The two songs seperated by atleast 10 years and yet arose the same sort of emotions:

The lyrics of the two songs too are a bit similar...this point came to my mind when I was going through the latest post of Renuka. But then, the similarity of the lyrics at this point in the songs,

"Maamara Illai maelae...maarghazhi Pani poaelae...poo maghaL madi meedhu naan thoonghavoo"

is not in the literal sense of the words, but in the thought process and the metaphors(similes). The "Pani" had always been a wonderful similie for all that is gentle and mostly feminine.

In the first song the lyricist(Vaalli I guess) had used it for a guy and the story has that guy as a Police Officer and that too a short-tempered one. When one contrasts the on-screen personality of the Hero and the Lyrics in the song, the differences are glaring. But the poet finds no problem to gel it with the personality in the film and the picturisation of the song too is good. The music...Ohhh! I can keep writing about it for pages together. The instance after the first "Saranam" and the next "Saranam" the music that goes on with the song...Illayaraaja stands firm and tall there....

In the second song, the metaphor is really wonderful to say the least. It exemplifies the desire of the lover to kiss his beloved and the way he questions her is interesting. For the saliva on the lips to be dew or honey, think of what the lips ought to be!!..It can either be something where dew can rest or a flower or something of a bee-hive!!. I really don't think Vairamuthuu to be so unimaginative to compare the lips to Bee-hive...so it has to be something that holds a dew drop. Now, what all can hold a dew drop?...Anything that had been in open all night long, can hold a dew drop...that includes a leaf too...Here too the female is non-commital about her lips and its contents!!..She says that it can be either and why not he himself taste it...Now, the song stops abruptly without any further hints of what happened next!!

Now comes another important comparison of the two lyricists...I know I can't base this entirely on a single song..But the point of contention is that Vaali seems to be more continous with a flow than Vairamuthu and in my opinion, when it comes to lyrics as dialogues between individuals, Vaali beats Vairamuthu hands down. One only need to read his "Paandar Bhoomi" and "Avathaara Purushan"..his flow is amazing!!...The flow in the first song, where the dialogue continues even after the verse into some sort of an agreement is interesting. But the Vairamuthu's one stops abruptly without a flow...there has to be a natural and logical end to any discussion...the heroine signing that the hero can come and test the nature of the drop on her lips says nothing more than a play of words!!

I go for Vaali...atleast in the first round!