- Lyricist
- Udumalai Narayanakavi
- Singer
- Jikki
- Music director
- S. Rajeswara Rao
- Movie name
- Pattaliyin Vetri
- Movie release year
- 1960
- Lyrics added on
- 23 Jan 2025
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
This classic wake-up song ('Tiruppalliyezhucci' style) captures the vivid pastoral beauty of a South Indian village at dawn. It calls upon women to awaken and start their morning routines—drawing delicate pearl-like kolams, carrying glistening copper pots to fetch water from the lake, and enjoying nature's early morning sights and sounds.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Simile (Upamai)
“Muththukkal polae pulligal vaiththu / Mullai kodipol kodugal pottu”
Compares floor-decorating dots to pearls ('Muththukkal polae') and drawn lines to jasmine vines ('Mullai kodipol').
Onomatopoeia (Erattai Kilavi)
“Thadathadavendrae rekkaiyai thatti / Thandaigal jal jal osaigal seiyya”
Uses sound-imitative words like 'Thadathadavenrae' for wing-flapping and 'Jal jal' for tinkling anklets to evoke realistic sensory imagery.
Metaphor (Uruvagam)
“Vizhiyampaal avanai keladi neeyae”
Compares sharp glance or gaze to an arrow ('Vizhiyampaal' - Vizhi + Ambu).
Second-letter Rhyme (Ethirai)
“Velli mulaiththathu / Palli ezhunthathae / Thulli ezhunthae”
Consonance of the second letter 'lla' across consecutive lines (Velli, Palli, Thulli).
Did you know?
Trivia
Written by the famed rationalist poet Udumalai Narayanakavi, this song follows the traditional Tamil genre of 'Tiruppalliyezhucci' (morning awakening hymns), adapting classical poetic conventions into popular film music composed by S. Rajeswara Rao.
Keep listening
Songs with a similar feeling
From the same album
More songs from Pattaliyin Vetri
View albumSpot an issue?
Help us improve the lyrics or English translation.