Natrinai 69 – Solo evening

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In this episode, we bask in the dusk depicted in Sangam Literary work, Natrinai 69, written by Sekampoothanaar. Set in the forest regions of the ‘Mullai’ landscape, the poem speaks in the voice of the lady, expressing the yearning in her heart. 

பல் கதிர் மண்டிலம் பகல் செய்து ஆற்றிச்,
சேய் உயர் பெரு வரைச் சென்று அவண் மறையப்,
பறவை பார்ப்பு வயின் அடைய, புறவில்
மா எருத்து இரலை மடப் பிணை தழுவ,
முல்லை முகை வாய் திறப்ப பல் வயின்
தோன்றி தோன்றுபு புதல் விளக்கு உறாஅ,
மதர்வை நல் ஆன் மாசு இல் தெண் மணி,
கொடுங்கோல் கோவலர் குழலோடு ஒன்றி,
ஐது வந்து இசைக்கும் அருள் இல் மாலை
ஆள் வினைக்கு அகன்றோர் சென்ற நாட்டும்
இனையவாகித் தோன்றின்,
வினை வலித்து அமைதல் ஆற்றலர் மன்னே.

I smiled as the rays of the sun grazed my face with the expression ‘பல் கதிர் மண்டிலம்’ meaning ‘the many-rayed circle’. This expression to denote the sun made me think of how when asked to sketch the sun, in an instant, be it a kid or an adult, would draw a circle with lines extending around it. I’m pretty sure no matter to what corner of the world we travel today, and whatever language people may speak there, this picture of a circle and radiating lines will instantly connect our minds and make us look up at that loveable orb in the sky. What’s amazing is that this way of seeing the sun is something that happens not just now, but seems to extend centuries ago, as we see this poem sketch the same in words for us. Met a new word to describe the young of birds and reptiles as ‘பார்ப்பு’. It turns out to be a poem throbbing with all forms of life as we meet ‘பறவை’ meaning ‘bird’, ‘இரலை’ meaning ‘buck’, ‘முல்லை’ meaning ‘wild jasmine’ and ‘தோன்றி’ meaning ‘flame-lily’. The poem has a gentle music humming in the soothing rhythms of ‘பல் – பகல்’, ‘பறவை – புறவில்’, ‘முல்லை முகை’ and ‘தோன்றி தோன்றுபு’ as well as in the words ‘மணி’ meaning ‘bells’ and ‘குழல்’ meaning ‘flute’. Let’s move on to immerse ourselves in the meaning of this musical verse.

The man has left the lady to gather wealth for their life together. He has not returned in the time he promised he would. So, the lady talks of her inner state saying, “After completing its duty of creating the day, the many-rayed sun, travels far to the tall mountain and vanishes there.  Just then, birds retire to the nests of their young ones; In the jungle, the long-throated male deer embraces the youthful female deer; The ‘mullai’ buds blossom; Those ‘thondri’ flowers that bloom in the bushes glow like lamps in many places; The sound from the impeccable, clear bells dancing on the necks of those majestic cows fuses with the sound of the flutes played by herdsmen, who wield curved sticks and it flows as a gentle music on this pitiless evening. Had such an evening appeared in the land where my man has departed to gather wealth, he could not have stayed there, focused on his task.” Through these words, the lady expresses the anguish in her heart, missing the man she loves. 

Let’s relish this song of the evening, painted vividly by the images of life in that moment the sun bids adieu. First, we pay tribute to this life-giving circle of light in the sky, that does its duty of creating the day. Seeing all the good work that has transpired as its many hands touched and moved life throughout the day, the sun travels far to the mountains in the west and satisfied, decides to rest there. Taking a cue from the leader in the sky up above, all life is in a state of transit too. And where are they transiting to? The birds, to their young ones! Jumping from that forest land to the here and now, I see the human equivalents – fathers and mothers returning home in the bustling traffic to spend an evening with their kids, back from school. Leaving this concrete jungle for the real one, sizzling with life, we see the male deer returning to embrace the doe. As if the sight of the sun setting and the birds flying were not delightful enough, the wild jasmine opens its buds too. This is also to tell us that the ‘கார் காலம்’ or the rainy season is upon the land. This was when the man said he would return, finishing his task and there seems to be no sight of him to delight the lady’s eyes. The flame-lilies not wanting to be left out, bloom and seem to appear like lamps that glow on the bushes. As these evening sights and scents delight our senses, there’s a sound too, caressing the ears. There, it’s the sound of the bells tied on cows, tinkling in duet with the flutes of the herders. The flutes to summon the cows grazing all over the space and those cows replying with their bells, saying ‘coming!’ That’s what we might hear had we been there to take in that mellifluous music wafting around. But the lady hears something else. The pain of loneliness that cries from her heart!

The lady sees that this evening time especially is drowning her in the illness of pining and that she’s not able to put her mind to anything. But, what about the man? She thinks that he would feel the same pain had he experienced such an evening. If he were to feel the same pain, then he could not have been focussed on the task, he set out to do. So, she concludes that such an evening perhaps does not appear where he is! I wonder why women are portrayed as these pining, lost souls here? Was this an accurate reflection of society then or is it just an imagination of the poets? While much remains to be done even now, the times where the woman has to just wait and pine are long gone. Happy to be living in a time, when a woman need not wait for a man to come complete her and she can have a life of her own!