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In this episode, we listen to words of anger expressing discontent within, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 169, penned by Velli Veethiyaar. The verse is situated in the agricultural regions of ‘Marutham’ and speaks in the voice of the lady to the man, as he tries to allay her ire about his parting away with a courtesan.
சுரம் செல் யானைக் கல் உறு கோட்டின்
தெற்றென இறீஇயரோ-ஐய! மற்று யாம்
நும்மொடு நக்க வால் வெள் எயிறே:
பாணர் பசுமீன் சொரிந்த மண்டை போல
எமக்கும் பெரும் புலவு ஆகி,
நும்மும் பெறேஎம், இறீஇயர் எம் உயிரே.
‘Let it break apart’ is the furious cry throbbing in this one. The verse opens with the words ‘சுரம் செல் யானை’ talking about ‘an elephant in the drylands’. Echoing the core element, appears the phrase ‘தெற்றென இறீஇயரோ’ meaning ‘quickly break to pieces’. Thereafter, we see ‘shining, pure white teeth’ in ‘வால் வெள் எயிறே’. Note how the word ‘எயிறு’, which in contemporary Tamil means ‘gums’ was used to represent a different dental feature in the same geography, that of teeth! A vessel used in ancient times appears in ‘பாணர் பசுமீன் சொரிந்த மண்டை’ meaning ‘a bard’s container for holding raw fish’. Ending with the words ‘இறீஇயர் எம் உயிரே’ meaning ‘let my life break’, the verse stresses on the core theme yet again and invites us to listen with empathy.
A lot of shattering in the subtext indeed! The context reveals that the man and lady were leading a married relationship when the man took to keeping the company of courtesans. This action made the lady furious. One day, when the man returns and tries to win her affections again, the lady says in response, “Like the tusk of an elephant, traversing the drylands, breaks on piercing a rock, let my pure white teeth that laughed with you shatter quickly, O lord! Akin to the vessel in which bards place raw fish, it has become hateful to me, as it attains you not, and so, let my life pass away!” With these words, the lady gives word to the fuming anger in her mind and conveys to the man, her deep hurt at being slighted by him.
What do teeth and tusk tell us about the state of the lady’s heart? The lady first talks about an elephant in the drylands and zooms on to its tusk in the process of being used to pave a way through a mountain. As the elephant’s sharp tusks bore through it, it breaks into pieces, why because it’s not moist mud, but that of the drylands, where water is scarce. The dryness and heat of this rock will instantly shatter the elephant’s tusk. Mentioning this scene, the lady says that like that, her teeth, which in the past, had laughed with the man should shatter away. From this, we can surmise that in a bid to calm her, the man was trying to remind her of the good times he had shared with the lady. And, this attempt falls flat for she says let those teeth that thoughtlessly delighted in the man’s company go to ruin.
Following the mention of the elephant’s tusk, the lady reaches for another simile and here, we glance at a bowl that bards take along and use for collecting their patronage, when that patronage happens to be raw fish. Remember this was a time much before the prevalence of money and so such artistic services could have often been paid in kind rather than cash. So, a rich landlord or a farmer might find some fish in the fields and hand this over to the bards, who would then store it in the vessel they carry along. After detailing that container, the lady says within her, a hateful, putrid feeling, akin to the smell of the bard’s fish-bearing vessel, arises. Saying that it’s because the man does not remain true to her, she wishes for her life to pass away too. Bitter words, yes! However, speaking those words are better than keeping them within and fuming over it and also, such precise expression of feelings might help keep the man from wandering again as well. Curious how one day a Sangam verse presents us with the scent of a bowl of rain-washed flowers and on another day, the whiff from a bowl of field-caught fish. Different flavours, different emotions that make up the meal of life!
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