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Isaimozhi
Lyrics & meaning

Chittaga Malar Mottaga

From Anbukkor Anni · 1960

Lyricist
A. Maruthakasi
Singers
Jikki, Chorus
Music director
A. M. Rajah
Movie name
Anbukkor Anni
Movie release year
1960
Lyrics added on
19 Jan 2025

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Sittaga malar mottaaga
Pudhu pattaaga ilavettaga
Pattaga ilavettaga
Pudhu pattaga ilavettaga
Kattaana udal palapalakka
Kottungadi kummi kottungadi
Ettaadha oru porulai kandu
Kottaavi vidum manidharundu
Chorus :Ettaadha oru porulai kandu
Kottaavi vidum manidharundu
Muttathanathai udhari thalli
Buthiyudanae nadakka solli
Chorus :Buthiyudanae nadakka solli
Buthiyudanae nadakka solli
Thattamaalai suthi suzhandru
Thadhana thaana thaiyavendru
Kattaana udal palapalakka
Kottungadi kummi kottungadi
Vithaara kadhai pesi poluthai
Veenae kazhikka koodathu
Chorus :Koodathamma koodathu
Adhu koodathamma koodathu
Vithaara kadhai pesi poluthai
Veenae kazhikka koodathu
Ethaal kedaikkum panamum kaasum
Ethanai kaalam nilathidum
Chorus :Ethanai kaalam nilathidum
Adhu ethanai kaalam nilathidum
Nitham uzhaichi paadupattaal
Nimmadhi vandhu serumendru
Kattaana udal palapalakka
Kottungadi kummi kottungadi
Female and Chorus :Kattaana udal palapalakka
Kottungadi kummi kottungadi
Like a swift little bird, like a flower bud,
Like fresh silk, full of youthful charm,
Like silk, full of youthful charm,
Like fresh silk, full of youthful charm,
With our shapely bodies glowing bright,
Clap your hands and dance the Kummi, girls!
Looking at things beyond their reach,
There are people who only sit and yawn.
Chorus: Looking at things beyond their reach,
There are people who only sit and yawn.
Shaking off all foolishness,
Telling them to live with wisdom,
Chorus: Telling them to live with wisdom,
Telling them to live with wisdom,
Spinning and twirling round and round,
Singing the rhythm of "thadhana thaana thaiya",
With our shapely bodies glowing bright,
Clap your hands and dance the Kummi, girls!
Telling idle tales to while away the day,
Is something we should never do!
Chorus: No, girls, we never should!
No, we really never should!
Telling idle tales to while away the day,
Is something we should never do!
Money earned through fraud and deceit,
How long will it ever last?
Chorus: How long will it ever last?
Oh, how long will it ever last?
If we work hard and toil each day,
True peace of mind will surely come to us—so,
With our shapely bodies glowing bright,
Clap your hands and dance the Kummi, girls!
Female & Chorus: With our shapely bodies glowing bright,
Clap your hands and dance the Kummi, girls!
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

This vibrant Kummi folk song from the 1960 Tamil film 'Anbukkor Anni' delivers moral guidance wrapped in rhythmic celebration. Sung in a traditional village dance format, the song calls women together to clap hands, dance, and embrace vitality and good health. Through lively verses, the lyricist cautions against envying unattainable things and advises people to overcome ignorance through wisdom.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Upamai (Simile)

Sittaga malar mottaaga Pudhu pattaaga ilavettaga

Youth, enthusiasm, and beauty are compared using the 'aga' suffix to a bird (sittu), a flower bud (mottu), soft silk (pattu), and a tender shoot (ilavettu).

Iyalbu Navitchi Ani (Folk Rhythm & Onomatopoeia)

Thattamaalai suthi suzhandru Thadhana thaana thaiyavendru

Uses traditional Tamil folk beat syllables ('Thadhana thaana thaiya') to evoke the actual footwork and clapping cadence of Kummi dance.

Ethirai (Second Letter Assonance)

Ettaadha oru porulai kandu / Kottaavi vidum manidharundu

The second consonant sound matches across adjacent lines to create aesthetic rhyme ('tt' sound in Ettaadha / Kottaavi / Muttathanathai).

Did you know?

Trivia

Composed by singer-turned-music director A. M. Rajah, this song is rendered by his celebrated playback singer wife, Jikki. Lyricist A. Maruthakasi was renowned for introducing egalitarian themes and practical moral philosophy into traditional Tamil folk genres like Kummi and Oyilattam in early Tamil cinema.

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