- Lyricist
- Bharathidasan
- Singers
- Seerkazhi Govindarajan, Chorus
- Music director
- M. S. Vishwanathan
- Movie name
- Chandhrodhayam
- Movie release year
- 1966
- Lyrics added on
- 7 Nov 2019
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
'Pudhiyadhor Ulagam Seivom' is a iconic revolutionary poem written by 'Puratchi Kavingnar' Bharathidasan, adapted into the 1966 MGR-starrer film 'Chandhrodhayam'. The anthem is a passionate call to build a new, progressive, and peaceful society free from war, oppression, narrow-mindedness, and social injustice. It urges drawing wisdom from scholars and thinkers to nourish public thought and drive social progress. The song strongly highlights women's rights, asserting that a society that ignores the well-being of women cannot achieve true progress. It further encourages bold self-expression, fearless journalism, and using the power of the written word as a force to oppose tyranny and uphold human dignity.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Monai (Initial Alliteration)
“Podhu makkal nalam naadi / Pudhu karuthai cholga”
Matching of initial consonant sounds across words, such as 'Pudhiyadhor' and 'Podhu' or 'Kurugiya' and 'Kuvalayam'.
Metaphor (Uruvagam)
“Arinjar tham idhaya odai”
Describing the wisdom and empathy of scholars as a deep stream of water ('idhaya odai').
Anaphora / Repetition
“Pudhiyadhor ulagam seivom”
Repeated use of the refrain 'Pudhiyadhor ulagam seivom' to reinforce the core message of revolutionary change.
Did you know?
Trivia
Written by the acclaimed Tamil poet Bharathidasan, this poem is one of the most famous egalitarian anthems in modern Tamil literature. In the 1966 movie 'Chandhrodhayam', music director M. S. Viswanathan set it to music, and it was sung by T. M. Soundararajan, perfectly fitting MGR's screen persona as a champion of the working class.
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