Aarariro Paadiyatharo
From Thaaiku Oru Thaalaattu · 1986
- Lyricist
- Vairamuthu
- Singer
- K. J. Yesudas
- Music director
- Ilayaraja
- Details
- Thaaiku Oru Thaalaattu1986
Lyrics & meaning
| ♫ Tanglish lyrics | ↻ English translation |
|---|---|
| Male | |
| Aaraariro paadiyadhaaro | Who sang the lullaby 'Aaraariro'? |
| Thoongi ponadhaaro | Who has fallen fast asleep? |
| Yaaro yaaro enak yaaro yaaro | Who are you to me? Who is anyone to me? |
| En dheivamae idhu poi thookama | Oh my deity, is this just a feigned sleep? |
| Naan thoongavae ini naal aguma | Will it take days for me to finally sleep now? |
| Aaraariro paadiyadhaaro yaaroo | Oh who sang the lullaby 'Aaraariro'? |
| Male | |
| Nee mundhi ponadhu | That you left before me, |
| Nyayam illayae | Is that not unfair? |
| Naan mundhi pogavae | That I could not leave before you, |
| Yogam illaye | Do I lack that fortune? |
| Male | |
| Koottai vittu thaai kizhi | Leaving her nest, where has the mother bird |
| Parandhadhengae | Flown away to? |
| Pasithavan ketkiren | As a hungry person, I ask, |
| Paal chorum engae | Where is my milk-rice? |
| En deviyae naanum seidha | My goddess, what is the fault |
| Kutram enna kooru | That I committed? Tell me! |
| Oru paarvai paaru | Cast just one glance at me! |
| Male | |
| Aaraariro paadiyadhaaro | Who sang the lullaby 'Aaraariro'? |
| Thoongi ponadhaaro | Who has fallen fast asleep? |
| Yaaro yaaro enak yaaro yaaro | Who are you to me? Who is anyone to me? |
| Male | |
| Pozhudhagi ponadhu | Dawn has already broken, |
| Innum thookama | Are you still sleeping? |
| Sollaamal povadhu | Leaving without saying a word, |
| Thaayae nyayama | Oh mother, is that fair? |
| Male | |
| Uyir thandha deviku | For the goddess who gave me life, |
| Uyir illaiyo | Is there no life left within her? |
| Paal ootti paarthiyae | You raised me by feeding milk, |
| Paal oothalaamo | Is it right for us to pour ritual milk now? |
| Annam potta en thaayae | My mother who fed me meals, |
| Unaku arisi poda vandhen | I have come to offer raw rice for your funeral, |
| Ennai naanae nondhen | I lament and blame myself in despair. |
| Male | |
| Aaraariro paadiyadhaaro | Who sang the lullaby 'Aaraariro'? |
| Thoongi ponadhaaro | Who has fallen fast asleep? |
| Yaaro yaaro enak yaaro yaaro | Who are you to me? Who is anyone to me? |
| En dheivamae idhu poi thookama | Oh my deity, is this just a feigned sleep? |
| Naan thoongavae ini naal aguma | Will it take days for me to finally sleep now? |
| Male | |
| Aaraariro paadiyadhaaro | Who sang the lullaby 'Aaraariro'? |
| Thoongi ponadhaaro | Who has fallen fast asleep? |
| Yaaro yaaro enak yaaro yaaro | Who are you to me? Who is anyone to me? |
ஆராரிரோ பாடியதாரோ
தூங்கிப் போனதாரோ
யாரோ யாரோ
எனக்காரோ யாரோ
என் தெய்வமே இது பொய் தூக்கமா
நான் தூங்கவே இனி நாளாகுமா....
ஆராரிரோ பாடியதாரோ யாரோ
Who sang the lullaby 'Aaraariro'?
Who has fallen fast asleep?
Who are you to me? Who is anyone to me?
Oh my deity, is this just a feigned sleep?
Will it take days for me to finally sleep now?
Oh who sang the lullaby 'Aaraariro'?
நீ முந்தி போனது
நியாயம் இல்லையே
நான் முந்தி போகவே
யோகம் இல்லையே
That you left before me,
Is that not unfair?
That I could not leave before you,
Do I lack that fortune?
கூட்டை விட்டு தாய்க்கிளி
பறந்தது எங்கே
பசித்தவன் கேட்கிறேன்
பால் சோறு எங்கே
என் தேவியே நான் செய்த
குற்றம் என்ன கூறு
ஒரு பார்வை பாரு
Leaving her nest, where has the mother bird
Flown away to?
As a hungry person, I ask,
Where is my milk-rice?
My goddess, what is the fault
That I committed? Tell me!
Cast just one glance at me!
ஆராரிரோ பாடியதாரோ
தூங்கிப் போனதாரோ
யாரோ யாரோ
எனக்காரோ யாரோ
Who sang the lullaby 'Aaraariro'?
Who has fallen fast asleep?
Who are you to me? Who is anyone to me?
பொழுதாகி போனதே
இன்னும் தூக்கமா
சொல்லாமல் போவது
தாயே நியாயமா
Dawn has already broken,
Are you still sleeping?
Leaving without saying a word,
Oh mother, is that fair?
உயிர் தந்த தேவிக்கு
உயிர் இல்லையோ
பால் ஊட்டி பார்த்தியே
பால் ஊத்தலாமோ
அன்னம் போட்ட என் தாயே
உனக்கு அரிசி போட வந்தேன்
எனை நானே நொந்தேன்
For the goddess who gave me life,
Is there no life left within her?
You raised me by feeding milk,
Is it right for us to pour ritual milk now?
My mother who fed me meals,
I have come to offer raw rice for your funeral,
I lament and blame myself in despair.
ஆராரிரோ பாடியதாரோ
தூங்கிப் போனதாரோ
யாரோ யாரோ
எனக்காரோ யாரோ
என் தெய்வமே இது பொய் தூக்கமா
நான் தூங்கவே இனி நாளாகுமா
Who sang the lullaby 'Aaraariro'?
Who has fallen fast asleep?
Who are you to me? Who is anyone to me?
Oh my deity, is this just a feigned sleep?
Will it take days for me to finally sleep now?
ஆராரிரோ பாடியதாரோ
தூங்கிப் போனதாரோ
யாரோ யாரோ
எனக்காரோ யாரோ
Who sang the lullaby 'Aaraariro'?
Who has fallen fast asleep?
Who are you to me? Who is anyone to me?
Aaraariro paadiyadhaaro
Who sang the lullaby 'Aaraariro'?
Thoongi ponadhaaro
Who has fallen fast asleep?
Yaaro yaaro enak yaaro yaaro
Who are you to me? Who is anyone to me?
En dheivamae idhu poi thookama
Oh my deity, is this just a feigned sleep?
Naan thoongavae ini naal aguma
Will it take days for me to finally sleep now?
Aaraariro paadiyadhaaro yaaroo
Oh who sang the lullaby 'Aaraariro'?
Nee mundhi ponadhu
That you left before me,
Nyayam illayae
Is that not unfair?
Naan mundhi pogavae
That I could not leave before you,
Yogam illaye
Do I lack that fortune?
Koottai vittu thaai kizhi
Leaving her nest, where has the mother bird
Parandhadhengae
Flown away to?
Pasithavan ketkiren
As a hungry person, I ask,
Paal chorum engae
Where is my milk-rice?
En deviyae naanum seidha
My goddess, what is the fault
Kutram enna kooru
That I committed? Tell me!
Oru paarvai paaru
Cast just one glance at me!
Aaraariro paadiyadhaaro
Who sang the lullaby 'Aaraariro'?
Thoongi ponadhaaro
Who has fallen fast asleep?
Yaaro yaaro enak yaaro yaaro
Who are you to me? Who is anyone to me?
Pozhudhagi ponadhu
Dawn has already broken,
Innum thookama
Are you still sleeping?
Sollaamal povadhu
Leaving without saying a word,
Thaayae nyayama
Oh mother, is that fair?
Uyir thandha deviku
For the goddess who gave me life,
Uyir illaiyo
Is there no life left within her?
Paal ootti paarthiyae
You raised me by feeding milk,
Paal oothalaamo
Is it right for us to pour ritual milk now?
Annam potta en thaayae
My mother who fed me meals,
Unaku arisi poda vandhen
I have come to offer raw rice for your funeral,
Ennai naanae nondhen
I lament and blame myself in despair.
Aaraariro paadiyadhaaro
Who sang the lullaby 'Aaraariro'?
Thoongi ponadhaaro
Who has fallen fast asleep?
Yaaro yaaro enak yaaro yaaro
Who are you to me? Who is anyone to me?
En dheivamae idhu poi thookama
Oh my deity, is this just a feigned sleep?
Naan thoongavae ini naal aguma
Will it take days for me to finally sleep now?
Aaraariro paadiyadhaaro
Who sang the lullaby 'Aaraariro'?
Thoongi ponadhaaro
Who has fallen fast asleep?
Yaaro yaaro enak yaaro yaaro
Who are you to me? Who is anyone to me?
Beyond the translation
Song interpretation
'Thaaiku Oru Thaalaattu' is a poignant, heart-wrenching elegy where a grieving son sings a reverse lullaby to his deceased mother. Overwhelmed by unbearable sorrow upon her sudden demise, he questions the injustice of fate that claimed his mother's life before his own. He laments how the loving mother who once nurtured him, fed him milk-rice, and sang him lullabies is now lying motionless, forcing him to perform her tragic final rites. Penned by lyricist Vairamuthu, the song masterfully explores the stark contrast between maternal tenderness and the grim reality of funeral rituals. Through poignant rhetorical questions and deep traditional metaphors, the son expresses his intense feeling of abandonment, questioning how he can survive without the living deity who defined his entire world.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Irony / Wordplay (Sledai)
“Paal ootti paarthiyae / Paal oothalaamo”
Contrasts 'Paal ootti' (feeding milk lovingly to nurture a child) with 'Paal oothalaamo' (pouring milk as part of final Hindu funeral rites), highlighting the cruelty of fate.
Metaphor (Uvamanai)
“Koottai vittu thaai kizhi / Parandhadhengae”
Compares the mother departing her physical body to a mother bird leaving her nest and flying away.
Rhetorical Question (Vinaa Alangaaram)
“En dheivamae idhu poi thookama”
The grieving son asks if her death is merely a feigned sleep ('poi thookam'), unable to accept the harsh reality of her death.
Situational Irony
“Annam potta en thaayae / Unaku arisi poda vandhen”
Contrasts the mother serving meals ('annam potta') to her child throughout his life with the son having to pour raw funeral rice ('arisi poda') onto her lifeless body.
Did you know?
Trivia
'Thaaiku Oru Thaalaattu' (1986) is a Tamil film starring Sivaji Ganesan, Padmini, and Pandiarajan, directed by Balachandra Menon. The soundtrack features memorable compositions by Ilaiyaraaja, with emotional lyrics penned by Vairamuthu.
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