- Lyricist
- M. S. Subramaniyam
- Singer
- Seerkazhi Govindarajan
- Music director
- M. Ranga Rao
- Movie name
- Ivan Avanethan
- Movie release year
- 1960
- Lyrics added on
- 6 Sept 2025
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
This classic melancholic song expresses deep anguish over the plight of an innocent woman suffering due to her husband's cruelty and neglect. The lyrics invoke a traditional Tamil adage—that even a ghost would feel pity for a woman—to highlight how unjust and unfeeling her husband's stone-like heart is. The song laments how her domestic happiness has been shattered into a storm of tears, questioning whether her devotion and service deserve such a cruel twist of fate.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Proverb / Cultural Allusion
“Penn endraal peyum manam irangumandro”
Refers to the popular Tamil saying 'Penn endraal peyum irangum' (Even a ghost's heart melts for a woman) to highlight the severity of the husband's coldness.
Metaphor
“Kal nenjamaa ival mel vanjamaa”
Compares an unfeeling, cruel heart to hard stone ('Kal nenjamaa').
Rhetorical Question
“Antho idhu niyaayamaa”
Repeated questioning of 'is this justice?' (Antho idhu niyaayamaa) to emphasize moral outrage and helplessness.
Metaphor
“Puvi vaazhvin aanantham puyalaanath”
Compares life's joys turning into chaos to a destructive storm ('puyalaanath').
Did you know?
Trivia
The song from 'Ivan Avanethan' (1960) features music composed by M. Ranga Rao and powerful vocal delivery by Seerkazhi Govindarajan, who was celebrated for bringing dramatic theatrical depth and emotional intensity to classical Tamil songs.
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