- Lyricist
- A. Maruthakasi
- Singer
- K. Jamunarani
- Music director
- K. V. Mahadevan
- Movie name
- Mahalakshmi
- Movie release year
- 1960
- Lyrics added on
- 5 Oct 2024
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
Paal Paal Pasumpaal from the 1960 movie Mahalakshmi is a upbeat, playful song composed by K. V. Mahadevan and rendered energetically by K. Jamunarani. The song centres around a female milk vendor pitching her pure, high-quality cow's milk to passersby. Lyricist A. Maruthakasi cleverly uses double entendre and puns on the word 'paal'—which means milk as well as category, section, or gender in Tamil. Beyond advertising milk as a remedy to turn a thin person (like a snake gourd) into a robust one (like a pumpkin), the song weaves in high Tamil literary concepts. It references 'Muppaal' (the three sections of Thirukkural: Aram, Porul, Inbam) and 'Iru paal' (male and female genders), contrasting these old 'paals' with her fresh, delicious 'kadaippaal' (shop milk). It remains a shining example of witty lyricism in golden-age Tamil cinema.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Pun / Wordplay (Sledai)
“Arivai valarppadhu muppaal”
Exploiting the homonym 'Paal', which means 'milk' (cow's milk) as well as 'section/category/gender' (Muppaal, Iru paal).
Simile (Uvamai)
“Pudalanagaai pola irukkum / Udal poosanikaai pola perukkum”
Comparing a skinny person to a snake gourd (pudalangai) and a well-nourished body to a pumpkin (poosanikai).
End Rhyme (Iyaippu)
“Idhamaai irukkum ippaal / Idhu theerndhaal kedaikkadhu appaal”
Consistent rhyming suffix ending with '-paal' (ippaal, appaal, thanipaal, sirippaal, muppaal).
Did you know?
Trivia
Lyricist A. Maruthakasi was renowned for weaving deep educational and literary references into catchy street-vendor songs. Here, he seamlessly connects Thirukkural literature (Muppaal) and human genders (Iru paal) into a milk vendor's sales pitch, making high literature accessible through popular music.
Keep listening
Songs with a similar feeling
From the same album
More songs from Mahalakshmi
View albumSpot an issue?
Help us improve the lyrics or English translation.