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IsaimozhiLyrics · Translation · Meaning

Lyrics & meaning

Vaagadai Veedu

From Aandavan Kattalai · 2016

Lyricist: Vivek Velmurugan
Singers: Jiby, Deepu, Philip, Sajan
Music directors: Not listed
Movie name: Aandavan Kattalai
Movie release year: 2016
Lyrics added on: 27 May 2017

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics

↻ English translation

{Night patthu manikkulla

Light-a amathipadukkanum

Vaasa thelichi kolam poda

Vattikku vaanganum} (2)

Thinga thinga aasa vandhaa

Veetta gaali pannanum

Guest-tu vandhu thangidamaa

Ghostaa naamum maaranum

Thuniaya thuvachi kaayapoda

Soranga paadha thondanum

Motta maadi suththi paarka

Visa vaanganum

Veetu owner curent-u billu

Naama serthu kattanum

A/c pottu avinga thoonga

Naama pulingi saaganum

Thavicha vaaiku thanni ketka

Ration card-ai kaatanum

Yera eranga verichi paartha

Idatha maathanum….

Kuruvi pola siruga siruga

Serthu veetta katturaan

Aruvi pola peruga peruga

Advance vaangi kumikkiraan

Aaspardaasu veeta kaati

Tajmahal-aa peethuvaan

Adhukum serthu billa pottu

Rent-a yethuvaan

Aeri iruntha idatha vazhachi

Veeta katti vaazhuvaan

Veettu variya kattidaama

Dimmiki kuduthu suththuvaan

Kaarmegam kaarmegam

Poththukittu oothunaa

Veetu kulla aeri ooda

Neendha solluvaan

Night patthu manikkulla

Light-a amathipadukkanum

Vaasa thelichi kolam poda

Vattikku vaanganum

Alanthu kodukum thaniyila

Ambuttum kaluvi mudikanum

Vaadagai veetu rules ellam

Vanagi kodukanum……

By ten o'clock at night,

We must switch off the lights and go to sleep.

Just to sprinkle water and draw a kolam,

We have to borrow money on interest.

If we get a craving to cook and feast,

We will have to vacate the house.

So that guests do not come and stay over,

We must turn into ghosts ourselves.

To wash our clothes and dry them,

We have to dig an underground tunnel.

Just to walk up and see the terrace,

We need to get a visa.

Even for the landlord's power bill,

We are the ones forced to pay.

While they sleep with the air conditioning on,

We have to swelter and suffer in the heat.

To ask for a cup of water for a parched throat,

We have to show our ration card.

If they glare at us from head to toe,

We have to pack up and shift elsewhere...

Bit by bit like a little bird,

He saves up and builds a house.

Gushing non-stop like a waterfall,

He piles up advance deposits.

Showing off an asbestos-roofed shed,

He boasts that it is the Taj Mahal.

Adding a charge for that too,

He hikes up the monthly rent.

Encroaching upon dried lake lands,

He builds houses and settles down.

Without ever paying property tax,

He dodges it and roams free.

When the dark storm clouds, dark storm clouds

Burst open and pour down rain,

And a lake starts flowing inside the house,

He simply tells us to swim!

By ten o'clock at night,

We must switch off the lights and go to sleep.

Just to sprinkle water and draw a kolam,

We have to borrow money on interest.

With the little water rationed out to us,

We must wash and finish everything.

To all the rules of a rented house,

We must bow our heads and submit...

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Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

This satirical track highlights the daily struggles and absurd rules imposed on middle-class tenants living in rented houses in Tamil Nadu. Through humor and hyperbolic metaphors, the song portrays how demanding landlords set strict curfews, restrict access to basic amenities like the terrace, pass on their personal utility bills to tenants, and hike rents greedily while neglecting property maintenance and tax obligations. The narrative captures the sheer helplessness of tenants who are forced to comply with unreasonable demands or face eviction. The contrast between the landlord's exploitative behavior and the tenant's constant struggle to survive creates a poignant yet hilarious commentary on urban middle-class housing realities.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Simile (Upamai)

“Kuruvi pola siruga siruga”

Compares the landlord's slow, bit-by-bit saving to a bird building a nest twig by twig.

Simile (Upamai)

“Aruvi pola peruga peruga”

Compares the massive influx of advance money collected by the landlord to a flowing waterfall.

Hyperbole (Uyarvu Navortchi)

“Visa vaanganum”

Exaggerates the strict restrictions on visiting the roof terrace by comparing it to needing an international visa.

Irony / Satire

“A/c pottu avinga thoonga / Naama pulingi saaganum”

Contrasts the landlord's luxury of sleeping under AC with the tenant paying for it while sweltering in heat.

Did you know?

Trivia

The film 'Aandavan Kattalai' (2016), directed by M. Manikandan and starring Vijay Sethupathi, revolves around socio-economic hurdles, document forging, and housing issues in Chennai. The soundtrack was composed by K, with lyrics penned by Vivek Velmurugan using sharp, colloquial Chennai Tamil to portray tenant life.

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