Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | iHeartRadio | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More
In this episode, we relish an intriguing comparison between weather and human life, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 287, penned by Kachipettu Nannaakaiyaar. The verse is situated in the forest regions of ‘Mullai’ and speaks in the voice of the confidante to the lady, assuring her friend of the man’s return.
அம்ம வாழி-தோழி-காதலர்
இன்னே கண்டும் துறக்குவர் கொல்லோ-
முந்நால் திங்கள் நிறை பொறுத்து அசைஇ
ஒதுங்கல் செல்லாப் பசும் புளி வேட்கைக்
கடுஞ்சூல் மகளிர் போல நீர் கொண்டு,
விசும்பு இவர்கல்லாது தாங்குபு புணரி,
செழும் பல் குன்றம் நோக்கி,
பெருங் கலி வானம் ஏர்தரும் பொழுதே?
‘A pregnant cloud’ is the single all-encompassing image of this verse. The opening words ‘அம்ம வாழி தோழி’ meaning ‘Listen, my friend, may you live long’ brings to focus that meaningful tradition of beckoning attention with a blessing. In ‘துறக்குவர் கொல்லோ’ lies a question ‘will he give up?’ either echoing doubt or trust. The phrase ‘முந்நால் திங்கள்’ challenged me immensely for I was not sure if it meant ‘3 times 4 months’ or in other words ’12 months’ or ‘3rd quarter crescent moon’, and in a short while, we will explore the reason for this dilemma. Even as I say this word ‘பசும் புளி’ meaning ‘green tamarind’, a tangy feeling zings through my mouth. ‘கடுஞ்சூல் மகளிர்’ meaning ‘fully pregnant woman’ shows how this is one of the few Sangam verses that talk about this particular stage in a woman’s life. The destination of an object comes to fore in ‘செழும் பல் குன்றம் நோக்கி’ meaning ‘towards many fertile peaks’. Ending with the words ‘பெருங் கலி வானம் ஏர்தரும் பொழுதே’ meaning ‘in the season when the clouds resound uproariously’, the verse welcomes us to know more.
Pregnant women and pouring clouds seem to hold a significant message for the lady. The context reveals that the man and lady were leading a love relationship when the man parted away to gather wealth for their wedding. After a while, the lady is unable to bear with the parting any longer and declares anxiously to her friend that the man is not going to return. To her worrying friend, the confidante says, “Listen, my friend, may you live long! After seeing this, will he forsake you, the lover of yours? Tired out from bearing a twelve month burden, unable to walk, with a desire for raw tamarind, struggle women at their full term of pregnancy. Akin to these women, bearing water, unable to climb high in the sky, brimming with moisture, clouds traverse towards many a peak with uproarious thunder in this season!” With these words, the confidante conveys her confidence that the man would return soon to the lady.
Time to explore the nuances. The confidante starts by seeking the attention of her anxious friend with a blessing and then she puts forth a rhetorical question asking how can the man abandon the lady when he sees what he will see. To reveal what she’s talking about, the confidante goes on to talk about fully pregnant women, and in connection to this, employs that curious expression I mentioned earlier – ‘3 times four months’ or ‘3rd quarter moon’. The word ‘திங்கள்’ means both ‘moon’ and ‘month’ in Tamil, exactly like these etymologically connected English equivalents.
The trouble with choosing 12 months is that it seems as if the confidante is mentioning that a woman carries her pregnancy for 12 months, which is deviating from the truth of it being utmost 10 months. Now, turning to the other choice of the 3rd quarter moon, some explanatory sources indicate that it could be used as a simile for a fully ripe bulging tamarind that a pregnant woman is said to crave for. I gave up the second explanation because of the way the poem was structured. The phrase ‘unable to walk’ comes before mention of the ‘ripe tamarind’ and this did not flow in the usual Sangam style. So, I have chosen to see this expression as 12 months of pregnancy.
Why would the poet use this reference of 12 months instead of the standard 10? Keen observers of all aspects of life around them, the actual duration of the pregnancy would not have escaped the eyes of these Sangam people. Could it mean that women were pregnant for 12 months then or is it something else? My theory is that the poet uses the expression 12 months as a hyperbole, an exaggeration, to accentuate that woman’s difficulty in her movements, as she carries her huge burden. Now, returning to the verse, this description of a pregnant woman is called in as parallel to the rain clouds, brimming with moisture, unable to rise high in the skies, and heading straight towards the peaks with an uproarious sound. And this means that the rainy season is here and when the man sees that, how can he not remember his promise to return? He will definitely rush back to you, the confidante assures the lady.
In the reference of the cloud, filled with moisture, rushing towards the mountains, the confidante also places a metaphor for how the man would be brimming with love, accentuated by the parting, and will rush to the lady to pour his affections on her soon. And thus, with that exquisite simile-metaphor brush, the confidante illustrates the art of sketching hope in the canvas of the lady’s heart!
Share your thoughts...