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Panama Pasama album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Yelantha Pazham

From Panama Pasama · 1968

Lyricist
Kannadasan
Singer
L. R. Eswari
Music director
K. V. Mahadevan
Movie name
Panama Pasama
Movie release year
1968
Lyrics added on
26 Dec 2023

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Elandhapayam elandhapayam elandhapayam..
Yaan..sekka sevandha payam
Idhu thenaatam inikum payam
Ellorum vaangum payam
Idhu yezhaikinae porandha payam
Elandhapayam elandhapayam elandhapayam..
Yaan sekka sevandha payam
Idhu thenaatam inikum payam
Ellorum vaangum payam
Idhu yezhaikinae porandha payam
Elandhapayam pazhuthirundhaa
Eduthu eduthu kadikalaam
Ularndhu pona pinnaale
Ooravachu thunnalaam
Elandhapayam pazhuthirundhaa
Eduthu eduthu kadikalaam
Ularndhu pona pinnaale
Ooravachu thunnalaam
Etti edu ezhu paisaa
Naan thotuthandhaa ettu paisaa
Ippo thodatumaa
Unna thottuka solli vudatumaa
Elandhapayam elandhapayam elandhapayam..
Yaan sekka sevandha payam
Idhu thenaatam inikum payam
Ethanaiyo perukita elandhapayam paathiye
Eduthu paatha payangalile immaa size’u paathiyaa
Summaa Solluyaa
Ethanaiyo perukita elandhapayam paathiye
Eduthu paatha payangalile immaa size’u paathiyaa
Kaiku adakamaa
Nee kadichi paaka vaatamaa
Irukudhu adhudhaan oora ellam
Issu issu issunu issukudhu
Elandhapayam elandhapayam elandhapayam..
Yaan podu sekka sevandha payam
Idhu thenaatam inikum payam
Koorukati vachikinu kundhikinu koopittaa
Kodisanam odivarum kootam kooti kaattataa
Koorukati vachikinu kundhikinu koopittaa
Kodisanam odivarum kootam kooti kaattataa
Ennaa manusanyaa
Evaluku nee purusanyaa
Vaangaiyaa vaangi thunnuputtu
Thuniyapotu thoongaiyaa
Elandhapayam elandhapayam elandhapayam..
Yaan podu sekka sevandha payam
Idhu thenaatam inikum payam
Jujube fruit, jujube fruit, jujube fruit...
Hey, bright red fruit!
A fruit that is sweet as honey!
A fruit that everyone buys!
A fruit made especially for the poor!
Jujube fruit, jujube fruit, jujube fruit...
Bright red fruit!
A fruit that is sweet as honey!
A fruit that everyone buys!
A fruit made especially for the poor!
When the jujube is ripe,
you can pick it up and bite right into it!
And after it dries up,
you can soak it and eat it!
When the jujube is ripe,
you can pick it up and bite right into it!
And after it dries up,
you can soak it and eat it!
Reach out and take it for seven paise,
but if I hand it to you, it's eight paise!
Should I touch it now?
Or should I tell you to touch it?
Jujube fruit, jujube fruit, jujube fruit...
Bright red fruit!
A fruit that is sweet as honey!
You have seen jujube fruit with so many sellers,
but among all the fruits you've handled, have you seen this size?
Come on, tell me honestly, mister!
You have seen jujube fruit with so many sellers,
but among all the fruits you've handled, have you seen this size?
It fits so snugly in your hand,
and it's just right for you to bite into!
It's so good that it pulls the whole town,
drawing everyone closer and closer!
Jujube fruit, jujube fruit, jujube fruit...
Hey, bright red fruit!
A fruit that is sweet as honey!
If I arrange them in little heaps, sit down, and call out,
a million people will come running—shall I gather a crowd and show you?
If I arrange them in little heaps, sit down, and call out,
a million people will come running—shall I gather a crowd and show you?
What kind of man are you, mister?
Whose husband are you anyway?
Come, sir, buy some and eat,
pull a sheet over yourself, and go to sleep!
Jujube fruit, jujube fruit, jujube fruit...
Hey, bright red fruit!
A fruit that is sweet as honey!
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Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

Elandhapayam is an iconic Tamil street-hawker song from the 1968 movie Panama Pasama, composed by K. V. Mahadevan and rendered dynamically by L. R. Eswari. The song features a lively female vendor hawking fresh jujube fruits (elandhapayam) using clever double entendres, folk humor, and rhythmic local slang. She boasts about the affordable pricing, sweetness, size, and irresistible charm of her fruits while playfully teasing men passing by in the market. Kannadasan's lyrics capture the authentic spirit of Tamil street vendors through vivid imagery and colloquial phrasing. Combined with L. R. Eswari's expressive vocals and K. V. Mahadevan's folk-infused melody, the track remains a celebrated classic in Tamil film music history.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Upamai (Simile)

“Idhu thenaatam inikum payam”

Compares the sweetness of the jujube fruit directly to honey using the comparative suffix 'aatam'.

Adukkuthodar (Repetition / Anaphora)

“Elandhapayam elandhapayam elandhapayam..”

Repetition of words like 'elandhapayam' and 'eduthu eduthu' creates rhythmic emphasis and reflects authentic street-hawking chants.

Olikkurippu (Onomatopoeia)

“Issu issu issunu issukudhu”

The sound 'issu issu issunu' mimics the alluring, irresistible pulling force of the vendor's call.

Monaikku / Ethukai (Rhyme & Alliteration)

“Etti edu ezhu paisaa / Naan thotuthandhaa ettu paisaa”

Assonance and initial letter matching (Etti / Eduthu / Ezhu / Ettu) provide musical cadence across the verse.

Did you know?

Trivia

This track became one of singer L. R. Eswari's signature performance numbers, cementing her reputation as the undisputed queen of energetic folk and club songs in Tamil cinema. The song was so popular that 'Elandhapayam' became a widespread pop-culture reference for street hawking in Tamil Nadu during the late 1960s.

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