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Isaimozhi
Lyrics & meaning

Sottangalla

From Japan · 2023

Lyricist
Arunraja Kamaraj
Singer
Sean Roldan
Music director
G. V. Prakash Kumar
Details
Japan2023

Lyrics & meaning

Tanglish lyrics English translation
Male
Sottangalla solatura parvaA look that spins dice
Ammi vechu araikuthammaIs grinding me like on a grinding stone
Thattan pola methakura manasuThe heart floating like a dragonfly
Kuttikaranam adikuthammaIs somersaulting in joy
Male
Cholakattu yana polaLike an elephant charging through a cornfield
Nenjukulla payuriyeYou pounce into my heart
Seeni mela eeya neeyumLike a fly hovering over sugar
Echi vaika meyuriyeeeYou graze to leave your sweet touch
Male
Pokka neeyumWithout any waste, you
Nellaa thoothuriyee yee yeeWinnow the paddy grains
Kalli palaThe bitter cactus fruit
Thena maathuriyee yee yeeYou transform into sweet honey
Male
Vekka vanthaa neethan eeramWhen heat arrives, you are the cool moisture
Veyilukku neeraaharamFor the scorching sun, you are refreshing rice water
Kummiruttil kodi koilIn pitch darkness, a ten-million-temple
Deepam neethaneeLight of a lamp, you truly are
Male
Alli thinga neethan saadhamTo scoop up and eat, you are the staple rice
Angayamman saami padhamThe sacred feet of Goddess Angayamman
Kappi kallu dhagam theekkumEven dry pebbles quenching thirst
Megam neethanee…You are that rain cloud...
Male
Sutta mannu on kai allaBaked clay in your hands
Sokka thangam aaneeneeTurned into pure shining gold
Kittipulla neeyum thattaWhen you strike the tip-cat stick
Aeroplane ahh pooneeneeI soared high like an airplane
Male
Alli unna naa edukkaWhen I scoop you up in my arms
Athanaiyum on vaasamEverything carries your sweet aroma
Kakkathula aahaasamThe vast sky feels tucked right under my arm
Male
Ottu thinna ooram aaduA goat grazing along the edges
Othaasaikku yethu eeduWhat can equal your helpful heart?
Thottu enna neeyum thookkaWhen you touch and lift me up
Kalam maaraathoWon't time itself change for the better?
Male
Sontham unna sertha veeduThe house that brought your kinship in
Sulli vacha maina kooduIs like a myna's nest built with twigs
Alli alli ootum thaayaLike a mother who feeds lovingly again and again
Kaadhal yenthathooDoes love lift us this high?
Male
Mocha kotta pallu paathaSeeing teeth like field-bean seeds
Velli vairam venaameeSilver and diamonds are no longer needed
Echi vachu neeyum thanthaWhen you share food tasted by you
Vellam agum ellaamee…Everything turns into sweet jaggery...
Male
Sippi muthu nee sirikkaWhen you smile showing pearl-like teeth
Natchathiram kaiveesum, The stars wave back at us
Mothathula paal vaasamAltogether, there is a smell of pure milk
Male
Sottangalla solatura parvaA look that spins dice
Ammi vechu araikuthammaIs grinding me like on a grinding stone
Thattan pola methakura manasuThe heart floating like a dragonfly
Kuttikaranam adikuthammaIs somersaulting in joy
Male
Cholakattu yana polaLike an elephant charging through a cornfield
Nenjukulla payuriyeYou pounce into my heart
Seeni mela eeya neeyumLike a fly hovering over sugar
Echi vaika meyuriyeeYou graze to leave your sweet touch
Male
Pokka neeyumWithout any waste, you
Nellaa thoothuriyee yee yeeWinnow the paddy grains
Kalli palaThe bitter cactus fruit
Thena maathuriyee yee yee…You transform into sweet honey...

Beyond the translation

Song interpretation

This soulful folk track expresses innocent, deep affection and gratitude towards a loved one or maternal figure who brings joy, light, and transformation into the protagonist's life. Using rich rural imagery from Tamil folklore and daily rustic life—such as grinding stones, dragonflies, maize fields, cactus fruit turning to honey, and field beans—the song describes how the loved one elevates mundane, hard life into golden sweetness. The narrator feels like a clay figure transformed into gold by their presence.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Simile (Upamai)

Thattan pola methakura manasu

Compares the floating, joyous mind to a floating dragonfly ('Thattan pola methakura manasu').

Metaphor (Uruvagam)

Megam neethanee…

Directly identifies the beloved person as a comforting rain cloud that quenches all thirst ('Megam neethanee').

Hyperbole (Uyarvu Navortchi)

Kakkathula aahaasam

Exaggerates the feeling of joy, claiming that holding the beloved makes the vast sky feel small enough to fit under one's armpit.

Assonance / Rhyme (Edugai)

Sutta mannu on kai alla / Sokka thangam aaneenee

Matching second letters in consecutive lines ('Sutta' and 'Sokka') creating a rhythmic folk cadence.

Did you know?

Trivia

Composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar for the 2023 film 'Japan' starring Karthi, this song features vocals by singer-composer Sean Roldan. Lyricist Arunraja Kamaraj extensively incorporated traditional Tamil rural metaphors, folk games (like Kittipulla), and agrarian life terms (like Neeraaharam and Thoothuriyee) to give the track an authentic regional feel.

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