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Isaimozhi
Lyrics & meaning

Yaar Ivan

From Irumbu Thirai · 2018

Lyricist
Kaber Vasuki
Singer
Kaber Vasuki
Music director
Yuvan Shankar Raja
Details
Irumbu Thirai2018

Lyrics & meaning

Tanglish lyrics English translation
Male
Yaar ivanWho is he?
Thoonilum thurumbilumIn every pillar and tiny speck,
Kangal vaithu kondu paarpavanHe watches with eyes placed everywhere.
Vaan kadalAcross the sky and sea,
Mannilum manadhilumIn the earth and in the mind,
Kaadhai vaaithukondu ketpavanHe listens with ears pressed against everything.
Male
Kaadhoram vaai vachuPlace your mouth close to the ear,
Kaathoda nee pesuSpeak softly along with the wind.
Satham potta vaarthai yellamAll the words spoken out loud,
Avan siraiyila sethidichuDied inside his prison.
Male
Enga poi olinjaaalumNo matter where you go and hide,
Yedho onnu paakkudhuSomething is watching you.
Yaarukitta pesinaalumNo matter whom you talk to,
Yedho onnu ketkkudhuSomething is listening.
Male
Adimaiyaka vongirundhaIf he had risen directly to enslave you,
Adhidhadi nu yerangalaamYou could have jumped into a brawl.
Aasayathaan kaati ippoBut now showing temptation,
Chorus : Kaala vaari vetturaanChorus: He trips your feet and strikes you down.
Male
Yaar ivanWho is he?
Thoonilum thurumbilumIn every pillar and tiny speck,
Kangal vaithu kondu paarpavanHe watches with eyes placed everywhere.
Vaan kadalAcross the sky and sea,
Mannilum manadhilumIn the earth and in the mind,
Kaadhai vaaithukondu ketpavanHe listens with ears pressed against everything.
Male
Veshatha izhandhaachuThe disguise is now lost,
Vaanam paathu kaiya kattuLook at the sky and bind your hands in surrender.
Uthaman dhaan illaiyinuClaiming you are no saint,
Vangiyila vaddi kattuPay interest to the bank.
Male
Eppapayo senjadhellamWhatever actions you did long ago,
Engengeyo padhiyidhuGet recorded somewhere in unknown places.
Kota vittu thotha pindhaanOnly after missing the target and losing,
Aatamae puriyidhuIs the true nature of the game understood.
Male
Engirundhu adikiraan-nuTrying to search and see,
Thedi paakka poyithaanWhere he is striking from,
Uruvamillaa mirugamaathaanLike a formless beast,
Karpanai-la sirikiraanHe laughs in our imagination.
Male
Yaar ivanWho is he?
Yaar ivanWho is he?
Male
Karuviya kaiyila pidichuHolding the device in hand,
Kanavu koocham kaasaiyellam podhachuBurying dreams, modesty, and money,
Ragasiyam pootithaan adachuLocking up secrets tight,
Yaarukum theriyaama marachuHiding them away from everyone.
Male
Ilavasam vilambaraminuIn the name of free offers and ads,
Adhan vasam izhuthichuIt pulled everyone under its control.
Ellai illa aasapadu-nuDesire without any limits,
Koochamillama sollichuIt told us without any shame.
Male
Saaku ippo irukudhuThere is an excuse now,
Saavi innum porundhudhuThe key still fits,
Pootiruka pootiyirukaWhile the lock remains locked,
Vacha saraku mattum karaiyidhuOnly the stashed wealth keeps draining away.

Beyond the translation

Song interpretation

This song explores the alarming topic of cybercrime, digital surveillance, and the loss of personal privacy in the modern smartphone age. It metaphorically describes an unseen antagonist or digital system that acts like an omnipresent entity—watching through every camera lens and listening through every microphone. The lyrics subvert traditional religious imagery of omnipresence to depict how technology silently tracks our movements, habits, and secrets. The song highlights humanity's self-inflicted trap: people willingly surrender their private lives, finances, and dignity in exchange for free digital services and endless consumer desires. In the end, victims are left helpless against an invisible, formless predator who operates from the shadows of the internet, draining their wealth and control without breaking a single physical lock.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Monai (Initial Rhyme / Alliteration)

Thoonilum thurumbilum

Repetition of the initial 'Th' sound in 'Thoonilum' and 'thurumbilum' creates a rhythmic beat.

Cultural Allusion

Thoonilum thurumbilum

This phrase references the classical Tamil/Hindu mythological concept of omnipresence (historically associated with God in the Narasimha avatar legend), repurposed here to denote modern digital surveillance.

Simile (Uvamai Ani)

Uruvamillaa mirugamaathaan

Compares the invisible cyber criminal or surveillance system directly to a 'formless beast' using the suffix '-maathaan' (like).

Iyaipu (End Rhyme)

Engirundhu adikiraan-nu / Karpanai-la sirikiraan

Rhyming of line endings with 'adikiraan' and 'sirikiraan'.

Did you know?

Trivia

Irumbu Thirai (2018), directed by P. S. Mithran and starring Vishal and Arjun Sarja, was a commercial success focused on cyber warfare, privacy invasion, and data theft. The lyrics penned by independent artist Kaber Vasuki cleverly draw parallels between ancient concepts of divine omnipresence and modern technological panopticon surveillance, perfectly fitting the film's theme of an invisible digital antagonist.

Keep listening

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