Kurunthogai 277 – A question and a blessing

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ஆசு இல் தெருவின் நாய் இல் வியன் கடை,
செந்நெல் அமலை வெண்மை வெள் இழுது
ஓர் இல் பிச்சை ஆர மாந்தி,
அற்சிர வெய்ய வெப்பத் தண்ணீர்
சேமச் செப்பில் பெறீஇயரோ, நீயே-
”மின்னிடை நடுங்கும் கடைப் பெயல் வாடை,
எக் கால் வருவது?” என்றி;
அக் கால் வருவர், எம் காதலோரே.

‘Please answer this’ says a beseeching voice here. In the opening words ‘ஆசு இல் தெரு’, we take in the sight of ‘a street free of flaws any’. Then, ‘நாய் இல் வியன் கடை’ talks about ‘a wide entrance without a dog’. Following these descriptors of places, it’s the turn of food to appear in ‘செந்நெல் அமலை’ meaning ‘rice balls made from red paddy’ and ‘வெள் இழுது’ meaning ‘pure ghee’. The phrase ‘ஓர் இல் பிச்சை’ meaning ‘alms from a single home’ is of much significance that it has rendered the name of this song’s poet, about which we will explore shortly. ‘வெப்பத் தண்ணீர்’ meaning ‘warm water’ also makes an appearance here.  The time of the year turns up in ‘கடைப் பெயல் வாடை’ meaning ‘the cold northern winds in the last days of rain’. Ending with the words ‘அக் கால் வருவர் எம் காதலோரே’ meaning ‘that’s the time he will return, that lover of hers’, the verse welcomes us to listen closely.

Neat and tidy homes, simple and delicious food, winds and rains pack a punch in this verse. The context reveals that the man and lady were leading a happy, married life when the man parted with the lady to gather wealth. Before he leaves, he promises the lady that he would return by a particular season. One day, a sage calls at the lady’s home and the confidante goes to him and says, “On a spotless street, at a wide gate without a dog, may you get rice balls made from red paddy soaked with pure white ghee as alms all at one home, for you to eat to your fill, and also warm water for your carrying pot, so desirable in the dewy season! Please answer when the time, which would make the lady’s lightning-like waist to shiver, the season when cold northern winds blow at the end of the last days of rain will arrive, for that is the season her lover will return.” With these words, the confidante enquires to the knowledgeable sage about when the man would return, bringing joy back to the lady.

Seems like a simple question put forth! Let’s delve into the confidante’s words to extract the nuances within. The confidante starts by talking about a super clean street, where there is not a spot of dirt, and here, she zooms on to a particular house, one which has a huge entrance without a dog standing in guard. Now, that reference tells us that it was common practice to rear dogs in Sangam homes and have these animals guard the gates. Moving on, the confidante takes us inside this house where red rice balls are heaped, soaking in the purest, white ghee. Why has the confidante shown these particular scenes? Only to tell the sage, whom she has been talking to, that he would get that delicious rice in ghee, for him to relish to his heart’s content, in a single home. Not just that, she says the sage would also get warm water that is much desired in the dewy season along with that food. Has the confidante suddenly become an astrologer who predicts how the sage’s life is going to turn out? Not really, she is merely rendering a blessing to this great man, and in return she asks him to answer when the season of cold winds in the last days of rain would arrive, for that’s when the man would return home, she concludes.

Today, we may not seek an expert to answer when a particular season would arrive. Although global warming these days is making accurate predictions even for accomplished meteorologists somewhat hard to get right! In the past, people apparently turned to these ascetics, who chose a life of detachment and lived on the food they got by begging. These ascetics were said to know all about the three phases of time – the past, present and future and were consulted in all matters. If we find such a wise person, who knows what the future is going to bring, what intricate questions we’d ask – Will humans survive this century? Will there be world peace? Would we have discovered alien life? But all the confidante wants to know is when the season of cold northern winds would turn up at their doorstep. Why because that’s when the man has promised to return. It’s like the confidante, and thereby, the lady, is saying, ‘That’s the only thing I care about’!

Moving away from the confidante’s question to her blessing, we find so many subtle details encased in there. First, she wishes for a spotless street and a huge home. When homes are huge, there would be dogs guarding the same but she makes an intricate wish for a home without a dog. Why all these particulars? Because that’s what would the sage would like when he goes from home to home in search of his daily meal. When he’s out on the streets without even footwear, for that’s his life, it’s better if the streets were spic and span, right? Next, about the dog! It will know not the greatness of this man heading close but will only see a stranger and let out a loud bark, and perhaps, even approach to bite. And so, the confidante wishes away these dangers to the sage. 

Next, she gets into the particulars of the food, saying that it should be the rich red rice mixed with pure ghee and says she wishes all this for the sage to relish from a single home. That’s significant because instead of going house after house to satisfy his hunger, if the sage were to finish his daily search at a single home, wouldn’t that be great for him? Finally, the confidante also wishes the sage to receive warm water in his carrying pot, something that would soothe him in that particular early dewy season. That’s all the sage needs and that’s the sweet blessing the confidante offers in exchange for his words about the man’s return! The thing to relish here is how the confidante conjures what the hermit would want in such fine detail, making the sage see it so clearly as if it were real. Isn’t this something we can do to bring positivity and cheer to people we care for or even ourselves? When we imagine what is that we would like in such exquisite detail, perhaps the universe will find a way to fulfil that wish!