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In this episode, we relish the rich imagery inspired by the scenes on a seashore, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Natrinai 195, penned by an anonymous poet. The verse is set in the coastal landscape of ‘Neythal’ and speaks in the voice of the confidante to the man, conveying the pained state of the lady, owing to the man’s lethargy in seeking her hand in marriage.
அருளாயாகலோ, கொடிதே!-இருங் கழிக்
குருளை நீர்நாய் கொழு மீன் மாந்தி,
தில்லைஅம் பொதும்பில் பள்ளி கொள்ளும்
மெல்லம் புலம்ப! யான் கண்டிசினே-
கல்லென் புள்ளின் கானல்அம் தொண்டி,
நெல் அரி தொழுவர் கூர் வாள் உற்றென,
பல் இதழ் தயங்கிய கூம்பா நெய்தல்
நீர் அலைத் தோற்றம் போல,
ஈரிய கலுழும், நீ நயந்தோள் கண்ணே.
The poem opens with intensity, as depicted by the strong words ‘அருளாயாகலோ, கொடிதே’ meaning ‘If you don’t render kindness, it’s evil’. The first element of the seashore greets us in ‘குருளை நீர்நாய்’, which means ‘the pup of a sea otter’. The next element is ‘தில்லை’, which is a tree commonly called as ‘milky mangrove’. The type of mangrove tree varies depending on its tolerance to salinity. This tree is said to be a less tolerant variety, growing further away from the oceans. ‘நெல் அரி தொழுவர்’ portrays ‘farmers engaged in harvesting paddy’. The flower ‘நெய்தல்’, known as ‘blue lotus’ that appears in close proximity, illustrates the repeated Sangam image of paddy and blue lotus growing together in the same field. Ending with the poignant words ‘நயந்தோள் கண்ணே’, ‘your loved one’s eyes’, the poem invites us to look into its soul!
The man and lady have been in a love relationship and the man had been trysting with the lady for quite a while. The confidante, seeing the man take no steps towards formalising his union with the lady, decides to speak to him about it. One day, she tells the man, “That you do not render your grace is vile indeed! In the dark marshlands, the sea otter’s pup, after feeding on fatty fish, sleeps in its den within the ‘thillai’ tree. Such scenes are to be found in your land, O lord of the gentle shores. I have seen with my own eyes! The seashore groves of Thondi resounds with the cries of birds. Here, feeling the slash of sharp sickles in the hands of paddy farmers there, the many-petaled, swaying, full-blossomed blue lotus dissolves in the waves of the water. Such is the appearance of the tear-filled eyes of the one you love!” With these words, the confidante sketches the unconcerned actions of the man and gently urges him to do the right thing to wipe away the lady’s tears.
Why are the lady’s eyes filled with tears? To understand that, we must mine meaning from the images portrayed by the confidante. First, is the sketch of a sea otter, that seems to feed to its full on fatty fish and then, sleep content in its resting spot in the mangrove tree. Incidentally, I learnt that an otter’s den is called a ‘couch’. Hold on to that image of a tummy-full otter, sleeping on a couch! The next image, the confidante paints, is from the fields in Thondi, a famous Chera seaport, renowned all over the ancient world. There, in those fields, as birds cover the skies with their cries, the farmers go about their task of harvesting paddy. As their sharp sickles fall on the paddy, the blue lotus blooming there is also struck down and floats on the water, all of its petals wide open. The confidante paints the image of a blue lotus flower floating in water as a parallel to the tear-filled eyes of the lady!
All the images have been shown before our eyes. But, do we understand? To see, we need to look beyond. The sound of birds filling the air in the shores of Thondi conceals a metaphor that the town is filled with slanderous talk about the man’s relationship with the lady. Hearing this, the sharp words of the lady’s kith and kin, akin to the farmer’s sickles, seem to fall on the lady’s mind, making her eyes dissolve in tears like the severed blue lotus flowers in the paddy field. While all this is happening, what is the man up to? The reference to that otter sleeping in a couch is the clue. This is a metaphor for the man, who seems to be concerned only in trysting with the lady and then retiring to his home, to sleep there, content. So, the confidante chides him for his seeming indifference and urges him to render his grace to the lady and get things happening so as to bring permanent happiness to their life. To me, this seems so like a twenty-first century call to action – Quit lying on your couch and get going! Hope we too, can find a wise voice within, that will urge us away from complacence, to do the best that we can.
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