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Namma Ooru Nalla Ooru album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Azhagaana Chinna Payalae

From Namma Ooru Nalla Ooru · 1986

Lyricist
E. S. N. Ravi
Singers
Malaysia Vasudevan, S. N. Surendar
Music director
Gangai Amaran
Movie name
Namma Ooru Nalla Ooru
Movie release year
1986
Lyrics added on
15 Dec 2020

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Azhagaana chinna payalae
Unakku achchu vellam vaangi tharuvaen
Ada kalangaathae kannu payalae
Nee kettathellam vaangi koduppaen
Annae achchu vellam vaangi vanthaa
Enakku mattum onnae onnu
Kattayam kodukka venum
Onnae onnu onnae onnu
Alaiyaatha yaei alaiyaatha alba payalae
Unakku appuramaa vaangi tharuvaen
Kalangaatha kannu payalae
Nee kettathellaam vaangi koduppaen
Ammaa sumantha sumaiyaarum sumappathilla
Appanukku antha vali eppothum therivathilla
Oodaa ozhaichchaa ava noolaa elaichchaa
Ada unnaththaan peththu eduththaa
Kaappaaththum dheivam
Intha mannil vanthu thaayaachchu
Kashtaththa thaangi thaangi
Kanneer vaththi poyaachchu
Ponnaanan thaayaarukku
Paasam mattum vaththaathu
Kannae nee kanneer vittaa
Peththa manam thaangaathu
Azhagaana rompa azhagaana chinna payalae
Enakku achchu vellam vaangi koduppaa
Ada alaiyaatha thinni payalae unakku
Appuramaa vaangi tharuvaen
Male :Pongannaae
………………..
Paalaaru oodumminnu vote -tu vaangi poyittaanga
Paadhaigalai paarththirunthum paalu vanthu saeralainga
Paalaaru oodumminnu vote -tu vaangi poyittaanga
Paadhaigalai paarththirunthum paalu vanthu saeralainga
Yaezhai veedu athu ezhumbukkoodu
Adhu eppothum kaanja kaadu….ae….ae….ae….
Ingulla saamigalai
Kettu kettu paaththaachchu
Yaemaaththum varkkam mattum
Soththukala saerththaachchu
Yaen naama saeravilla
Solli solli paarththaachchu
Athu ippo ada idhu ippo
Ennaththukkannae
Achchu vellaththa nee maranthudaathannae
Aiyaiyayyo alaiyaathae
Nee kundu payalae
Unakku achchu vellam undu payala
……………..
Male :Haeiiiiii
Beautiful little boy,
I will buy and give you jaggery blocks.
Hey, do not worry, dear boy!
I will buy and give you whatever you asked for.
Brother, if you buy and bring jaggery blocks,
Just one for me, only one,
You must definitely give me.
Just one, only one!
Don't wander around, hey, don't wander, you petty boy!
I will buy and give it to you later.
Do not worry, dear boy.
I will buy and give you whatever you asked for.
No one else can bear the burden a mother bore.
A father never understands that pain.
She worked relentlessly and became thin as a thread,
Oh, and she gave birth to you!
The deity that protects us
Came to this earth and became a mother.
Enduring hardship after hardship,
Her tears have dried up completely.
For a golden mother,
Affection alone will never dry up.
My precious child, if you shed tears,
A mother's heart cannot bear it.
Beautiful, very beautiful little boy,
Buy and give me jaggery blocks!
Hey, don't wander around, you gluttonous boy, for you,
I will buy and give it later.
Male: Go away, brother!
………………..
Saying a river of milk would flow, they gathered votes and left.
Though we kept waiting and watching the roads, no milk arrived, sir.
Saying a river of milk would flow, they gathered votes and left.
Though we kept waiting and watching the roads, no milk arrived, sir.
A poor person's home is just a skeleton,
It is always a dried-up desert... ae... ae... ae...
To the gods and authorities here,
We have pleaded and asked over and over.
Only the deceiving class
Has accumulated all the wealth.
Why haven't we united?
We have tried telling this again and again.
That now, oh this now,
What for, brother?
Don't you forget the jaggery blocks, brother!
Oh dear, do not wander around!
You chubby boy,
You will get jaggery blocks, boy.
……………..
Male: Heyyyyyy!
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Chorus
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Chorus

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

Azhagaana Chinna Payalae from the film Namma Ooru Nalla Ooru (1986) blends lighthearted childhood interactions with profound social and moral commentary. The song opens with promises of buying jaggery candy (achchu vellam) for a young boy, moving into a touching tribute to maternal devotion. It portrays how a mother endures selflessness, pain, and endless hardship to nurture her children, serving as a living deity on earth.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Monai (Initial Rhyme / Alliteration)

“Ammaa sumantha sumaiyaarum sumappathilla”

Repetition of initial consonant/vowels sounds across words, such as 'Ammaa sumantha sumaiyaarum' ('su' sound repetition).

Edhugai (Second Letter Rhyming)

“Paalaaru oodumminnu vote -tu vaangi poyittaanga / Paadhaigalai paarththirunthum paalu vanthu saeralainga”

Rhyming second letters in consecutive lines ('Paalaaru' and 'Paadhaigalai').

Metaphor

“Yaezhai veedu athu ezhumbukkoodu”

Comparing a poor person's home directly to a skeleton ('ezhumbukkoodu') to depict extreme poverty.

Hyperbole

“Paalaaru oodumminnu vote -tu vaangi poyittaanga”

Exaggerating political promises made during elections as 'rivers of milk flowing'.

Did you know?

Trivia

Namma Ooru Nalla Ooru (1986) stars Ramarajan and Rekha. The film's musical score was composed by Gangai Amaran, and the track features lyrics written by E.S.N. Ravi which cleverly layer socio-political themes beneath innocent folk-style dialogic lyrics.

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