Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | iHeartRadio | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More
In this episode, we perceive the cultural significance of natural elements, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Natrinai 206, penned by Aiyoor Mudavanaar. Set in the mountain country of ‘Kurinji’, the verse speaks in the voice of the confidante to the lady, conveying a hidden message to the man, listening nearby.
‘துய்த் தலைப் புனிற்றுக் குரல் பால் வார்பு இறைஞ்சி,
தோடு அலைக் கொண்டன ஏனல் என்று,
துறு கல் மீமிசைக் குறுவன குழீஇ,
செவ் வாய்ப் பாசினம் கவரும்’ என்று, அவ் வாய்த்
தட்டையும் புடைத்தனை, கவணையும் தொடுக்க’ என
எந்தை வந்து உரைத்தனனாக, அன்னையும்,
‘நல் நாள் வேங்கையும் மலர்கமா, இனி’ என
என் முகம் நோக்கினள்; எவன்கொல்?-தோழி!-
செல்வாள் என்றுகொல்? ‘செறிப்பல்’ என்றுகொல்?
கல் கெழு நாடன் கேண்மை
அறிந்தனள்கொல்? அஃது அறிகலென் யானே!
The verse opens with a fuzzy feel in the words ‘துய்த் தலை’ meaning ‘soft, cotton-like ends’. In other poems, we have seen the phrase ‘துய்த் தலை’ used in connection with a monkey’s head and a lady’s tresses. Moving on, we encounter ‘புனிற்றுக் குரல்’ meaning ‘young crop ears’ and soon, we understand these descriptions are about the crop in the ‘ஏனல்’ or ‘millet field’. If the millets are talked about, can the ‘செவ் வாய்ப் பாசினம்’ or ‘red-mouthed green flock of parrots’ be far behind? In Sangam verses, these two features are inseparable like the lady and her confidante! We learn of two devices used to scare away parrots in ‘தட்டை’ , ‘a rattle’ and ‘கவணை’, ‘a slingshot’. When we meet ‘எந்தை’ meaning ‘father’, it becomes clear that he’s speaking these words and that too, in the company of ‘அன்னை’ or ‘mother’. In mother’s words, we see the blooming of ‘நல் நாள் வேங்கை’ which translates as ‘an auspicious day’s Kino flower’. Why is the Indian Kino flower referred thus? Let’s find out about this and more from the mountain song!
The man and lady have been in a love relationship for a while and have been trysting during the day, when the lady guards the millet fields. One day, seeing the man arrive, pretending not to notice him, the confidante turns to the lady and says to her, “ ‘Those cottony, soft-tipped young ears of the millet crop, filled with milk, bends down and sways in the wind without its outer shell. Seeing this, those red-beaked green parrots that group together on round rocks, would want to steal the crop away. And so, hasten there to shake your rattle and aim the sling shot to scare them away’. Arriving there, father said these words. Mother responded saying, ‘Now, the ‘vengai’, the harbinger of auspicious days, shall flower’. After she said that, she looked pointedly at my face. Why is that, my friend? Should I take it as ‘go to the fields’ or ‘stay in the house’? Should I understand that she has come to know of your relationship with the lord of the mountains? That, I do not know!” With these words, the confidante conveys to the listening man it’s likely that mother has come to know of the lady’s relationship with the man, the consequence of which would be the lady’s confinement to the house and therefore, the man must seek the lady’s hand in marriage without further delay.
Time to discover the echo of culture in the natural elements sketched in the verse. The confidante, first brings forth the image of millet crops in full bloom, painting the cottony wisps on the crop ears and these young cobs dancing in the breeze. Then she says, this is an invitation to the flock of parrots that gather on rocks. The confidante makes us understand all that was said above was said by the lady’s father, who added that the lady must hasten to scare away these parrots. Now, to this practical request of father, mother replies in an abstract fashion saying, ‘Indeed, the auspicious ‘vengai’ will bloom now’. And now, is the moment for us to take a break and ponder on these statements because the connection is not immediately accessible. First, some insight into the ‘vengai’ or the ‘Indian Kino tree’. Before we step into the reference of the tree as seen in Sangam times, I want to share about something I read today. It’s said that this tree, called as ‘Benga’ in ‘Kannada’, renders its name to the famous city of ‘Bengaluru’. Listeners in Bengaluru can look up at these yellow blooms and feel the connection to our ancestors in the Sangam times. Returning to the verse, it talks about a belief then, that when the ‘vengai’ blooms, it was time for marriages. The theory about this is that the blooming of the ‘vengai’ marks the end of the harvest season and therefore, people then might have found that to be the right time to turn their attention to weddings, now that their work in the fields was done. So, when mother says the ‘vengai’ shall bloom, she means her girl is ready for marriage and this becomes evident when she further looks pointedly at the lady’s confidante. Retracing back to the scene of the parrots stealing the millet crops, we learn that this is no mere description of the setting but a metaphor for the fact that the lady was mature and that she would receive proposals for marriage from strangers.
No wonder the confidante is alarmed by mother’s pointed look after the statement about the auspicious ‘vengai’ flowering. The confidante starts to wonder aloud about what’s going on in mother’s mind. Is she going to let the lady go to the fields, as father requested or is she going to confine her to the house, now that the time of her wedding seemed to be nearing? And the most important question of all, was mother aware of the lady’s relationship with the man? Today, when even words from a mother seem to fall on deaf ears, it’s fascinating to see the importance accorded to every word and expression on the face of a mother in Sangam times. Extrapolating from mother’s single statement, the confidante conveys to the man, the importance of seeking the lady’s hand immediately, lest she be stolen away, akin to that full-bloomed millet crop in the beak of a strange parrot!
Share your thoughts...