Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | iHeartRadio | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More
In this episode, we listen with a smile to the urgency in the man’s voice, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 323, penned by Pathadi Vaigalaar. Set in the forests of ‘Mullai’, the verse speaks in the voice of the man to his charioteer, urging him to hasten the journey homeward.
எல்லாம் எவனோ, பதடி வைகல்
பாணர் படுமலை பண்ணிய எழாலின்
வானத்து எழும் சுவர் நல் இசை வீழப்
பெய்த புலத்துப் பூத்த முல்லைப்
பசு முகைத் தாது நாறும் நறுநுதல்
அரிவை தோள் இணைத் துஞ்சிக்
கழிந்த நாள், இவண் வாழும் நாளே.
‘Those are the only meaningful days’ declares a voice in this verse. In the opening words ‘எல்லாம் எவனோ பதடி வைகல்’ meaning ‘what can you say about all the other days? Those are mere chaff’, we can sense someone’s strong opinion about what a good day is. Incidentally, the words ‘பதடி வைகல்’ talking about ‘days like chaff’ has rendered the name of this song’s poet. The famous tune that sounds like a rain shower, which we encountered in Natrinai 139, makes an appearance in ‘பாணர் படுமலை’ meaning ‘the bards’ padumalai song’. The phrase ‘பெய்த புலத்துப் பூத்த முல்லை’ encases both cause and effect of a natural phenomenon, for it means ‘the jasmine that bloomed in the land on which rain poured’. Ending with the words ‘இவண் வாழும் நாளே’ meaning ‘the days with any life here’, the verse intrigues our curiosity.
A lot said about days in this one! The context reveals that the man and lady were leading a happy, married life, when the man parted away on a mission. After completing his task, on the way home, the man says to his charioteer, “What use is the rest? Mere chaff! Like a song in the ‘padumalai’ tune played by bards, which rises to the skies, with fine music, the rain pours on the land. Akin to the scent of pollen on fresh jasmine buds that blooms herein, is the fragrance of her forehead. Days that passed embracing and sleeping by her shoulders, are the only days with the spark of life!” With these words, the man declares to his charioteer that every moment spent away from the lady is a wasted moment, and thus nudges him to rush home.
What a unique way to appeal to a person in one’s service! The man does this by asking a cryptic question about what use can the rest have, for they are nothing but chaff. No seed or substance, just pointless skin, to be thrown away, the man declares. Without giving any clue about what he is talking about, the man then mentions the padumalai tune and how exactly like a rain shower that music is. Then, zooming on to the rain shower, the man points to how that makes the wild jasmine buds bloom on land. He then connects the flower to the fragrance on the lady’s forehead. Having found a way to refer to his lady, the man then reveals what he has been talking about, for he says only the days spent in the lady’s embrace were to be considered days with any meaning!
Now, we know what the chaff is! All the other days without the lady’s company is such an empty shell, the man declares. A question pops up in the mind as to why the man left the lady in the first place, if he knew this! Let’s not put this man in a spot by asking such uncomfortable questions and instead, revel in the immense love and yearning in his heart to make such a declaration about all the days of his life. No work, no mission, no fulfilment can equal the joy of being with the lady, the man implies. Let’s hope the charioteer gets the message and takes the man swiftly home, while respecting the speed limits of the Sangam era!
Share your thoughts...