Skip to content
Isaimozhi
Lyrics & meaning

Endru Thaniyum Male

From Kappalotiya Tamizhan · 1961

Lyricist
Mahakavi Subramanya Bharathiyaar
Singer
Trichy Loganathan
Music director
G. Ramanathan
Details
Kappalotiya Tamizhan1961

Lyrics & meaning

Tanglish lyrics English translation
Chorus
Vandhe maadharamI bow to Mother India (Vande Mataram)
Vandhe maadharamI bow to Mother India (Vande Mataram)
Vandhe maadharamI bow to Mother India (Vande Mataram)
Male
Endru thaniyum indha sudhanthira thagam..When will this thirst for freedom be quenched?
Endru thaniyum indha sudhanthira thagam..When will this thirst for freedom be quenched?
Endru madiyum engal adimayin mogam..When will our obsession with servitude perish?
Endru madiyum engal adimayin mogam..When will our obsession with servitude perish?
Endru thaniyum indha sudhanthira thagam..When will this thirst for freedom be quenched?
Male
Endru yemadhannai kai vilangugal pogum..When will the shackles on our Mother's hands be removed?
Endru yemadhannai kai vilangugal pogum..When will the shackles on our Mother's hands be removed?
Endru yemathinnalgal theernthu poiyaagum..When will our afflictions end and turn into mere illusions?
Endru thaniyum indha sudhanthira thagam..When will this thirst for freedom be quenched?
Male
Panjamum noiyum nin meiyadi yaarko..Are famine and disease meant only for your true devotees?
Parinil menmaigal verini yaarkko…Who else on this earth deserves all the supreme glories?
Panjamum noiyum nin meiyadi yaarko..Are famine and disease meant only for your true devotees?
Parinil menmaigal verini yaarkko…Who else on this earth deserves all the supreme glories?
Male
Thanjam adaintha pin kai vidalaamo…Having sought your refuge, can you forsake us?
Thanjam adaintha pin kai vidalaamo…Having sought your refuge, can you forsake us?
Thaai undhan kuzhandhayai thallida pomo?Will a mother ever push her own child away?
Thaai undhan kuzhandhayai thallida pomoWill a mother ever push her own child away?
Male
Endru thaniyum indha sudhanthira thagam..When will this thirst for freedom be quenched?
Endru madiyum engal adimayin mogam..When will our obsession with servitude perish?
Endru thaniyum indha sudhanthira thagam..When will this thirst for freedom be quenched?

Beyond the translation

Song interpretation

This iconic song from 'Kappalottiya Tamizhan' (1961), written by Mahakavi Subramanya Bharathiyar, expresses the intense agony, yearning, and deep patriotic thirst of Indians fighting for freedom from British colonial rule. The lyrics are framed as a series of impassioned rhetorical questions inquiring when the burning desire for independence will be satisfied and when the psychological bondage of slavery will finally come to an end. The poet personifies the nation as a divine Mother currently bound in chains. He questions the tragic irony of her loyal children suffering from famine, poverty, and disease while others prosper. Appealing directly to Mother India's maternal nature, he asks if a mother could ever abandon her children who have sought her protection. The song stands as a powerful anthem of the Indian Independence Movement, combining nationalist fervor with emotional vulnerability.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Monai (Initial Rhyme / Anaphora)

Endru thaniyum indha sudhanthira thagam.. / Endru madiyum engal adimayin mogam..

Repetition of the opening word 'Endru' across successive lines creates a driving, questioning rhythm that emphasizes the urgency of the poet's plea.

Metaphor (Uruvagam)

Endru thaniyum indha sudhanthira thagam..

The intense desire for political independence is metaphorically framed as 'thagam' (thirst) that desperately seeks to be quenched.

Personification

Endru yemadhannai kai vilangugal pogum..

The motherland (India) is personified as a living mother wearing 'kai vilangugal' (hand shackles/manacles).

Rhetorical Question

Thaai undhan kuzhandhayai thallida pomo?

The poet asks whether a mother can push her child away, a question expecting no answer, used to emphasize absolute trust in the ultimate deliverance of the nation.

Ethugai (Second-letter Rhyme)

Panjamum noiyum nin meiyadi yaarko.. / Parinil menmaigal verini yaarkko…

The second consonant ('n' sound / 'r' sound harmony in Tamil poetic convention) links the ideas of hardship and glory.

Did you know?

Trivia

'Endru Thaniyum Indha Sudhanthira Thagam' is a classic nationalistic poem composed by Mahakavi Subramanya Bharathiyar during the Indian freedom struggle. In the 1961 biographical film 'Kappalottiya Tamizhan', directed by B. R. Panthulu, the song was placed at a crucial narrative point portraying the sacrifices of V. O. Chidambaram Pillai (played by Nadigar Thilagam Sivaji Ganesan). The musical score by G. Ramanathan and the deeply moving vocal rendering by Tiruchy Loganathan immortalized this poem in Tamil cinema history.

Keep listening

More from Kappalotiya Tamizhan