Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | iHeartRadio | TuneIn | RSS | More
In this episode, we listen to the confidante’s plea to the man, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Kalithogai 18, penned by the Chera King Paalai Paadiya Perunkadunko. The verse is situated in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’ and portrays the irreplaceable importance of togetherness.
அரும் பொருள் வேட்கையின் உள்ளம் துரப்ப,
பிரிந்து உறை சூழாதி ஐய! விரும்பி நீ,
என் தோள் எழுதிய தொய்யிலும், யாழ நின்
மைந்துடை மார்பில் சுணங்கும், நினைத்துக் காண்:
சென்றோர் முகப்பப் பொருளும் கிடவாது;
ஒழிந்தவர் எல்லாரும் உண்ணாதும் செல்லார்;
இளமையும் காமமும் ஓராங்குப் பெற்றார்
வளமை விழைதக்கது உண்டோ? உள நாள்,
ஒரோஒ கை தம்முள் தழீஇ, ஒரோஒ கை
ஒன்றன் கூறு ஆடை உடுப்பவரேஆயினும்,
ஒன்றினார் வாழ்க்கையே வாழ்க்கை; அரிதுஅரோ,
சென்ற இளமை தரற்கு!
The confidante refuses the man’s request in a different style. The words can be translated as follows:
“As your heart pushes you with desire for wealth, you want to part away. Don’t think of doing that, O lord! Seeing the ‘thoyyil patterns’ you painted with love on my arms, and the beauty spots that appeared on me when I embraced your strong chest, reconsider your decision; Wealth does not lie in waiting for those who part away to collect; Those who do not pursue it are not doomed to the fate of starving either; When youth and love lies together in one’s hands, does wealth even compare? In the days of one’s life, even if they have to be, with one hand, embracing each other, and with the other hand, wearing a small piece of cloth each, split from a single piece, this life of togetherness is what’s true life. It’s impossible, isn’t it, to regain lost youth?”
Time to delve into the details. The verse is situated in the context of the man’s parting from the lady after marriage, with the intent of seeking wealth. When he conveys this to the confidante, she says these words to the man, and in a few lines, she speaks using the lady’s voice as well. The confidante talks about how the man’s heart is nudging him to go seek wealth. She asks him to not indulge in that sort of thinking. Speaking in the lady’s voice now, she says he should focus on the beautiful art patterns he drew with love on her arms and also observe the beauty spots that appeared when he embraced the lady. In short, he should focus not on some faraway, abstract thing, but be present in the present with the lady.
Following this, the confidante continues saying that’s no easy task to gather wealth, and also, those who don’t part away in such pursuits don’t end up starving either. This tells us that the man has enough in life already. Returning, we see the confidante continuing by asking would anyone who has both youth and love ever think of leaving that and going in search of wealth. She then portrays an impoverished couple, who embrace each other with one hand, and with the other hand, hold on to a sparse cloth to cover themselves. She says even such a life without wealth or possessions but in togetherness is what can be called a true and meaningful life. The confidante concludes with the declaration that lost youth can never be brought back! And yet again, with these emphatic words, the confidante intends to make the man give up his journey. The core thought this ancient verse presents to us is that togetherness in youth beats the pursuit of wealth in the race of life!
Share your thoughts...