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In this episode, we listen to an evergreen question asked in love, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Natrinai 303, penned by Madurai Aarulaviyanaattu Aalamperi Sathanaar. The verse is situated in the coastal regions of ‘Neythal’ and speaks in the voice of the lady to her confidante, wondering about the thoughts of the man, who has parted away from her.
ஒலி அவிந்து அடங்கி, யாமம் நள்ளென,
கலி கெழு பாக்கம் துயில் மடிந்தன்றே;
தொன்று உறை கடவுள் சேர்ந்த பராரை
மன்றப் பெண்ணை வாங்கு மடற் குடம்பைத்
துணை புணர் அன்றில் உயவுக் குரல் கேட்டொறும்,
‘துஞ்சாக் கண்ணள், துயர் அடச் சாஅய்,
நம்வயின் வருந்தும், நன்னுதல்’ என்பது
உண்டுகொல்?-வாழி, தோழி!-தெண் கடல்
வன் கைப் பரதவர் இட்ட செங் கோல்
கொடு முடி அவ் வலை பரியப் போக்கி,
கடு முரண் எறி சுறா வழங்கும்
நெடுநீர்ச் சேர்ப்பன்தன் நெஞ்சத்தானே.
The verse opens with ‘ஒலி அவிந்து அடங்கி’, which means ‘noises dying out’, bringing forth a time of the day, when the world around slowly ceases its blare. As predicted, we learn that this time of the day is the ‘dark hour of midnight’, as echoed by ‘யாமம் நள்ளென’. The portrait of the town is evident from the words ‘கலி கெழு பாக்கம்’ meaning ‘a village filled with the roar of celebrations’ and brings to mind, a seaside hamlet, where fishermen delight in toddy at the end of a long day at sea! The phrase ‘தொன்று உறை கடவுள் சேர்ந்த பராரை’ meaning ‘the trunk, where an ancient spirit resides’ informs us about the belief of Sangam people in tree spirits. We soon learn the trunk referred belongs to the ‘மன்றப் பெண்ணை’ or ‘palmyra tree in the village centre’. Then, the phrase ‘துணை புணர் அன்றில்’ talks about a favourite bird of the ancients, most probably ‘the red-naped ibis’, known for its devotion to its mate, as we have seen in Natrinai poems 124, 152 and 218. In the terms ‘துஞ்சாக் கண்ணள்’ meaning ‘lady with sleepless eyes’ and ‘நன்னுதல்’ meaning ‘lady with an exquisite forehead’, we perceive the literary practice of creating a noun to denote a person from a body part. From a lady, we turn to a description of a tribe in ‘வன் கைப் பரதவர்’ meaning ‘fishermen with strong arms’. A ferocious sea animal streaks before us in ‘கடு முரண் எறி சுறா’ meaning ‘fierce and angry shark’. Ending with ‘நெடுநீர்ச் சேர்ப்பன்தன் நெஞ்சத்தானே’ meaning ‘in the heart of the lord of the shores’, the verse gently commands our attention.
The man and lady had been leading a love relationship and the man parts away to gather wealth for their wedding. One night, when the man has been away for sometime, the lady turns to her confidante and says, “With noises diminishing and ceasing, the midnight hour is here. The boisterous village too has embraced sleep. An ancient spirit abides in the trunk of the palm tree in the village centre. On the curved branches of this tree, in its nest, an ibis that lives with its mate, sends out a call of desire. Hearing this call of desire, would he think, ‘My lady with sleepless eyes, the one with a fine forehead, filled with suffering, she is sure to not have rested, as thoughts about me worry her’? May you live long, my friend! In the clear seas, fisherfolk with powerful hands, throw in a net with strong knots tied to a red rod and yet, the fierce and raging shark tears it apart and swims away in the long seas by the lord’s shore! Would thoughts of me arise in that heart of his?” With these words, the lady expresses her angst at being separated from the man, as she mulls over the man’s mind in his travels far away.
Time to explore the nuances! The lady starts by pointing out to the silence in the world outside and reveals the midnight hour. It’s a not a sleepy town that’s always silent but one filled with the clamorous noises of the fisherfolk, whether at work or play. Even such a buzzing town has fallen into the quiet of sleep, the lady says. Then, she points to a palmyra tree, right in the middle of their village. The lady mentions that it’s a tree, where an ancient spirit lives! This echoes to us, the belief of Sangam folks in tree spirits. Reading about this, I learnt that belief in tree spirits exists across numerous cultures, as echoed in folklore and mythology.
Returning to the verse, the lady refers to the palm tree only to talk about the ‘ibis’ that lives on the palm’s curved branches. The ibis is heard raising a call filled with desire to beckon its mate. So far, the lady has been talking about her surroundings and the sounds that fill it. The moment she hears the ibis call, her thoughts move in the direction of her man and she wonders whether he would think of how she will be sleepless, with thoughts about him, on hearing this ibis. Suddenly, it is no longer just her, hearing the ibis, it’s the man too, in her mind’s eye and she ponders upon the thoughts that sail through, in his heart. She then describes the land of the lord where fishermen throw well-knit nets into the sea and a shark that was almost caught, seems to tear the net away and escape. Not a mere description, but a metaphor for how although her heart was captured by the man and was patient believing his words, the yearning sometimes makes her heart tear at the net of trust and swim away in the sea of suffering.
Taking a step back to the core question in the verse, it’s succinctly captured in the movie song ‘Azaipayaa’ penned two thousand years later, as echoed by these lyrics:
“எனக்குள்ளே நிகழ்ந்திடும் அது
உன் நெஞ்சிலும் உண்டா என்றெண்ணியே
இருதயம் துடிக்குதே!”
meaning,
“Whatever that’s happening within me,
Is that there in your heart too?”
So, beats my heart!
The one question that seems to throb in a heart in love, be it the lush hamlets of yore or the concrete jungles of today!
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