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Isaimozhi
Adutha Veedu album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Koozhukkum Aasa Meesaikkum

From Adutha Veedu · 1989

Lyricist
Vairamuthu
Singers
P. Jayachandran, Latha Kannan
Music director
Shankar Ganesh
Movie name
Adutha Veedu
Movie release year
1989
Lyrics added on
4 Oct 2021

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Koozhukkum aasa meesaikkum aasa
Koozhukkum aasa meesaikkum aasa
Koodavae koodathu
Karunguyil pola pattu paadu
Kakkaikku aagathu
Kattaiviral pol sundu viralum
Veenga koodathu
Kattaiviral pol sundu viralum
Veenga koodathu
Veekkam enbadhu endha naalum
Valarchiyaagaadhu
Koozhukkum aasa meesaikkum aasa
Koozhukkum aasa meesaikkum aasa
Koodavae koodathu
Karunguyil pola pattu paadu
Kakkaikku aagathu
Vandaloorula vayalu varappula
Sundeli onnu irundhiduchaam
Adhu petha ponnukku periya edathula
Maappillai thedi alanjiduchaam
Rombha periyavan suriyandhaannu
Adhu kitta poyi kettiduchaam
Adhu thanna moodura meganthaan
Rombha periya aalu nnu solliduchaam
Aaang appuram
Male :Than magalai kattikka
Solli megatha kettuchi
Female :Megam ennappa solluchi
Kaathadicha naan kalanjiduvennu
Gauravamaaga solliduchaam
Kaathukitta poyi kettadhukku
Adhu enna sollichaam theriyuma
Adikkura kaatha thadukkudhu suvaru
Adikkura kaatha thadukkudhu suvaru
Adhu thaan perusunnu solliduchaam
Appo sundelikkum sevarukkum thaan
Kalyaanam aachaam
Illaiyae ….sevaru sollichu
Veettu sevaraai naan irundhaalum
Ottai podhudhu eli inam thaan
Eli thaan perusu endrathu sevaru
Elikkum purinjathu thaan panna thavaru
Koozhukkum aasa
Male :Meesaikkum aasa
Koozhukkum aasa meesaikkum aasa
Koodavae koodathu
Male :Karunguyil pola pattu paadu
Kakkaikku aagathu
Karappaan boochikku meesa irukku
Katta bommana maariduma
Vellattukkum thaadi irukku
Valluvan polae paadidumaa
Eppadi irundha nimmadhi irukkum
Appadi irukkanum vaazhkaiyilae
Ellai thaandi seedhai nadantha
Enn aachu paar mudivinilae
Koozhukkum aasa meesaikkum aasa
Koozhukkum aasa meesaikkum aasa
Koodavae koodathu
Karunguyil pola pattu paadu
Kakkaikku aagathu
Wanting to drink porridge and wanting to keep your mustache clean,
Wanting to drink porridge and wanting to keep your mustache clean,
You can never have both!
Singing a song like a black cuckoo—
That does not suit a crow.
Just like a thumb, a little finger
Should never swell up.
Just like a thumb, a little finger
Should never swell up.
A swelling can never, on any day,
Be called true growth.
Wanting to drink porridge and wanting to keep your mustache clean,
Wanting to drink porridge and wanting to keep your mustache clean,
You can never have both!
Singing a song like a black cuckoo—
That does not suit a crow.
Along the field ridges of Vandalur,
There once lived a little mouse.
For the daughter it raised, in a high-status family,
It wandered all over searching for a groom.
Thinking the Sun is the greatest of all,
It went up to him and asked.
He said, "The cloud that covers me
Is far greater than I am."
Ah, and then?
Male: Asking him to marry its daughter,
It went and asked the cloud.
Female: What did the cloud say, dear?
"If the wind blows, I will scatter away,"
It replied with modesty.
When it went and asked the wind,
Do you know what the wind said?
"A wall blocks the blowing wind,
A wall blocks the blowing wind,
So the wall is greater," it said.
Then between the mouse and the wall,
Did a marriage take place?
No... the wall spoke up:
"Though I stand tall as a house wall,
It is the mice who drill holes through me."
"The mouse is the greatest," said the wall.
And the mouse realized the foolish mistake it made.
Wanting to drink porridge,
Male: And wanting to keep your mustache clean—
Wanting to drink porridge and wanting to keep your mustache clean,
You can never have both!
Male: Singing a song like a black cuckoo—
That does not suit a crow.
A cockroach has a mustache;
Will it turn into Kattabomman (legendary warrior king)?
A goat has a beard too;
Can it write verses like Valluvar (celebrated ancient poet)?
Living in a way that brings peace of mind,
That is how one should live in this life.
When Sita stepped across her boundary line,
Look what happened in the end!
Wanting to drink porridge and wanting to keep your mustache clean,
Wanting to drink porridge and wanting to keep your mustache clean,
You can never have both!
Singing a song like a black cuckoo—
That does not suit a crow.
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Female
Male
Male
Male
Female
Male
Male
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

This folk-inspired philosophical song uses proverbs, nature allegories, and a classic fable to convey lessons about contentment, self-awareness, and humility. The central Tamil proverb 'Koozhukkum aasa, meesaikkum aasa' cautions against double-minded greed—trying to consume porridge without dirtying one's mustache—showing that incompatible desires lead to failure. Through humor and satire, the song reinforces that superficial features do not grant nobility, and one should accept oneself rather than overstepping boundaries. The middle segment retells a Panchatantra fable where a mouse seeks the most powerful entity in the universe (Sun, Cloud, Wind, Wall) to marry his daughter, only to realize that rats themselves can erode walls, completing the cycle of humility. Lyricist Vairamuthu weaves simple yet profound folk logic encouraging peaceful living within one's natural limits.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Proverbial Metaphor (Pazhamozhi)

“Koozhukkum aasa meesaikkum aasa”

Uses the traditional Tamil folk adage about wanting to eat porridge while preserving one's mustache to symbolize contradictory or greedy desires.

Simile (Uvamai)

“Kattaiviral pol sundu viralum veenga koodathu”

Compares a swollen pinky finger to a thumb to convey that unnatural swelling or egoistic pretension should not be mistaken for real growth.

Satirical Metaphor

“Karappaan boochikku meesa irukku katta bommana maariduma”

Contrasts a cockroach's antennae/mustache with the heroic ruler Veerapandiya Kattabomman to highlight how physical appearance alone does not bestow greatness.

Did you know?

Trivia

The allegorical story recited in the song—about a mouse searching for the ultimate groom across the Sun, Cloud, Wind, and Wall—is directly adapted from ancient Panchatantra folklore, ingeniously retrofitted into rhythmic Tamil folk lyrics by Vairamuthu.

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