Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | iHeartRadio | TuneIn | RSS | More
In this episode, we perceive a lady’s state of mind impacted by the changing seasons, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 186, penned by Okkoor Maasaathiyaar. Set in the forest regions of ‘Mullai’, the verse speaks in the voice of the lady to her confidante, expressing how she feels, as the man is delayed beyond his promised season of return.
ஆர்கலி ஏற்றொடு கார் தலைமணந்த
கொல்லைப் புனத்த முல்லை மென் கொடி
எயிறு என முகையும் நாடற்குத்
துயில் துறந்தனவால்-தோழி!-எம் கண்ணே.
‘The rains are here and he is not!’ is the verse’s central thought. The opening words ‘ஆர்கலி ஏற்றொடு கார்’ meaning ‘rainclouds roaring, accompanied by thunder’ declare that it’s the season of rain showers. In the rhythmically delightful phrase ‘கொல்லைப் புனத்த முல்லை’ meaning ‘wild jasmines in the forest land’, the quintessential flower of this domain that renders its name to the region appears. In ‘எயிறு என முகையும்’ meaning ‘like teeth, it buds’, we see the oft-repeated connection between wild jasmines and smiling teeth. Ending with the words ‘துயில் துறந்தனவால் தோழி எம் கண்ணே’ meaning ‘sleep has forsaken my eyes, my friend’, the verse displays a classic symptom in pining and welcomes us to listen with empathy.
Smiles on jasmines and sorrow in the lady flash contrasting images herein. The context reveals that the man and lady where leading a happy, married life when the man parts away to gather wealth. Before he leaves, he promises to be back before the rainy season. As the season approaches, the confidante worries, and to her friend, the lady says, “Resounding uproariously with thunder, rain has fallen and fused with the earth of the forest, making the wild jasmine’s soft vines bloom, akin to teeth, in the land of the lord. Because of him, my eyes have given up sleep, my friend!”. With these words, the lady conveys her state as the man has not yet returned and also, hides a subtle message of hope within.
Time to explore the nuances in this tiny verse. The lady starts by talking about a thing that seems to be making a huge din, and then she reveals this to be the dance of thunder and rainclouds. After sounds, now it’s the turn of fragrance. Pointing to how the earth of the forest regions wafts with the rich smell of petrichor, the lady gives us a whiff of the scent of her surroundings in the showers. Even when living in concrete jungles, when the rains grace us, all it takes is a little soil, be it in a small balcony garden, to fill us with that indescribably beautiful scent of the rain’s kiss on earth. So imagine how delicious this scent would have been two thousand years ago, before all this pollution, and that too, in a lush forest region.
Returning to the verse from these heady fragrances, we see the lady telling us how this scent is the cue for the wild jasmines to bloom, just like a set of smiling teeth. All this she has said to describe the man’s land and continues by saying, because of him, her eyes have abandoned sleep. No wonder a pining lady goes through so many symptoms of disease because once sleep goes, health follows it out of the door indeed. The lady has related her feelings through these simple words and yet in the scene of the smiling wild jasmines in the forest land, the lady conceals a metaphor for her hope that the man would see those jasmines in his travels, be reminded of her, and return to her soon. The verse shines light on how worry and sleep are antagonists. Like Voldemort and Harry Potter, one cannot survive while the other lives! One solution would be to prevent worry and sleep meeting together. For this, psychologists recommend that during anxious times, people set aside an earlier time of the day to note down the worries that are in their mind, so that these don’t rise up and battle with sleep later in the night. Scenes change, situations change and yet human concerns seem to live on!
Share your thoughts...