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In this episode, we perceive the inner wisdom depicted in Sangam Literary work, Natrinai 75, written by Mamoolanar. The poem is set in the lush mountain country of ‘Kurinji’ and speaks in the anguished voice of the man to the lady’s confidante, requesting her to help him win the lady’s affections.
நயன் இன்மையின், பயன் இது என்னாது,
பூம் பொறிப் பொலிந்த, அழல் உமிழ் அகன் பை,
பாம்பு உயிர் அணங்கியாங்கும் ஈங்கு இது
தகாஅது-வாழியோ, குறுமகள்!-நகாஅது
உரைமதி; உடையும் என் உள்ளம்-சாரல்
கொடு விற் கானவன் கோட்டுமா தொலைச்சிப்
பச்சூன் பெய்த பகழி போல,
சேயரி பரந்த மா இதழ் மழைக் கண்
உறாஅ நோக்கம் உற்ற என்
பைதல் நெஞ்சம் உய்யுமாறே.
Rhythms dance all through the poem starting with ‘நயன் – பயன்’, ‘பொறிப் பொலிந்த’, ‘தகாஅது – நகாஅது’, ‘உரைமதி; உடையும் என் உள்ளம்’, ‘பச்சூன் – பகழி’ and ‘உறாஅ – உற்ற’. A little further in our exploration, we find words and phrases shining with meaning in the verse. Learnt that the word ‘நயன்’ means ‘compassion’ and in the melodious ‘அழல் உமிழ்’, we find an equivalence between venom and fire. I was struck by ‘உடையும் என் உள்ளம்’, meaning ‘my heart shall break’! I had assumed this was a modern and in fact, western expression. But to find its echo in this verse from the East was eye-opening! When hurt in love, we don’t remark that the heart is cut or torn. More often than not, it’s referred to as ‘heart break’. As if the heart were a solid, brick-like structure that breaks into little bits. Maybe because that’s what it feels like within. It is indeed a shattering of images, built by expectations, in the mind and perhaps, from there, stems this expression of a ‘heart break’ that seems to go on from Sangam poetry, two thousand years ago to the love ballads of the twenty-first century.
The man has been seeking to meet with the lady for some time but the lady’s confidante has been curbing his advances. The man, when turned away by the confidante one day, turns to her and says, “Without compassion, without thinking if it’s of any use, like how a snake with beautiful spots and a wide hood, spits fire-like venom, that hurts all life, you laugh at my state. This is not a just thing. My heart shall break! Long live, O young girl! Behold the arrow shot from the cruel bow of the mountain hunter, which kills a boar and is streaked with blood-red, fresh flesh. Like that red-streaked arrow, her cool rain-like eyes with red lines, hemmed by dark brows, look at me with no special interest. Please do not laugh but show me the way so that my hurt heart may live too!” With these words, the man hopes to melt the heart of the confidante and gain her support in winning the lady’s love.
Let’s take a deeper look at the similes that abound in this verse. First is the likening of hurtful laughter to the fire-like venom of snakes. This is a case of a simile within a simile. Not only are the confidante’s words said to be like venom but also the snake’s venom is described to be a fire that attacks all life. Then, we come to the other simile in which the lady’s streaked eyes are compared to the hunter’s arrow, streaked with the blood of a boar that it has killed. This is a curious reference. Why were the eyes of women streaked with red lines? Today, we would describe it as eye-strain, perhaps due to too much gadget-gazing. But what was with the eyes then? Did these maidens not sleep well-enough? Questions abound. Once again, we find a simile within a simile. The lady’s eyes in addition to being like the blood-stained arrows, are also said to be like the cool rain. Rather than being a mere simile for the lady’s eyes, the scene of the hunter’s arrow finding its mark on the boar is also a metaphor for the way the man’s heart is hurt by the way the lady’s eyes look at him with no care or concern. A look of indifference pierces like an arrow through the seeking heart of the man!
Beyond poetic devices, there’s a deeper truth embedded in the verse. First is the portrayal of how words without compassion feel to a vulnerable person. When speaking words of negativity, one needs to put kindness at the forefront. Even a mere smile would feel like venom to the affected person in the moment of their pain. So, the words the man says to the confidante, he says to all of us. Sometimes, we see it’s in human nature to laugh and mock at the weak. But, as the poem says, it is not a just thing to do. Then, in the patient words of the man, even bidding the confidante who has hurt him with blessed words like ‘May you live long’, the man is indeed practising what he’s preaching. He doesn’t throw hurtful words back at the confidante. Instead, he wishes her well and gently lets her know the way his heart feels.
Finally, we come to the awareness that it’s a man speaking such emotional words. Owing to adages like ‘boys don’t cry’, we see men in a situation where they are expected to rein in their emotions and suppress the same. Be it a man or a woman, they should take a cue from this emotionally intelligent man from long ago and dare to be frank with their feelings!
‘உள்ளம் ‘ எனும் பதத்தை, ‘mind’ என்பது ‘heart’ என்பதைவிட நன்கு உணர்த்துமோ?
I think heart and mind have been used interchangeably in the literature of the past. It’s only with our current scientific knowledge, we differentiate the mind, as the seat of both intellect and emotions and the heart, as the organ that keeps it all going. Also, anything to do with emotions has predominantly been tied with the heart always. Since the man is expressing his deep emotions, I decided that ‘heart’ would be the better word from that past perspective.