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In this episode, we perceive words of welcome, infused with a hidden message, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 350, penned by Chenthan Kannanaar. The verse is situated amidst the crashing waves of the ‘Neythal’ or ‘Coastal Landscape’ and etches a scene depicting an ancient occupation in the seas.
கழியே, சிறு குரல் நெய்தலொடு காவி கூம்ப,
எறி திரை ஓதம் தரல் ஆனாதே
துறையே, மருங்கின் போகிய மாக் கவை மருப்பின்
இருஞ் சேற்று ஈர் அளை அலவன் நீப்ப,
வழங்குநர் இன்மையின் பாடு ஆன்றன்றே;
கொடு நுகம் நுழைந்த கணைக் கால் அத்திரி
வடி மணி நெடுந் தேர் பூண ஏவாது,
ஏந்து எழில் மழைக் கண் இவள் குறையாகச்
சேந்தனை சென்மோ பெரு நீர்ச் சேர்ப்ப!
இலங்கு இரும் பரப்பின் எறி சுறா நீக்கி,
வலம்புரி மூழ்கிய வான் திமிற் பரதவர்
ஒலி தலைப் பணிலம் ஆர்ப்ப, கல்லென,
கலி கெழு கொற்கை எதிர்கொள, இழிதரும்
குவவு மணல் நெடுங் கோட்டு ஆங்கண்,
உவக்காண் தோன்றும் எம் சிறு நல் ஊரே!
In this trip to the shore, we get to see both the peaceful as well as festive sides of this domain, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the man, when he prepares to leave to his home, after a tryst by day with the lady:
“In the backwaters, the short-stalked blue lotus and the red lotus have closed their buds; The crashing waves of the sea that flood the shore cease not; In spaces nearby, a crab with a long, branching antenna, peeps out of its moist hole in the dark mud, and as no one passes by, silence fills the air. At this time, without bidding that the thick-legged mule, be tied to the curving yoke of your tall chariot, decorated with well-etched bells, for the sake of this maiden, having uplifted, beautiful, rain-like eyes, why don’t you stay back and then leave, O lord of the great seas? In the vast spread of the ocean, avoiding the attack of sharks, fishermen with wide boats, dive deep in search of right-whorled conch shells, and as they step out onto the heaped sands of the long shore, they are welcomed with the blow of conches echoing loud and clear, with much uproar, by the boisterous people from Korkai. Look well, right there, is our fine, little hamlet!”
Time to dive into the pristine sea of the past! The confidante starts by describing the surroundings at that time of the day, and mentions how both the blue and red lotus have closed their buds, telling us it’s the evening hour. While those flowers may have shut shop, the waves never call it a day and continue to keep crashing on the shore. There’s a quick shot of a crab peeping out of the mud hole. Other than this little denizen, there’s no one about and a thick silence fills the air, the confidante sketches. She turns to the man and tells him pointedly not to ask his helper to tie his mule to the chariot and leave as usual to his town, at that time of the day. Instead of that, she asks the man to stay the night and then leave. Pointing at some distance, she talks about how fishermen in huge boats, take a deep dive, and expertly avoiding the sharks, they collect the right-whorled conches from the seabed. When they emerge with these shells and step out on the sands with their bounty, the waiting people of Korkai render a rousing welcome to them, the confidante sketches. She concludes by saying that very close to that landing spot on the sands was their village and that the man should spend the night there and then leave!
One may think the confidante is extending a sweet welcome to the man, but that’s not all. The confidante knows that it was not custom for the man to stay at the lady’s house, before they are man and wife, and so, she means to nudge the man to give up his temporary trysting and choose the path of permanent happiness.
Let’s focus on that scene of diving in the seas to gather conch shells. Those divers did not stop with collecting conch shells and were renowned to collect such exquisite pearls from this region, and that’s why you have people from Korkai, waiting on the shores to welcome these divers. Whatever those divers brought from the seabed would then be polished and parcelled to destinations, as far as Rome and Greece. In fact, there are many historical accounts that say those pearls from the seas around Korkai was much favoured by Queen Cleopatra. No doubt the effort of those pearl divers translates as gold and silver to the waiting people from the port of Korkai, and that’s why those divers are given that jubilant welcome, mentioned in these lines.
At the same time, the confidante conjures this scene as a metaphor promising the welcome that the man would receive at the lady’s home if he were to seek her hand in marriage. A verse which turns out to be an ode to the art of welcoming, and as the third and final act, it ends up welcoming us, the people of the future, into the lives and homes of those ancients, who have left their footprints on the shore of time!
