Skip to content
Isaimozhi
Lyrics & meaning

Pokkiri Payale Nee Polladhavan

From Thai Ullam · 1952

Lyricist
Kanakasurabhi
Singer
Radha Jayalakshmi
Music directors
Chittor V. Nagaiah, A. Rama Rao
Details
Thai Ullam1952

Lyrics & meaning

Tanglish lyrics English translation
Female
Pokkiri payalaeOh rogue boy!
Ho ho ho ho ho ho hoHo ho ho ho ho ho ho
Pokkiri payalaeOh rogue boy!
Thookkavae mattenI will not carry you!
Unnai thookkavae mattenI will not carry you at all!
Nee polladhavan romba pollavadhavanYou are mischievous, very mischievous!
Pokkiri payalaeOh rogue boy!
Unnai thookkavae mattenI will not carry you at all!
Nee polladhavan romba pollavadhavanYou are mischievous, very mischievous!
Pokkiri payalaeOh rogue boy!
Female
Thottilai kandaa sinungiduraeWhen you see the cradle, you whine.
Thozhilae saanji orangiduraeLeaning on my shoulder, you go to sleep.
Etti nagarndhaa ezhunthiduraeIf I step away, you wake up.
Iduppilae savaari yeri thiriyiraeRiding on my hip, you wander around!
Female
Ho ho ho ho ho ho hoHo ho ho ho ho ho ho
Pokkiri payalaeOh rogue boy!
Unnai thookkavae mattenI will not carry you at all!
Nee polladhavan romba pollavadhavanYou are mischievous, very mischievous!
Pokkiri payalaeOh rogue boy!
Female
Karumbil irunthu suvai pirindhaalumEven if sweetness could separate from sugarcane,
Kandrum thaayum inai piriyadhuA calf and its mother cow will never separate.
En kannum maniyai pirinthurngaadhuMy eye will not rest separated from its pupil.
En kannum maniyai pirinthurngaadhuMy eye will not rest separated from its pupil.
Female
Ho ho ho ho ho ho hoHo ho ho ho ho ho ho
Sellakiliyae en vallamai ellaamMy sweet parrot, all my power and authority...
Unnidam sellathudaa...does not work on you, my dear!
Kittae nilladhae daaDo not stand close to me!
Sellakiliyae en sellakiliyaeMy sweet parrot, my sweet parrot!

Beyond the translation

Song interpretation

This playful Tamil lullaby depicts a mother affectionately chiding her mischievous young child. She playfully threatens that she will no longer carry him because he whines whenever placed in his cradle and refuses to let her step away. Despite her pretend frustration, she expresses deep, unbreakable love for him, declaring that her love is as inseparable as sweetness from sugarcane, a mother cow from her calf, or an eye from its pupil.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Monorhyme / End Rhyme (Iyaibu)

Thottilai kandaa sinungidurae

Lines 11 to 14 use matching rhythmic endings ('sinungidurae', 'orangidurae', 'ezhunthidurae', 'thiriyirae') to create a playful nursery-rhyme cadence.

Analogy / Metaphor (Upama / Uvamai)

Karumbil irunthu suvai pirindhaalum / Kandrum thaayum inai piriyadhu

The bond between mother and child is poetically compared to sugarcane and its inherent sweetness, a calf and its mother cow, and an eye and its pupil.

Did you know?

Trivia

Thai Ullam (1952) was directed by K. Ramnoth and starred R. S. Manohar and M. V. Rajamma. The film's music was scored by V. Nagayya and T. R. Pappa, with Kanakasurabhi contributing lyricism that captured maternal warmth.

Keep listening

More from Thai Ullam