Skip to content
Isaimozhi
Apoorva Sagodharargal album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Ammava Naan

From Apoorva Sagodharargal · 1989

Lyricist
Vaali
Singer
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
Music director
Ilayaraja
Movie name
Apoorva Sagodharargal
Movie release year
1989
Lyrics added on
19 Jun 2017

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
{Ammaava naan kaala thottu
Kummidanum doi
Ada aaththaava naan koyil katti
Kummidanum doi} (2)
Pottazhaghaa pottazhaghaa
Onna pola
Paathadhillae nalla pulla
Bhoomi melae..
Ada onnaattam ha ha
Onnum illae pinnum illae
Ammaavae
Ammaava naan kaala thottu
Kummidanum doi
Enga aaththaava naan koyil katti
Kummidanum doi
Vaanam pozhiyudhu
Bhoomi vilaiyudhu endraanae
Adha sonnavana thaan
Nallavan endru sonnaanae
Velanjadhellaam yevan oruthan
Thinnaanae
Adha kettavana thaan
Kettavan endru sonnaanae
Kattabhomman sonnadhellaam
Seiyuravan kettavanaa
Nyaayamaa neenga sollungho
Ada annaatchiyae
Aalukkoru needhiyilla doi
Ada yennaalumae
Nalladhukku jaadhiyilla doi
Naa ulladhaiyum nalladhaiyum
Sollida yenakku piravi kodukkum
Ammaavae
Chorus :Ammaava naan kaala thottu
Male :Kummidanum doi
Chorus :Ada aaththaava naan koyil katti
Male :Kummidanum doi
Pottazhaghaa pottazhaghaa
Onna pola
Paathadhillae nalla pulla
Bhoomi melae..
Ada onnaattam ha ha
Onnum illae pinnum illae
Ammaava naan kaala thottu
Kummidanum doi
Ada aaththaava naan koyil katti
Kummidanum doi
Machi uutukaran
Thuddu veetukaaran paakuriyae
Swami utchan thailyila
Vecha ezhutha nee solluriyae
Ezhai panakaaram
Swamiyilum undu paakiriyaa
Indha medu pallathukku
Karanam yaarunu ketkuriyaa..
Arasa mara pullaiyaaru
Andiyaga nikkuraru
Yaaruda eluthi vechathu
Anga vennai vadiyum
Pullankuzhal kannan mugathula doi
Inga yenna vadiyum
Subramani annan mugathula doi
Idhu manushan dhaana
Yezhudhinaanu
Kandu pudikka bhudhiya kodukkanum
Ammaava naan kaala thottu
Kummidanum doi
Ada aaththaava naan koyil katti
Kummidanum doi
Pottazhaghaa pottazhaghaa
Onna pola
Paathadhillae nalla pulla
Bhoomi melae..
Ada onnaattam ha ha
Onnum illae pinnum illae
Ammaavae
Ammaava naan kaala thottu
Kummidanum doi
Ada aaththaava naan koyil katti
Kummidanum doi
I must touch my mother's feet
and worship her, my friend!
Hey, I must build a temple for my mother
and worship her, my friend!
Handsome man with the mark on your brow,
like you,
I have never seen such a good son
on the face of this earth...
Hey, just like you, ha-ha,
there is none before and none to follow!
Oh mother!
I must touch my mother's feet
and worship her, my friend!
Hey, I must build a temple for our mother
and worship her, my friend!
"The sky pours rain,
and the earth yields crops," so he said!
The man who spoke those words,
they praised as a good man!
Whoever grabbed and ate
everything that was grown,
that wicked man,
they rightly called a villain!
If someone does what Kattabomman said,
does that make him a bad man?
Tell me, is that fair?
Hey big brother,
justice is not different from person to person, my friend!
Hey, for all time,
goodness has no caste, my friend!
So I can speak the truth and what is right,
she gave me this birth—
my mother!
Chorus: I must touch my mother's feet
Male: and worship her, my friend!
Chorus: Hey, I must build a temple for my mother
Male: and worship her, my friend!
Handsome man with the mark on your brow,
like you,
I have never seen such a good son
on the face of this earth...
Hey, just like you, ha-ha,
there is none before and none to follow!
I must touch my mother's feet
and worship her, my friend!
Hey, I must build a temple for my mother
and worship her, my friend!
You look at the man in the big mansion,
and the man with all the money!
"It is the destiny God wrote on the crown of our heads,"
that is what you say!
Rich and poor—
that divide exists even among the gods, don't you see?
For all these inequalities,
are you asking who is to blame?
Lord Ganesha under the sacred fig tree
stands like a penniless ascetic!
Who on earth wrote his fate like that?
Over there, butter drips down
flute-playing Krishna's face, my friend!
Over here, what is dripping down
brother Subramani's face, my friend?
Did man himself
write all this destiny?
To figure that out, she gave me wisdom—
I must touch my mother's feet
and worship her, my friend!
Hey, I must build a temple for my mother
and worship her, my friend!
Handsome man with the mark on your brow,
like you,
I have never seen such a good son
on the face of this earth...
Hey, just like you, ha-ha,
there is none before and none to follow!
Oh mother!
I must touch my mother's feet
and worship her, my friend!
Hey, I must build a temple for my mother
and worship her, my friend!
Male
Chorus
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Chorus
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Chorus
Male

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

This song is a deep expression of devotion to motherly love intertwined with socio-philosophical reflections on equality, justice, and human destiny. The protagonist praises his mother as the supreme deity deserving of a temple and eternal reverence. Simultaneously, through playful yet profound folk rhetoric, he questions social disparities and class divisions, invoking historical and mythological imagery like Veerapandiya Kattabhomman and Lord Ganesha to challenge the notion that poverty is merely divine destiny.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Edhugai (Second letter rhyming)

Ammaava naan kaala thottu / Kummidanum doi

The second consonant 'm' matches across lines 'Ammaava' and 'Kummidanum', creating rhythmic harmony characteristic of traditional Tamil poetry.

Monaich Chol (Initial letter alliteration)

Pottazhaghaa pottazhaghaa

Repetition of the 'Po' sound at the beginning of consecutive words ('Pottazhaghaa pottazhaghaa') adds melodic cadence.

Rhetorical Questioning and Metaphor

Anga vennai vadiyum / Inga yenna vadiyum

The lyricist uses contrast between butter dripping on Krishna's face and sweat on a working man's face as a metaphor for social imbalance.

Did you know?

Trivia

Featured in the iconic 1989 blockbuster 'Apoorva Sagodharargal', starring Kamal Haasan in a double role. Composed by Ilaiyaraaja and written by Vaali, the song showcases Appu's dwarf character expressing intense filial love and social philosophical observations through energetic folk rhythm.

Keep listening

Songs with a similar feeling

From the same album

More songs from Apoorva Sagodharargal

View album

Spot an issue?

Help us improve the lyrics or English translation.