- Lyricist
- T. N. Rajappa
- Singer
- A. P. Komala
- Music director
- T. R. Pappa
- Movie name
- Athma Shanthi
- Movie release year
- 1952
- Lyrics added on
- 31 Oct 2020
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
This melancholic song reflects deep philosophical disillusionment with romantic love and human existence. Love is characterized as a painful obsession and an illusion built in the mind. The singer addresses their own heart, urging it to cease desiring worldly pleasures, comparing life to a passing play or drama where joy vanishes into thin air like ephemeral dreams, concluding that birth itself is steeped in sadness.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Metaphor (Uruvagamaai)
“Verum maanaseega kottaiyae”
Love is directly equated to an imaginary castle ('maanaseega kottai') and a painful intoxication ('thunbamaana bodhai').
Simile (Uvamai)
“Sugam kanavugal polae kaatrodu pomae”
Pleasures vanishing into the wind are explicitly compared to dreams using the comparative marker 'polae'.
Metaphor (Uruvagamaai)
“Manidharin vaazhvae naadagam”
Human existence is metaphorically framed as a theatrical stage/drama ('naadagam').
Alliteration (Monai)
“Manamae nee ini aasai kolladhae”
Initial letter 'Ma' is repeated across lines ('Manamae', 'Manidharin', 'Manamariyaa'), giving rhythmic structure.
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Trivia
'Athma Shanthi' (1952) was produced simultaneously in Tamil and Malayalam. T. N. Rajappa penned the lyrics for the Tamil soundtrack, reflecting early Tamil cinema's affinity for deeply philosophical and existential song lyrics.
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