Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | iHeartRadio | TuneIn | RSS | More
In this episode, we listen to a song of angst depicting a lady’s suffering, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Natrinai 236, penned by Nambi Kuttuvanaar. Set in the mountain country of Kurinji, the verse speaks in the voice of the lady to her confidante, conveying a hidden message to the man, listening nearby.
நோயும் கைம்மிகப் பெரிதே; மெய்யும்
தீ உமிழ் தெறலின் வெய்தாகின்றே-
ஒய்யெனச் சிறிது ஆங்கு உயிரியர், ”பையென
முன்றில் கொளினே நந்துவள் பெரிது” என,
நிரைய நெஞ்சத்து அன்னைக்கு உய்த்து ஆண்டு
உரை, இனி-வாழி, தோழி!-புரை இல்
நுண் நேர் எல் வளை நெகிழ்த்தோன் குன்றத்து
அண்ணல் நெடு வரை ஆடி, தண்ணென
வியல் அறை மூழ்கிய வளி என்
பயலை ஆகம் தீண்டிய, சிறிதே.
Opening with ‘நோயும் கைம்மிகப் பெரிதே’ meaning ‘the disease has exceeded limits’, the song evokes the panic felt in these times of the coronavirus. But, the epitome of health that these Sangam folks were, we can be assured these lines could only refer to the disease of pining that seemed to be prevalent among Sangam women. ‘மெய்யும் தீ உமிழ்’ talks about the ‘body spewing fire’ which we might call a ‘high-grade fever’ in modern times. Found this word ‘நந்துவள்’ with the meaning ‘she will thrive’ as well a harsh phrase for a mother ‘நிரைய நெஞ்சத்து அன்னை’ which apparently means a ‘mother with a hell-like heart’. What could be the reason for such ire? The verse ends with ‘பயலை ஆகம் தீண்டிய’ pertaining to the ‘pallor that spreads on the bosom’. Time to learn more about the ire and fire in this verse!
The man and lady had been in a love relationship and the man persists in trysting with the lady by day and night, without any thought about formalising the union. The lady suffers whenever he parts away. One day, when the man arrives at their house, pretending not to see him, but making sure he’s listening, the lady turns to her confidante and says, “My disease has progressed and gone out of my hands; As if it is spitting fire, my body burns and suffers. So that I can breathe a little bit, run with haste and tell aloud, ‘If you lay her on the raised platform in our front yard, she will regain her health’ to our hellish-hearted mother now. May you live long, my friend! If only my pallor-filled bosom would be caressed by the cool wind that spreads on the wide rocks. The wind, that would arrive after dancing around the mountain peaks of the one, who has made my flawless, intricate, shining bangles slip and fall!” With these words, the lady expresses the suffering of pining that afflicts her and subtly persuades the man to seek her hand in marriage.
Now, for the details! The lady starts her conversation by mentioning about her illness. The illness that ravages her body and makes it burn, appearing as if it has become inflammable. Then, she goes on to make a request to her friend and this request is that the confidante should run to mother and seek permission for the lady to lie down on the raised platform in their front yard. While she’s saying these words, she adds an adjective for mother calling her as ‘hellish-hearted’. The reason for this is understood in the need for seeking permission for the lady to lie on that front yard. This clearly indicates that the lady has been confined to the house and so, even to take one step out of the house, the mother needs to give her assent. By mentioning this, the lady conveys her dire straits to the man. Now, the question is, why does the lady want to lie on the front yard? She explains why saying just so that the cool breeze from the man’s mountain country would embrace her chest and make the pallor of pining fade a little!
Hearing these words, the man would understand the passion that rages in the heart of the lady and the difficult situation at her home. He would then conclude that the only way to proceed would be to seek the lady’s hand in marriage. With that lovely metaphor of a mountain breeze that dances around the peaks and spreads on rocks many, the lady conveys her wish that she too yearns to be embraced by the man’s shoulders and find comfort therein. Interesting indeed the customs of then, when a lady couldn’t say what she meant and she had to go seek the aid of the natural world around her, to convey the lay of her heart. I can only remark ‘Lucky us!’, for we get to relish this healing breeze of a song from this long-ago mountain land!
Share your thoughts...