- Lyricist
- Villiputhan
- Singer
- P. Susheela
- Music director
- C. N. Pandurangan
- Movie name
- Boologa Rambai – 1958
- Movie release year
- 1958
- Lyrics added on
- 16 Jul 2024
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
This poignant lullaby from the movie Boologa Rambai expresses a mother's tragic predicament as she rocks her child to sleep inside a prison cell. Addressing her child as the ultimate crown of her life, she grieves over the ironic twist of fate that leaves a royal child sleeping on a heap of dirt rather than on cloud beds surrounded by moon-like maidens and celestial music. She reflects on her past sweet days with her husband and wonders if justice itself has failed them.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Metaphor (Rupakam)
“Vaazhvil nee mani magudam”
The child is directly equated to a jeweled crown ('mani magudam') and a drop of honey ('thaen thuli'), while time is depicted as a swing ('kaalamenum oonjal').
Monai (Initial Alliteration)
“Vaazhvil nee mani magudam / Valarum idam siraikoodam”
Repetition of starting phonetic sounds across adjacent words/lines, such as 'Vaazhvil' and 'Valarum'.
Anaphora / Refrain
“Kannae nee kann valaraai”
The comforting phrase 'Kannae nee kann valaraai' is repeated continuously at the end of stanzas, grounding the piece in traditional Tamil lullaby cadence.
Did you know?
Trivia
Featured in the 1958 mythological fantasy film 'Boologa Rambai' starring Gemini Ganesan and Anjali Devi, this song was composed by C. N. Pandurangan with lyrics by Villiputhan and rendered by legendary playback singer P. Susheela.
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