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In this episode, we perceive the anguish of a lady separated from her beloved, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 172, penned by Kachipettu Nannaakaiyaar. The verse is situated in the coastal regions of ‘Neythal’ and speaks in the voice of the lady to the confidante, in response to the friend’s words of worry about the lady bearing with the man’s parting.
தாஅவல் அஞ்சிறை நொப் பறை வாவல்
பழுமரம் படரும் பையுள் மாலை,
எமியம் ஆக ஈங்குத் துறந்தோர்
தமியர் ஆக இனியர்கொல்லோ?
ஏழ் ஊர்ப் பொது வினைக்கு ஓர் ஊர் யாத்த
உலை வாங்கு மிதி தோல் போலத்
தலைவரம்பு அறியாது வருந்தும், என் நெஞ்சே.
‘Alone, I suffer; He too will’ says a voice in this verse. In the opening words ‘தாஅவல் அஞ்சிறை நொப் பறை வாவல்’ meaning ‘bats, which fly delicately with strong and beautiful wings’ brings before the eyes, the motion and features of this well-known flying mammal. The time of the day is revealed in ‘பையுள் மாலை’ or ‘suffering-filled evening’. ‘தமியர் ஆக இனியர்கொல்லோ’ meaning ‘will he find joy alone?’ is the core question here. In ‘உலை வாங்கு மிதி தோல்’ referring to ‘a foot bellow attached to a furnace’, we find a one-line portrait of an object in ancient metallurgy. Ending with the words ‘தலைவரம்பு அறியாது வருந்தும் என் நெஞ்சே’ meaning ‘without any end, worries my heart’, the verse evokes our empathy.
Man away, woman worried – what more can we gather from this verse? The context reveals that the man and lady were leading a love relationship when the man parted away to gather wealth for their wedding. At this time, the lady’s confidante worries how the lady is going to bear with the man’s parting. To the confidante, the lady says, “With powerful and beautiful wings, bats fly delicately towards fruit trees in the evening hour, when suffering spreads. Leaving me alone here – the one who parted away, will he be happy when he’s alone there? For the common use of seven towns, a forge is built in one town, and akin to the foot bellow tied to the furnace there, limitless is the strain on my heart!” With these words, the lady expresses the deep worry in her heart about the man as he remains away.
Bats and bellows beckon our attention! The lady starts by talking about the flight of bats, as they move about the skies with their strong wings, towards an orchard filled with fruit trees. As we know, bats are nocturnal animals, sleeping through the day, and beginning their hunt for food in the evening hour. That’s the precise reason the lady mentions these animals so as to indicate the time of the day, a period that fills her with immense sadness, which in turn is caused by the man leaving her alone there. As she contemplates her statement, she puts forth a question asking whether the man will be happy wherever he is, when he is away from her. It’s a rhetorical question for she knows the answer to that! The man too will suffer missing her, she concludes, and this makes her heart anguished, akin to the foot bellow in a furnace in one town operated in common for seven towns.
The confidante worries about the lady and the lady in turn worries about the man. This is a circle of concern that keeps perpetuating in Sangam verses. Let’s turn our attention to the curious object mentioned here. A bellow is an object used to blow air into a furnace, to raise the temperature, a vital requirement in iron metallurgy. The Sangam people seemed to have installed forges that serve the needs of seven towns. Sounds like a modern factory, whose customers live far and wide! But the industrial revolution hasn’t happened yet and so, these ancient forges are places, where hard manual labour is mandatory. When searching for the type of bellows used in ancient times, I came across this term called ‘foot bellows’ associated with ‘Tatara bellows’ found in Japan, and scholars are of the opinion that this invention there could be influenced by its occurrence in ancient India. In this case, workers step on the bellows to blow air into the furnace. The phrase used in this verse is ‘மிதி தோல்’, which literally translates as ‘a leather to be stepped on’, and gives clear proof for the use of foot bellows in the Sangam period. What fascinated me was how the lady doesn’t employ the feet that step on this bellow as the simile for her suffering but, the foot bellow itself. Perhaps, when tired, those feet will take rest and other feet will take their place but the bellow itself keeps getting pounded again and again to do the work it has to. And that’s the way, my heart pounds with pain as I think of my man, far away, the lady concludes. A verse that has taken us up to the skies in showing the fluttering of bats in the evening, and brought us down to the ground to step on an ancient bellow and see the strain it bears, as it serves busting Sangam towns seven!
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