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Kootathil Oruthan album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Enda Ippadi

From Kootathil Oruthan · 2017

Lyricist
Kabilan
Singers
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Emcee Gonzales
Music director
Nivas K. Prasanna
Movie name
Kootathil Oruthan
Movie release year
2017
Lyrics added on
9 Mar 2017

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Odura nariyila
Oru nari kulla nari
Kullanari vandila
Oru pakkam pincha tyre
Pincha tyre otti ottum
Thinasari manushan
Bulidup panna onnumillai
Kootathila oruthan
Naan thaan nadakuran
Yethuvum nadakala
Yenda ippadi
Pallu irunthum pakoda kidaikala
Yenda ippadi
Facebook-il-um friendship illa
Yenda ippadi
Maggu adichium mandala yerala
Yenda ippadi
Rekka irundhum parakalayae
Kathavum irundhum thurakaliyae
Kitta irundhum kidaikalaiyae
Nallathu nadakalaiyae
Nool illa kaathadi
Vesham illa koothadi
Enthan vaazhvil idhu pola
Sambavam pala kodi
{Yenda ippadi
Enakku yenda ippadi
Yenda ippadi
Enakku yenda ippadi} (2)
Ara kora vayasula
Pudichathu kedaikala
Kedachathu pudichalaum
Athukenna pidikala
Velichathila dhinam dhinam
Mutti pottu padichalum
Padichatha maranthidum
Exam-la varum joram
Adi thadi sandai-la
Adikadi mandai-la
Adipattu midhipattu
Avasara sikichaiyila
Busumilla kaasumilla
Class pona missumilla
Theenjipona car-u mela
Thaaru mara vilasira
Thariketta marakatta
Odanjitta karikatta
Rusiayana rasathukku
Naanjipona palakotta
Facebooku twitter-la
Like share pottu pottu
Ivanaiyum ungala
Oruthana sethukonga
One more time
Kulla illa komali
Atha vittu kodukkum yemali
Athirshtam enakku ethirali
Naan thotha porali
Irubathi naalu mani neram
Enakku illa nalla neram
Ithukku enna parigaram
Naan mulluadaintha kedikaram
Thappu seiyala
Thandanai kedaikuthu
Yenda ippadi
Kadavul vanangiyum
Kaariyam nadakala
Yenda ippadi
{Yenda ippadi
Enakku yenda ippadi
Yenda Ippadi
Enakku Yenda Ippadi} (2)
Aalamara uchiyila
Kosu onnu kadikuthu
Nochikuppam ditchu-kulla
Kerchief katti paadikinu
Poradi santhaila
Kunthikittu kunthikinu
Parala mandrathila
Panchi mittai vaangi thinnu
Ikkuli pikalli
Jungle-la sundeli
Pasiyila padutha
Panjathil thakkali
Road-la pora onana
Lungikkulla uttuputtu
Vannathiraiyila vanthu
Voluntary vazhipari
Vayiru nirayuthu
Vaazhkai niraiyilla
Yenda ippadi
Ettu thisaiyilum
Vazhiyae theriliyae
Yenda ippadi
Uthadu irundhum
Sirikka mudiyala
Yenda ippadi
Mutti mothiyum
Onnum nadakala
Yenda ippadi
Rekka irundhum parakalayae
Kathavum irundhum thurakaliyae
Kitta irundhum kidaikalaiyae
Nallathu nadakalaiyae
Nool illa kaathadi
Vesham illa koothadi
Enthan vaazhvil idhu pola
Sambavam pala kodi
{Yenda ippadi
Enakku yenda ippadi
Yenda ippadi
Enakku yenda ippadi} (2)
Among the running foxes,
one is just a scrawny fox,
and in that fox's cart,
a tire on one side is flat and torn!
Driving along patching that torn tire,
is this everyday ordinary man.
Nothing to brag about or show off,
just one guy among the crowd!
I'm the one walking on,
yet nothing walks my way!
Why, man, is it like this?
I have teeth, but no pakodas (crispy fritters) to crunch!
Why is it like this?
Not even on Facebook do I have a friend!
Why is it like this?
Even after cramming hard, nothing enters my head!
Why is it like this?
I have wings, but I can't fly!
There's a door, but it won't open!
It's right nearby, but out of reach!
Nothing good ever happens!
A kite without a string,
a street performer without a costume,
in my life, just like this,
there are millions of bad breaks!
Why is it like this?
Why does it happen like this to me?
Why is it like this?
Why does it happen like this to me?
In the prime of my half-baked youth,
what I liked, I never got.
Even if I liked what I got,
it didn't seem to like me back!
Under the light day after day,
even if I study on my knees,
I forget everything I studied,
and fever strikes during exams!
In every rough street fight,
getting hit on the head all the time,
beaten up and stomped on,
ending up in emergency care!
No bus to ride, no money in pocket,
and if I reach class, no teacher is there!
On top of a burnt-out car,
banging away all wildly!
A useless piece of wood,
a broken lump of coal,
into a pot of tasty rasam (spiced soup),
like a spoiled jackfruit seed!
On Facebook and Twitter,
by giving your likes and shares,
please take this guy in
and count him as one of your own!
One more time!
I'm not a dwarf or a clown,
just a fool who always lets things go!
Good luck is my sworn enemy,
and I'm a defeated fighter!
Twenty-four hours a day,
there's no good time for me!
What is the cure for this?
I'm a clock with jammed hands!
I did nothing wrong,
yet I keep getting punished!
Why is it like this?
Even after praying to God,
nothing turns out right!
Why is it like this?
Why is it like this?
Why does it happen like this to me?
Why is it like this?
Why does it happen like this to me?
At the very top of a banyan tree,
a mosquito comes to bite!
Inside the drain of Nochikuppam,
tying a kerchief and singing along,
hustling in the crowded market,
squatting and hanging around,
at the town council ground,
buying and eating cotton candy,
all topsy-turvy and messy,
like a tiny field mouse in a jungle,
when going to bed hungry,
like a costly tomato in a famine!
Catching a garden lizard on the road
and stuffing it into your lungi to invite trouble,
showing up on the silver screen,
like voluntary daylight robbery!
My stomach gets filled,
but my life stays unfulfilled!
Why is it like this?
In all eight directions,
no path can be seen!
Why is it like this?
Even with lips to move,
I can't bring myself to smile!
Why is it like this?
Even after struggling and banging my head,
nothing ever works out!
Why is it like this?
I have wings, but I can't fly!
There's a door, but it won't open!
It's right nearby, but out of reach!
Nothing good ever happens!
A kite without a string,
a street performer without a costume,
in my life, just like this,
there are millions of bad breaks!
Why is it like this?
Why does it happen like this to me?
Why is it like this?
Why does it happen like this to me?
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Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

'Yenda Ippadi' is a comical, self-deprecating anthem about an average, invisible guy—the ultimate 'middle-bencher' or 'one in the crowd'—who feels perpetually plagued by bad luck. Through relatable everyday misadventures like failing exams despite studying, ending up in emergency rooms from random brawls, lacking friends on social media, and encountering endless ironic failures, the protagonist hilariously questions his continuous string of misfortunes with the recurring phrase 'Yenda Ippadi?' ('Why is it like this?'). Despite the underlying frustration with his luck, the song maintains a humorous, lighthearted, and resilient tone. Blending Chennai folk/Gaana style phrasing with modern pop culture, lyricist Kabilan portrays an underdog who takes life's minor catastrophes with a pinch of salt, urging society to embrace him as 'one of their own'.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Iyaipu (End Rhyme)

“Rekka irundhum parakalayae / Kathavum irundhum thurakaliyae / Kitta irundhum kidaikalaiyae / Nallathu nadakalaiyae”

The lines end with rhyming sound patterns ('parakalayae', 'thurakaliyae', 'kidaikalaiyae', 'nadakalaiyae'), adding rhythmic flow to the complaint.

Metaphor

“Nool illa kaathadi / Vesham illa koothadi”

The protagonist compares himself to a kite without a controlling thread and a street performer without a mask/costume, highlighting his lack of control and direction.

Metaphor

“Naan mulluadaintha kedikaram”

Compares himself to a clock stuck with thorns, representing a life where time itself feels painful and non-functional.

Proverb / Idiom

“Pallu irunthum pakoda kidaikala”

A colloquial Tamil idiom meaning having the capacity/teeth to enjoy something, but lacking the opportunity or resources to get it.

Idiom

“Road-la pora onana / Lungikkulla uttuputtu”

A popular Tamil idiom ('Onaanai eduthu madiyil/lungiyil vittukondadhu pola') referring to unnecessarily inviting trouble upon oneself.

Did you know?

Trivia

The song 'Yenda Ippadi' features in the 2017 Tamil film 'Kootathil Oruthan', composed by Nivas K. Prasanna and sung with distinctive quirkiness by singer-composer Santhosh Narayanan. The movie revolves around the life of an average, unnoticeable middle-bencher played by Ashok Selvan. Lyricist Kabilan used local Chennai slang mixed with modern social media terms like Facebook, Twitter, likes, and shares to capture the contemporary youth's existential frustration in a humorous Gana style.

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