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Isaimozhi
Lyrics & meaning

Iravu Vettai Aaduthey

From Maanagaram · 2017

Lyricist
Lalithanand
Singer
Suraj Jagan
Music director
Javed Riaz
Details
Maanagaram2017

Lyrics & meaning

Tanglish lyrics English translation
Male
Iravu vettai aaduthaeThe night goes hunting.
Iraiena vazhvai kekkuthaeIt demands life as its prey.
Iravukku kangal koodiyaeEyes gather and multiply for the night.
Immaikuthae padhai thediyaeIt blinks while searching for a path.
Male
Thookam illamal thurathuthaeIt chases without allowing sleep.
Thooku kairaagi miratuthaeIt threatens like a hangman's rope.
Idhu nagaram managaramThis is a city, a metropolis.
Atharukku nooru mugamIt possesses a hundred faces.
Chorus
Saama saama saama pozhudhilaeIn the deep midnight hours,
Sathurangha aatam irulilaeA game of chess plays out in the dark.
Gama gama vaasam panathilaeThere is a sweet aroma in money.
Male
Iravu vettai aaduthaeThe night goes hunting.
Iraiena vazhvai kekkuthaeIt demands life as its prey.
Iravukku kangal koodiyaeEyes gather and multiply for the night.
Immaikuthae padhai thediyaeIt blinks while searching for a path.
Male
Punnagai minnidum munn iravuThe early night where smiles gleam,
Pudhu pudhu vannam tharumBrings brand new vibrant colors,
Ennavo bothai varumAnd brings a strange intoxication.
Pinnani kondathu pinn iravuThe late night carries a secret background,
Pudhirgalai kattru tharumIt teaches complex riddles,
Pottai thirakkumAnd unlocks hidden secrets.
Male
Nagarama naragamaIs this a city or is it hell?
Oru dhinam virkum thunbaththaiOne day it sells sorrow,
Marudhinam virkum inbaththaiThe next day it sells joy.
Thodaruma vidiyumaaWill this continue? Will dawn ever break?
Male
Engo thondridum engo serndhidumOriginating somewhere, ending somewhere,
Ella padhaigalumAll the paths,
Ella oorgalum ondrai serndhidumAnd all the towns come together as one.
Adhu than maanagaramThat is what a metropolis is.
Male
Iravu vettai aaduthaeThe night goes hunting.
Iraiena vazhvai kekkuthaeIt demands life as its prey.
Iravukku kangal koodiyaeEyes gather and multiply for the night.
Immaikuthae padhai thediyaeIt blinks while searching for a path.

Beyond the translation

Song interpretation

This song vividly paints the dark, unpredictable, and predatory nature of night life in a sprawling metropolis. It portrays the city as a living organism that hunts human lives, driven by money, power, and secrets. The atmosphere shifts between seductive illusions in the early night and intense, riddling dangers in the late hours, leaving residents questioning whether the city is a haven or hell. Ultimately, the song encapsulates how a metropolis becomes a hyperlinked crucible where people from all walks of life and diverse paths converge, bound together by the relentless rhythm of urban survival.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Personification (Maanidhamakkal / Uruvagarnam)

Iravu vettai aaduthae

The night is personified as a hunter with eyes searching for prey, giving an inanimate time period predatory human and animal traits.

Simile (Uwamai)

Thooku kairaagi miratuthae

The anxiety and insomnia of city life are compared directly to a threatening hangman's rope.

Metaphor (Uruvagakam)

Sathurangha aatam irulilae

The dark city street interactions are metaphorically depicted as a strategic game of chess.

Rhyme and Antithesis (Ethirninra Porul / Etukai)

Oru dhinam virkum thunbaththai / Marudhinam virkum inbaththai

Contrasting pairs like sorrow (thunbaththai) and joy (inbaththai) are used along with rhyming structures to show the polarity of urban life.

Did you know?

Trivia

'Maanagaram' (2017) marked the directorial debut of critically acclaimed filmmaker Lokesh Kanagaraj. The music for the film was composed by Javed Riaz, and the track perfectly mirrors the hyperlink narrative structure of the film set in the chaotic urban maze of Chennai.

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