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Lyrics & meaning

Kai Kotti Siripaargal

From Apoorva Raagangal · 1975

Lyricist
Kannadasan
Singer
Siyak Mohammed
Music director
M. S. Vishwanathan
Details
Apoorva Raagangal1975

Lyrics & meaning

Tanglish lyrics English translation
Male
Kai kotti sirippaargalThey will clap their hands and laugh
Ooraar sirippargalThe townspeople will laugh
Vilaiyaattu kalyaanamaeA playful marriage
Tharum vibareedha uravaagumaeWill yield disastrous relationships
Male
Kai kotti sirippaargalThey will clap their hands and laugh
Ooraar sirippargalThe townspeople will laugh
Vilaiyaattu kalyaanamaeA playful marriage
Tharum vibareedha uravaagumaeWill yield disastrous relationships
Thalai maari kaal maarumaeHead and feet will get reversed
Angu sondhangal thadumaarumaeThere, relationships will falter
Male
Veenai than narambaiWhen a finger plucks
Viral meettum podhuThe string of a veena
Mirudhanga oli thondrumaaWill the sound of a mridangam emerge?
Vilakkaettri eduthuIf a lamp is lit
Pagal neram vaithaalAnd kept during daytime
Izhaigindra oli thondurmaaWill it emit useful light?
Male
Karakkindra paalaiThe milk that is milked
Surakkindra madikkulBack into the secreting udder
Anuppudhal nadakkaadhammaaCannot be sent back, my dear
Karakkindra paalaiThe milk that is milked
Surakkindra madikkulBack into the secreting udder
Anuppudhal nadakkaadhammaaCannot be sent back, my dear
Pirakkindra aasaiIf a desire that is born
Thavaraaga irundhaalIs wrong
Nadakkavum koodaadhammaaIt must not happen, my dear
Male
Vilaiyaattu kalyaanamaeA playful marriage
Tharum vibareedha uravaagumaeWill yield disastrous relationships
Thalai maari kaal maarumaeHead and feet will get reversed
Angu sondhangal thadumaarumaeThere, relationships will falter
Kai kotti sirippaargalThey will clap their hands and laugh
Oooraar sirippargalThe townspeople will laugh

Beyond the translation

Song interpretation

This song from K. Balachander's 'Apoorva Raagangal' serves as a philosophical warning against entering into unnatural, socially destructive, or improper relationships. It highlights that treating marriage lightly or defying fundamental social logic invites public mockery and creates confusion where core familial roles become chaotic and inverted. Through poetic metaphors—such as expecting a veena to produce the drumbeats of a mridangam, lighting a lamp under the daylight sun, or attempting to push milk back into a cow's udder—Kannadasan stresses that certain actions and unnatural desires defy the laws of nature and should never be pursued.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Metaphor / Rhetorical Question (Uvamai & Vinaa)

Veenai than narambai Viral meettum podhu Mirudhanga oli thondrumaa

Comparing incompatible social matches to plucking a veena string and expecting a mridangam sound, emphasizing the absurdity of defying nature.

Analogy of Irreversibility

Karakkindra paalai Surakkindra madikkul Anuppudhal nadakkaadhammaa

Using the impossible act of putting milk back into an udder as an analogy for actions and desires that cannot be reversed once committed.

Iyaibu (End Rhyme)

Tharum vibareedha uravaagumae / Thalai maari kaal maarumae

The rhythmic repetition of the suffix '-umae' across multiple lines ('uravaagumae', 'maarumae', 'thadumaarumae') creates melodic coherence.

Did you know?

Trivia

Apoorva Raagangal (1975), directed by K. Balachander, featured music by M. S. Viswanathan with lyrics by Kannadasan. The film's revolutionary plot revolves around complex inter-generational relationships (a young man loving an older woman, while his father loves her daughter), which directly aligns with the song's theme of 'vibareedha uravu' (contrary relationships).

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