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In this episode, we perceive picturesque similes to describe the elements on land, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 53, penned by Koperuncholan, a poet-king from the Early Chola dynasty. Set in the farmlands of ‘Marutham’, the verse speaks in the voice of the confidante to the man, pressing him to seek the lady’s hand without further delay.
எம் அணங்கினவே-மகிழ்ந! முன்றில்
நனை முதிர் புன்கின் பூத் தாழ் வெண் மணல்,
வேலன் புனைந்த வெறி அயர் களம்தொறும்
செந் நெல் வான் பொரி சிதறி அன்ன,
எக்கர் நண்ணிய எம் ஊர் வியன் துறை,
நேர் இறை முன்கை பற்றி,
சூரரமகளிரோடு உற்ற சூளே.
Solemn promises fill the core of this verse! The opening phrase ‘எம் அணங்கினவே’ meaning ‘it has caused suffering’ is generally used in reference with the wrath of gods. From this abstract emotion, we turn to glimpse at ‘புன்கின் பூத் தாழ்’ talking about ‘the white petals of the Indian Beech tree, whose scientific name until recently happened to be ‘Pongamia Pinnata’, derived very much from this Sangam Tamil word we just encountered – ‘Pungam’! Natural elements give way to religious ones in ‘வேலன்’ referring to ‘the priest who performs rituals to God Murugu’ and ‘வெறி அயர் களம்’ referring to ‘the field where this priest performs those rituals’. A well-known and much-loved food item appears in ‘வான் பொரி’ referring to ‘puffed rice’, which in this case, seems to be made from ‘செந் நெல்’ or ‘red rice paddy’. When we see ‘வியன் துறை’ which means ‘wide shores’, we may be tempted to think it’s the coast; however being situated in the farmlands, it rather refers to the river banks. Ending with the alliterative words ‘சூரரமகளிரோடு உற்ற சூளே’ meaning ‘the promise made to fear-evoking heavenly maidens’, the verse intrigues our curiosity.
Petals, puffed rice and promises seem to hold within a significant story! The context reveals that the man and the lady had been leading a love relationship and that the man had been trysting with the lady for a long while. Observing that the man was taking too long to take steps in the direction of seeking the lady’s hand, the confidante says to him, “It makes us suffer, O lord! On the white sands in the front yard, flower petals of the ‘pungam’ tree’s mature buds lie scattered, looking like white puffed rice, made from red paddy, which are thrown around in the fields, where ‘Velan’ performs his ‘Veri’ rituals. Akin to this scene, appears the sand-filled wide shores of our town. Here, you held on to her slender wrists and took an oath in the name of those fearsome divine maidens and that’s what makes us suffer!” With these words, the confidante is reminding the man of his promise in the name of gods and persuading him to fulfil that promise without any further delay.
Why should the lady and the confidante suffer for a promise made by the man? Let’s dig deeper and track closer! Even as she starts, the confidante declares to the man that they are feeling the wrath of something. She doesn’t say what that something is, but instead talks about how in the house’s entrance, flower petals of the ‘pungam’ tree are lying scattered. She compares this beautiful sight of petals spread on the ground to a scene in the midst of a religious ritual. In many verses, we have seen this ‘Velan’s Veriaattam’ mentioned in connection with fortune-telling and predicting the reasons for the lady’s illness. Other poems inform us of how ‘Velan’ the priest, wears various flower garlands on his head and around his neck and invokes God Murugu. Here, we get an additional information about how the priest seems to throw puffed rice all around the stage, as part of his ritual. The scattering of this puffed rice has been mentioned as a parallel to the scattering of the ‘pungam’ tree’s flower petals!
A moment to pause and reflect on the significance of this ‘puffed rice’! To put it in perspective for modern audiences, what popcorn is to corn, puffed rice is to rice. Chocolate manufacturers like to refer to these as ‘rice crispies’, whereas any Indian, who loves street-food, needs no special introduction to this ingredient in the ‘Bhelpuri’ of Mumbai or ‘Jhalmuri’ of Kolkata! However, when you come down south, this food item still has a religious connection. In many temples in Tamilnadu and Kerala, this puffed rice is given as the ‘prasadam’ or ‘offering’, no doubt having their origin in this ancient Sangam ritual. Truly astonishing to trace the journey of this ‘pori’ in the hands of ‘Velan’, that ancient religious performer through the street-food makers of India and onward to international chocolatiers!
Returning to the verse from these lip-smacking delicacies, we find that the scene of flowers scattered and puffed rice lying about, has been called in to depict the white sands of the town’s river shores. Moving on to this spot, the confidante says that it was here that the man took a pledge before the fear-evoking goddesses. By revealing that it’s this very pledge that makes them feel the wrath, the confidante concludes. A promise is something reassuring, isn’t it? Why should it make the lady suffer? Just like how the scene of flowers scattered, something serene, is compared with Velan’s ritual, something scary, especially for a lady in love, the reassuring promise is now causing worry because the man had not fulfilled it, the confidante implies. Owing to this, the lady worries what the spirits may do to the man and that’s why the confidante declares that the spirits seemed to have not attacked the man but the lady by bringing her this anguish. These piercing words would no doubt propel the man to fulfil his promise to the lady. Whatever be such quaint beliefs of the past, we should be grateful to look back and see where humanity started, to understand where it has now arrived, and perhaps, wonder about where it could be headed!
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