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Isaimozhi
Lyrics & meaning

Madham Mummari

From Sigappu Thali · 1988

Lyricist
Vairamuthu
Singer
Malaysia Vasudevan
Music director
Shankar Ganesh
Movie name
Sigappu Thali
Movie release year
1988
Lyrics added on
22 May 2021

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Maadham mummaari mazhai enga peiyyum
Ellaamae poiyaachchu
Ooril mazhai peinchu naalaachchu
Chorus :Aamaamam mazhai peinchu naalaachchu
Saathikkulla saathi vachchaan
Sathikkoru neethi vacchaan
Koyila kattiputtaan
Katti saamiya viththupputtaan
Chorus :Viththu veedellaam kattipputtaan
Maadham mummaari mazhai enga peiyyum
Ellaamae poiyaachchu
Ooril mazhai peinchu naalaachchu
Chorus :Aamaamam mazhai peinchu naalaachchu
Where will rain fall three times a month now?
It has all turned out to be a lie.
It has been so long since it rained in our town.
Chorus: Yes, yes, it has been so long since it rained!
He created castes within castes,
and made a separate justice for every deceit.
He built a temple,
and then sold off God Himself!
Chorus: By selling God, he built houses for himself!
Where will rain fall three times a month now?
It has all turned out to be a lie.
It has been so long since it rained in our town.
Chorus: Yes, yes, it has been so long since it rained!
Male
Male
Male

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

This folk-inspired social critique penned by Vairamuthu laments the moral decay and corruption in society. Ancient Tamil literature holds that nature bestows rain three times a month ('Maadham Mummaari') in a righteous land governed by truth and equity. The song contrasts this ideal with the reality of artificial caste divisions, twisted justice systems, and the commercialization of faith, arguing that nature withholds rain as a response to human deceit and greed.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Monaai (Initial Alliteration)

“Maadham mummaari mazhai enga peiyyum”

Ethugai (Second-letter Rhyme)

“Saathikkulla saathi vachchaan / Sathikkoru neethi vacchaan”

Cultural Allusion

“Maadham mummaari mazhai enga peiyyum”

Irony

“Koyila kattiputtaan / Katti saamiya viththupputtaan”

Did you know?

Trivia

The concept of 'Maadham Mummaari Mazhai' (three rains a month) is a recurring motif in classical Tamil poetry, symbolically linking ecological harmony and rainfall to righteous governance, social morality, and divine justice.

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