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In this episode, we perceive the trust of a lady in her relationship with the man, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 313, penned by an anonymous poet. Set in the coastal regions of ‘Neythal’, the verse speaks in the voice of the lady to her confidante, refusing to accept the confidante’s disparaging words about the man, as he listens, nearby.
பெருங் கடற் கரையது சிறுவெண் காக்கை
நீத்து நீர் இருங் கழி இரை தேர்ந்து உண்டு,
பூக் கமழ் பொதும்பில் சேக்கும் துறைவனொடு
யாத்தேம்; யாத்தன்று நட்பே;
அவிழ்த்தற்கு அரிது; அது முடிந்து அமைந்தன்றே.
‘Something no one can undo’ is the core theme of the verse. The opening words focuses on the real world in ‘பெருங் கடற் கரையது சிறுவெண் காக்கை’ meaning ‘a little white gull on the huge shores’, highlighting how the Sangam poets delighted in placing the ‘small’ in contrast to the ‘great’. In a way, such phrases reflect the focus of their poems – subtle emotions in the background of a vast world. Returning, next we see ‘இருங் கழி இரை தேர்ந்து உண்டு’ meaning ‘searching and feeding on prey in the backwaters’, indicating what that said gull is upto. The phrase ‘பூக் கமழ் பொதும்பில் சேக்கும்’ meaning ‘it retires to the groves, brimming with the scent of flowers’ talks about the picturesque resting place of this bird. In ‘யாத்தேம்’, meaning ‘we have become tied’, there’s mention of a bond. Ending with the words ‘அது முடிந்து அமைந்தன்றே’ meaning ‘it’s something that cannot end’, the verse reverberates with a strong belief and welcomes us to know more.
A tiny verse featuring a little sea gull that seems to hold a sea of faith! The context reveals that the man and lady were leading a love relationship and the man was trysting with the lady for a long while. Observing that he was intent only on trysting, the confidante decides to play a trick on him. One day, when she sees the man arriving to meet with the lady, pretending not to notice him, she comments on his thoughtless behaviour to the lady. In response, the lady says, “The small white gull in the huge sea shore, searches and selects its prey from the flooding waves of the vast backwaters and then resides in the flower-fragrant groves of the lord’s domain. With the lord, I have become tied; It’s a bond that is well-tied; It’s hard to untie that, for so tightly has it been tied!” With these words, the lady declares her unshakeable faith in the man’s relationship with her.
Time to explore the nuances in this verse. The lady starts not by talking about the man or herself, but instead a little white gull that’s roving on the backwaters in search of a good prey. Having had its fill, this gull then flies to the alluring groves, wafting with the auspicious scent of many flowers, and stays there, the lady says. As if she has said these words only to describe the man’s shores, the lady then comes to the crux of the matter and declares that her bond with the man has been decided and it’s not something that anything or anyone can undo, for so strong is that bond tied by the hands of destiny, the lady concludes.
The listening man would no doubt feel goosebumps flush his skin, on hearing such words of trust in him and his relationship from the lady’s mouth. Even that seemingly innocent description of a gull in the man’s groves, is a metaphor for the lady’s belief that though, akin to the gull fishing in the backwaters, the man was only trysting with her just then, soon, like the bird, which sleeps in the sweet groves, the man will take her to his village and offer her a blessed life together. The positivity and trust wrapped in these few words is so heartwarming. It goes to show that the best kind of persuasion there is, is the unwavering trust that the other will do what you want them to do!
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