- Lyricist
- Udumalai Narayanakavi
- Singer
- T. S. Bhagavathy
- Music director
- C. S. Jayaraman
- Movie name
- Ratha Kanneer
- Movie release year
- 1954
- Lyrics added on
- 28 Feb 2025
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
This poignant song expresses the intense grief and plight of a devoted wife whose life and home have been ruined by her husband's foolish decisions and betrayal. She laments how her peaceful family life—metaphorically described as a river of honey—was poisoned, and how she was discarded like a household lamp in favor of a mere firefly.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Metaphor
“Veettu vilakkai thalli miththaarae / Oru minmini poochchiyai mathithaarae”
Compares the devoted wife to a household lamp (Veettu vilakku) and the temporary, deceptive external allure to a firefly (Minmini poochchi).
Simile / Visual Imagery
“Neruppil thudikkum puzhu aanaen / Neerai pirintha meen aanaen”
Vividly illustrates extreme emotional pain by comparing the singer's state to a worm burning in fire and a fish stranded out of water.
Edukai (Second-letter rhyme)
“Veettu vilakkai thalli miththaarae / Koottu kilaiyai kondraarae”
A traditional Tamil prosodic device where the second character of consecutive lines rhyme, such as 'e' in Veettu and Koottu.
Did you know?
Trivia
Ratha Kanneer (1954) was a groundbreaking socio-political Tamil film starring M. R. Radha, adapted from his famous stage play of the same name. The song's lyrics by Udumalai Narayanakavi highlight social realism and moral critique, which were hallmarks of the reformist cinema movement of that era.
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