Natrinai 210 – Ageless wealth

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அரிகால் மாறிய அம் கண் அகல் வயல்
மறு கால் உழுத ஈரச் செறுவின்,
வித்தொடு சென்ற வட்டி பற்பல
மீனொடு பெயரும் யாணர் ஊர!
நெடிய மொழிதலும் கடிய ஊர்தலும்
செல்வம் அன்று; தன் செய் வினைப் பயனே;
சான்றோர் செல்வம் என்பது, சேர்ந்தோர்
புன்கண் அஞ்சும் பண்பின்
மென் கட் செல்வம் செல்வம் என்பதுவே.

The poem opens with the word ‘அரிகால்’ which I found referred to ‘stubble’ and this single word made me learn much about a contemporary issue in Indian farming circles. Please note the word ‘மாறிய’ that follows ‘அரிகால்’ and this means ‘removed’. Words like ‘அகல் வயல்’ meaning ‘wide fields’ and ‘ஈரச் செறு’ meaning ‘wet fields’ firmly situate the verse in the farming landscape of the Sangam age. Similar to the previous poem, Natrinai 209, we meet with ‘வித்து’ or seed once again. A curious word ‘வட்டி’ is associated with these seeds and turns out to be not the ‘interest’ collected by money lenders, as in contemporary language, but ‘a box woven with palm fronds that contain fresh seeds for sowing’. Wonder how this picturesque word transformed to mean something that’s rather detested in finance. In the latter part of this verse, there’s repeated mention of the word ‘செல்வம்’ meaning ‘wealth’ and pithy sayings in the words of ‘சான்றோர்’ or ‘philosophers’. Let’s walk further afield to gather the meaning of this verse!

The man and lady had been leading a happy married life when the man took to keeping the company of courtesans. Hearing this, the lady is enraged. She refuses to concede to the messengers sent by the man to calm her ire. The man decides to come to the house himself and seeks entry. The confidante, seeing him at the gates, says to him, “In the beautiful, wide fields where the stubble has been removed, so as to sow again, the palmyra box filled with seeds, enters. But, it returns from those wet fields with many, many fish. Such is your rich and fertile town, O lord! Excessive mention of exploits or speeding on fine horses is not what wealth is. That is simply the fruit of one’s past deeds. What great minds call as wealth is the quality of fearing for the suffering of those in one’s protection and always treating them with a gentle kindness. Indeed, that is what true wealth is!” With these words, the confidante scolds the man in a hidden manner for seeking the company of courtesans, thereby, causing angst to the lady, who depends on the man for her happiness. 

Now, to unravel the intricacies in the verse. The confidante first talks about a field where the stubble has been removed. Let’s digress from the poem and turn our attention to the contemporary issue of ‘stubble burning’ in Punjab, which has led to the rapid increase in the air pollution levels of the nation’s capital, New Delhi. Following the question ‘why’ in my mind, I learnt that stubble burning happens because the Punjab farmers take up something known as ‘combine harvesting’ in which first paddy is sown and harvested and then, wheat is grown in the same fields. Now, the window of harvesting paddy has been changed in recent years to avoid groundwater depletion. What can the farmers do, but hastily burn the stubble, so as to get on with their wheat cultivation! In South India, there’s no stubble burning and the agricultural expert, M S Swaminathan says this is because down south, the value of stubble is realised and is used as cattle feed. The only way to clear the air of New Delhi would be make the farmers realise the economic value in removing stubble rather than burning them. Returning to the poem, we see that the Sangam people do realise the value of stubble for there’s no talk of burning but only removing the same, so that the fields are sown again with a fresh set of seeds. These seeds are brought to the fields in palmyra boxes. When these boxes return at the end of the day, they seem to not return empty but hold fish that are caught in the fields. In other Natrinai poems, we have seen the reference to fish swimming in the fields and a farmer having a hefty meal of ‘murrel’ fish before beginning his day’s work. The confidante seems to use this reference to fish in the seed box to indicate the rich and fertile town of the lord but we know she is someone who would have hidden the spice within these words!

Fish that take the place of seeds in the palmyra box is the reference to the man’s choosing those courtesans in the place of the lady. After that remark revealing the reason for the lady’s anger, the confidante then makes some pithy statements about what wealth is. I was a little confused when she said, ‘Wealth is not talking in excess about one’s exploits’. Now, this is not something we consider as an indicator of wealth today. But, then reflecting on the statement, I realised it could mean the titles rendered unto someone for their valorous tasks or support to the king in his time of need. The other thing that the confidante describes as ‘non-wealth’ is the speeding on fast horses. This, we can readily associate with the fast cars, yearned by many today. Wealth is not fast cars with fancy names apparently! So, what is wealth then?

The confidante cleverly puts it in the words of great thinkers, perhaps for added value, just like statements preceded by ‘Rumi says’ these days! Those great thinkers then seem to declare that wealth is not in external things but in the quality of being thoughtful, gentle and kind to those who are in one’s protection! The confidante thus sharply rebukes the man, who with all his wealth, has no wealth just then as he has caused pain and suffering in the lady’s mind. The hope is that the man would realise his mistakes and give up his wayward ways! When we move on to a general plane beyond that specific space and time, we realise that this statement is something valid today and perhaps, forever. Wealth is not the balance in your bank but the joy and satisfaction of all those lives that you have the power to touch!