- Lyricist
- Kannadasan
- Singer
- Seerkazhi Govindarajan
- Music director
- R. Govarthanam
- Movie name
- Porsilai
- Movie release year
- 1969
- Lyrics added on
- 6 Oct 2023
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
Naalai Pozhuthu Undhan is an inspiring philosophical song from the 1969 Tamil film Porsilai, composed by R. Govarthanam, penned by lyricist Kannadasan, and sung with majestic conviction by Seerkazhi Govindarajan. The song serves as a moral beacon and a message of hope for anyone experiencing hardships, reassuring the listener that continuous faith and ethical living will inevitably bring better days ahead. Kannadasan weaves deep social and spiritual values into the song: feeding the hungry is equated to directly receiving divine grace, humanity is simplified to just two true categories (male and female) under one universal divine justice, and ill intentions like deceit and jealousy are warned to act like boomerang-like weapons that destroy their creators. Ultimately, enduring trials with truth leads to guaranteed victory, representing the profound core wisdom of sacred scriptures.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Monai (Initial Alliteration)
“Naalai pozhuthu undhan / Nalla pozhuthaagumendru”
Repetition of the initial letter/sound 'Na' across consecutive lines to create rhythmic flow.
Upamai (Simile)
“Eettiyin munai poalada adhanai / Yeidhavan madivaanada”
Compares evil tactics like gambling, lies, and jealousy to a spear's sharp tip ('Eettiyin munai poalada'), emphasizing how malice harms the instigator.
Iyaibu (End Rhyme)
“Paramanum panivaanada kanindhu / Pakkatthil varuvaanada”
Use of matching end suffixes ('-vaanada') across line endings to reinforce musical cadence.
Allusion (Literary Reference)
“Aanendrum pennendrum / Aandavan seidhu vaittha / Jaadhiyum irrenddaeyada”
The line asserting that there are only two castes ('Jaadhiyum irrenddaeyada') directly references Tamil poetess Avvaiyar's famous verse in Nalvazhi ('Jaathi irandozhira verillai').
Did you know?
Trivia
The theme of 'two castes' in Kannadasan's lyrics is an adaptation of classical Tamil poetess Avvaiyar's statement that the only two real castes in the world are those who give charitably and those who do not (or simply male and female). Music composer R. Govarthanam, who often worked alongside veteran duo Viswanathan-Ramamoorthy, crafted this energetic tune, which became a staple motivational song broadcast on All India Radio Tamil programs during the 1970s.
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