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Isaimozhi
Writer album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Adi Adi

From Writer · 2021

Lyricist
Yugabharathi
Singers
Anthakudi Ilayaraja, Lakshmi Chandru, Ananda Priyan, Jesurani
Music director
Govind Vasantha
Movie name
Writer
Movie release year
2021
Lyrics added on
12 Nov 2021

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Adiyae pombala pulla…ae…ei
Female : Adiyae ambala pulla…
Haan adi adi odambu ettadi
Aadi paadi pozhuthum kottu adi
Nadiyathu adangum varaiyil
Nadagam podunga nalla padi
Uyiradhu porandhathu eppadi
Kadaisiyil mudivathu eppadi
Karanatha arinja manushan
Kaavadi thookkuvathu illaiyathadi
Thottathum vittathum ethanai ponnunga kanakku vekkalaya
Kottaiyum pattaiyum nethiyil ittumae usuru thangalaye
Panjamum vanjamum engala kolluthu padikka pogalayae
Parambara uzhaipula pasiyum theeralayae
Adi adi odambu ettadi
Aadi paadi pozhuthum kottu adi
Nadiyathu adangum varaiyil
Nadagam podunga nalla padi
Uyiradhu porandhathu eppadi
Kadaisiyil mudivathu eppadi
Karanatha arinja manushan
Kaavadi thookkuvathu illaiyathadi
Naattu sarakkum seema sarakkum
Potta piragu onnu
Kaattu sirikku kundhanikku
En mela thaan kannu
Ootta veedu onbathu vaasal
Neeyum naanum veththu
Maaman madiyil saanji padukka
Venam verai soththu
Adi adi odambu ettadi
Aadi paadi pozhuthum kottu adi
Nadiyathu adangum varaiyil
Nadagam podunga nalla padi
Uyiradhu porandhathu eppadi
Kadaisiyil mudivathu eppadi
Karanatha arinja manushan
Kaavadi thookkuvathu illaiyathadi
Punniya vaanathu pugazhu serattum
Odhungi nillungada
Pullaiyum kuttiyum kaalamum vaangida
Kavandhu pannungada
Ponadhu pogatum santhadhi vaazhattum
Moottaiya kattungada
Thalamurai thalaiyedukka paadhaiya maathungada
Hey, girl... hey... ey!
Female: Hey, you boy...
Haan, strike the beat, this body is just eight spans tall!
Sing and dance and beat the drum all day long!
Until the show comes to a halt and we rest,
Play your part in this drama well!
How was this life born?
How does it end at last?
A person who knows the reason for it all,
Doesn't carry a kavadi (heavy ritual burden), girl!
How many women have been taken and left behind, haven't you kept count?
Even with sacred ash and lines marked on the forehead, life doesn't stay!
Poverty and deceit are killing us, we never got to study!
Even with generations of hard labour, our hunger hasn't ended!
Strike the beat, this body is just eight spans tall!
Sing and dance and beat the drum all day long!
Until the show comes to a halt and we rest,
Play your part in this drama well!
How was this life born?
How does it end at last?
A person who knows the reason for it all,
Doesn't carry a kavadi (heavy ritual burden), girl!
Local brew or foreign liquor,
Once down the throat, they're both the same!
That wild-smiling, playful girl,
Has her eyes set only on me!
A leaky house with nine doorways,
Both you and I are nothing in the end!
Just to lean and rest on my man's lap,
I don't need any other wealth!
Strike the beat, this body is just eight spans tall!
Sing and dance and beat the drum all day long!
Until the show comes to a halt and we rest,
Play your part in this drama well!
How was this life born?
How does it end at last?
A person who knows the reason for it all,
Doesn't carry a kavadi (heavy ritual burden), girl!
Let glory reach the holy heavens,
Step aside, all of you!
So our children and young ones can see better times,
Clear the way for them, folks!
Let bygones be bygones, let our future generations thrive!
Pack up your bags and leave!
For the new generation to rise, change your path!
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Female
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Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

This folk composition from Writer (2021), set to music by Govind Vasantha with lyrics by Yugabharathi, offers a profound philosophical critique of existential reality and social inequality. Using rhythmic folk expressions and colloquial banter, the song frames human existence as a temporary drama staged in an eight-foot body—likened to a leaky house with nine doors. It questions the ultimate purpose of life, pointing out that obsessive rituals, superficial piety, and worldly status fail to cheat death.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Metaphor

“Ootta veedu onbathu vaasal”

Compares the perishable human body with its nine anatomical openings to a fragile, leaky house with nine doors.

Refrain

“Adi adi odambu ettadi”

Repeated throughout the song to reinforce the central theme of the body's physical limitations and temporary nature.

Alliteration (Monai)

“Panjamum vanjamum engala kolluthu padikka pogalayae”

The repetition of the initial 'P' sound creates a rhythmic acoustic cadence suitable for a folk beat.

Did you know?

Trivia

Featured in the 2021 Tamil film Writer directed by Franklin Jacob, the song combines energetic folk vocals by Anthakudi Ilayaraja and fellow performers with Govind Vasantha's rustic musical arrangement to critique systemic neglect and generational hardship.

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