- Lyricist
- Pulamaipithan
- Singer
- D. Srinivas
- Music director
- Shankar Ganesh
- Movie name
- Jadhikkoru Needhi
- Movie release year
- 1981
- Lyrics added on
- 4 Feb 2022
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
Ondru Saernthu Selluvom is a rousing revolutionary anthem from the 1981 film Jadhikkoru Needhi, penned by the noted lyricist Pulamaipithan. The song serves as an empowering rallying cry for farmers, agricultural laborers, and the oppressed working class to unite and stand shoulder-to-shoulder against feudal oppression and socio-economic injustice. It questions the unfair system where hardworking tillers of the soil live in extreme poverty while dishonest landowners claim the fruits of their labor. Through bold rhetoric, the song explicitly champions class struggle (Varkka puratchi) as the necessary path to achieve equal rights, reclaim dignity, and teach a lesson to corrupt exploiters.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Monai (First Letter Alliteration)
“Thozhanukku thol koduththum”
Repetition of the initial 'th' sound across words creates a rhythmic and memorable rallying beat.
Ethugai (Second Letter Rhyming)
“Paadupatta annai bhoomi / Paadamum pugattalaam”
Matching of the second consonant sound 'd' across consecutive poetic lines.
Rhetorical Question
“Nelmanikku sonthakkaaran yaaradaa”
Asking 'Who is the rightful owner of the harvest grain?' to provoke critical self-awareness and class consciousness among workers.
Personification / Metaphor
“Paadupatta annai bhoomi”
Refers to the earth as a mother who has labored alongside the hardworking farmers.
Did you know?
Trivia
Written by Pulamaipithan, a renowned poet-lyricist celebrated for his ideological and reformist Tamil lyrics, this song emphasizes Marxist class consciousness ('Varkka puratchi'). The film Jadhikkoru Needhi (1981) dealt heavily with social justice, anti-caste themes, and the empowerment of marginalized communities.
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