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Paasa Mazhai album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Anna Nadai Podum

From Paasa Mazhai · 1989

Lyricist
Vaali
Singers
Mano, K. S. Chithra
Music director
Ilayaraja
Movie name
Paasa Mazhai
Movie release year
1989
Lyrics added on
15 Apr 2019

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Anna nadai podum vandi
Chennaiyilae senja vandi
Anna nadai podum vandi
Chennaiyilae senja vandi
Aiyaavoda aasa kannaatti
Michael jacson break dancer
Break pottaa aadidum adikkadi
Kudhikkira adhisaya vandi
Anna nadai podum vandi
Senja edam madras guindy
Aiyaavoda aasa kannaatti
Mysore mahaa raajaavin thaathaa
London poyi vaangi vandha car
Female :Ahaaa..
Male :Andha kaalam roattu mela thaan
Thaera pola odi vandhadhu
Female :Ohoo ho ho hoo
Male :Mysorilae dhasaraavilae
Idha paakka kodi koottam varum
Female :Purudaa…
Male :Raajaavukku idhil suthi vandhaa
Indha naatta aalum moodu varum
Hae appo idhu nalla vandi
Ippo idhu katta vandi
Aiyo idhu enna vandi
Thaevalaiyae maattu vandi
Pazhaso pazhasu
Idhu raajaraaja chozhan vandi
Anna nadai podum vandi
Female :Hey heyy
Male :Chennaiyilae senja vandi
Chorus :Dadaa dadaa daadaa daadaa
Dadaa dadaa daadaa daadaa
Male :Aiyaavoda aasa kannaatti
Haa ezhaikkidhu
Ellu seedai thaan
Male :Hae namakku idhu
Rolls roys thaan
Otta caara roattil ottinaa
Male :Courtil kondu serkkum
Vandi thaan
Petrolukku selavillaiyae
Female :Ada podhum podhum
Krishnaayilu
Krishnaayilum kedaikaattinaa
Appo poda venum palm oilu
Hae enna pechu yelanamaa
Car yenna kevalamaa
Pogudhu paar oorvalamaa
Unakku thaaren seedhanamaa
Venaa daddy ippa aadi aadi
Ninnu pochu
Paadi paadi koralum pochu
Thalli thalli vaangudhu moochu
Kaara pathi oor engum pechu
Michael jacson break dancer
Female :Break pottaa aadidum
Adikkadi kudhikkira adhisaya vandi
Vetta veli pottalilae
Vellakkaaran senja vandi
Thathalichu thaalam podudhadi
Vakkeel fees mukkaal kaasu
Vaikkol yethu
Thannaalae kuviyattum neraiyattum
Paiyila kaasu
Vetta veli pottalilae
Vellakkaaran senja vandi
Thathalichu thaalam podudhadi
A car that strolls like a graceful swan,
a car crafted right in Chennai!
A car that strolls like a graceful swan,
a car crafted right in Chennai!
The master's beloved sweetheart,
a Michael Jackson breakdancer!
Hit the brakes and it shakes and dances,
a wondrous car that constantly hops!
A car that strolls like a graceful swan,
built right in Madras, Guindy!
The master's beloved sweetheart!
The Mysore Maharaja's grandfather
went all the way to London to buy this car!
Female: Aha...
Male: Back in those days, upon the road,
it rolled grandly like a temple chariot!
Female: Oho ho ho ho...
Male: During Dasara in Mysore,
millions gathered just to catch a glimpse!
Female: What a tall tale...!
Male: If the King took a ride in this,
he would get in the mood to rule the kingdom!
Hey, back then it was a fine ride,
now it's just a rickety wooden cart!
Oh dear, what kind of vehicle is this?
Even a bullock cart is far better!
It is older than old,
this must be King Raja Raja Chola's chariot!
A car that strolls like a graceful swan,
Female: Hey hey!
Male: A car crafted right in Chennai!
Chorus: Tada tada dhaa dhaa dhaa dhaa
Tada tada dhaa dhaa dhaa dhaa
Male: The master's beloved sweetheart!
Ah, it groans and rattles,
crackling like frying sesame snacks!
Male: Hey, to us, this is
nothing less than a Rolls-Royce!
If you drive this beaten-up car on the road,
Male: it is the kind of vehicle that will drag you
straight into court!
There is no expense for petrol,
Female: Oh, enough, enough!
kerosene is plenty!
And if you can't even get kerosene,
then you'll have to pour in palm oil!
Hey, why speak so mockingly?
Is my car really that pathetic?
Look at it moving like a royal parade!
I'll give it to you as your wedding dowry!
No thanks, daddy! Look, after wobbling around,
it has stalled completely!
My voice is gone from singing so much,
and pushing it over and over leaves us gasping for breath!
The whole town is buzzing about this car!
A Michael Jackson breakdancer,
Female: hit the brakes and it shakes and dances,
a wondrous car that constantly hops!
Out on the wide open wasteland,
this car made by the British
wobbles and bounces to a rhythm!
The lawyer's fee is barely pocket change,
so load up the hay instead,
let the money pile up on its own
and fill our pockets!
Out on the wide open wasteland,
this car made by the British
wobbles and bounces to a rhythm!
Male
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Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

This humorous duet from 'Paasa Mazhai' (1989) pokes fun at an ancient, dilapidated vintage car owned by the family patriarch ('Aiyaa'). The song playfully contrasts grand claims—that the car was bought by royalty in London and once glided majestically like a temple chariot—with its laughable reality: a sputtering, jumping breakdown of a vehicle that dances like Michael Jackson whenever the brakes are hit and runs on kerosene or palm oil. Through witty banter, lyricist Vaali highlights the hilarity of holding onto an obsolete mechanical relic as a proud family heirloom, while the younger generation humorously complains that pushing the stalled car causes breathlessness and that a simple bullock cart would be far more reliable.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Simile (Upamai)

Anna nadai podum vandi

Compares the movement of the old car to the graceful walking style of a swan (Anna nadai).

Metaphor / Irony

Michael jacson break dancer

Sarcastic metaphor describing the jerky, uncontrolled breaking mechanism of the car as a Michael Jackson breakdance routine.

Hyperbole (Uvarchi)

Mysore mahaa raajaavin thaathaa

Exaggerates the car's royal pedigree by claiming it belonged to the grandfather of the Maharaja of Mysore.

Rhyme (Emonai / Iyaibu)

Paadi paadi koralum pochu

Uses internal and end rhymes (aadi aadi / paadi paadi / thalli thalli) to create rhythm.

Did you know?

Trivia

The song incorporates popular late-1980s pop culture references, notably referencing global icon Michael Jackson's breakdancing craze in Tamil film music lyrics penned by Vaali.

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