- Lyricist
- A. Maruthakasi
- Singer
- Seerkazhi Govindarajan
- Music director
- K. V. Mahadevan
- Movie name
- Sabaash Mapillai
- Movie release year
- 1961
- Lyrics added on
- 18 Feb 2020
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
Sirippavar Silaper Azhubavar Palaper is a socio-philosophical song from the 1961 Tamil film Sabaash Mapillai, written by lyricist A. Maruthakasi. The song highlights the stark social inequality prevalent in society, contrasting the comfortable lives of a privileged few with the suffering of the impoverished majority who work tirelessly yet sleep on footpaths.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Antithesis (Ethirsol)
“Sirippavar silaper azhubavar palaper”
Contrasting 'Sirippavar' (those who laugh) with 'Azhubavar' (those who weep), and 'silaper' (a few) with 'palaper' (many) to highlight socio-economic disparity.
Initial Rhyme (Monai)
“Uyarndhavar thaazhndhida thaevaiyillai / Ulladhai izhandhida sollavillai”
Repetition of the initial letter 'U' in consecutive lines ('Uyarndhavar', 'Ulladhai', 'Uzhaippavar').
Rhetorical Question
“Irukkum nilai endru maarumo”
Asking existential questions about social reform to provoke thought rather than seek direct answers.
Did you know?
Trivia
The song features music composed by K. V. Mahadevan and was famously rendered by Sirkazhi Govindarajan. Lyricist A. Maruthakasi was well known for embedding rationalist and socio-economic equality themes into mainstream Tamil cinema.
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