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Thambi album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Ennamma Devi Jakkamma

From Thambi · 2005

Lyricist
Vairamuthu
Singers
Karthik, Manikka Vinayagam, Balesh
Music director
Vidyasagar
Movie name
Thambi
Movie release year
2005
Lyrics added on
5 May 2018

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Ahaaa….aaa….aaa….aaa….
Ahaaa….aaa….aaa….aaa…haa…aa….aaa…
Ahaa…aaa…aaa…aa naa…aaaa
Ennammaa devi jakkammaa
Ulagam thalaikeezhaa thonguthu nyaayamaa…..
Eh ennammaa devi jakkammaa
Ulagam thalaikeezhaa thonguthu nyaayamaa…..
Chinna vayasula cigratte pudikkiraan
Chittappan kittayae theeppetti ketkuraan….
Hey chinna vayasula cigratte pudikkiraan
Chittappan kittayae theeppetti ketkuraan….
Pasumaadum aththaava
Ammmaannu solluthu
Pachcha thamizhano mummynnu solluraan
Ennammaa devi jakkammaa
Ulagam thalaikeezhaa thonguthu nyaayamaa…..
Ennammaa devi jakkammaa
Ulagam thalaikeezhaa thonguthu nyaayamaa…..
Santhana boomi …santhana boomi
Kanthagam aachu kanthagam aachu
Kaathkkum ippo thenaruthu moochu
Maramillaa oorula mazhi enga peiyithu
Kolathula thaan ippo cricketu nadakuthu
Ada vevasaayam seiyinnaa
Venaannu solluraan
Velinaadu poyiththaan
Ottagam meikkiraan
Ennammaa devi jakkammaa
Ulagam thalaikeezhaa thonguthu nyaayamaa…..
Ennammaa devi jakkammaa
Ulagam thalaikeezhaa thonguthu nyaayamaa…..
Jakkammaa…… jakkammaa….
Jakkammaa…… jakkammaa….
Jakkammaa…… jakkammaa….
Male :Jakkammaa…… jakkammaa….
Kotaiyil kodi ellaam
Kizhiyaama parakkuthu
Kumari ponnu thunni
Kizhinjaethaan thonguthu
Naththaikku kooda muthugula veedu
Nadaipaadhai thaanae ezhaikku koodude
Ada saamikku padaikkira
Manushana kumbittom
Saakkada allura kaigala vittuttom
Ennammaa devi jakkammaa
Ulagam thalaikeezhaa thonguthu nyaayamaa…..
Ennammaa devi jakkammaa
Ulagam thalaikeezhaa thonguthu nyaayamaa…..
Chinna vayasula cigratte pudikkiraan
Chittappan kittayae theeppetti ketkuraan….
Pasumaadum aththaava
Ammmaannu solluthu
Pachcha thamizhano mummynnu solluraan
Aaa….aaa….naa…..aaaa……
Aha... aa... aa... aa...
Aha... aa... aa... aa... ha... aa... aa...
Aha... aa... aa... aa na... aaaa...
What is this, Goddess Jakkamma?
The world is hanging upside down, is this fair?
Hey, what is this, Goddess Jakkamma?
The world is hanging upside down, is this fair?
He smokes cigarettes at a tender young age,
and asks his own uncle for a matchbox!
Hey, he smokes cigarettes at a tender young age,
and asks his own uncle for a matchbox!
Even a cow calls out to its mother,
and says "Amma",
yet a true-born Tamil calls his mother "Mummy"!
What is this, Goddess Jakkamma?
The world is hanging upside down, is this fair?
What is this, Goddess Jakkamma?
The world is hanging upside down, is this fair?
This land of sandalwood... this land of sandalwood,
has turned to gunpowder, it has turned to gunpowder!
Even the wind is gasping for breath now!
Where will rain fall in a town with no trees?
They are playing cricket in the dry pond now!
If you tell him to do farming,
he refuses and says no.
Yet he travels to a foreign country
just to herd camels!
What is this, Goddess Jakkamma?
The world is hanging upside down, is this fair?
What is this, Goddess Jakkamma?
The world is hanging upside down, is this fair?
Jakkamma... Jakkamma...
Jakkamma... Jakkamma...
Jakkamma... Jakkamma...
Jakkamma... Jakkamma...
All the flags upon the fort
flutter without tearing,
yet a young girl's clothes
hang torn in rags!
Even a snail carries a home on its back,
yet the pavement is the poor man's only shelter!
We bowed down to the priest
who makes offerings to God,
yet we ignored the hands that clear the sewers!
What is this, Goddess Jakkamma?
The world is hanging upside down, is this fair?
What is this, Goddess Jakkamma?
The world is hanging upside down, is this fair?
He smokes cigarettes at a tender young age,
and asks his own uncle for a matchbox!
Even a cow calls out to its mother,
and says "Amma",
yet a true-born Tamil calls his mother "Mummy"!
Aa.... aa.... na..... aaaa......
Male
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Chorus
Male
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Male

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

Ennamma Devi Jakkamma is a sharp social commentary structured as a traditional folk appeal to Goddess Jakkamma. The narrator questions the inverted state of modern society, where moral values, cultural pride, environmental sanity, and social empathy appear completely flipped upside down.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Satire and Cultural Irony

Pasumaadum aththaava / Ammmaannu solluthu / Pachcha thamizhano mummynnu solluraan

Juxtaposes a cow naturally making the sound 'Amma' with a native Tamilian abandoning native terms to call his mother 'Mummy'.

Juxtaposition and Metaphor

Naththaikku kooda muthugula veedu / Nadaipaadhai thaanae ezhaikku koodude

Compares a snail carrying its home on its shell to a poor human who is forced to sleep on open pavements.

Contrast / Antimetabole

Santhana boomi ...santhana boomi / Kanthagam aachu kanthagam aachu

Contrasts the fragrant 'sandalwood land' with volatile 'gunpowder', symbolizing environmental and social degradation.

Social Paradox

Ada saamikku padaikkira / Manushana kumbittom / Saakkada allura kaigala vittuttom

Highlights the paradox of honoring idol artisans while marginalizing sanitary workers who clean human waste.

Did you know?

Trivia

Composed by Vidyasagar with lyrics by Vairamuthu for Madhavan's 2005 film Thambi, this song uses the traditional 'Jakkamma' folk prophecy vocal style to deliver sharp contemporary social critique.

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