decorations that fade away into nothingness. The song laments the tragic suffering that often befalls righteous people in a deceitful world, constantly yearning for the day when this overwhelming darkness will end.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Upamai (Simile)
“Thiraikadalil thurumbenavae”
Compares the protagonist's helpless struggle in life to a piece of straw floating precariously in a ocean.
Personification
“OOmaiyaanadhoo needhi urakkam kondadho”
Justice (needhi) is personified as a human being who has either lost its voice (oomaeyaanadhoo) or fallen asleep (urakkam kondadho).
Uruvagam (Metaphor)
“Thunba irulum manathuyarum”
Sorrow is metaphorically described as darkness (thunba irulum) enveloping the mind.
Esubhu (Rhyme / End Rhyme)
“Ellaam alangolamoo / Idhuvum en kaalamoo”
Use of lingering long vowel sounds '-oo' at the end of lines to convey prolonged grief and questioning tone.
Did you know?
Trivia
Paasavalai (1956) featured music composed by the duo Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy, with lyrics by the legendary social philosopher-poet Pattukkottai Kalyanasundaram. Sung heart-wrenchingly by P. Leela, the song captures the core thematic tragedy of the film's heroine.
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