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In this episode, we listen to the rationalisation behind a difficult decision, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 217, penned by Thangaal Mudakkollanaar. The verse is situated in the mountains of ‘Kurinji’ and speaks in the voice of the confidante to the lady, persuading the lady to follow the man’s proposed solution to their problem.
தினை கிளி கடிதலின், பகலும் ஒல்லும்;
இரவு நீ வருதலின், ஊறும் அஞ்சுவல்;
யாங்குச் செய்வாம், எம் இடும்பை நோய்க்கு?” என
ஆங்கு யான் கூறிய அனைத்திற்குப் பிறிது செத்து,
ஓங்கு மலைநாடன் உயிர்த்தோன்மன்ற;
ஐதே காமம் யானே
கழி முதுக்குறைமையும் பழியும் என்றிசினே.
‘There is but one path to take’ declares this verse in a gentle whisper. In the opening words ‘தினை கிளி கடிதலின்’ meaning ‘if asked to chase away parrots from the millet field’, we glimpse at the predominant occupation of unmarried girls in the mountain country. There’s mention of ‘a painful disease’ in ‘இடும்பை நோய்’. Wonder what that refers to! The phrase ‘ஓங்கு மலைநாடன் உயிர்த்தோன்’ is a dynamic portrait of the hero, for it means ‘the man from the tall mountains let out a sigh’. Ending with the words ‘கழி முதுக்குறைமையும் பழியும் என்றிசினே’ meaning ‘filled with absolute wisdom and scandal as well’, the verse intrigues our curiosity.
Abstractions and projections adorn this verse. The context reveals that the man and lady had been leading a love relationship and had been trysting for a while. One day, the confidante comes to the lady and says, “‘It’s possible to meet in the day, if we are bid to chase away the parrots from the millet field. If it’s only night you can come, we fear the dangers in your path. What to do about this suffering filled affliction?’ I asked him. Hearing everything I said, thinking of something else, the man from the land of soaring peaks, let out a sigh. Love is indeed a difficult dilemma. I told him, ‘That is a really wise thing to do, but will cause slander too!'” With these words, the confidante is insisting the lady that the only path before her was to elope away with the man.
All the confidante has talked about is day and night and the nature of love, and how does she manage to conceal that turning point of a decision to the lady? Let’s unravel the mystery by listening to her words closely. The confidante starts by saying that if mother were to request the lady to chase away parrots from the millet field, that would give her the perfect opportunity to meet with the man. Now, the stress is on the word ‘if’ in the previous sentence, which means mother is no longer asking the lady to go out to the millet fields, implying that the lady is confined to the house. Then, moving on to the other possibility of meeting at night, the confidante mentions that was filled with many dangers in the man’s nightly path.
Given that both these options were out of the question, how is that the lady can handle her suffering-filled love affliction, the confidante asks the man. And, to this question, the man from the mountains lets out a wordless sigh in response. The mind-reader she is, that’s all the confidante needs! Immediately, she understands what the man has in mind and says in an awestruck voice that love puts one in a dilemma indeed, for what the man had in mind is the right and wise thing to do but it will also give rise to blame and shame, the confidante concludes. This clearly points out that the thought in the man’s mind was about eloping away with the lady to his village, so as to marry her. Through that response to the man, which the confidante then relays to the lady, she is persuading the lady to not mind how foolish people will gossip and spread slander, but instead do the right and wise thing to protect her relationship with the man, by taking the only possible step of elopement in the given circumstances. The verse succinctly portrays an intelligent decision-making process, as it talks about reflecting on the alternatives available, weighing in the pros and cons of the decision, and finally, understanding what’s right for the heart with the clarity of the mind!
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