- Lyricist
- Suratha
- Music director
- G. Ramanathan
- Movie name
- Amarakavi
- Movie release year
- 1952
- Lyrics added on
- 10 Aug 2025
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
This enigmatic verse written by poet Suratha for the movie Amarakavi (1952) uses the ocean as a philosophical metaphor for worldly existence. Although the ocean boasts a stunning sky-blue color and hides rich treasures in its depths, its vast body of salty water remains useless for quenching human thirst. Similarly, although people praise the grand material world that relentlessly ages through the cycles of day and night, it ultimately fails to satisfy inner spiritual longing.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Upamai (Simile)
“Vinn polae neela nira kattum”
Compares the ocean's vast blue color to the color of the sky using the comparative marker 'polae'.
Muran (Paradox / Antithesis)
“Thanneer irundhum thaagam theerkkaadhu”
Presents the paradox of having an entire ocean of water that is fundamentally unable to quench a person's thirst.
Sol Pinvaru Nilaiyani (Repetition of lines for poetic emphasis)
“Pagal iravaal vayadhaagi”
The line emphasizing the continuous passage of time and aging of the world is repeated to emphasize the transient nature of life.
Did you know?
Trivia
Amarakavi (1952) was one of the notable comeback films for M. K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar (MKT), Tamil cinema's first superstar, following his acquittal in the Lakshmikanthan murder case. The lyricist Suratha gained the celebrated title 'Uvamai Kavagnar' (Poet of Similes) for his unique mastery in embedding rich poetic metaphors and riddles like this into song lyrics.
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