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Isaimozhi
Lyrics & meaning

Bagalu Bagalu

From Vaimaye Vellum · 1997

Lyricist
Vaali
Singers
Deva, Malgudi Subha
Music director
Deva
Details
Vaimaye Vellum1997

Lyrics & meaning

Tanglish lyrics English translation
Female
Haei…..Hey...
Male
Pagalu pagalu pagaluDay, day, day
Pesagi pochummaaHas gone sprained and twisted, my lady!
Ada pagalum iravumOh, day and night
Bejaaraaga aachchumaaIt has become troublesome, my lady!
Male
Neetti nimiraTo stretch and stand straight
Vaanguthingae moochchumaaI am gasping for breath, my lady!
Nee naramba neevi vidanumYou must stroke and massage the nerves
Thailam thechummaaBy applying medicated oil, my lady!
Female
Veralu veralu veraluFingers, fingers, fingers
Vachchu pakkuraenI am placing them and checking
Naadi narambu grambuPulse, nerves, and muscle cramps
Surundirunthaa neekkuraenIf they are twisted, I will untangle them
Female
Hae….Veralu veralu veraluHey... fingers, fingers, fingers
Vachchu pakkuraenI am placing them and checking
Naadi narambu grambuPulse, nerves, and muscle cramps
Surundirunthaa neekkuraenIf they are twisted, I will untangle them
Female
Verennathukku naanumWhy else am I
Ingae irukkiraenHere right now?
Verennathukku naanumWhy else am I
Ingae irukkiraenHere right now?
Naattu vaiththiyaththilIn native traditional medicine
Kodi kattithaan parakkuraenI excel and fly high!
Female
Edhukku edhukku poranthaFor generations and generations
Moonu thalaimuraiAcross three generations
Naanga surulimalai siththarungaWe are the traditional healers from Surulimalai
Paramparai….amaaiyaaLineage... yes sir!
Male
Yammaa yammaa muniyammaaOh mother, oh Muniyamma!
Ennaal thaanga mudiyumaaCan I endure this pain?
Ennai vuttu thaeichchaaIf you rub oil on me
Rompa valikkumaaWill it hurt a lot?
Female
Chummaa chummaa sulamapaaStop blabbering unnecessarily, sir!
Sulukku vittu velagumaa aiyyaWill the sprain just leave on its own, sir?
Male : Sulukku sundhariyaeMale: Oh sprain-curing beauty!
Unakku sontha ooru edhuWhich is your native town?
Asaththum ammaniyaeOh impressive lady!
Unakku amainja peru edhuWhat is the name given to you?
Female
En ooru alappuzhaMy native place is Alappuzha
En peru neela puraaMy name is Blue Dove (Neela Pura)
Aaththaa oor kaalikattuMy mother's town is Calicut
Ava peru poojapattuHer name is Pooja Bhatt
Paattithaan puliyampattiGrandmother is from Puliyampatti
Paatti peru shilfa shettiGrandmother's name is Shilpa Shetty
Male
Pagalu pagalu pagaluDay, day, day
Pesagi pochummaaHas gone sprained and twisted, my lady!
Ada pagalum iravumOh, day and night
Bejaaraaga aachchumaaIt has become troublesome, my lady!
Female
Mohanlaalu mammuttiMohanlal and Mammootty
Ellaarukkum kaal muttiFor all of them, the knee joint
Sulukkeduththa partyThe one who cured their sprain
Intha pen kuttiIs this young woman!
Male
Emmaa periya actor-uWhat big actors they are!
Avangalukkaa doctor-uAre you a doctor to them?
Udumpu sooppu vachchuEven after making monitor lizard soup
Kudichchum pidippu pogalaiyaeAnd drinking it, the catch/sprain didn't go away!
Female :Aiyo paavamFemale: Oh, poor thing!
Male :Iduppu thallaaduthu ezhunthuMale: The waist is tottering, unable to get up
Nadakka aavalaiyaeAnd walk properly!
Female
Thrissur-u trisha devi inguTrisha Devi of Thrissur here
Thavichchaaru un maathiriSuffered just like you!
Thaechchenae oru raaththiriI massaged for one night
Thegaththil idhu maathiriOn the body like this
Guruvayur thailam idhuThis is Guruvayur herbal oil
Udanae gunamaachchuIt got cured immediately
Vaayu thollaiThe gastric problem!
Male
Pagalu pagalu pagaluDay, day, day
Pesagi pochummaaHas gone sprained and twisted, my lady!
Ada pagalum iravumOh, day and night
Bejaaraaga aachchumaaIt has become troublesome, my lady!
Male
Neetti nimiraTo stretch and stand straight
Vaanguthingae moochchumaaI am gasping for breath, my lady!
Nee naramba neevi vidanumYou must stroke and massage the nerves
Thailam thaeichchumaaBy applying medicated oil, my lady!
Female
Veralu veralu veraluFingers, fingers, fingers
Vachchu pakkuraenI am placing them and checking
Naadi narambu grambuPulse, nerves, and muscle cramps
Surundirunthaa neekkuraenIf they are twisted, I will untangle them
Male
Pagalu pagalu pagaluDay, day, day
Pesagi pochummaaHas gone sprained and twisted, my lady!
Ada pagalum iravumOh, day and night
Bejaaraaga aachchumaaIt has become troublesome, my lady!
Female
Veralu veralu veraluFingers, fingers, fingers
Vachchu pakkuraenI am placing them and checking
Naadi narambu grambuPulse, nerves, and muscle cramps
Surundirunthaa neekkuraenIf they are twisted, I will untangle them

Beyond the translation

Song interpretation

Pagalu Pagalu is a humorous, energetic 'Gaana' duet from the film Vaimaye Vellum (1997), composed and sung by Deva alongside Malgudi Subha, with lyrics written by legendary poet Vaali. The song presents a comic dynamic between a man suffering from severe body aches and joint sprains and an eccentric, self-proclaimed traditional masseuse from Kerala claiming to hail from a noble lineage of Surulimalai healers. Filled with humorous Malayalam-Tamil slang and playful pop-culture references—including film stars like Mohanlal, Mammootty, Pooja Bhatt, and Shilpa Shetty alongside folk remedies like monitor lizard soup and Guruvayur herbal oil—the song showcases Deva's iconic folk rhythm style.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Adukku Thodar (Repetition for emphasis)

Pagalu pagalu pagalu

Sequential repetition of words like 'Pagalu' (day) and 'Veralu' (finger) builds rhythmic momentum characteristic of Gaana genre music.

Ethukai (Second-letter Assonance)

Pagalu pagalu pagalu / Ada pagalum iravum

Matching the second consonant sound 'ga' across adjacent lines creates harmonic local rhyming.

Moonaal / Alliteration

Naadi narambu grambu

Repetition of the 'Na' sound across 'Naadi' and 'narambu' gives smooth phonetic flow to the tongue.

Pop Culture Allusion

Mohanlaalu mammutti / Ellaarukkum kaal mutti

Vaali uses funny name-dropping of Indian cinema stars to create comedic exaggeration in the character's medical credentials.

Did you know?

Trivia

Deva and Malgudi Subha frequently collaborated on iconic 'Gaana' dance tracks in late-1990s Tamil cinema. Lyricist Vaali crafted this track with a comical blend of Tamil dialect and pseudo-Malayalam phrases to emphasize the masseuse's quirky Kerala background.

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