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En Mana Vaanil album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Roatoram

From En Mana Vaanil · 2002

Lyricist
Mu. Metha
Singers
K. J. Yesudas, Shruti Haasan
Music director
Ilayaraja
Movie name
En Mana Vaanil
Movie release year
2002
Lyrics added on
1 Dec 2018

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Roattora paattu
Saththam ketkkuthaa
Ketkkumbodhu sogam
Vanthu thaakkuthaa…
Roattora paattu
Saththam ketkkuthaa
Ketkkumbodhu sogam
Vanthu thaakkuthaa…
Pootti vacha mana kathavu
Therakkumaa…
Kotti vanthu anba
Kannil kaattumaa….
Vaan nilavu engal vaazhvu
Valarumaanu paarkuthaa…
Valarvatharkku nombirunthu
Deivangala venduthaa..
Enna solvadhoo …ooo…oo
…………………….
Entha naadu ponaalum
Intha koodu veguthu
Koottathodu varumaiyunthaan
Naadu maaruthu…
Paadhi vayiru kaayuthu
Meedhi vayiru theiyuthu
Manusha saathi
Manusharathaan usira vaanguthu
Aattam kaanum vaazhkaiyilae
Aattam varuthu adhisayamaa
Patta paadu etti nikka
Paattu varum adhirasamaa
Verum vaarthaigal ketkkaiyilae
Kurukurukkuthu manathinilae
Thiruvaasaga kovililae
Karuvaasagam theruvinilae
Aadhiyilae eluthi vacha
Paatta mattum kettukko
Kaasu ulla pottukko
Kallum mannum kalanthaalum
Erinja soththukku adidhadithaan
Kaiyil vanthu pasi thodachaa
Adhu amirtham ammaa
Otti pona Vavuthulaiyum
Adikkira vaga yeraalam
Thatti kettu thavichathundu
Edhuthu kettomaa…
Kallum mullil paduthaalum
Thookkam varuthu padu sugamaa
Muzhikkurappo vedhanaiyum
Kannmulikkum baadhagamaa
Ulagam engum ezhai undu
Thunbam ennum thodarbum undu
Ottu potta thuni pola
Kottidaatha vaazhkai undu
Naan padikkum paattu mattum
Veedhi engum vedikkum
Ezhai thunbam thudaikkum
Roattora paattu
Saththam ketkkuthaa
Ketkkumbodhu sogam
Vanthu thaakkuthaa…
Pootti vacha mana kathavu
Therakkumaa…
Kotti vanthu anba
Kannil kaattumaa….
Vaan nilavu engal vaazhvu
Valarumaanu paarkuthaa…
Valarvatharkku nombirunthu
Deivangala venduthaa..
Enna solvadhoo …ooo…oo
A roadside song,
do you hear its sound?
When you hear it, does sorrow
strike your heart?...
A roadside song,
do you hear its sound?
When you hear it, does sorrow
strike your heart?...
Will the locked door of the heart
open up?...
Will kindness overflow
and show in your eyes?....
Is the moon in the sky watching
to see if our lives will flourish?...
Is it fasting and praying
to the gods for our well-being?..
What can I say... oh...
...
No matter which land we go to,
this fragile body burns with suffering.
Along with the crowds, poverty too
moves across borders...
Half the stomach goes hungry,
and the other half wastes away.
Human beings themselves
torment their fellow humans to death.
In a life that is tottering and shaken,
a joyful dance breaks out like a wonder.
While all our hardships stand aside,
a song pours out sweet as a treat.
Just hearing these plain words,
a prick of conscience stirs inside the heart.
Sacred verses dwell inside the temple,
while the harsh truth of life walks the street.
Listen to this song
written from the very beginning of time,
and drop a coin into the bowl!
Even if it is mixed with stones and dirt,
there is a fight for whatever scraps are left.
If something reaches the hand to wipe away hunger,
that itself is divine nectar, mother.
Even on a sunken, starving belly,
the blows they strike are countless.
We questioned their cruelty and suffered for it,
but did we ever snatch anything by force?...
Even while lying on stones and thorns,
sleep comes so peacefully.
Yet the moment we wake up, agony
wakes up too, like a cruel enemy.
Everywhere in the world, the poor exist,
bound together by a chain of suffering.
Just like patched-up clothing,
life somehow holds together without falling apart.
Only this song that I sing
will echo through every street
and wipe away the sorrow of the poor.
A roadside song,
do you hear its sound?
When you hear it, does sorrow
strike your heart?...
Will the locked door of the heart
open up?...
Will kindness overflow
and show in your eyes?....
Is the moon in the sky watching
to see if our lives will flourish?...
Is it fasting and praying
to the gods for our well-being?..
What can I say... oh...
Male
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Chorus
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Female
Male
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Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

This song is a poignant reflection on poverty, social inequality, and the resilient spirit of street performers and marginalized people. The singer describes the daily hardships faced by those living on the margins of society—persistent hunger, severe hardship, and the cold indifference of fellow human beings. Despite travelling far and wide, poverty remains an inescapable shadow, turning basic survival into a constant battle.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Personification / உருவகம்

“Vaan nilavu engal vaazhvu / Valarumaanu paarkuthaa…”

The moon in the sky is personified as a compassionate observer who fasts and prays to the gods on behalf of the poor so that their lives may prosper.

Edhugai (Second Letter Rhyme) / எதுகை

“Paadhi vayiru kaayuthu / Meedhi vayiru theiyuthu”

Matching second consonants ('dhi' in Paadhi and Meedhi) create a rhythmic flow while highlighting the physical toll of extreme hunger.

Contrast & Metaphor / முரண் மற்றும் உருவகம்

“Thiruvaasaga kovililae / Karuvaasagam theruvinilae”

Contrasts formal religious verses inside temples (Thiruvaasagam) with the essential, raw human experience existing out on the streets (Karuvaasagam).

Simile / உவமை

“Ottu potta thuni pola / Kottidaatha vaazhkai undu”

Compares a precarious yet surviving impoverished life to a patched cloth that manages to hold together despite damage.

Did you know?

Trivia

The song is from the 2002 film 'En Mana Vaanil', directed by Vinayan and starring Jayasurya and Kavya Madhavan. The music was composed by Sirpy, and the moving lyrics were penned by veteran Tamil poet Mu. Metha.

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