- Lyricist
- Pulamaipithan
- Singer
- Vani Jairam
- Music director
- Shyam
- Movie name
- Santhosa Kanavugal
- Movie release year
- 1985
- Lyrics added on
- 13 Aug 2021
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
This song from Santhosa Kanavugal (1985) is a poignant lament on the plight of women and the societal evils of the dowry system in marriage. Written with sharp socio-political awareness by Pulamaipithan, the song questions patriarchal norms that treat sons as assets for property and daughters as mere emotional fulfillments, exposing the hypocrisy of a society that claims to respect women as goddesses while reducing marriage to an investment-free business transaction for gold and material goods. Through Vani Jairam's soulful rendition, the protagonist grieves over how women enter households to spread light yet end up living in darkness, withering away like dry leaves. The lyrics powerfully highlight that lofty speeches praising women are empty words that blow away with the wind, leaving women to silently endure systemic injustice.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Irony and Social Satire
“Mudhaleedu illaa vyabaaram ondru / Kalyanam endru oor sollum indru”
Marriage is ironically characterized as an 'investment-free business' ('Mudhaleedu illaa vyabaaram') to mock the greedy practice of demanding dowry without giving anything in return.
Metaphor (Uvamaani)
“Poo choodi vandhom sarugaagi povom”
Women wearing flowers at marriage are metaphorically contrasted with dry withered leaves ('sarugu'), symbolizing how marriage drains their life and happiness.
Monai (Initial Rhyme) & Edhugai (Second Letter Rhyme)
“Ponn kettu vandhaargal porul kettu vandhaargal / Pen kettu aan pillai evan ingu vandhaan”
Uses phonetic matching in Tamil traditional prosody across words ('Ponn' / 'Porul' / 'Pen') to build rhythm and contrast material demands against human relationships.
Did you know?
Trivia
Composed by Shyam with lyrics by veteran poet Pulamaipithan, this song stands out in 1980s Tamil cinema for its bold and direct attack on the dowry system. Director R. C. Sakthi, known for directing realistic and socially conscious dramas (including Kamal Haasan's early films), commissioned this song to highlight the real-world socio-economic struggles faced by middle-class women regarding marriage.
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