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In this episode, we listen to words rendered to the confidante, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Ainkurunooru 111-120, situated in the ‘Neythal’ or ‘Coastal landscape’ and penned by the poet Ammoovanaar.
Here goes the Twelfth Ten of Ainkurunooru: Lament of the Lady
111 Baited by love
அம்ம வாழி, தோழி! பாணன்
சூழ் கழிமருங்கின் நாண் இரை கொளீஇச்
சினைக் கயல் மாய்க்கும் துறைவன் கேண்மை
பிரிந்தும் வாழ்துமோ நாமே
அருந் தவம் முயறல் ஆற்றாதேமே?
Listen, my friend! May you live long! The bard, with a bait, pulls in a pregnant fish in the brackish waters of the lord’s shore. How can I live without his relationship even if I put the greatest of efforts, in a deep penance?
112 Trust in his promise
அம்ம வாழி, தோழி! பாசிலைச்
செருந்தி தாய இருங் கழிச் சேர்ப்பன்
தான் வரக் காண்குவம் நாமே;
மறந்தோம் மன்ற, நாணுடை நெஞ்சே.
Listen, my friend! May you live long! The green-leaved golden champak tree spreads in the dark backwaters of the lord’s shore. He will surely arrive to seek my hand. Our shameful hearts have forgotten his promises!
113 Mother knows
அம்ம வாழி, தோழி! நென்னல்
ஓங்குதிரை வெண் மணல் உடைக்கும் துறைவற்கு,
ஊரார், ‘பெண்டு’ என மொழிய, என்னை,
அது கேட்டு, ‘அன்னாய்’ என்றனள், அன்னை;
பைபய ‘எம்மை’ என்றனென், யானே.
Listen, my friend! May you live long! Yesterday, people of the town declared, ’She’s the woman of the lord, in whose shore, the soaring waves crash against the white sands’. Hearing that, mother asked ‘Is this true?’. Slowly, ‘He is my lord’, said I.
114 The seabird’s call
அம்ம வாழி, தோழி! கொண்கன்
நேரேம் ஆயினும், செல்குவம் கொல்லோ
கடலின் நாரை இரற்றும்
மடல்அம் பெண்ணை அவனுடை நாட்டே?
Listen, my friend! May you live long! As we don’t see the arrival of the lord of the shore here, shall we go thither, to his land, where the seabird sends out its resounding call as it sits on the leaves of the beautiful palm?
115 Seeks the secret
அம்ம வாழி, தோழி! பல் மாண்
நுண் மணல் அடைகரை நம்மோடு ஆடிய
தண்ணம் துறைவன் மறைஇ,
அன்னை அருங் கடி வந்து நின்றோனே!
Listen, my friend! May you live long! The one, who played with me in the fine sands of the beach, with varying scenes, that lord of the cool shores, arrives and stands secretly, near our mansion, in spite of mother’s watchful guard.
116 Tormenting evening
அம்ம வாழி, தோழி! நாம் அழ,
நீல இருங் கழி நீலம் கூம்பும்
மாலை வந்தன்று, மன்ற
காலை அன்ன காலை முந்துறுத்தே.
Listen, my friend! May you live long! Making us cry, the evening, which makes the blue lilies in the huge blue backwaters close its buds, has arrived, speeding ahead of the morning that was here.
117 Showers of the Punnai
அம்ம வாழி, தோழி! நலனே
இன்னது ஆகுதல் கொடிதே! புன்னை
அணி மலர் துறைதொறும் வரிக்கும்
மணி நீர்ச் சேர்ப்பனை மறவாதோர்க்கே.
Listen, my friend! May you live long! Beauty and health reaches a terrible state, for those who cannot forget the lord of the shore with sapphire-blue waters, where the laurelwood tree showers its beautiful flowers everywhere.
118 Change of heart
அம்ம வாழி, தோழி! யான் இன்று,
அறனிலாளற் கண்ட பொழுதில்,
சினவுவென் தகைக்குவென் சென்றனென்
பின் நினைந்து இரங்கிப் பெயர்தந்தேனே.
Listen, my friend! May you live long! Today, when I saw the man who lacks grace, I went there thinking, ‘I will be angry with him’, ‘I will stop him from coming here’. But later, thinking it would be very cruel of me to do that, I parted away with sympathy for him.
119 Loveless lord
அம்ம வாழி, தோழி! நன்றும்
எய்யாமையின் ஏதில பற்றி,
அன்பு இலன் மன்ற பெரிதே
மென் புலக் கொண்கன் வாராதோனே!
Listen, my friend! May you live long! He seems not to heed the good and keeps going towards other things. He utterly lacks love, that lord of the gentle shores, who does not arrive to seek my hand!
120 Restoring Return
அம்ம வாழி, தோழி! நலம் மிக
நல்லஆயின, அளிய மென் தோளே
மல்லல் இருங் கழி மல்கும்
மெல்லம் புலம்பன் வந்தமாறே.
Listen, my friend! May you live long! With health and beauty, they transform, these pitiable slender arms of mine, because the lord of the soft shores, where the dark backwaters flow with prosperity, has arrived here!
Thus concludes Ainkurunooru 111-120. All these songs are situated in the context of the man’s secret love relationship with the lady prior to marriage. The unifying theme of all the songs is that each one is said to the confidante by the lady, as the man stands within earshot.
In the first, the lady declares that she cannot live without his relationship no matter how hard she tries. This is said to make the listening man understand her love and take all efforts to seek her hand. In the second, the lady tries a different approach by recollecting the promises the man made and reiterating her belief in them to her friend. As she calls her own heart ‘shameful’ for doubting the man, she hopes the man will realise the shamefulness in delaying the seeking of her hand. The third is a unique dialogue-oriented verse, which conveys how the people of the town have revealed to mother about the lady’s relationship with the man and the lady too has accepted the same. This is conveyed to the man telling him that mother is sure to put the lady under strict guard.
In the fourth, waiting endlessly for the man’s action, the lady wonders whether she has to set out to the lord’s shores. In the fifth, silently shaking her head in disbelief, the lady expresses how the man still wants to tryst with her in secret, even after mother had put up a strict watch over her. Thus, she indirectly nudges the man to let go of this secret trysting and do what’s necessary to seek her hand in marriage. The sixth makes the lady lament that the suffering-filled evening has arrived, chasing away the morning, implying that she had been waiting for the man all day to no avail.
The seventh sees her declaring anyone who loves the man is bound to lose their health and beauty, hinting at the man’s inaction. In the eighth, the lady says to her confidante that she went with great determination to fight with the man and ask him not to come see her anymore, but when she saw him, her heart melted and she decided not to go forth with that plan. Yet again, she demonstrates the man’s inaction towards the right thing and her kindness in spite of the same. In the ninth, the lady’s patience runs out and she declares the man to be totally lacking in love towards her. The final one, at the end of all these laments, contrasts with its declaration of joy and restoration of the lady’s health and beauty, because after all this needling, the man has arrived at the lady’s home to seek her hand in marriage, fulfilling her dearest wish.
Turning to the few metaphorical elements, in the image where the bard hunts for the big fish with a bait, the lady places a metaphor for how the man had reeled her in, with his attention and grace, and now left her to suffer. In the one, where the waves break the sands of the shore, the lady place a hope that the man’s arrival would shut the slanderous mouths of those in town. Then, through that picturesque image of the laurel tree shedding its beautiful flowers on the shores of the lord, the lady places a wish that this beautiful scene will remind the man to seek the lady’s hand in marriage and spread joy in their lives.
And so we see how this section neatly falls under the category of verses in Sangam Literature that I like to call as ‘Marry me, marry me’! This is a scenario when the lady wants to change the man’s mind from the mere pleasures of trysting towards the seriousness of seeking her hand in marriage. Interesting to note the techniques the lady uses such as reminding him of his promises in the past, appealing to his sense of love and justice, and clearly expressing her own state of mind. Excellent course material for Communications 101!
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