Natrinai 245 – Reading the reflection of love

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In this episode, we perceive the nuances in courtship during ancient times, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Natrinai 245, penned by Allankeeranaar. The verse is set in the coastal landscape of ‘Neythal’ and speaks in the voice of the confidante to the lady, trying to understand the lady’s mind as she conveys a message from the man.

நகையாகின்றே-தோழி!-”தகைய
அணி மலர் முண்டகத்து ஆய் பூங்கோதை
மணி மருள் ஐம்பால் வண்டு படத் தைஇ,
துணி நீர்ப் பௌவம் துணையோடு ஆடி,
ஒழுகு நுண் நுசுப்பின், அகன்ற அல்குல்,
தெளி தீம் கிளவி! யாரையோ, என்
அரிது புணர் இன் உயிர் வவ்விய நீ?” என,
பூண் மலி நெடுந் தேர்ப் புரவி தாங்கி,
தான் நம் அணங்குதல் அறியான், நம்மின்
தான் அணங்குற்றமை கூறி, கானல்
சுரும்பு இமிர் சுடர் நுதல் நோக்கி,
பெருங் கடற் சேர்ப்பன் தொழுது நின்றதுவே

The verse opens with ‘நகையாகின்றே-தோழி’ meaning ‘It’s something funny, my friend’, inviting us with an infectious smile. The phrase ‘முண்டகத்து ஆய் பூங்கோதை’ meaning ‘garland of fine water thorn flowers’ brings forth a plant that seems to be common in those shores. ‘மணி மருள் ஐம்பால்’ talks about the ‘sapphire-coloured tresses, tied in a five-part braid’ and stands testimony to the rich and thick tresses of Sangam women. Our eyes fill with the liquid silver of ancient seas when we glimpse at ‘துணி நீர்ப் பௌவம்’ meaning ‘crystal waters in the ocean’. My favourite description appears in ‘தெளி தீம் கிளவி’ meaning ‘one who speaks clear and sweet words’! Ending with ‘தொழுது நின்றதுவே’ meaning ‘standing with devotion’, the verse beckons us to explore more!

The man had seen the lady by the shore and fallen in love with her. He gets closer to her and expresses his love. He realises that he needs the help of the confidante to further his relationship with the lady. He learns who the lady’s confidante is and approaches her with the expression of his deep love for the lady. The confidante puts him through tests many and is convinced of his love for the lady and decides to help him. However, the lady has not openly declared her love for the man to the confidante and so, the confidante decides to probe the lady’s mind by saying, “It makes me laugh, my friend! Holding the reins of his tall chariot’s horses, which are decked with ornaments many, he says, ‘The lady, who wears a garland woven with the finest flowers from the water thorn bush, swarming with bees, on her sapphire-hued thick tresses in a five-layered braid; she who delights in the clear waters of the ocean with her playmates; the one with a neat and narrow waist, and wide loins; she, who speaks words so clear and sweet! Who may she be, the one who has captured my precious, sweet life?’ Not realising that you are afflicted because of him, he states how he’s afflicted because of you and stands there in this bee-buzzing orchard, gazing at your flame-like forehead with utter devotion, that lord of the great seas!” With these words, the confidante expresses her idea about the love in the lady’s heart for the man and verifies if the lady responds favourably to her words. 

What a roundabout way to express this feeling of love! Let’s look deeper at the nuances! The confidante starts on a note of laughter. Humour has the capacity of relaying even the most serious things instantly and we see the confidante employ this ploy right away! So, what is making her laugh? Before we get there, we see that she is conveying to the lady, a man’s question. The confidante conjures the image of a lord, who is said to be wielding tall chariots and ornamented horses, and this lord of the seas has something to query. He is describing a woman who wears fine flowers on her thick tresses, who plays in the clear seas with her playmates, and most of all, a lady who renders clear and sweet words. He then wonders who this person might be, the one who seems to have devoured his rare and sweet life! We then learn that the man is addressing the very lady who has won his heart as he stands in that bee-buzzing grove, gazing at her shining forehead. The confidante then reveals that the lady the man is talking about is none other than her friend. She then adds that he seems not to realise how much the lady pines and yearns for him and only talks about his own yearning for the lady. It is this state of the man, who stands pleading with devotion to the lady, that makes the confidante laugh out loud! 

When the confidante expresses these words, we can imagine the lady’s face lighting up with a blush, thereby giving the cue that the confidante is indeed speaking the truth in the lady’s heart. The question that treads on my mind after dwelling on this verse is about why such a complicated route is taken to express the simple feelings in the heart. Is this an imaginary setup to illustrate the richness of the poet’s prowess or is it really the way men and women related to each other two thousand years ago? At the same time, another question rises in my mind. I wonder which of the things, we take for granted in our relationships today, will seem bizarre to humans two thousand years later!