- Lyricist
- Kannadasan
- Singers
- P. Susheela, T. M. Soundararajan
- Music director
- K. V. Mahadevan
- Movie name
- Muthu Mandapam
- Movie release year
- 1962
- Lyrics added on
- 27 Apr 2020
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
The song 'Porkalam' from Muthu Mandapam (1962) metaphorically equates romantic love to a battlefield where lovers playfully duel with emotion, glances, and charm rather than weapons. The lyricist Kannadasan uses military imagery like horses, bows, and battlegrounds to depict the gentle clash between male desire and female bashfulness.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Uruvam (Metaphor)
“Kaadhal ennum porkalam”
Love is directly metaphorized as a battlefield ('Kaadhal ennum porkalam'), bashfulness as a horse ('Naanam endra kudhirai'), and desire as a bow ('Aasaiendra villu').
Adukku Thodar / Repetition
“Kannum kannum paaindhu paaindhu”
Repetition of words like 'Kannum kannum' and 'paaindhu paaindhu' creates rhythm and emphasizes the intensity of visual exchange.
Ethirai (Second-letter Rhyme)
“Pattam pettr pen endraalum / Sattam kattra aan endraalum”
Rhyming of the second letter across lines such as 'Pattam' and 'Sattam' or 'Kanni' and 'Pinnugindra'.
Antithesis / Irony
“Sattam kattra aan endraalum Thaarathin munn adimaiyae”
Contrasting external societal stature (holding degrees or mastering laws) with vulnerable surrender in romantic intimacy.
Did you know?
Trivia
Muthu Mandapam (1962), starring S. S. Rajendran and Vijayakumari, featured music composed by K. V. Mahadevan with lyrics by Kannadasan. Kannadasan's playful usage of martial metaphors to describe marital intimacy made this duet a memorable comedic-romantic highlight.
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