Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | iHeartRadio | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More
In this episode, we observe the plight of a woman who has lost a beloved, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Puranaanooru 253, penned by the poet Kulampanthaayanaar. Set in the category of ‘Pothuviyal Thinai’, the verse depicts the thoughts that traverse a mind which has suffered a loss.
என் திறத்து அவலம் கொள்ளல், இனியே;
வல ஆர் கண்ணி இளையர் திளைப்ப,
‘நகாஅல்’ என வந்த மாறே, எழா நெல்
பைங் கழை பொதி களைந்தன்ன விளர்ப்பின்,
வளை இல், வறுங் கை ஓச்சி,
கிளையுள் ஒய்வலோ? கூறு நின் உரையே!
Another verse on death and grief! The poet’s words can be translated as follows:
“You needn’t worry about my suffering anymore; Looking at the playing, young garland-clad men and as if saying ‘no more laughter with them’, it has arrived. Just like how a new bamboo, still immature, has lost its sheath, are my empty hands, bereft of bangles. Am I to raise this and declare of this sorrow to our kith and kin? Tell me what I should do!”
Time to explore the nuances. The poet speaks in the voice of a woman who sees her husband lying dead, perhaps on the battlefield. The bereaved woman says to the dead husband that he need not worry about her suffering. She then talks about how death has arrived declaring ‘No more laughter for you’ and has taken away the young warrior from the company of other young men. To talk about her vulnerable state, the lady brings forth a simile of a young bamboo stalk that has lost its protective sheath and equates it to her hands that have lost the bangles, wasted away by the sorrow of her loss. So, she asks her dead husband whether she is to raise her empty hands and declare to their kin that he is no more.
Through this verse, we learn that the image of a married woman without bangles was a declaration of death of her beloved. Makes one wonder how this culture developed such deep-rooted symbolism with jewellery. Beyond such nuances, at the core, we find the grief of losing someone close, and seeing the number of songs that have dwelt on this same theme, we can understand the importance accorded to emotions revolving around loss in ancient times!
Share your thoughts...