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In this episode, we perceive layers of intricate details woven into a single scene, as sketched by Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 272, penned by Oru Sirai Periyanaar. The verse is situated in the hills of ‘Kurinji’ and speaks in the voice of the man to his friend, in response to the friend’s words of admonishment about the man’s behaviour.
தீண்டலும் இயைவதுகொல்லோ-மாண்ட
வில்லுடை வீளையர் கல் இடுபு எடுத்த
நனந் தலைக் கானத்து இனம் தலைப்பிரிந்த
புன்கண் மட மான் நேர்பட, தன்னையர்
சிலை மாண் கடு விசைக் கலை நிறத்து அழுத்திக்
குருதியொடு பறித்த செங் கோல் வாளி
மாறு கொண்டன்ன உண்கண்,
நாறு இருங் கூந்தல், கொடிச்சி தோளே!
‘A difficult-to-win, rare woman, she is’ says a sighing voice in this verse. In the opening words ‘தீண்டலும் இயைவதுகொல்லோ’ meaning ‘would it be possible to caress’, we see no pronoun and do not know about what or whom the speaker is talking about. The single line ‘வில்லுடை வீளையர் கல் இடுபு’ comprises the various characteristics of hunters for it means ‘with bows, sending out whistles and throwing stones’. What they are hunting becomes evident when we see ‘இனம் தலைப்பிரிந்த புன்கண் மட மான்’ referring to ‘a naive female deer that has separated from its herd’. When the female has been spotted, can the male be far behind and as predicted, we see ‘the fleet-footed male deer’ in ‘கடு விசைக் கலை’. A visually arresting image appears in ‘குருதியொடு பறித்த செங் கோல் வாளி’ meaning ‘a red-streaked arrow, plucked out with blood dripping’. Ending with the words ‘கொடிச்சி தோளே’ meaning ‘the arms of the girl from the mountains’, the verse welcomes us to listen closely.
A hunt in the wild holds within the secret in the man’s heart! The context reveals that the man had met the lady and fallen in love with her and the lady too seemed to reciprocate his feelings. Being in the first rush of love, the man starts behaving in a manner unlike his usual self. Seeing this, the friend scolds the man about the changes in him, saying it’s unsuited to the man’s station in life. To the friend, the man says, “Is it even possible to embrace that? Holding sturdy bows, they let out sharp whistles and throw stones in the widespread forest. Here, as a naive doe separated from its herd appears opposite, her brothers turn to its male deer, that is known for its low bleats and fast pace, and shoot into its chest. They then pluck the arrow out with blood. Akin to two such red-streaked arrows placed facing each other are her kohl-streaked eyes. Is it even possible to embrace the arms of that mountain girl with dark and fragrant tresses?” With these words, the man tries to explain to his friend the reason for his changed behaviour was a girl he met, one so charming but difficult to reach.
What could be the difficulties in the man reaching the lady? Let’s explore by listening to the man’s words closely. He starts by putting forth a question, wondering if it’s even possible to embrace someone. As is the case in many Sangam verses, we have to wait till the end to find out who that is. Then, he shifts location and zooms on to a group of hunters, with bows on their backs, stones in their hands, whistling away. They do this to cluster and separate the herd of deer. At this point, the man reveals that these men are none other than his lady’s brothers. Succeeding in their intention to separate the herd, the brothers see an innocent female deer, having lost sight of its herd, standing right opposite them. And yet, without doing anything to it, they aim for the male deer that comes in search for its female and shoot their sharp arrow straight at the chest of this male deer. Stepping close, they pluck out that arrow dripping with blood from the deer’s chest, even as the female deer watches with angst-filled eyes.
Why would the brothers leave behind the easy prey of the female deer and instead choose to wait and hit the fast footed male one? A logical reason could be that the male deer being heavier than the female, perhaps it was a much more favoured prey in a hunt. But from a poetic angle, it could be the man’s way of showing how heartless the lady’s brothers were, that they could hunt down the male when the female was watching. Returning, we learn that the man has referred to this scene only to zoom on to the red-streaked arrows and he asks us to imagine how two such arrows placed together would look, with pointed ends facing each other. That, he says, is how the lady’s kohl-lined eyes look! Then, he talks about her fragrant tresses and wonders if he would ever get to embrace her arms.
One question pops up in my head – why were the lady’s eyes always referred to as red-streaked in Sangam Literature? In today’s world, that would mean eye strain, possibly due to excessive gadget use, but here, it seems to be celebrated as an essential attribute of beauty. Do these red lines appear because of the kohl the women streak on their eyelids or could these red lines in the eye’s whites have any significance in relation to the ethnicity of these ancient people? Let’s leave that one for scientists working on ancient DNA to figure out and focus on that hunting scene. Nuanced how this hunting scene in the wild is used not only as a simile for the lady’s eyes but also serves as a metaphor for the danger posed by the lady’s brothers to the man, as he yearns to tryst with her. With those words, the man glorifies the attributes of the lady, explains the difficulty in his situation, and hopefully secures the support of his friend in wooing and winning over that precious lady he met!
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