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Isaimozhi
Lyrics & meaning

Oorula Irukkudhu Nooru

From Sakthi Parasakthi · 1990

Lyricist
Vaali
Singer
S. P. Shailaja
Music director
Sankar Ganesh
Details
Sakthi Parasakthi1990

Lyrics & meaning

Tanglish lyrics English translation
Female
Adaei oorula irukkudhu nooru peiyiHey, there are a hundred ghosts in the town,
Udukkaiya aattu nee anga poyiGo shake your drum over there!
Haei oorula irukkudhu nooru peiyiHey, there are a hundred ghosts in the town,
Udukkaiya aattu nee anga poyiGo shake your drum over there!
Female
Yenda nee inga vandhu poosa poduraeWhy are you coming here and performing ritual tricks?
Engitta pamba kaatti paattu paaduraeWhy are you showing me a snake and singing songs?
Pottodu poovodu thaayaaga vandhendaaI came as a mother adorn with a bindi and flowers!
Thaayaagum munnalae peiyaaga ninnendaaBefore becoming a mother, I stood as a fierce ghost!
Female
Adeii oorula irukkudhu nooru peiyiHey, there are a hundred ghosts in the town,
Udukkaiya aattu nee anga poyiGo shake your drum over there!
Yenda nee inga vandhu poosa poduraeWhy are you coming here and performing ritual tricks?
Engitta pamba kaatti paattu paaduraeWhy are you showing me a snake and singing songs?
Female
Pottodu poovodu thaayaaga vandhendaaI came as a mother adorn with a bindi and flowers!
Thaayaagum munnalae peiyaaga ninnendaaBefore becoming a mother, I stood as a fierce ghost!
Oorula irukkudhu nooru peiyiThere are a hundred ghosts in the town,
Udukkaiya aattu nee anga poyi deiGo shake your drum over there, hey!
Female
Polladha veetla stove vedikkudhuIn evil households, kitchen stoves explode,
Ponaana marumagal usura kudikkudhuStealing away the life of precious daughters-in-law.
Ellamae marmama ingae nadakkudhuEverything happening here is shrouded in mystery,
Ippodhu ovvonnaa sandhi sirikudhuNow each crime is exposed to public mockery!
Female
Poosaari velaya angae nee kattadaGo practice your priest work over there,
Pogaadha peigala po poonnu ottadaGo drive away those stubborn ghosts that refuse to leave!
Mandhiramthaan un thandhiramthaanYour chants and your cunning tricks,
Uththami naan pathini naanI am a virtuous woman, a chaste wife,
Engittathaan palikkumaaWill your spells ever work on me?
Female
Oorula irukkudhu nooru peiyiThere are a hundred ghosts in the town,
Udukkaiya aattu nee anga poyiGo shake your drum over there!
Yenda nee inga vandhu poosa poduraeWhy are you coming here and performing ritual tricks?
Engitta pamba kaatti paattu paaduraeWhy are you showing me a snake and singing songs?
Pottodu poovodu thaayaaga vandhendaaI came as a mother adorn with a bindi and flowers!
Thaayaagum munnalae peiyaaga ninnendaaBefore becoming a mother, I stood as a fierce ghost!
Female
Oorula irukkudhu nooru peiyiThere are a hundred ghosts in the town,
Udukkaiya aattu nee anga poyiGo shake your drum over there!
Female
Kaiyaala kaththathaan pudikka mudiyumaCan you catch the blowing wind with your bare hands?
Haan kaiyaala kaththathaan pudikka mudiyumaHa! Can you catch the blowing wind with your bare hands?
Kambaala nizhala thaan adikka mudiyumaCan you beat a shadow with a wooden stick?
Oodhiya nilavathaan anaikka mudiyumaCan you blow out the light of the glowing moon?
Unnala enna thaan adakka mudiyumaCan someone like you ever suppress or control me?
Female
Seer ketta maamiyaiThe wicked, immoral mother-in-law,
Naar pola kizhikkanumMust be torn into shreds like banana fibers!
Seneera thadavi thaanOnly after smearing myself in red blood,
En koondhal mudikkanumShall I tie up my flowing hair!
Aathaadi naan ratha katterithaanOh my, I am a blood-drinking vampire now!
Sengal vechu soolaiya polaLike a burning brick kiln,
Kangal rendum sevakkudhuBoth my eyes are turning fiery red!
Female
Oorula irukkudhu nooru peiyiThere are a hundred ghosts in the town,
Udukkaiya aattu nee anga poyiGo shake your drum over there!
Yenda nee inga vandhu poosa poduraeWhy are you coming here and performing ritual tricks?
Engitta pamba kaatti paattu paaduraeWhy are you showing me a snake and singing songs?
Pottodu poovodu thaayaaga vandhendaaI came as a mother adorn with a bindi and flowers!
Thaayaagum munnalae peiyaaga ninnendaaBefore becoming a mother, I stood as a fierce ghost!
Female
Oorula irukkudhu nooru peiyiThere are a hundred ghosts in the town,
Udukkaiya aattu nee anga poyiGo shake your drum over there!
Oorula irukkudhu nooru peiyiThere are a hundred ghosts in the town,
Udukkaiya aattu nee anga poyi…deiGo shake your drum over there... hey!

Beyond the translation

Song interpretation

This intense song features a woman possessed by a vengeful spirit (or channeling divine anger) directly confronting a local exorcist/priest (poosaari). She ridicules his empty chants, snake-charming rituals, and drum-shaking (udukkai), telling him that real 'ghosts' are the living human monsters in society—specifically wicked mothers-in-law who murder young brides through staged stove explosions for dowry. Asserting her absolute purity, virtue, and chaste nature ('Pathini'), she declares that no worldly magic or trickery can control her divine fury. She uses vivid imagery to convey her unstoppable power, comparing her anger to the wind and moon, and vows a bloody retribution against those who tormented her before tying up her unkempt hair.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Rhetorical Question

Kaiyaala kaththathaan pudikka mudiyuma

Asking 'Can you catch the wind with bare hands?' emphasizes the impossibility of stopping her vengeful spirit.

Simile

Naar pola kizhikkanum

Compares tearing apart the wicked mother-in-law to shredding plant fibers ('naar pola').

Simile

Sengal vechu soolaiya pola... Kangal rendum sevakkudhu

Compares her reddening eyes full of rage to a blazing brick kiln ('soolaiya pola').

Ethugai (Second Letter Rhyme)

Seer ketta maamiyai / Naar pola kizhikkanum

The second consonant 'r' (seer / naar) creates a rhythmic, biting poetic harmony.

Did you know?

Trivia

Written by legendary lyricist Vaali for the 1990 movie 'Sakthi Parasakthi', the song highlights common 1980s and 1990s socio-mythological themes in Tamil cinema. It directly addresses the horror of dowry deaths ('stove explosions') through the popular cinematic device of a vengeful chaste spirit confronting fake exorcists.

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