- Lyricist
- Kannadasan
- Singer
- P. Susheela
- Music director
- Vishwanathan-Ramamoorthy
- Movie name
- Shanthi
- Movie release year
- 1965
- Lyrics added on
- 29 May 2020
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
'Oorengum Maappillai Oorvalam' is a deeply comforting and reassuring song from the 1965 Tamil classic film 'Shanthi'. Set against traditional Tamil wedding festivities—replete with grand groom processions and mango leaf decorations—the song serves as a beacon of hope for a young woman yearning for love, companionship, and marriage. Through philosophical lyrics, poet Kannadasan instills optimism, reassuring her that divine providence listens to pure desires and will grant them at the right time. The song highlights the virtue of true love, emphasizing that a soulmate will look beyond external appearances and value the warmth of the heart. It delivers a powerful consolation that no virtuous woman is destined by fate to suffer in solitude forever, assuring that happiness and wedded bliss will inevitably arrive.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Ethugai (Second Letter Rhyme)
“Iraivan veettil erigindra dheepam / Iru vizhi polae vara vaendum”
The second letter 'ra' (ர) rhymes in 'Iraivan' and 'Iru'.
Monai (First Letter Rhyme / Assonance)
“Iraivan veettil erigindra dheepam / Iru vizhi polae vara vaendum”
The opening vowel sound 'I' (இ) is repeated at the start of both consecutive lines.
Iyaipu (End Rhyme)
“Oorengum maappillai oorvalam / Veedengum maavillai thoranam”
The lines end with matching rhyming sounds 'oorvalam' and 'thoranam'.
Simile (Uvamai)
“Iraivan veettil erigindra dheepam / Iru vizhi polae vara vaendum”
The divine lamp burning in God's home is explicitly compared to a person's glowing pair of eyes using 'polae' (like).
Imagery & Visual Motif
“Veedengum maavillai thoranam”
Evokes rich Tamil cultural imagery of festoons made of mango leaves hung across doors during wedding celebrations.
Did you know?
Trivia
The song 'Oorengum Maappillai Oorvalam' features in the 1965 Tamil film 'Shanthi', starring Sivaji Ganesan and Devika. The music was composed by the legendary duo Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy (M. S. Viswanathan and T. K. Ramamoorthy) during the final year of their original golden collaboration before they separated. Sung soulfully by P. Susheela, the song remains one of Kannadasan's classic philosophical compositions that offers solace to women awaiting marriage.
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