Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | iHeartRadio | TuneIn | RSS | More
In this episode, we perceive a nuanced technique of communicating a message, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 300, penned by Ulochanaar. The verse is situated amidst the leaping fish of the ‘Neythal’ or ‘Coastal landscape’ and brings out a trait, deeply encoded in the culture of the Tamils.
நாள் வலை முகந்த கோள் வல் பரதவர்
நுணங்கு மணல் ஆங்கண் உணங்கப் பெய்ம்மார்,
பறி கொள் கொள்ளையர் மறுக உக்க
மீன் ஆர் குருகின் கானல் அம் பெருந் துறை,
எல்லை தண் பொழில் சென்றென செலீஇயர்,
தேர் பூட்டு அயர ஏஎய், வார் கோல்
செறி தொடி திருத்தி, பாறு மயிர் நீவி,
”செல் இனி, மடந்தை! நின் தோழியொடு, மனை” எனச்
சொல்லியஅளவை, தான் பெரிது கலுழ்ந்து,
தீங்கு ஆயினள் இவள்ஆயின், தாங்காது,
நொதுமலர் போலப் பிரியின், கதுமெனப்
பிறிது ஒன்று ஆகலும் அஞ்சுவல்; அதனால்,
சேணின் வருநர் போலப் பேணா,
இருங் கலி யாணர் எம் சிறு குடித் தோன்றின்,
வல் எதிர் கொண்டு, மெல்லிதின் வினைஇ,
”துறையும் மான்றன்று பொழுதே; சுறவும்
ஓதம் மல்கலின் மாறு ஆயினவே;
எல்லின்று; தோன்றல்! செல்லாதீம்” என,
எமர் குறை கூறத் தங்கி ஏமுற,
இளையரும் புரவியும் இன்புற, நீயும்
இல் உறை நல் விருந்து அயர்தல்
ஒல்லுதும், பெரும! நீ நல்குதல் பெறினே.
In this trip to the seas, we observe a plan being hatched, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the man, as he prepares to leave after his tryst by day with the lady:
“Bringing their day’s catch, those killer fishermen, who wield intricate fishing tools, bring their bounty and spread it to dry on the fine sands. Disturbing their plans, birds feast on the drying fish in those orchard-filled, beautiful shores. After spending the day in these cool groves, wishing to leave, you ordered your chariot be yoked. Then straightening her thick, round bangles, and stroking her scattered tresses, you said to her, ‘Go on, O naive maiden, along with your friend, to your home’. The moment you said those words, she started shedding copious tears and ended up wallowing in suffering. If at all you were to leave like an uncaring stranger, I fear something terrible may befall her. So, pretending as if you are coming from far away and acting as if you do not know us, if you were to arrive at our beautiful and fertile hamlet, filled with much uproar, they will quickly approach you, inquiring softly, and will say to you, ‘This is a time when the shore is filled with confusion, when sharks abound in the waters, bringing much danger. The day has ended, O noble heir! Do not leave now!’. As our kith and kin press on you, heeding their request, if you were to stay at our home happily, letting your helpers and horses to delight too, agree to relish the fine feast and accept our offerings, O lord, that would make us joyous indeed!”
Let’s take a dip in these waters and learn more! The confidante starts by describing the shores, where the man and lady have had their day’s tryst. To do that, she focuses on fishermen, who reel in their catch, spread it on the sands and let it dry in the warmth. Much to their misery, birds do raid the spread and feast on the drying fish, the confidante adds. She connects by saying in the groves of this shore the man and lady had spent the day together, and now, that the evening had arrived, the man had summoned his helpers and asked them to tie the horses to his chariot, in preparation to leave. When the man turned to the lady and requested that she too leave to her home with her friend, this lady started crying and feeling much pain, the confidante continues. To the man, she pointedly says, ‘Now, if you walk away, like a stranger, who doesn’t care, something bad might happen to the lady, I fear’.
So, she outlines a plan to the man, asking him to not leave but instead come to their village, pretending as if he’s coming from a far distance and acting as if he has never met the lady or confidante before. If he were to do that, their townsfolk, the lady’s relatives would welcome the man and insist that he should not leave so late in the evening, citing the danger of rising floods and attacking sharks, the confidante predicts. She concludes by saying if the man were to agree to this request by their kith and kin, that is the very thing that would bring much happiness to the lady and herself!
Hidden in this sweet invitation is a sharp message, asking the man to ‘Marry the lady’! How so?, you may ask! If he were to accept this plan to stay at the lady’s home, there would be obvious deception on the man’s part. If the man were to pretend not to know the lady and act as if he were a famished stranger from afar, that might not suit his noble character of honesty, especially to his beloved’s kith and kin. So, the man would decide the right thing to do would be to seek the lady’s hand to avoid leaving her in a state of misery after every such tryst!
Beyond these minute manipulations, the thing to focus our attention is that mention of the townsfolk’s welcome to a stranger. In their words, they show true care for the welfare and safety of a person they don’t even know, and etch in indelible letters, an ingrained trait that Tamils are known for, even to this day – Their heartfelt, heartwarming hospitality!
