- Lyricist
- Panchu Arunachalam
- Singer
- P. Leela
- Music director
- Pendyala Nageswara Rao
- Movie name
- Jagathalaprathaban – 1961 Film
- Movie release year
- 1961
- Lyrics added on
- 15 Jan 2023
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
Irudhayam Kalla is a deeply emotional devotional prayer from the 1961 Tamil film Jagathalaprathaban. Sung with immense pathos by P. Leela, the song captures the desperate cry of a distressed mother seeking divine intervention from the Goddess. Surrounded by impending danger and threatened by bad omens, she questions whether the divine mother's heart has turned to stone, as her prayers seem unanswered. Throughout the song, the protagonist surrenders completely to the Goddess, asking if her lamp of hope will go out and who else will save her child if not the Mother herself. The song highlights themes of absolute faith, maternal anxiety, and divine refuge.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Rhetorical Question (Vinaa)
“Irudhayam kalla thaiyai varavillaiyoo”
Multiple lines ask rhetorical questions to convey grief, helplessness, and urgency.
Metaphor (Uruvagamm)
“Aasai dheebamum anaindhu pogumo”
Hopes and desires are metaphorically referred to as a burning lamp ('Aasai dheebam').
Refrain / Repetition
“Irudhayam kalla thaiyai varavillaiyoo”
The chorus line asking if the Mother's heart has turned to stone is repeated to emphasize emotional distress.
Monorhyme / Edhukai
“Innum sollidavoo / Endrum sodhanaiyoo”
Rhythmic pairing and second-letter matching between 'Innum' and 'Endrum'.
Did you know?
Trivia
This track showcases P. Leela's mastery over devotional and emotional expressions in Tamil cinema. The film's music was composed by Telugu maestro Pendyala Nageswara Rao, blending classical Carnatic nuances into mythological narrative cinema.
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