Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | iHeartRadio | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More
In this episode, we perceive the bold attitude of a lady, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 175, penned by Ulochanaar. Set in the coastal regions of ‘Neythal’, the verse speaks in the voice of the lady to the confidante, in response to the confidante’s words of reproach that the lady must bear with the man’s parting.
பருவத் தேன் நசைஇப் பல் பறைத் தொழுதி,
உரவுத் திரை பொருத திணிமணல் அடைகரை,
நனைந்த புன்னை மாச் சினை தொகூஉம்
மலர்ந்த பூவின் மா நீர்ச் சேர்ப்பற்கு
இரங்கேன்-தோழி!-”ஈங்கு என் கொல்?” என்று,
பிறர்பிறர் அறியக் கூறல்
அமைந்தாங்கு அமைக; அம்பல் அஃது எவனே?
‘Let wagging tongues wag’ says a voice in this one. The opening words ‘பருவத் தேன் நசைஇ’ meaning ‘desiring seasonal honey’ hints that a floral scene is about to unfold. Sure enough, we see ‘நனைந்த புன்னை’ meaning ‘a wet laurelwood tree’ and its ‘fully bloomed flower’ in ‘மலர்ந்த பூ’. The phrase ‘பிறர்பிறர் அறியக் கூறல்’ meaning ‘saying things so that those around hear’ tells us that gossiping is afoot. Ending with the words ‘அம்பல் அஃது எவனே’ meaning ‘what can slander do’, the verse wafts with a sense of nonchalance.
Why is the lady saying these words showing her lack of concern? The context reveals that the man and lady were leading a love relationship when the man parted with her to go in search of wealth. As days passed, the lady started showing signs of worry. Observing this, her confidante scolds her saying that the lady must not reveal her sorrow and her relationship to those around. In response, the lady says, “Desiring the seasonal nectar, many kinds of bees, gather around the fully bloomed flower on the huge branch of the ‘punnai tree’, moist on a shore, filled with sands, dashed against by forceful waves in the wide seas of the lord’s coastal domain. I won’t feel sad about him, my friend. Let those around ask aloud ‘what’s wrong with her?’ and think what they want to think. What will that slander do to me?” With these words, the lady responds to her friend’s caution about the watching town with an air of detachment.
Bees around flowers and the buzz around townspeople seem to resound together in this verse. The lady starts by stepping into the minds of the bees, saying these little beings are after the nectar that becomes available to them only in the flowering season. When we ask which flower that might be, the lady responds by pointing to the white flower on the branch of a ‘punnai tree’, as it stands with its trunks moistened by the dashing waves in the man’s shores. Then, she declares that she won’t worry about the man anymore. While that is something she’s going to do, at the same time, she’s not bothered about the words of her townspeople, who raise eyebrows and talk out aloud, asking ‘what’s up with her’. Concluding with the words, let them think what they want to think, the lady says the rumours they spread shan’t affect her in any way.
What a modern thought that is! So far, we’ve seen fear about what those around will say, and the hurt felt within by harsh words of the gossiping townspeople. Here’s a lady, boldly declaring that she is not going to be bothered by those people, which she says directly as well as subtly, in the scene of the dashing waves against the punnai tree. Although pounded by the waves, like she’s questioned by these townsfolk, the punnai tree holds its flower high and welcomes the bees that come to savour its nectar, and likewise, the lady says that she will keep her love alive for the man, who is sure to return to her in the right time. Isn’t this the epitome of confidence? Wish we too could be inspired by this spirit of a cool and calm person, who is swayed not by the words of others, for she knows what’s the real thing!
Brilliant 😍