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In this episode, we relish a poetic feast, filled with elements from nature and culture, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Natrinai 279, penned by Kayamanaar. The verse is set in the drylands of ‘Paalai’ landscape and speaks in the voice of the mother, on hearing that her daughter has parted away with the man.
வேம்பின் ஒண் பழம் முணைஇ, இருப்பைத்
தேம் பால் செற்ற தீம் பழம் நசைஇ,
வைகு பனி உழந்த வாவல், சினைதொறும்,
நெய் தோய் திரியின் தண் சிதர் உறைப்ப,
நாட் சுரம் உழந்த வாள் கேழ் ஏற்றையொடு
பொருத யானைப் புட் தாள் ஏய்ப்ப,
பசிப் பிடி உதைத்த ஓமைச் செவ் வரை
வெயில் காய் அமையத்து இமைக்கும் அத்தத்து,
அதர் உழந்து அசையினகொல்லோ-ததர்வாய்ச்
சிலம்பு கழீஇய செல்வம்
பிறருழைக் கழிந்த என் ஆயிழை அடியே?
The verse opens with ‘வேம்பின் ஒண் பழம்’ referring to the ‘lustrous fruit of the neem tree’ and reminds me of the tiny, tender, green fruits of this tree I glimpsed from my balcony this very morning. Did neem fruits look the same two thousand years ago? Returning to the poem, we are treated to the sight of another tree, the ‘இருப்பை’ or ‘mahua’ tree that we have encountered in Natrinai 111. A moment to take in two words with similar endings in ‘முணைஇ’ , ‘நசைஇ’ and explore what they mean! ‘முணைஇ’ means ‘disliking’ and ‘நசைஇ’ means ‘desiring’ and thus, paint a coat of contrast in this verse. A bat flutters its wings and flies about, as echoed by ‘வைகு பனி உழந்த வாவல்’ meaning ‘a bat that roamed in the dew-filled night’. Not only does a bat appear, there’s also ‘water droplets splashing about’ in ‘தண் சிதர் உறைப்ப’. Remember this is the past and that life situated in nature leaves no cause for that worry of today! In addition to the two trees mentioned earlier, we also get to meet the ‘பசிப் பிடி உதைத்த ஓமை’ referring to the ‘elephant apple tree kicked by a hungry female tusker’, a tree that we have explored in Natrinai 137. The phrase ‘ததர்வாய்ச் சிலம்பு கழீஇய செல்வம்’ packs within it, a wedding ceremony from ancient times, which we will learn about in a short while. Ending with ‘என் ஆயிழை அடியே’, which means ‘the feet of my bejewelled daughter’, the poem beckons us to listen intently!
The man and lady had been in a love relationship when the lady’s parents started receiving proposals from strangers, claiming the lady’s hand. Seeing them favour the newcomers, the man decides to take the lady away to his village to marry her. With the confidante’s help, the lady leaves her home and marries the man in his village. News of this reaches the lady’s mother and although the lady’s mother accepts it as a righteous act, her heart languishes and she says, “Disliking the radiant fruit of the ‘vembu’ tree, the bat turns with desire to the sweet fruit of the ‘iruppai’ tree, brimming with the milk of nectar. As it roves amidst the dew of the night, the bat makes cool drops sprinkle from branches, akin to a wick dipped in oil. Like the wounded leg of an elephant that has battled with a bright male tiger, which roams the desert path by day, the ‘omai’ tree’s red trunk, kicked by a hungry female elephant, stands amidst the scalding sun in the drylands. Did my girl’s feet tread on this drylands path and tire out? Those feet of my bejewelled daughter, who has granted the sight of her well-crafted anklet removal ritual to strange eyes, and not to mine!” With these words, the mother gives vent to her angst, at having missed the opportunity of seeing her daughter wed, owing to her parting away with the man.
Now, for the nuances! The mother starts her grieving by bringing before our eyes, a bat’s whereabouts. She says this bat, disliking the fruits of a neem tree, rushes to savour the sweet fruit of the ‘mahua’ tree. Bats seem to be considered as wavering creatures, for in Natrinai 87, we saw a bat, disliking the fruits of a mango tree and dreaming about faraway gooseberry fruits, and here too, a bat seems to be on a mission to forego what’s available in plenty and seek something else. Speaking of which, fruit bats find an abode in neem trees and I read that in certain nations such as Togo and Senegal, the extraction of neem seeds, which has many economic uses, is left to fruit bats that eat up the sweet fruit and spit out the seeds beneath the tree. Isn’t that a glorious instance of co-existing with these winged denizens of nature? Returning to the verse, the bat seems to prefer the fruits of the ‘mahua’ tree, instead of the neem, and mother mentions this, as a metaphor for her daughter, foregoing the wealth of her father, and journeying to live with the wealth of her husband. Then, the mother talks about how these bats seem to shower cool droplets, as they rush past the branches of a tree and calls in an apt simile of how drops splash from a wick dipped in oil. Then, the mother’s attention wanders to the drylands, where stands an ‘omai’ tree with its red trunk exposed by a hungry elephant, while looking like a wounded elephant that has warred with a male tiger. The mother employs this image of an exposed ‘omai’ tree to reveal how vulnerable she feels after hearing the slanderous talk of the townsfolk!
From the drylands ‘omai’ tree, mother turns to the path on which her daughter must have walked away, and wonders if her child’s delicate feet were worn out by that walk. And this thought reminds her of a ritual of importance in a Sangam wedding. In this ritual, the exquisitely carved anklets worn by the bride-to-be is removed and given to her parents, and she is adorned with a new one, by the groom’s family. Apparently, this was an event of much significance, for we see the mother shedding tears that her own eyes were not fortunate to see this event, for her daughter, by her action of eloping to the man’s village, had bestowed that honour on strangers there. I am reminded of how in these times of the Covid lockdown, online weddings are happening around the world and my thoughts go out to the mothers of these couples, who, like our Sangam mother, might have shed a tear, for not being there. While times may change, emotions do seem to live on!
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