Natrinai 93 – The sound of drumbeats

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In this episode, we empathise with the pain of parting, portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Natrinai 93, written by Malaiyanaar, this being his only Sangam poem. True to his name which means ‘a man of the mountains’, the verse is situated in the lush mountain country of ‘Kurinji’. The verse speaks in the voice of the confidante to the man, expressing the consequences of the man’s delaying his formal union with the lady. 

”பிரசம் தூங்க, பெரும் பழம் துணர,
வரை வெள் அருவி மாலையின் இழிதர,
கூலம் எல்லாம் புலம்புஉக, நாளும்
மல்லற்று அம்ம, இம் மலை கெழு வெற்பு!” எனப்
பிரிந்தோர் இரங்கும் பெருங் கல் நாட!
செல்கம்; எழுமோ; சிறக்க, நின் ஊழி!
மருங்கு மறைத்த திருந்து இழைப் பணைத் தோள்,
நல்கூர் நுசுப்பின், மெல் இயல், குறுமகள்
பூண் தாழ் ஆகம் நாண் அட வருந்திய
பழங்கண் மாமையும் உடைய; தழங்கு குரல்
மயிர்க் கண் முரசினோரும் முன்
உயிர்க் குறியெதிர்ப்பை பெறல் அருங்குரைத்தே.

Even as the poem opens, we are greeted by the word ‘பிரசம்’ meaning a ‘bee hive’. After that sweet welcome for our taste buds, our eyes delight in ‘வெள் அருவி’ or the ‘waterfalls’ that descend down. Interesting to learn that the word ‘கூலம்’ means ‘grains and pulses’, nothing at all to do with the current ‘குப்பைக் கூலம்’ meaning ‘garbage and litter’. In the description of a lady, we encounter the phrase ‘மெல் இயல்’, meaning ‘one of gentle nature’. Such is the portrayal of women in these poems, mostly seen glowing with a soft soul! Once again we meet ‘மாமை’ meaning ‘dark complexion’ presented in the light of health and beauty. The poem finishes off with the parting touch of the loaded word ‘குறியெதிர்ப்பை’, which has transformed into the word ‘குறியாப்பு’, meaning ‘to give something back in the same quantity it was borrowed’. To explain further, imagine a Sangam woman borrowing some perishable item from her neighbour, say rice,  she then makes a mark or ‘குறி’ on the container as a promise and in due course, she’s expected to return the same item filled upto that mark. This brings to the fore, the sense of ethics and fairness in the transaction between a lender and a borrower, a custom that has lived on in Tamil homes, for thousands of years. But why this exchange-related word in connection to ‘உயிர்’ meaning ‘life’? Let’s tread on to find out.

Moving on to the meaning and context of the verse, we learn that the man is in a love relationship with the lady and has been meeting with her for his trysts during the day. Seeing he’s not keen on moving towards a formal relationship with the lady, the confidante says to him, “It is a lush mountain country where beehives hang about, huge jackfruits ripen, white waterfalls on the mountain descend like garlands. A place where grains and pulses sowed are reaped in plenty on the fertile hill slopes! Anyone who has to leave from this land would feel sorrow at parting away. O lord, who comes from such a mountain country, we are leaving to our little village. May you prosper! Let success by your destiny! This young girl, wearing ornaments that hide the sides on her rounded shoulders, with a narrow waist and a bejewelled bosom, which is filled with shyness within, will fade now in complexion when she parts away from you. She will get back her beautiful, dark complexion once she hears the beats of those wedding drums. But, it won’t be possible to replace her life as it were, once it parts away!” With these words, the confidante hopes to impress upon the man that the need of the hour is to seek the lady’s hand in marriage.

As we walk that extra mile on this little mountain of a verse, we understand a little more of this land. The poem opens with this beautiful description of the mountain country, with beehives and jackfruits plenty, making sweetness dance on the mind’s taste buds! The jackfruits from the hills are said to be especially delicious owing to the fertile soil, indeed watered as the poem calls it, by those ‘garland-like white waterfalls’. It has apparently been taken over by the mountain dwellers for cultivation. The word ‘கூலம்’ we encountered earlier is said to include 18 different varieties of food crops, which include many pulses and millets. This mountain country is described as one where any crop sown is reaped in abundance. So rich the land is, that anyone who is forced to part away from this land, will miss it much and be worn down with worry, says the confidante. All this description just to say that the man belongs to one such mountain country but we’ll hold on to that image of someone parting away from a place they love. The confidante then moves on to describe the lady. A woman of gentle nature wearing jewels many, broad shoulders and narrow waist, describes the confidante! Like the likeable mountain, she similarly paints a glowing portrait of the lady. As we follow her words, she then takes us to their future, painting a different portrait of the lady, as one losing her health and beauty. Why is such beauty and goodness that was presented, taken away from us? We wonder with sorrow, just like those who had to part away from those fertile mountains!

It’s this very feeling that the confidante wants to instil in the man’s heart and then lead him to the final destination. A point where she says to the man that the health and beauty the lady loses will find its way back to her when she hears the sound of wedding drums but there’s something that shall not return the way it was! That’s the lady’s life that no drumbeat can awaken, says the confidante. A word that should jolt the man into action knowing the dire consequences of his delaying seeking the lady’s hand in marriage. The poem brings to the fore that pain of parting away, be it from a beautiful place or a beloved person!