Hey Manitha Enge
From Gumastha · 1953
- Lyricist
- Nagayya
- Singer
- Nagayya
- Music director
- C. N. Pandurangan
- Details
- Gumastha1953
Lyrics & meaning
| ♫ Tanglish lyrics | ↻ English translation |
|---|---|
| Male | |
| Hae….manithaa engae odugiraai | Hey human, where are you running to? |
| Nee engae odugiraai | Where are you running? |
| Varumai irulaal vazhi thadumaari | Stumbling on the path due to the darkness of poverty, |
| Mathi mayangi kurudanai polae | With a confused mind, like a blind person, |
| Engae odugiraai | Where are you running? |
| Male | |
| Varumaiyin uruvam bhoomikku paaram | The manifestation of poverty is a burden to the earth, |
| Vaazhnthenna saaram odi pogiraen | What is the point of living? I am running away! |
| Engae appa… | Where to, my son/father? |
| Oozhvinai payanai vendrathaaradaa | Who has ever conquered the consequences of past karma? |
| Un nizhal unnai pirinthidumodaa | Will your own shadow ever leave you? |
| Pillai yaarappaa… | Who is your child, father? |
| Male | |
| Mannil pirantha manitha bommai | Humans born on earth are just mud dolls, |
| Naam mannudan mannaai kalappom | We will all merge back as dust into dust. |
| Orunaal poojai seiyanum appa | Must perform prayers one day, my child... |
| Naalum kizhaimaiyum nalinthvarkkethu | What significance do auspicious days and dates hold for the downtrodden? |
| Nalam pera ulagil maranamae thothu | To attain peace, death seems like the only suitable companion in this world. |
| Male | |
| Vaazhvatharkkaethaan piranthaai ulagil | You were born in this world to live, |
| Vaazhvathevvitham enthan nilaiyil | How can one live in a tragic state like mine? |
| Porumai vendum….poruththathu pothum | Patience is needed... I have endured enough! |
| Ulagai paar….naragamthaan….. | Look at this world... it is indeed a living hell... |
ஹே.....மனிதா எங்கே ஓடுகிறாய்
நீ எங்கே ஓடுகிறாய்
வறுமை இருளால் வழி தடுமாறி
மதி மயங்கி குருடனைப் போலே
எங்கே ஓடுகிறாய்.....
Hey human, where are you running to?
Where are you running?
Stumbling on the path due to the darkness of poverty,
With a confused mind, like a blind person,
Where are you running?
வறுமையின் உருவம் பூமிக்கு பாரம்
வாழ்ந்தென்ன சாரம் ஓடிப் போகிறேன்
எங்கே அப்பா......
ஊழ்வினைப் பயனை வென்றதாரடா
உன் நிழல் உன்னைப் பிரிந்திடுமோடா
பிள்ளை யாரப்பா.....
The manifestation of poverty is a burden to the earth,
What is the point of living? I am running away!
Where to, my son/father?
Who has ever conquered the consequences of past karma?
Will your own shadow ever leave you?
Who is your child, father?
மண்ணில் பிறந்த மனித பொம்மை
நாம் மண்ணுடன் மண்ணாய் கலப்போம்
ஒருநாள் பூஜை செய்யணும் அப்பா
நாளும் கிழமையும் நலிந்தவர்க்கேது
நலம் பெற உலகில் மரணமே தோது
Humans born on earth are just mud dolls,
We will all merge back as dust into dust.
Must perform prayers one day, my child...
What significance do auspicious days and dates hold for the downtrodden?
To attain peace, death seems like the only suitable companion in this world.
வாழ்வதற்க்கே தான் பிறந்தாய் உலகில்
வாழ்வதெவ்விதம் எந்தன் நிலையில்
பொறுமை வேண்டும்......பொறுத்தது போதும்
உலகைப் பார்.......நரகம்தான்......
You were born in this world to live,
How can one live in a tragic state like mine?
Patience is needed... I have endured enough!
Look at this world... it is indeed a living hell...
Hae….manithaa engae odugiraai
Hey human, where are you running to?
Nee engae odugiraai
Where are you running?
Varumai irulaal vazhi thadumaari
Stumbling on the path due to the darkness of poverty,
Mathi mayangi kurudanai polae
With a confused mind, like a blind person,
Engae odugiraai
Where are you running?
Varumaiyin uruvam bhoomikku paaram
The manifestation of poverty is a burden to the earth,
Vaazhnthenna saaram odi pogiraen
What is the point of living? I am running away!
Engae appa…
Where to, my son/father?
Oozhvinai payanai vendrathaaradaa
Who has ever conquered the consequences of past karma?
Un nizhal unnai pirinthidumodaa
Will your own shadow ever leave you?
Pillai yaarappaa…
Who is your child, father?
Mannil pirantha manitha bommai
Humans born on earth are just mud dolls,
Naam mannudan mannaai kalappom
We will all merge back as dust into dust.
Orunaal poojai seiyanum appa
Must perform prayers one day, my child...
Naalum kizhaimaiyum nalinthvarkkethu
What significance do auspicious days and dates hold for the downtrodden?
Nalam pera ulagil maranamae thothu
To attain peace, death seems like the only suitable companion in this world.
Vaazhvatharkkaethaan piranthaai ulagil
You were born in this world to live,
Vaazhvathevvitham enthan nilaiyil
How can one live in a tragic state like mine?
Porumai vendum….poruththathu pothum
Patience is needed... I have endured enough!
Ulagai paar….naragamthaan…..
Look at this world... it is indeed a living hell...
Beyond the translation
Song interpretation
This song from 'Gumastha' (1953) is a deeply emotional, philosophical exchange exploring themes of existential grief, poverty, karma, and mortality. One perspective questions a man running away in despair, reminding him that no human can escape their fate (karma) and that all humans are merely mud dolls destined to return to the earth. The other perspective represents a broken soul suffering under the unbearable weight of poverty, for whom life has lost its meaning and death seems like the only ultimate relief. The emotional arc moves from desperate flight and existential questioning to a grim realization of life's painful realities. It highlights the stark contrast between philosophical acceptance of fate and the lived agony of the destitute.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Simile (Uwamai)
“Mathi mayangi kurudanai polae”
Compares the bewildered mind of a person driven mad by hardship to a blind person losing their way, using the explicit comparison word 'polae' (like).
Metaphor (Uruvagakani)
“Varumai irulaal vazhi thadumaari”
Metaphorically equates poverty to a blinding 'darkness' that causes one to stumble on life's path.
Metaphor (Uruvagakani)
“Mannil pirantha manitha bommai”
Refers to human beings as 'mud dolls' (manitha bommai), symbolizing fragility and impermanence.
Rhetorical Question
“Oozhvinai payanai vendrathaaradaa”
Asks who has ever defeated the consequences of karma, driving home the point that fate is inescapable.
Monai (Initial Alliteration)
“Naalum kizhaimaiyum / Nalam pera ulagil”
Repetition of the initial sound 'Na' across lines 15 and 16, creating rhythmic harmony.
Did you know?
Trivia
This philosophical song from the 1953 movie 'Gumastha' (meaning 'Clerk') features Chittor V. Nagayya in multiple creative roles—as singer, lyricist, and actor. Nagayya was famous for playing poignant, tragedy-laden roles and rendering soul-stirring devotional and dramatic songs during the golden era of early South Indian cinema.
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