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In this episode, we are showered with the sensory rain of Tamil Sangam Literary Work, Natrinai Poem 17 written by Nochi Niyamankilaar, set in the luscious mountain landscape of ‘Kurinji’, in the words of the lady to her confidante, describing a precarious situation she recently found herself in.
நாள் மழை தலைஇய நல் நெடுங்குன்றத்து,
மால் கடல் திரையின் இழிதரும் அருவி
அகல் இருங் கானத்து அல்கு அணி நோக்கி,
தாங்கவும் தகைவரை நில்லா நீர் சுழல்பு
ஏந்து எழில் மழைக் கண் கலுழ்தலின், அன்னை,
‘எவன் செய்தனையோ? நின் இலங்கு எயிறு உண்கு’ என,
மெல்லிய இனிய கூறலின், வல் விரைந்து,
உயிரினும் சிறந்த நாணும் நனி மறந்து,
உரைத்தல் உய்ந்தனனே-தோழி!-சாரல்,
காந்தள் ஊதிய மணி நிறத் தும்பி
தீம் தொடை நரம்பின் இமிரும்
வான் தோய் வெற்பன் மார்பு அணங்கு எனவே.
‘Water, water everywhere!’ – This is the first thought that came to me on reading this poem. There, starting with ‘மழை’ or rain in the first sentence; then, the sight of gushing waves in ‘மால் கடல் திரை’ and shortly following is the forceful waterfall in ‘இழிதரும் அருவி’. You feel surrounded on all sides by swirling waves in ‘நில்லா நீர் சுழல்பு’ or the ‘unstoppable welling of water’. This soul-soaking flow finishes with my favourite ‘மழைக் கண்’, which means ‘cool, rain-like eyes’. A dip in the ocean and a soak in the waterfall is what one feels in an instant, with this poem. And then, as if gently drying this moisture with love, we encounter the ‘மெல்லிய இனிய கூறலின்’, the ‘tender and sweet words’ of mother. Leading on with the promise of the ‘காந்தள்’ flower or the flame-lily and the ‘மணி நிறத் தும்பி’, the blue-coloured bee. Pleasantness fills the sense at first glance!
Flowing a little more on this river of a poem with the oars of explanatory texts, the resplendent meaning and context reveal their colours. The lady had not seen her man for a while and she found herself in a delicate position. This, she shares with her confidante saying, ‘With the morning rain that fell in the tall mountains, the river flooded and seeming as if they were waves on a mighty ocean, it roared and fell down with force as cascades in the vast forest. Taking in the immense beauty of it all, uncontrollably, tears welled up in my eyes. Seeing the streaks of rain from my cool, moist eyes, mother said to me in a tender, loving voice, ‘Why do you cry, my dearest? Let me take the pain away by kissing you.’ Melting in such tenderness and love, forgetting my chastity, which is dearer than my very life, I was about to say to her, ‘Mother, it’s because I miss being with my man from the mountains, the lord in whose domain, the sapphire-shaded bees, swept by the sweetness of the flame-lilies, make music akin to that of the melodious lute.’ Thankfully, I swallowed my words in time but know not how long I can hold back my ache’, the lady finishes. I learnt also that these words are not just said by the lady to the confidante but also indirectly to her man, who seemed to be waiting far away, in a subtle hint, asking him not to part from her and not to put her again in such a situation.
Taking a free dive, letting go of a sense of time and place, I’m swept by how this poem journeys from a spectacle of joy, the flowing cascades and the bubbling river, to the heart of the lady, from which leaps forward, a flood of pain, the sorrow of being apart from a loved one. A powerful understanding of how beautiful things move us and make us open our hearts. A delicious flow is experienced in that river of words that starts from the mountain rain and falls as a cascade on the cheeks of the lady. Moving on, we meet mother’s love and tenderness. This brings memories of childhood. That pain of falling down, and those bleeding wounds being cured by a kiss and a smile from mother.
I would like to end this episode by saluting this nature’s blessing called rain, that serves as an inspiration for poets, be it those who lived two thousand years ago or our very own twenty-first century poets. We see this in,
அந்தி மழை பொழிகிறது
ஒவ்வொரு துளியிலும் உன் முகம் தெரிகிறது
meaning , ‘The twilight rain falls and it’s your face, I gaze at, in every drop.’
And in the words of this optimistic young man, wishing to change the world in the movie 180,
மழைகள் விழ
விசை செய்வேன்
விழிகள் அழ
தடை போடுவேன்
meaning,
‘I shall create a switch to make skies shower; And, I shall ban tears forever!’
With a smile at the exuberance of this young man, let’s part celebrating the joy and inspiration that the poetry of rain is.
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