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Thai Ullam album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Pokkiri Payale Nee Polladhavan

From Thai Ullam · 1952

Lyricist
Kanakasurabhi
Singer
Radha Jayalakshmi
Music directors
Chittor V. Nagaiah, A. Rama Rao
Movie name
Thai Ullam
Movie release year
1952
Lyrics added on
6 Aug 2019

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Pokkiri payalae
Ho ho ho ho ho ho ho
Pokkiri payalae
Thookkavae matten
Unnai thookkavae matten
Nee polladhavan romba pollavadhavan
Pokkiri payalae
Unnai thookkavae matten
Nee polladhavan romba pollavadhavan
Pokkiri payalae
Thottilai kandaa sinungidurae
Thozhilae saanji orangidurae
Etti nagarndhaa ezhunthidurae
Iduppilae savaari yeri thiriyirae
Ho ho ho ho ho ho ho
Pokkiri payalae
Unnai thookkavae matten
Nee polladhavan romba pollavadhavan
Pokkiri payalae
Karumbil irunthu suvai pirindhaalum
Kandrum thaayum inai piriyadhu
En kannum maniyai pirinthurngaadhu
En kannum maniyai pirinthurngaadhu
Ho ho ho ho ho ho ho
Sellakiliyae en vallamai ellaam
Unnidam sellathudaa
Kittae nilladhae daa
Sellakiliyae en sellakiliyae
You little rascal!
Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho
You little rascal!
I will not pick you up,
I will not carry you at all!
You are naughty, so very naughty!
You little rascal...
I will not carry you at all!
You are naughty, so very naughty!
You little rascal...
You whine and fuss when you see the cradle,
Yet you lean on my shoulder and fall asleep.
If I step away, you wake right up,
Riding on my hip wherever I go...
Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho
You little rascal!
I will not carry you at all!
You are naughty, so very naughty!
You little rascal...
Even if sweetness separates from sugarcane,
A mother and her calf will never part,
Nor can my eye sleep without its pupil.
Nor can my eye sleep without its pupil.
Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho
My darling parrot, all of my authority
Has no effect on you!
Don't come near me!
My darling parrot, oh my darling parrot!
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

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.

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