Kalithogai 54 – Fame of a friend

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“கொடியவும் கோட்டவும் நீர் இன்றி நிறம் பெற,
பொடி அழல் புறந்தந்த பூவாப் பூம் பொலன் கோதை,
தொடி செறி யாப்பு அமை அரி முன்கை, அணைத் தோளாய்!
அடி உறை அருளாமை ஒத்ததோ, நினக்கு?” என்ன,

நரந்தம் நாறு இருங் கூந்தல் எஞ்சாது நனி பற்றி
பொலம் புனை மகரவாய் நுங்கிய சிகழிகை,
நலம் பெறச் சுற்றிய குரல் அமை ஒரு காழ்
விரல் முறை சுற்றி, மோக்கலும் மோந்தனன்;

நறாஅ அவிழ்ந்தன்ன என் மெல் விரற் போது கொண்டு,
செறாஅச் செங் கண் புதைய வைத்து,
பறாஅக் குருகின் உயிர்த்தலும் உயிர்த்தனன்;

தொய்யில் இள முலை இனிய தைவந்து,
தொய்யல் அம் தடக் கையின், வீழ் பிடி அளிக்கும்
மையல் யானையின் மருட்டலும் மருட்டினன்

அதனால்,
அல்லல் களைந்தனன், தோழி! நம் நகர்
அருங் கடி நீவாமை கூறின், நன்று’ என
நின்னொடு சூழ்வல், தோழி! ‘நயம் புரிந்து,
இன்னது செய்தாள் இவள்’ என,
மன்னா உலகத்து மன்னுவது புரைமே.

The lady gets the spotlight in this one! The words can be translated as follows:

“O maiden, wearing a golden garland, designed with flowers that bloom not, as if declaring that those on vines and branches could attain their hue, not with water, but with fire and ashes; having a beautiful forearm, decked with neat rows of bangles, and soft arms! Won’t you render the grace to me of residing at your feet?’, he said!

Holding my dark tresses tightly, wafting with the fragrance of sweet orange flowers, and then taking a strand of a flower stalk, adorned with beauty around a hair knot, held by a golden clasp with a fish-mouth design, he twirled it around his fingers and smelt it;

Grasping my soft fingers, akin to bloomed ‘Lavanga’ flowers, he pressed it on his passionate red eyes and sighed like a blacksmith’s bellows;

Touching my young bosom adorned with thoyyil paintings, akin to an enticing male elephant that renders its grace to its beloved female, he caressed me.

And so, my suffering ended, my friend! I think that it would be good if you can reveal this truth to those in our well-protected mansion. If you do so, the fame that ‘with kindness, she did this great thing’ will live long in this changing world!”

Time to delve into the details. The verse is situated in the context of a man’s love relationship with the lady, prior to marriage and around the theme of revealing the lady’s relationship to her kin. The words are uttered by the lady to her confidante. Without any descriptions of the mountain country that we have come to expect, the lady starts narrating the man’s words to her, describing her golden ornaments, bangles and her delicate arms as he sought the grace of living at her feet forever. Then, the lady goes on to talk about how took a flower from her fragrant tresses and inhaled its scent, held the lady’s fingers and pressed it to his eyes, even as he sighed like an ironworker’s bellows, and how he caressed the lady, just the way a male elephant would render its love to its mate. Relating all these events that unfolded between her and the man, the lady says because of that, her suffering of being away from the man ended. Now, she requests the confidante to go to her family and reveal her relationship with the man, so that they do not go ahead with their plan of marrying the lady to a stranger, who had come seeking her hand. The lady concludes with a blessing to her friend that if she were to do that, the friend’s fame would live unchangingly in this world, where everything changes. A verse which goes on to show that the precious role of friends in one’s life remains a constant across space and time.