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In this episode, we perceive the state of mind of three different people acutely, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 324, penned by Kavai Maganaar. The verse is situated in the coastal regions of ‘Neythal’ and speaks in the voice of the confidante to the man, subtly persuading him to choose the path of permanent union with the lady.
கொடுங்கால் முதலைக் கோள் வல் ஏற்றை
வழி வழக்கு அறுக்கும் கானலம் பெருந்துறை,
இன மீன் இருங்கழி நீந்தி, நீ நின்
நயன் உடைமையின் வருதி, இவள் தன்
மடன் உடைமையின் உயங்கும் யான்அது
கவை மக நஞ்சு உண்டாஅங்கு
அஞ்சுவல் பெரும, என் நெஞ்சத்தானே.
‘Danger, distress and dread’ are the striking elements here. The opening words ‘கொடுங்கால் முதலை’ meaning ‘the curved-legged crocodile’ bring to fore those fearsome descendants of dinosaurs. There’s a specific reference in ‘கோள் வல் ஏற்றை’ meaning ‘a strong male capable of killing’ and what’s to be noted here is how Sangam poets insist on the male of animals as the more aggressive and prone to killing than the female. Though in truth, both male and female of the species kill equally, somehow these poets do not seem to endow fierceness on not just their female protagonists but even the female of the animal species they talk about. Returning, we glimpse at ‘இருங்கழி நீந்தி’ meaning ‘swimming in the backwaters’, a mode of transport in this region. A significant simile appears in ‘கவை மக நஞ்சு உண்டாஅங்கு’ meaning ‘akin to twin children eating poison’ and offers the first mention of ‘twins’ in Sangam Literature we have seen this far. Ending with the words ‘அஞ்சுவல் பெரும, என் நெஞ்சத்தானே’ meaning ‘I fear, my lord, in my heart’, the verse evokes our empathy.
Are crocodiles the only thing evoking fear in the confidante? 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. One day, when the man arrives to meet with the lady, the confidante conveys that there’s fear of the lady being confined to the house. Hearing this, man says he would try to meet the lady through nightly tryst. In response, the confidante says, “The strong male, killer crocodile with curved legs, blocks the way of those heading in that path in the spreading shores with lush groves. Here, swimming in the dark backwaters, where many different fish abound, you come, because of your love. She is filled with distress, because of her inherent naive nature. As for me, akin to a mother, whose twin children have both consumed poison, I’m terrified, O lord, in my heart!” With these words, the confidante relates the dangers in the man’s nightly tryst and points out to him in a hidden manner that the only way forward is to seek the lady’s hand in marriage.
Time to take a deep dive! The confidante starts with the fearsome depiction of a killer male crocodile and how the mere thought of this being makes people avoid that path in the orchard-filled shores. But because the man was filled with love, he seemed not to mind these dangers and comes swimming amidst the varieties of fish in the backwaters to see his lady love, and the lady too, because of her innocence, is unable to say no to him, and yet worries about the dangers he would face. Then, finally zooming on to her own state of mind, the confidante concludes by saying, looking at both of them, she feels exactly as a mother of twin children would feel, when both of them have consumed poison.
What a striking simile to denote the kind of blood-curling terror one feels! It is nature’s firmly etched rule that to a mother, the child’s health and safety is her prime concern. When that is threatened and that too with the double intensity of both her children being in harm’s way, one can imagine the heightened emotion of that mother. With this scenario, the confidante etches her suffering in the man’s mind and in ours too. No better appeal to the man’s sense of goodness than to talk about the situation in such acute emotional detail. A verse that goes on to show that to persuade someone to change their ways, the key is to communicate with clarity about how all the concerned parties perceive the challenging situation they find themselves in.
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