- Lyricist
- Kannadasan
- Singer
- T. M. Soundararajan
- Music director
- Master Venu
- Movie name
- Pudhiya Pathai – 1960
- Movie release year
- 1960
- Lyrics added on
- 16 Dec 2024
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
This social reform song composed by Master Venu with lyrics by Kannadasan serves as a poignant critique of societal superstitions regarding widowhood in mid-20th-century Tamil society. The song empathetically comforts a young widowed mother, reassuring her that losing her husband physically does not diminish her soul, intellect, or fundamental value as a human being.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Wordplay / Pun (Sledai)
“Udal vidhavaiyaanathaalae / Manam vidhaiyaavathillai…”
Kannadasan cleverly contrasts 'vidhavai' (widow) with 'vidhai' (seed), asserting that a widowed body does not mean a mind devoid of potential or life.
Irony / Social Satire
“Oru mirugam podum soolam / Nalla sagunam endru sollvaar / Than thunai izhantha pennai / Vegu thooram nirkka vaippaar”
Points out the absurdity of society worshipping female temple idols and considering pregnant animals lucky while treating living human widows as ill-fated.
Nature Metaphor
“Poongodiyil vidhavai illai / Maan kulaththil vithavai illai”
Illustrates that nature makes no distinction or stigma of widowhood among plants and animals; only human intellect has become 'widowed' through prejudice.
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Trivia
Written during the height of social reform movements in Tamil cinema, Kannadasan's lyrics reflect rationalist themes questioning ancient orthodoxy. The film 'Pudhiya Pathai' (1960) starring T. S. Balaiah and Saroja Devi dealt heavily with themes of widow remarriage and social upliftment.
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