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In this episode, we perceive fear in the heart of a lady, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 157, penned by Alloor Nanmullaiyaar. The verse is situated in the agricultural lands of ‘Marutham’ and speaks in the voice of the lady, conveying the thoughts in her heart, at the prospect of parting with her beloved.
”குக்கூ” என்றது கோழி; அதன் எதிர்
துட்கென்றன்று என் தூஉ நெஞ்சம்-
தோள் தோய் காதலர்ப் பிரிக்கும்
வாள் போல் வைகறை வந்தன்றால் எனவே.
At the core of this verse, flashes a sharp sword. The opening words ‘குக்கூ என்றது கோழி’ meaning ‘Coo said the rooster’ relays to us, the sound made by a rooster, no doubt signalling the streaks of light blooming in the early morning sky. Although this cannot be taken for a fact today, because near where I work, I keep hearing a rooster that crows at one in the afternoon… Perhaps, an urban late-riser! Returning, we see the line ‘துட்கென்றன்று என் தூஉ நெஞ்சம்’ meaning ‘trembled my calm heart’, illustrating the startled reaction in the speaker. The phrase ‘தோள் தோய் காதலர்’ meaning ‘the lover who embraces me’ speaks of the other in the speaker’s life. Ending with the words ‘வாள் போல் வைகறை வந்தன்றால் எனவே’ meaning ‘because the sword-like dawn arrives’, the verse fills our eyes with the reddish hues of dawn and welcomes us within.
Why should the lady’s heart be startled when such delightful shades of dawn are spreading all around? The context reveals that the man and lady were leading a happy married life when the man parted from her on a mission and returned after a long while. One morning thereafter, the lady says, “‘Cookoo’ says the rooster; In response, my pure heart startles suddenly, thinking, to sever the lover, who embraces my shoulders, here comes the sword-like dawn!” With these words, the lady declares her fear of being parted from the embrace of her beloved.
Emotions at its purest depicted here. The lady points to the sound of a rooster nearby. A common enough occurrence in ancient farms that signalled the arrival of dawn to the sleeping inmates. Nature-made alarm clock, one may say. On hearing this however, the lady is startled. She says her calm and peaceful heart starts to panic. When we enquire with empathy as to the reason why, the lady characterises this dawn as a sword and says that it arrives to separate her from her lover’s embrace.
A lady who fears the end of a night of togetherness, that’s the simple thought at the heart of this verse. What’s fascinating is not the verse itself but how it has been interpreted by the early scholars! I know not where this particular interpretation originated but all the scholars in the 19th and 20th centuries depict this song as if the lady has noticed her periods are starting at dawn and so, she worries about being separated from her man for the three following days. I will not blame the original verse for nowhere is there any reference to any component of a woman’s menstruation. It’s the conservative beliefs of these male interpreters that has led to this particular view of this verse. As I see it, the lady could simply be worried about her night with the man ending. We have seen in other verses how the lady can’t bear to be apart from the man even for a short while, and so, understandably, after a long time apart, she doesn’t want the night to end and is startled by the sounds that announce that dawn is here. But, all these scholars over the ages seem to think that she’s worried because she’s got her periods!
The belief in the impurity of a menstruating woman seems to exist even today in many Indian minds. There are some mythical stories about god Indra in the Vedas that are attributed to such beliefs, and these have severe consequences today such as stopping the education of young girls after a certain age. The youth of today must reject such baseless ideas and see this biological process for what it is. With the sword of science, let’s sever these backward beliefs and quietly usher in a new dawn that will take women forward in their journey to equality.
Brilliant 😍