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In this episode, we observe a domestic scene and understand its hidden implications, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 161, penned by Nakirar. Set in the mountains of ‘Kurinji’, the verse speaks in the voice of the lady to her confidante, passing on a message to the man, listening nearby.
பொழுதும் எல்லின்று; பெயலும் ஓவாது,
கழுது கண் பனிப்ப வீசும்; அதன்தலைப்
புலிப்பல் தாலிப் புதல்வன் புல்லி,
”அன்னா!” என்னும், அன்னையும்: அன்னோ!
என் மலைந்தனன்கொல் தானே-தன் மலை
ஆரம் நாறும் மார்பினன்
மாரி யானையின் வந்து நின்றனனே?
‘My poor man standing in the rain’ cries this verse! The opening words ‘பொழுதும் எல்லின்று’ meaning ‘the day lost its light’ reveal the darkness of the night and tells us the time of the day. The phrase ‘பெயலும் ஓவாது’ talks about ‘rains pouring down ceaselessly’. This is followed by mention of ‘கழுது’ meaning ‘ghost’, reiterating the belief of the ancients in such supernatural elements. Next, we see a charming alliteration in ‘புலிப்பல் தாலிப் புதல்வன் புல்லி’ talking about ‘hugging the son, who wears a tiger-tooth chain’. Note how the word ‘தாலி’ is used here, in the meaning of an ornament worn by a young child, that too with the tooth of a tiger as a pendant. In contemporary Tamil, the word ‘தாலி’ refers to the thread or chain worn by a married woman, the equivalent of a ‘wedding ring’ in Western culture, only that, unlike the case there, where both the bride and groom wear rings, only the Tamil bride wears this chain after marriage. Perhaps, this practice of wearing a wedding chain was not prevalent in Sangam times. Returning, our attention is beckoned by the phrase ‘ஆரம் நாறும் மார்பினன்’ meaning ‘a man with a chest, wafting with the fragrance of sandalwood’, no doubt describing the hero for us. Ending with the words ‘மாரி யானையின் வந்து நின்றனனே’ meaning ‘he came and stood like an elephant in the rain’, the verse welcomes us to know more about that vivid image.
A dark, wet and frightening night, it sounds like! The context reveals that the man and lady were leading a love relationship and that the man was trysting with the lady by night for a while. One night, the lady observes the man arriving at their house, and pretending not to notice him, turns to her confidante and says, “Day turned lightless; The incessant downpour made even ghosts blink their eyes and shiver; On top of that, embracing her son, who wore a tiger-tooth necklace, mother too cried ‘my dear’. Alas! Wonder how he felt, the man with a chest, fragrant with the sandalwood of his mountains, as he stood there, like an elephant in the rain?” With these words, the lady explains how the man had arrived the previous night to tryst with her, only to leave disappointed, owing to the circumstances at the lady’s home, and thus, indirectly conveys the dangers of continuing these trysts at night without seeking another path to their permanent happiness.
Let’s listen in closely to the lady’s words to unravel hidden nuances. She starts by mentioning how it was pitch dark outside. Not just that, the rain was beating down so much that the ghosts flitting about on their nightly quests were blinking their eyes and shivering in cold. That image of a ghost shivering in the cold and closing its eyes against the rain made me smile. What a stunning way of saying that it was a night that brought fear even in the one who was feared by all! Leaving these scenes outside, the lady asks us to step inside the house and here we see, the lady’s mother embracing her son, who had that tiger-tooth talisman around his neck, and crooning to him, to make him go back to sleep. Perhaps the little boy was startled by the sounds of thunder and started to cry, making his mother rush to comfort him. That’s indeed a soothing motherly instinct but, troublesome to the lady, because that meant the death-knell to her trysting with the man. Just then, she knows for sure he has turned up there. And how does she know? Her sense of smell, of course. Even without seeing him there, she knows that he stands there, because the sandalwood of his mountains wafts from his chest to her nostrils. Then, characterising him as an elephant that stands in the rain, the lady ends by empathising with the feelings of the man, who has to now return without relishing the company of his beloved.
Dangers of the night in the world outside and the danger of discovery by the lady’s kith and kin are relayed to the man indirectly, who would understand that if he desired to enjoy the lady’s company, he must take steps to seek her hand in marriage. It’s a stunning sequence of images in this verse, starting with that ghost trembling in the rain, the tiger-tooth chain on a crying young boy, the sandalwood smeared chest of the man and finally, an elephant standing there as the rains lash down. There is no space to hide that huge body even if the rain lashes against it, and likewise, it’s the man’s love that looms like the elephant even amidst the surrounding dangers of the night, the lady tells him. An indirect declaration of the trust in the man’s love by the lady. And, what better way can there be to inspire someone to greater things?
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