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In this episode, we perceive the novel techniques employed by an estranged man to allay the ire of his lady, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Natrinai 250, penned by Madurai Olaikadaiyathaar Nalvellaiyaar. Set in the agricultural landscape of ‘Marutham’, the verse speaks in the voice of the man to the singer-messenger, in a bid to make the lady, who is listening, welcome him back to the house.
நகுகம் வாராய்-பாண!-பகுவாய்
அரி பெய் கிண்கிணி ஆர்ப்ப, தெருவில்
தேர் நடைபயிற்றும் தேமொழிப் புதல்வன்
பூ நாறு செவ் வாய் சிதைத்த சாந்தமொடு
காமர் நெஞ்சம் துரப்ப, யாம் தன்
முயங்கல் விருப்பொடு குறுகினேமாக,
பிறை வனப்பு உற்ற மாசு அறு திரு நுதல்
நாறு இருங் கதுப்பின் எம் காதலி வேறு உணர்ந்து,
வெரூஉம் மான் பிணையின் ஒரீஇ,
”யாரையோ?” என்று இகந்து நின்றதுவே!
The verse opens with ‘நகுகம் வாராய்’ meaning ‘let’s have a good laugh’, which reminds one of a standup comic’s opening ‘let me tell you a joke’! The phrase ‘அரி பெய் கிண்கிணி’ brings to the fore ‘anklets adorned with tiny bells’ and stands testimony to the skill of ancient artisans. The delicious term ‘தேமொழிப் புதல்வன்’ meaning ‘son who speaks words, akin to honey’, would make any parent nod in agreement, remembering the sweet lisp of their children as toddlers. ‘வெரூஉம் மான் பிணையின் ஒரீஇ’ takes us to a forest and conjures before us ‘a female deer with startled eyes leaping away’. Ending with ‘யாரையோ?’ meaning ‘who are you’, the poem piques our curiosity to know more!
The man and lady had been leading a happy, married life when the man took to keeping the company of courtesans. The lady, understandably, is angered by this action of the man. After some days, the man feels like returning to his lady and decides to seek entry to the house. One day, he turns to the singer-messenger and says to him, as his lady listens, “Come, let’s laugh about this, O singer! With an open mouth, making his anklets adorned with tiny bells resound, my honey-voiced son was learning to walk by pushing a toy-chariot on the street. With the sandalwood paste on my chest, smeared by my son’s flower-fragrant, red mouth, propelled by a loving heart, with a desire to embrace her, I neared her. My lady love, with an impeccable, fine forehead, glowing with the beauty of the crescent moon, and with fragrant, dark tresses, feeling as if I was a stranger, moved away, akin to a scared female deer. Then, she looked at me and asked, ‘who are you?’ Laughable, indeed!” With these words, the man tries to lighten the mood by making the singer laugh, kindling the lady to laugh too and thus, gain entry to his house.
Let’s note the tiny details embedded in the verse! The man starts by telling his friend, the singer, that there’s something funny he wants to share. Then, he relays the scene that had happened in the street. The man sees his son, a toddler, wearing resounding anklets, adorned with bells, learning to walk on the street, pushing a toy-chariot. The anklets on the child’s feet illustrate the affluence of the man’s household. Moving away from such material considerations, we recollect that the lisp of a young child is the sweetest melody there can be and the man vouches for this, calling his son as ‘honey-voiced’. Seeing this child after a while, any father would be overcome with love and likewise, the man picks up his son to embrace him. As he does so, the drool from the red lips of the little one smears the sandalwood paste on the man’s chest. With his chest thus smudged, the man enters his household carrying his son in hand, intending to embrace the lady. The lady, whom he lovingly describes as one with a flawless forehead, shining with the beauty of the crescent, adorned with flowing long, thick, dark tresses too. But, seeing him, the lady moves away with a startled look in her eyes, which reminds the man of a female deer shying away. Then, she aims her final shot with a sharp question to the man, asking him, ‘who are you’!
The man sees the humour in that moment and shares this with the singer, hinting at how odd it is, that the lady should not recognise the man, especially when he has entered the house with their son in his arms. Hearing this, the singer would perhaps burst out in laughter and putting to use, the contagious nature of this human emotion, the man would thus make the lady join in too. How can anger remain in a place where laughter has thus invaded?
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