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Isaimozhi
Lyrics & meaning

Ada Enna Samsaram

From Irattai Roja · 1996

Lyricist
Vaali
Singers
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Geetha
Music director
Ilayaraja
Details
Irattai Roja1996

Lyrics & meaning

Tanglish lyrics English translation
Female
Ada maamaa yaenyaaHey uncle, why do you
Samsaaram unakkueven have a family/wife?
Un samsaaram aanenaeSince I became your wife,
Sugam yaedhu enakkuwhat happiness do I have?
Color TV undaaDo we have a Color TV?
Cable connection undaaDo we have a cable connection?
Oru mixie undaaDo we have a mixie?
Washing machine thaan undaaDo we even have a washing machine?
Ungala kattinaa ennaachu em paaduWhat happened to my life after marrying you?
Male
Ada yaen maa kovamHey woman, why this anger
Em maela unakkutowards me?
Un aasa pollaadhuYour desires are dangerous,
Alavodu nirutthukeep them within limits.
Un sangadam perusuYour distress is big,
En sambalam sirusumy salary is small.
Idhu purinjirundhaalumEven though understanding this,
Adam pudikkudhu manasuthe heart remains stubborn.
Annaadam kathinaa ennaagum em paaduIf you keep screaming daily, what will happen to my state?
Female
Ada maamaa yaenyaaHey uncle, why do you
Samsaaram unakkueven have a family/wife?
Male
Ada yaemmaa kovamHey woman, why this anger
Em maela unakkutowards me?
Female
Nee vaangum sambalam thaanaeThe salary you earn,
Maalini purushan vaanguraanMalini's husband earns the same too.
Saturday park thaan sundaynaa beach thaanOn Saturday it's the park, on Sunday it's the beach.
Male
Adi yaendi enna pottuHey girl, why do you knock me down
Dhinam thorum thaakkuraand attack me every single day?
Veliyae thaan paakkura kondaannu kekkuraYou look outside at others and demand 'bring it to me'.
Female
Puli paal thaannu kettaa koodaEven if she asks for tiger's milk,
Tharanum avan thaan aambalahe who provides it is a true man!
Male
Puli adichaalae neeyaa varuvaeIf a tiger attacks, you will come running yourself,
Yena yaen maattura vambulawhy are you getting me into trouble?
Female
Ada ellaathukkumOh, for everything
Readymade badhil onnu vechirukakeyou have a readymade reply ready!
Ada en vaaya thaanAh, my mouth itself
Adha cholli idhacholli thinichirukkaeyou have stuffed saying this and that!
Male
Ada yaenmaa… en kannu…Oh my dear... my eye...
Male :Ada yaen maa kovamHey woman, why this anger
Em maela unakkutowards me?
Un aasa pollaadhuYour desires are dangerous,
Alavodu nirutthukeep them within limits.
Female
Color TV undaaDo we have a Color TV?
Cable connection undaaDo we have a cable connection?
Oru mixie undaaDo we have a mixie?
Washing machine thaan undaaDo we even have a washing machine?
Ungala kattinaa ennaachu em paaduWhat happened to my life after marrying you?
Male
Ada yaen maa kovamHey woman, why this anger
Em maela unakkutowards me?
Female
Un samsaaram aanenaeSince I became your wife,
Sugam yaedhu enakkuwhat happiness do I have?
Male
Oru ooril unna polaIn a town, just like you,
Paalkaara pombalathere was a milkmaid woman.
Paal vitthu pozhachava thaanShe made a living selling milk,
Parisodu vaazhndhava thaanshe lived with self-respect.
Vaeroruthi kaadhu jimikkiDid she see another woman's ear jhumka
Paarthaalaa roattulaon the road?
Adha paatha vaela thaanThe moment she saw it,
Jimikki mela aasa thaanshe desired that jhumka.
Athana paalum vithadhum kadaiyilThinking of buying that jhumka at the shop
Jimikki vaanga enninaaonce all the milk was sold,
Kaadhula pottaa eppadi aadumhow it would sway when worn on the ears,
Appadi karpana panninaashe imagined like that.
Male
Ava verum kaadha thaanHer empty ears
Thalukkunu kilukkunuwith style and jingling charm
Kulukki puttaashe shook them!
Ada thala maela thaanAlas, on top of her head
Irukkura paanaiya odachu puttaashe broke the pot of milk she carried!
Male
Ada yaenmaa… en kannu…Oh my dear... my eye...
Ippa thaanaa puriyumNow by itself you will understand
Kadhaiyoda karuthuthe moral of the story.
Un aasa pollaadhuYour desires are dangerous,
Alavodu niruthukeep them within limits.
Un sangadam perusuYour distress is big,
En sambalam sirusumy salary is small.
Idhu purinjirundhaalumEven though understanding this,
Adam pudikkudhu manasuthe heart remains stubborn.
Annaadam kathinaa ennaagum em paaduIf you keep screaming daily, what will happen to my state?
Female
Ada maamaa yaenyaaHey uncle, why do you
Samsaaram unakkueven have a family/wife?
Male
Ada yaenmaa kovamHey woman, why this anger
Em maela unakkutowards me?
Adadaa adadada dadadaaAdadaa adadada dadadaa

Beyond the translation

Song interpretation

This humorous duel song from Irattai Roja depicts a playful squabble between a middle-class husband and wife regarding domestic finances and lifestyle expectations. The wife complains about the lack of modern household electronics like a color television, cable connection, mixie, and washing machine, comparing her husband unfavorably to others. The husband counters by highlighting his modest salary and cautions her against unbridled desires through a moral fable about a milkmaid who broke her milk pot while daydreaming about fancy jhumka earrings. Through witty exchanges and folk storytelling, lyricist Vaali captures the realistic economic tensions and banter inherent in lower-middle-class married life.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Emonai (Alliteration)

Color TV undaa / Cable connection undaa

Repetition of initial consonant sounds across adjacent lines, such as 'Color TV' and 'Cable connection'.

Edhugai (Rhyming Second Letter)

Un sangadam perusu / En sambalam sirusu

Matching second letters in words across paired lines, such as 'sangadam' and 'sambalam'.

Iyaibu (End Rhyme)

Un sangadam perusu / En sambalam sirusu

Rhyming ending words, like 'perusu' and 'sirusu' or 'undaa' across repeated lines.

Parable / Allegory (Moral Fable)

Oru ooril unna pola / Paalkaara pombala...

The husband uses a short fable about a milkmaid daydreaming about earrings to teach a moral lesson on overreaching desires.

Did you know?

Trivia

The song uses colloquial urban Tamil and middle-class 1990s consumer tropes (Color TV, Cable connection, Washing machine) to evoke a realistic domestic setting. The movie features Ilaiyaraaja's music compositions.

Keep listening

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