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In this episode, we perceive the antics of crabs, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Ainkurunooru 21 to 30, situated in the ‘Marutham’ or ‘Farmlands landscape’ and penned by the poet Orambokiyar.
Thus goes the Third Ten of Ainkurunooru: Faces of the Crab
21 The Lily-Shredder
முள்ளி நீடிய முது நீர் அடைகரைப்
புள்ளிக் களவன் ஆம்பல் அறுக்கும்
தண் துறை ஊரன் தெளிப்பவும்,
உண்கண் பசப்பது எவன்கொல்? அன்னாய்!’
Near the sandy banks of the ancient stream, filled with thorny bushes, the spotted crab shreds the white lily stalks in the cool shores of the lord’s town. Even though he tries to appease you, why does your kohl-streaked eyes spread with pallor? Tell me, O mother!
22 The Mud-stained
அள்ளல் ஆடிய புள்ளிக் களவன்
முள்ளி வேர் அளைச் செல்லும் ஊரன்
நல்ல சொல்லி மணந்து, ‘இனி
நீயேன்’ என்றது எவன்கொல்? அன்னாய்!’
The spotted crab, after playing in the mud, goes on to stay in the burrows near the roots of the thorny bushes in the lord’s town. He spoke good words and married me then. What has happened to his words ‘I shall not part from you?’ Tell me, O mother!
23 The Chased
முள்ளி வேர் அளைக் களவன் ஆட்டி,
பூக் குற்று, எய்திய புனல் அணி ஊரன்
தேற்றம் செய்து நப்புணர்ந்து, இனித்
தாக்கு அணங்கு ஆவது எவன்கொல்? அன்னாய்!
Teasing the crab in the burrow near the roots of the thorny bush, plucking flowers and playing in the stream, are the maiden in the beautiful lord’s town. He made promises and extended his affection then. Why has he become an attacking spirit now? Tell me, O mother!
24 The Killer
தாய் சாப் பிறக்கும் புள்ளிக் களவனொடு
பிள்ளை தின்னும் முதலைத்து அவன் ஊர்
எய்தினன் ஆகின்று கொல்லோ? மகிழ்நன்
பொலந் தொடி தெளிர்ப்ப முயங்கியவர்
நலம் கொண்டு துறப்பது எவன்கொல்? அன்னாய்!
Spotted crabs that are born killing their mother and a crocodile that eats its young are found in his town. Why hasn’t he come here? Why does the lord steal the beauty of maiden, clad in resounding golden bangles, and then abandon them? Tell me, O mother!
25 The Destroyer
அயல் புறந்தந்த புனிற்று வளர் பைங் காய்
வயலைச் செங் கொடி களவன் அறுக்கும்
கழனி ஊரன் மார்பு பலர்க்கு
இழை நெகிழ் செல்லல் ஆக்கும் அன்னாய்!
The fresh vines of the ‘vayalai’ creeper with tender, unripe fruits growing in the backyard are torn apart by the crab in the field-filled town of the lord. His chest seems to make the jewels slip away in many, O mother!
26 The Promiscuous
கரந்தைஅம் செறுவில் துணை துறந்து, களவன்
வள்ளை மென் கால் அறுக்கும் ஊரன்
எம்மும், பிறரும், அறியான்;
இன்னன் ஆவது எவன்கொல்? அன்னாய்!
In the beautiful fields with gold thistles, leaving its mate, the crab chops up the slender stems of the ‘vallai’ shrub in the lord’s town. He discerns not my distress nor that of others. Why did he become such a person? Tell me, O mother!
27 The Homebound
செந்நெல்அம் செறுவில் கதிர் கொண்டு, களவன்
தண்ணக மண் அளைச் செல்லும் ஊரற்கு
எல் வளை நெகிழச் சாஅய்,
அல்லல் உழப்பது எவன்கொல்? அன்னாய்!
In the beautiful fields with red paddy, the crab steals the cobs and retires to its home amidst the burrows in the mud in the lord’s town. Thinking of him, why do you remain with your shining bangle slipping away, suffering in great sorrow? Tell me, O mother!
28 The Artistic
உண்துறை அணங்கு இவள் உறை நோய் ஆயின்,
தண் சேறு களவன் வரிக்கும் ஊரற்கு
ஒண் தொடி நெகிழச் சாஅய்,
மென் தோள் பசப்பது எவன்கொல்? அன்னாய்!
If a spirit that lives by the river shore is the reason for her affliction, seeing the lord, in whose town, the crab in the cool mud draws lines, why does her shining bangles slip away and her slender arms become shrouded with pallor? Tell me, O mother!
29 The Impeder
மாரி கடி கொள, காவலர் கடுக,
வித்திய வெண் முளை களவன் அறுக்கும்
கழனி ஊரன் மார்பு உற மரீஇ,
திதலை அல்குல் நின் மகள்
பசலை கொள்வது எவன்கொல்? அன்னாய்!
Even as the rains pour down heavily and the guards speed around, the white sprouts of sown seeds are shredded in the field-filled town of the lord. After embracing his chest, why does her freckled waist shroud in pallor? Tell me, O mother!
30 The Prosperous
வேப்பு நனை அன்ன நெடுங் கண் களவன்
தண்ணக மண் அளை நிறைய, நெல்லின்
இரும் பூ உறைக்கும் ஊரற்கு இவள்
பெருங் கவின் இழப்பது எவன்கொல்? அன்னாய்!
With tall eyes akin to neem sprouts, is the crab. In its cool burrows in the mud, dark sprouts of the paddy crop abound in the lord’s town. Why does she lose her great beauty to him? Tell me, O mother!
That ends Ainkurunooru 21 to 30. Let’s delve into the details. All these verses are placed in the context of the man’s parting. Verses 21 to 27 are when he parts away after marriage, seeking the company of courtesans, whereas the last 3 verses are when he parts away before marriage. All the songs except the second and third are spoken by the lady’s confidante, and these remaining two are spoken by the lady to her confidante. The confidante in turn speaks to the lady in the first seven and to the lady’s mother in the last three. The unifying element in all these verses, as you have no doubt noted, is the ‘Kalavan’ or ‘Freshwater Crab’, found near the fields and waterbodies in the farmlands region.
The direct second part of the first six verses lament about the man’s attitude of abandoning the lady and seeking other women. In the first, the confidante wonders aloud why even after the man has returned and has tried to clarify things, the lady’s eyes was still spreading with pallor. In the second and third, the lady seems to look back at the past and describe how the man was kind and attentive before marriage and made many promises but has turned into this demon of distress now. From the fourth to the sixth, the confidante wonders why the man relishes the beauty of maiden and then abandons them, and yet he seems to possess some charm that makes the jewels of many slip away. Also, she talks about how he not only causes pain to the lady but by his pursuit of newer, multiple women, he brings pain even to those courtesans. In the seventh, the confidante pacifies the lady not to let her bangles slip away, worrying about the man in his absence.
Leaving this territory after marriage, in the next three verses, we move to a point before marriage, where the confidante is revealing the lady’s relationship with the man to the lady’s mother. Though this theme is most commonly found in the ‘Kurinji’ or ‘mountain landscape’, here these are transplanted into the ‘Marutham’ domain. In the eighth, the confidante challenges mother in her belief that a deity has caused the affliction in her daughter and declares it’s the man who is the true reason. In the next, she reveals how even after she is happy with the man, her waist is covered in pallor because of the opposition she faces in her family. In the final verse, she makes it common knowledge to the mother that the lady has lost her great beauty only to the man. You may have noted that the confidante and the lady refer to each other, with the same epithet of ‘mother’. While this may be surprising to many, the culture of girls addressing their friends as ‘ma’ or the shortened form for ‘mother’ is prevalent to this day in many parts of Tamilnadu.
Turning to the antics of the crab, we find it shredding lily in the first one, a metaphor for the man destroying his happy family life with the lady. Next, after playing in the mud, without a care, the crab goes back to its burrow, a metaphor for how the man seems not to care about the stains on his character because of his association with the courtesans. Following this, the crab turns from subject to object and is teased by maidens, a metaphor for how his association with courtesans torments the life of the lady. Next, is a depiction of how the crab that kills its mother and a crocodile that kills its child are to be found in the lord’s town, a metaphor for his brutality in throwing away women in his life. A moment to ponder on this detail about animal life. In my search, though I found cannibalistic tendencies in crabs and crocodiles, I could not find evidence for a crab killing its mother. A crocodile killing its young one seems true enough. However, I learnt that scorpions are one of the animals die in giving birth to their young ones and become the feed for the young, a supreme sacrifice. Could the Sangam folks be referring to a scorpion instead of a crab or did a species of crab have this quality in those times? A question of students of biology and evolution.
Returning to our crab, we find it destroying the fruit-clad purslane creeper, a metaphor for how the man is causing angst to the lady who bears the future progeny of that family. Not stopping with the purslane, next the crab, leaving its home in the fields, turns its attention to the bindweed vines and chops that up too, a metaphor for how the man not only torments the lady, but also those courtesans, by seeking new women and abandoning the old. After all these laments, in the sixth verse, the confidante echoes a message of hope in describing how the crab brings to its home cobs of crops, a metaphor for the promise that the man will return to the lady with wealth, and will not abandon her for courtesans.
Leaving these post-marriage scenarios, we turn to the crab symbolising events in the time when the lady had a secret relationship with the man and the confidante decides it’s time to reveal that to their mother. Here, the crab is seen drawing patters in the sand and this becomes a metaphor for the beauty and joy the man endows on the lady. This reminded me of extraordinary patters made by crabs on shores that I glimpsed at, both in my travel to Thoothukudi in Tamilnadu and Darwin in Australia.
Returning, we seem the sprouts of seed shredded by the crab in spite of the pouring rains and strong guard, a metaphor for how the man has stolen the beauty of the lady, in spite of all the protection from her family and other difficult circumstances. In the final one, we see how the crab stores paddy sprouts in its burrows, a metaphor for the wealth and affluence of the man, and an indirect nudge to the mother to give her daughter in marriage to the man. And thus, we see how a spirited crab skips along from one verse to another, leaving its deep imprint, and etching the stories of a human’s nature!
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