Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | iHeartRadio | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More
In this episode, we listen in to a conversation with a rain cloud, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 158, penned by Avvaiyaar. Set in the mountains of ‘Kurinji’, the verse speaks in the voice of the lady to the rain, while passing on a hidden message to the man, listening nearby.
நெடு வரை மருங்கின் பாம்பு பட இடிக்கும்
கடு விசை உருமின் கழறு குரல் அளைஇக்
காலொடு வந்த கமஞ் சூல் மா மழை!
ஆர் அளி இலையோ நீயே? பேர் இசை
இமயமும் துளக்கும் பண்பினை;
துணை இலர், அளியர், பெண்டிர்; இஃது எவனே?
‘Pitiless rain’ is the remark made by this one. In the opening words ‘நெடு வரை மருங்கின் பாம்பு’ meaning ‘snakes in the tall hills’, the verse situates the song firmly in the highlands and introduces us to mountain snakes too. This is followed by ‘கடு விசை உருமின்’ meaning ‘fast and furious thunder’. The phrase ‘கமஞ் சூல் மா மழை’ meaning ‘pregnant dark clouds’ poetically depict the cumulonimbus clouds as a mother, about to deliver her baby. In the words ‘பேர் இசை இமயமும் துளக்கும்’ meaning ‘shaking the well-renowned Himalaya’, the verse mentions the soaring peaks of the Himalayan ranges, and also, how it was famous in the ancient world. Ending with the words ‘அளியர் பெண்டிர்; இஃது எவனே?’ meaning ‘Pitiable are the women; Why come here?’, the verse intrigues our curiosity.
What has the rain done to evoke such words out of the lady? The context reveals that the man and lady were leading a love relationship and the man was trysting with the lady for a while. One night, it was raining furiously and this made the lady worried if the man would make it safely to the tryst. Observing him near the house but pretending not to notice him, the lady says to the rain, “Destroying snakes in those soaring mountains, resounds forceful thunder in a frightening voice, which accompanies you along with scattered winds, O dense, dark clouds of rain! Are you not filled with pity at all? You can even shake the Himalaya. But here, without their mates live pitiable women; Why arrive thither?” With these words, the lady indirectly conveys the fear in her heart about the man’s safety as he continues to tryst by night and thereby, sows the seeds in the man’s mind to seek a path to their permanent happiness.
Time to delve into the nuances. The first image the lady zooms on, is that of writhing mountain snakes, seemingly in great suffering. To reveal the reason for their state, the lady points to the deafening roar of thunder. As we have seen in numerous other Sangam verses, there was a strong belief then that thunder harmed and even killed snakes. Then, she turns the spotlight on the winds that are seen in the company of this thunder and finally, switches her attention to the mastermind of these weather changes – those dense and dark rain-bearing clouds. She puts forth the question to these rain clouds asking whether it had not even a drop of pity. Praising the rainclouds saying within them was the power to shake even the Himalayas, famous in the lands around. With so much power, why trouble us women, who are here without our mates in a pitiable state, the lady asks as her final question.
The first aspect that calls our attention here is undoubtedly the mention of the Himalayas. This is the land of the ancient Tamils, located roughly 2000 km south of those soaring Himalayan peaks. The question is, how 2000 years ago, the Sangam poets are mentioning the fame of the Himalayas as a matter of fact. Was there trade and travel across these vast distances? Was there sharing of knowledge about the world beyond immediate boundaries? If so, we have to reframe our current thinking of the ancient world as one containing isolated pockets of people, who did not know about lands beyond. Returning to the verse, the other subtle thought is in the portrait of an entity with immense power. To be specific, it’s the rain clouds the lady characterises thus, saying these could make even the mighty Himalayas tremble. After praising the power of the rainclouds, the lady wonders what happened to its sense of sympathy for the weak. In that, we can glean an understanding that power was expected to be accompanied by compassion. And, this is the question not only in the mind of this lady from the Sangam times, but in the minds of people today, asking rulers of nations across the world, ‘With all the power you hold in your grasp, will you find it in you to render kindness too?’
Share your thoughts...