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Mudhalvan album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Uppu Karuvadu

From Mudhalvan · 1999

Lyricist
Vairamuthu
Singers
Shankar Mahadevan, Kavita Krishnamurthy
Music director
A. R. Rahman
Movie name
Mudhalvan
Movie release year
1999
Lyrics added on
11 Jan 2017

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Thaen mozhiyae ..ae..ae
Lalalala lailai….lalalala lailai … lalalala …..lailai….lalalala …lailai
Ye uppu karuvaadu ooravecha soru oottivida nee pothum enaku
Muthamitta nethiyila
Maarbuku mathiyila
Sethuvida thonuthadi …eeee…..hey…
Oh.. oda kara mela oru onaan pidippomaa
Kaakaa kadi kadichu siru maangaa thimbomaa
{Kolaaka kolaaka kolaak kalaa
Korava meenu kuthikkira aathukulla
Korapullu mulakira sethukkulla
En kooda sagathikoothu
Aadu thai thai thai thai thai
Adi oththa thuni uduthi kulippomaa
Vetkam thalli vai vai
Lai lai lai lai lai lai … lai la lai lai lai lai
Porathum varuvathum poi poi poi
Irukkira nimisham mei mei mei
Vaazhai ilaiyila onna virunthaa vai vai vai vai vai
Aasaiya paaru aai aai aai
Kaadukullenna noi noi noi
Pathinettu vayasu sevaiyellaam sei sei sei sei sei sei
{Kolaaka kolaaka kolaak kalaa
Ye uppu karuvaadu ooravecha soru oottivida nee pothum enaku
Muthamitta nethiyila
Maarbuku mathiyila
Sethuvida thonuthadi enaku
Oh thaen mozhiyae ….thaen mozhiyae
Oh… lailalai lailalai thaen mozhiyae
Lelelele lele le lelelele lele
Lai… lai… lai…. lai … lai … lai
Kaathu mattum nozhayira kaattukulla
Thookanaanguruvi koottukulla
Oru naalil enna kudiyiruka vai vai vai vai vai
Nee selai thirudi kondu ponaalum
Maanam kaakum kai kai
Lailailailai …. lailailai … lailalailai … lailailai
Aadai enbathu poi poi poi
Athu konda porul mattum mei mei mei
Athanai azhagaiyum maiyaa kaiyil
Vai vai vai vai vai
Nenjukkul kepathu thai thai thai
Nenachatha muraipadi sei sei sei
Meiyum meiyum kalapathuthaan
Mei mei mei mei mei mei
Uppu karuvaadu ooravecha soru
Oottivida venumaa umakku
Muthamittu nethiyila maarbuku mathiyila
Sethuvida thonuthaa umakku
Hey uppu karuvaadu ooravecha soru
Oottivida nee pothum enaku
Muthamittu nethiyila maarbuku mathiyila
Sethuvida thonuthadi…..eeeee … hey.ey..ey
Oh.. oda kara mela oru onaan pidippomaa
Kaakaa kadi kadichu siru maangaa thimbomaa
Oh, sweet-voiced girl...
La la la la laalai... la la la la laalai... la la la la... lailai... la la la la... lailai
Dry salted fish and water-soaked rice, I only need you to feed me!
With a kiss upon your forehead,
Resting right against your chest,
I feel like dying in bliss, my girl...
Oh, shall we catch a garden lizard on the stream bank?
Shall we share a little raw mango, taking turns biting?
Kolaga kolaga kolaak kala...
In the river where the fish leap and splash,
In the muddy bank where marsh grass sprouts,
Come dance in the mud with me—
Dance, step to the beat!
Girl, shall we bathe wrapped in just a single cloth?
Push your shyness aside, cast it away!
Lai lai lai lai lai lai... lai la lai lai lai lai
What comes and goes is all an illusion,
Only the present moment is real, real, real!
Serve our feast together on a banana leaf!
Look at your burning desire, my my!
What sickness could touch us in the woods?
Shower me with all the sweet joys of eighteen!
Kolaga kolaga kolaak kala...
Dry salted fish and water-soaked rice, I only need you to feed me!
With a kiss upon your forehead,
Resting right against your chest,
I feel like dying in bliss, my girl!
Oh, sweet-voiced girl... my sweet-voiced girl...
Oh... lailai lai lailai sweet-voiced girl...
Lelelele lele le lelelele lele
Lai... lai... lai... lai... lai... lai
Deep in the forest where only the wind can enter,
Inside a weaver bird's cozy nest,
Let me live there with you for just one day!
Even if you steal my saree and run away,
My hands will cover and guard my modesty!
Lailai lailai... lailai lai... lailai lailai... lailai lai
Clothes are merely an illusion, a lie, a lie,
Only what they hold within is real, real, real!
Place all that beauty completely
Into my hands, place it, place it!
What the heart beats for is rhythm and longing,
Do whatever you dreamed of, the right way!
When body blends with body,
That union alone is true and real, real, real, real, real!
Dry salted fish and water-soaked rice,
Do you really need me to feed you?
Kissing your forehead and resting on your chest,
Do you truly feel like dying like that?
Hey, dry salted fish and water-soaked rice,
I only need you to feed me!
Kissing your forehead and resting on your chest,
I feel like dying in bliss, my girl...
Oh, shall we catch a garden lizard on the stream bank?
Shall we share a little raw mango, taking turns biting?
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Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

Uppu Karuvaadu is a high-energy folk-pop romantic duet from the iconic 1999 Tamil film Mudhalvan, composed by A.R. Rahman with lyrics by Vairamuthu. The song features playfulness and rustic romance between lovers who celebrate simple village pleasures—such as eating salted dry fish with soaked rice, catching lizards by the stream, and playing in mud. Through evocative and grounded rural imagery, lyricist Vairamuthu weaves philosophical lines about living in the present moment ('Porathum varuvathum poi... irukkira nimisham mei'), suggesting that past and future are illusions while immediate physical love and joy are the ultimate truth.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Edhugai (Second Letter Rhyme)

Korava meenu kuthikkira aathukulla / Korapullu mulakira sethukkulla

Matching second consonants across successive lines, such as 'Korava' and 'Korapullu' where 'ra' matches.

Iyaibu (End Rhyme & Repetition)

Porathum varuvathum poi poi poi / Irukkira nimisham mei mei mei

Rhythmic repetition of words like 'poi poi poi' (lie) and 'mei mei mei' (truth) at line ends for philosophical emphasis and catchy beat syncopation.

Imagery & Local Metaphor

Ye uppu karuvaadu ooravecha soru oottivida nee pothum enaku

Using traditional rural food ('Uppu karuvaadu', 'ooravecha soru') as metaphors for simple, unpretentious warmth and intimacy.

Did you know?

Trivia

Composed by A.R. Rahman for director S. Shankar's blockbuster 'Mudhalvan', this energetic track was rendered by Shankar Mahadevan and Kavita Krishnamurthy. The song became a massive chartbuster across South India for its catchy mix of traditional Tamil folk rhythms and modern orchestrations.

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