- Lyricist
- Ka. Mu. Sheriff
- Singer
- T. M. Soundararajan
- Music director
- S. Rajeswara Rao
- Movie name
- Pattaliyin Vetri
- Movie release year
- 1960
- Lyrics added on
- 3 Feb 2025
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
This moralistic song from Pattaliyin Vetri highlights the vital impact of association on a person's reputation. Even if an individual lives an innocent life without committing any wrongdoing intentionally, keeping company with corrupt or wicked individuals inevitably brings unjust infamy upon them. To illustrate this, the lyricist uses a famous traditional Tamil metaphor: if someone drinks innocent milk while sitting beneath a palm tree, onlookers will automatically assume they are drinking toddy (palm wine). The song concludes with a strong moral lesson warning the listener to remember this truth and actively seek the friendship of righteous people as a primary life duty.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Proverbial Metaphor (பழமொழி உவமை)
“Panai maraththin keezhirunthu Paalai kudiththaalum Paarppavargal kankalukku Paalaai therinthidumo”
Uses the traditional Tamil adage ('Panai marathadiyil paal kudiththaalum kallu enbaargal') to convey that being in suspicious company or context causes good actions to be misinterpreted.
Initial Alliteration (மோனை - Monai)
“Nallorgal natpai Naaduvathu kadamaiyadaa”
Repetition of the 'Na' sound across adjacent words in the line for rhythmic harmony.
Rhetorical Question (வினா நவிற்சி)
“Paalaai therinthidumo”
The line asks whether drinking milk under a palm tree will look like milk to onlookers, expecting an emphatic 'no' to drive home the moral truth.
Did you know?
Trivia
The lyrics by Ka. Mu. Sheriff draw heavily from traditional ethical Tamil literature and proverbs. Pattaliyin Vetri (1960), starring M. G. Ramachandran in a guest appearance alongside T. S. Balaiah, features several such songs advocating social morality, hard work, and righteous living.
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