- Lyricist
- Pulamaipithan
- Singer
- K. J. Yesudas
- Music director
- Shankar Ganesh
- Movie name
- Niraparaadhi
- Movie release year
- 1984
- Lyrics added on
- 25 Jul 2022
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
This powerful track from Niraparaadhi (1984) serves as a fierce social critique against the hypocrisy of a society that reveres women as divine goddesses ('Dheivam') while subjecting them to extreme poverty, exploitation, and injustice. The song highlights the plight of struggling mothers driven to desperation by hunger and poverty, while condemning systemic failures where law and righteousness lie dormant. Through scathing rhetoric, lyricist Pulamaipithan questions both societal morality and God's silence in the face of suffering and cruelty inflicted upon the helpless.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Rhetorical Question
“Dheivaththin koyil enna kallaraigalthaanaa”
The lyricist uses rhetorical questions to challenge societal hypocrisy regarding the treatment of women.
Personification
“Sattathukku urakkam dharmaththukku mayakkam”
Abstract concepts like law ('sattam') and righteousness ('dharmaththukku') are personified as sleeping and fainting.
Ethukai (Second-letter Rhyme)
“Pillaikku paalillai Paalukku kaasillai”
Rhyming of second consonants across adjacent lines or words to create rhythmic harmony ('Pillaikku' / 'Pasi').
Metaphor
“Nadhiyengum thanneer ival sinthum kanneer”
Comparing the river's water to the endless tears shed by suffering women.
Did you know?
Trivia
Composed by the legendary music director duo Shankar-Ganesh and rendered with intense emotion by K. J. Yesudas, the song features lyrics by veteran poet Pulamaipithan. The song showcases intense angst and philosophical questioning characteristic of 1980s Tamil cinema's social drama genre.
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