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In this episode, we listen to words depicting deep trust, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 373, penned by Madurai Kollam Pullanaar. Set in the mountains of ‘Kurinji’, the verse speaks in the voice of the confidante to the lady, asking the lady not to heed the slander in town about the lady’s relationship with the man.
நிலம் புடைபெயரினும், நீர் தீ பிறழினும்,
இலங்கு திரைப் பெருங் கடற்கு எல்லை தோன்றினும்,
வெவ் வாய்ப் பெண்டிர் கௌவை அஞ்சிக்
கேடு எவன் உடைத்தோ-தோழி!-நீடு மயிர்க்
கடும் பல் ஊகக் கறை விரல் ஏற்றை
புடைத் தொடுபு உடையூப் பூ நாறு பலவுக்கனி
காந்தள்அம் சிறுகுடிக் கமழும்
ஓங்கு மலை நாடனொடு அமைந்த நம் தொடர்பே?
‘Whatever may change, that will not change’ is the unshakeable statement herein. The verse opens with expansive words like ‘நிலம் புடைபெயரினும்’ meaning ‘even if land were to shift and change completely’, perhaps imagining coasts becoming mountains and vice versa. That indeed has happened to the Earth in the past! Moving on, in the same line of thought, appears ‘நீர் தீ பிறழினும்’ meaning ‘if fire and water were to exchange properties’. This could happen in a different universe with different laws governing it. Imagine fire flowing down and water rising up – that sounds like natural disasters in action to us. Could it be a way of life in an alternative universe? The importance accorded to slander can be seen in the phrase ‘வெவ் வாய்ப் பெண்டிர் கௌவை’ meaning ‘rumorous words of cruel-tongued women’. A member of the animal kingdom hails us in ‘ஊகக் கறை விரல் ஏற்றை’ meaning ‘the male of the black monkey with stained fingers’. In ‘பூ நாறு பலவுக்கனி’ meaning ‘a jackfruit that smells like flowers’, we glimpse at the mouth-watering delicacy from the mountains. Adding to the fragrance, blooms a ‘காந்தள்’ or ‘flame-lily’. Ending with the words ‘நம் தொடர்பே’ meaning ‘the relationship’, the verse beckons us to listen with empathy.
On one side, it’s hypothetical elements, and on the other, it’s real elements from nature. 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. At this time, slander spreads in their village, and the confidante says to the worried lady, “Even if this land were to switch and shift, even if water and fire were to swap their qualities, even if there appears a boundary to the huge ocean with shining waves, that will never change. So, what harm can those slanderous words of women with terrible mouths do, my friend? Why fear? When a black monkey, with long fur and sharp teeth, presses on one side with its black fingers, the flower-scented jackfruit breaks apart and its fragrance wafts to the little hamlet, with beautiful flame-lilies, in the soaring peaks of the man’s domain. Your relationship with him shall never change!” With these words, the confidante consoles the lady saying that she need not fear slander, for it will end up bringing good things to the lady’s life.
The much hated slander being a tool for good – How is that even possible? The confidante clarifies by first talking about certain impossible cases. For instance, land changing its basic nature, meaning that the land’s very topography suddenly alters, with mountains becoming rivers, and rivers becoming mountains maybe. The next improbable element is fire and water changing their natures. Finally, it’s as if a boundary were to suddenly crop up around the limitless oceans that spread before their eyes. After mentioning these fantastic hypotheses, without explaining why she has mentioned the same, the confidante asks the lady what harm can come from the mere slandering mouths of women.
Leaving behind these abstract questions, the confidante talks about the real world and brings alive a furry, sharp-toothed, black monkey with stained fingers. As monkeys are prone to do, this one too starts digging out something and a jackfruit nearby breaks in impact, causing its fragrance to rise and spread to the man’s village, blooming with red lilies. After describing the man’s land so, the confidante connects those improbable cases she mentioned earlier saying that even if those things would change, the lady’s relationship with the man would not change. So strong it is, that nothing can dislodge that, is the statement the confidante intends to convey.
In the image of the monkey digging up the jackfruit and the fragrance spreading to the man’s town, the confidante places a metaphor for how the meddling actions of those slanderous women would only result in the lady’s relationship with the man coming out in the open, thereby leading to her happy married life with him in his picturesque village. A verse that talks about the immutable elements from the perspective of ancient people! Some like fire and water’s unchanging properties still seem the same to us, but we have now traversed all the boundaries of that ocean and the science of geology tells us that land does change. Wonder which of the things we consider unchangeable will be shaken up by the knowledge explosions of the future!
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