- Lyricist
- Panchu Arunachalam
- Singer
- T. M. Soundararajan
- Music director
- K. V. Mahadevan
- Movie name
- Kanni Thaai
- Movie release year
- 1965
- Lyrics added on
- 23 Sept 2019
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
This song is a social-reformist anthem addressing a young child's questions about social inequality. The singer explains how economic progress in the nation often neglects the impoverished working class. The song advocates for equal distribution of wealth, socialist reforms, and legal mechanisms to compel the wealthy to support the underprivileged so that prosperity ('milk and honey') reaches even the humblest huts.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Mondhai / Emonai (Second-letter Assonance)
“Iruppavanga kodukkanum / Illaadhadhai edukkanum”
The second consonant 'ru' repeats across adjacent words, creating rhythmic harmony.
Metaphor (Uvamai / Uruvagamm)
“Kuruvi vaazhum koodu”
The line compares the tiny, fragile living conditions of poor families directly to a sparrow's nest.
Idiomatic Hyperbole (Uruvagak Kooru)
“Ezhai kudisaikkullae paalum thaenum / Aaraa odanum”
'Paalum thaenum aaraa odanum' uses the traditional idiom of milk and honey flowing like a river to represent abundant prosperity.
Did you know?
Trivia
Kanni Thaai (1965) featured M. G. Ramachandran in the lead role and was produced by Devar Films. Music for the film was composed by K. V. Mahadevan, and the lyrics reflected the strong Dravidian socialist reform motives prominent in MGR's cinema during the 1960s.
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