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In this episode, we take in glimpses of a sulking lady, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Ainkurunooru 41 to 50, situated in the ‘Marutham’ or ‘Farmlands landscape’ and penned by the poet Orambokiyar.
Here goes the Fifth Ten of Ainkurunooru : A Sulk Story
41 The loveless crocodile
தன் பார்ப்புத் தின்னும் அன்பு இல் முதலையொடு
வெண்பூம் பொய்கைத்து அவன் ஊர் என்ப, அதனால்
தன் சொல் உணர்ந்தோர் மேனி
பொன் போல் செய்யும் ஊர் கிழவோனே.
Along with a loveless crocodile that eats its own young, white flowers too bloom in the lakes of his town, they say. And so, he is the town’s lord who turns the form of those who trust in him, into gold!
42 The drunken courtesan
மகிழ் மிகச் சிறப்ப மயங்கினள் கொல்லோ
யாணர் ஊர, நின் மாண் இழை அரிவை?
காவிரி மலிர் நிறை அன்ன நின்
மார்பு நனி விலக்கல் தொடங்கியோளே.
Did she become confused owing to excessive drunkenness, O lord of the prosperous town, that woman of yours with well-etched ornaments? For she has cast away your chest, akin to the River Kaveri in full spate!
43 Father turtle
அம்பணத்து அன்ன யாமை ஏறிச்,
செம்பின் அன்ன பார்ப்புப் பல துஞ்சும்
யாணர் ஊர! நின்னினும்
பாணன் பொய்யன், பல் சூளினனே.
Climbing on the turtle, akin to a grain measuring bowl, its young ones many, akin to tiny bronze vessels, sleep in your prosperous town, O lord! Even more than you, your bard lies, swearing many oaths.
44 The mother’s face
தீம் பெரும் பொய்கை யாமை இளம் பார்ப்புத்,
தாய் முகம் நோக்கி வளர்ந்திசினாஅங்கு,
அதுவே ஐய நின் மார்பே,
அறிந்தனை ஒழுகுமதி, அறனுமார் அதுவே.
Akin to the young turtles in the vast, sweet waters of the lakes, which grow gazing at their mother’s face, for her, that’s your chest. Know this and act accordingly. For that’s what justice is!
45 Changing hue of the blue
கூதிர் ஆயின் தண் கலிழ் தந்து,
வேனில் ஆயின் மணி நிறம் கொள்ளும்
யாறு அணிந்தன்று நின் ஊரே!
பசப்பு அணிந்தனவால் மகிழ்ந என் கண்ணே.
When it’s the winter, it appears cool and cloudy, and when it’s spring, it attains its sapphire-like blue hue. So adorned is the river in your town. But my eyes always seem to wear the hue of pallor, O lord!
46 Be there always
நினக்கே அன்று அஃது எமக்குமார் இனிதே,
நின் மார்பு நயந்த நன்னுதல் அரிவை
வேண்டிய குறிப்பினை ஆகி,
ஈண்டு நீ அருளாது, ஆண்டு உறைதல்லே.
It’s not only sweet to you but also to us, if you heed the request of your woman, with a beautiful forehead, the one who desires your chest, and not render your grace here but instead choose to remain there always.
47 An unequal barter
முள்ளெயிற்றுப் பாண் மகள் இன் கெடிறு சொரிந்த
அகன் பெரு வட்டி நிறைய, மனையோள்
அரிகால் பெரும் பயறு நிறைக்கும் ஊர!
மாண் இழை ஆயம் அறியும், நின்
பாணன் போலப் பல பொய்த்தல்லே.
The little daughter of the bard with thorn-like teeth brings a huge and wide vessel holding ‘kediru’ fish, and taking that, the lady of the house fills the vessel with a lot of lentils recently harvested. Such is your town, O lord! Even the playmates clad in well-etched jewels know how you lie a lot, just like your bard!
48 Come not with those signs
வலை வல் பாண்மகன் வால் எயிற்று மடமகள்
வராஅல் சொரிந்த வட்டியுள், மனையோள்
யாண்டு கழி வெண்ணெல் நிறைக்கும் ஊர!
வேண்டேம் பெரும, நின் பரத்தை
யாண்டுச் செய் குறியோடு, ஈண்டு நீ வரலே.
The bard’s son, an expert in casting his net, renders unto the naive young bard’s daughter, the one who has glowing white teeth, ‘varaal’ fish in her vessel. Taking that, the lady of the house, fills the little girl’s vessel with white paddy. Such is your town, O lord! We like not how you come here, with evident signs of being intimate with your courtesan!
49 Bard’s lies
அம் சில் ஓதி அசை நடைப் பாண்மகள்,
சில் மீன் சொரிந்து, பல் நெல் பெறூஉம்
யாணர் ஊர! நின் பாண்மகன்
யார் நலம் சிதையப் பொய்க்குமோ இனியே?
The beautiful young daughter of the bard with scanty hair, supplies a few fish and gets a lot of paddy in exchange in the prosperous town of yours, O lord. Wonder destroying whose good health and beauty, your bard will speak lies next!
50 Render your grace
துணையோர் செல்வமும் யாமும் வருந்துதும்,
வஞ்சி ஓங்கிய யாணர் ஊர!
தஞ்சம் அருளாய் நீயே, நின்
நெஞ்சம் பெற்ற இவளுமார் அழுமே.
The retinue of helpers and I worry, O lord of the town, where the ‘Vanji tree’ soars. Why don’t you offer refuge to the one, who has won your heart, as she sheds tears now?
That concludes Ainkurunooru 41 to 50. Time to explore the nuances of these verses. All these songs are set in the context of the man parting away from the lady, after his marriage with her, seeking other women known as courtesans. Each of these verses are said either by the lady or the lady’s confidante to the man or his messengers. The first three are said by the lady, the next three by the confidante, followed by another three by the lady, and the confidante having the last word in the tenth. The common element in each of these verses is the act of sulking by the lady, hurt by the man’s actions of abandoning her for others.
Looking at the direct thoughts first, we see how in the first verse, the lady accuses the man of turning the skin of those he loves into gold. No, not a good thing! As this was supposed to represent the spread of pallor, a to-be-shunned syndrome in Sangam love relationships. In the second, she asks the man how come the courtesan cast you away? Was she sloshed? Humour apart, the highlight is how the lady compares the man’s chest to River Kaveri, overflowing with water, and thereby, etching the importance of this fertile river to the prosperity of that ancient land. Moving on, in the third, the lady declares that the bard, the man’s helper and messenger, seems to lie even more than the man. It reminds me of how in a moment of anger towards a beloved, instead of blaming only the person, it’s common to focus the ire on their friends too!
After listening to the lady’s direct voice, we turn our attention to the confidante, who speaks on behalf of the lady. First, she starts with a picturesque simile of turtle hatchlings that yearn to look at their mother’s face as they grow. That exact thing in the lady’s life was the man’s chest and the confidante requests him to understand this and act with justice. Next, speaking for the lady, the confidante says the waters in the lord’s town change hues based on the season, appearing cloudy and muddled in winter and a sharp and shining blue in spring. However, her eyes always seem to be clouded with pallor, she says about the lady, accusing the man of neglect. In the next, she says with sarcasm that they know how sweet it is for the man to listen to the courtesan and stay there at her feet. Likewise, it would be sweet to them as well, if he does not come now and then but instead chooses to stick with the courtesan always. An angry statement of refusal to the man’s messengers here!
In the next three, the lady declares how everyone, including her friends know that the man and the bard are great liars; also, that she does not like him coming to her home with obvious signs of being with the courtesan; and then, a wondering statement about who the bard is going to fool next. In the final verse, the confidante returns to make a final statement, strong words talking about how the lady’s helpers and she herself worries so much for her, as she sheds tears copiously thinking of the man. She asks the man to heed this and offer his grace to the lady. A moment to pause and focus on a phrase she uses here – துணையோர் செல்வம், which can be directly translated as the ‘wealth of retinue’. This phrase paints a picture of how when a Sangam lady was married and sent to the man’s house, the confidante travelled with her, along with a group of helpers to make her life easy in the new place. This group of helpers were possibly considered as an offering made to the man’s family, an ancient custom in many cultures and that’s why the confidante uses the word ‘wealth’ in association with them.
Returning, let’s turn our attention to the metaphorical elements of nature in this section. In the first one, there’s mention of a loveless crocodile that eats its own young. It appears loveless in human eyes but perhaps it’s an act of love for a crocodile to not let the weak among its young survive! In any case, here that loveless crocodile that eats its young is a metaphor for the courtesans, who feed on the wealth and happiness of people like the man. In another verse, there’s a delightful image of turtle hatchlings sleeping on the back of their parent turtle, a metaphor for how the man has the duty of offering support and love for his own children, rather than wandering away, seeking pleasures of the courtesans. In the final few verses, there’s a depiction of how a young fish-seller brings her produce and gets lentils, white paddy and other things, in return from the women of the house. It’s depicted as if the girl brings less and gets a lot more, implying that even though the man has done less to the lady, she will reply with the great kindness of accepting him back. However, looks like he will have to bear the sulking of the lady for quite a while!
Interesting how interpreters seem to present this phase of sulking as mild moments of conflict between the man and his lady, which are supposedly then sorted out rather quickly and believed to add spice to their marital life. A little too hot for contemporary times, no doubt!
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