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In this episode, we perceive scenes from a Sangam household tell a tale of inner life, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Natrinai 297, penned by Madurai Alakkar Gnaalaar Makanaar Mallanaar. Set in the mountain country of ‘Kurinji’, the verse speaks in the voice of the confidante to the lady, passing on a subtle message to the man, listening nearby.
பொன் செய் வள்ளத்துப் பால் கிழக்கு இருப்ப,
நின் ஒளி எறியச் சேவடி ஒதுங்காய்;
பல் மாண் சேக்கைப் பகை கொள நினைஇ,
மகிழா நோக்கம் மகிழ்ந்தனை போன்றனை;
”எவன்கொல்?” என்று நினைக்கலும் நினைத்திலை;
நின்னுள் தோன்றும் குறிப்பு நனி பெரிதே;
சிதர் நனை முணைஇய சிதர் கால் வாரணம்
முதிர் கறி யாப்பின் துஞ்சும் நாடன்
மெல்ல வந்து, நல் அகம் பெற்றமை
மையல் உறுகுவள், அன்னை;
ஐயம் இன்றிக் கடுங் கவவினளே.
The verse opens with ‘பொன் செய் வள்ளத்துப் பால்’ meaning ‘milk in a bowl, made of gold’, revealing the affluence of a Sangam home. The words ‘சேவடி ஒதுங்காய்’ talks about ‘red feet that doesn’t walk’ and refers to someone who has given up on moving about. ‘பல் மாண் சேக்கை’ is the second reference that talks about luxury, for it means ‘a bed with much splendour’ and we can only wonder about what that meant to them. The phrase ‘மகிழா நோக்கம் மகிழ்ந்தனை போன்றனை’ talks about someone ‘who appears drunk even though they have not taken liquor’! And what is such a state? Let’s explore in a while! Another mind-boggling thing I learnt today is that not only does ‘வாரணம்’ refer to ‘an elephant’ but also to ‘a domestic bird’, possibly a hen or rooster! I wonder how such vastly different meanings get loaded onto the same word! The phrase ‘முதிர் கறி யாப்பின்’ means ‘a mature pepper vine’ and stresses on the connection between the world-famous Indian ‘curry’ and ‘pepper’. Ending with ‘கடுங் கவவினளே’ meaning ‘she used a harsh voice’, the verse invites us to listen intently.
The man and lady had been leading a love relationship and the man seemed intent only on trysting with the lady. The confidante decides to nudge him in the right direction. One day, observing him by the lady’s house, pretending not to notice him, she turns to the lady and says, “Milk in a golden bowl lies untouched down there, taking on your hue. You seem not to move your red feet. Treating your exquisite bed with enmity, you stand nearby, dazed, akin to one who has had too much to drink. You don’t seem to think even for a moment ‘what might happen’. All the signs that appear in you now are huge indeed! The soft-footed rooster, disliking the honey-drenched flowers, goes to sleep by the mature pepper vines. Such is the domain of the lord! He gently came and has found a fine place in your heart. Mother must know this for she seems much confused. Indeed, there’s no doubt about it, for she called you in a harsh voice too!” With these words, the confidante is conveying to the man that mother was showing signs of knowing about the lady’s relationship with the man, the consequence of which would be the confinement of the lady to the house, and to prevent that, the man must seek the lady’s hand, without any further delay.
Now, for the nuances! The confidante starts by zooming on a bowl of milk and on closer inspection, we find that it’s one made of gold. The Sangam folks seem to be rolling in the stuff! It makes me smile to think how ‘silver’ is a word echoing of royalty and richness in the English language, and seeing how it pales in comparison to the golden ware of these ancient Tamil households. Returning to the verse, we find the bowl lying down on the floor untouched and the confidante also says that the milk seems to take on the colour of the lady, possibly a yellowish hue. I read that milk takes on a yellow hue when frozen because the vitamin riboflavin dominates in this state. Now, this is a mountain country and could there be a possibility of milk freezing? Hard to imagine in these times when most places in India are hot but we cannot rule out the possibility especially considering these are hilly regions. If not freezing, at least highly cold in certain seasons. So, perhaps this is what the confidante is referring to! Then, she points to the red feet of the lady and says how it has seen no movement. Not just that, the lady seems to have taken a dislike to her exquisite bed and also looks like someone who is sloshed even though she isn’t. Now, science vouches for this state. There is one state which is exactly comparable to that of drunkenness. In fact, if you are in this state, your impairments are like those induced by a blood alcohol level of 0.10 percent, which is much higher than legal driving limits. This state, as you may have guessed, is that of sleeplessness!
Leaving the present for the past, we find our confidante making the same judgement about the lady, without any breath-analyser tests whatsoever! The confidante says the signs that are appearing in the lady cannot be ignored easily but the lady seems not to give a thought about what might happen as a result. After these scenes at their home, the confidante then talks about a wild rooster that has taken to disliking the flowers dripping with honey and prefers instead to sleep amidst the pepper vines in the man’s mountain country. This scene is a metaphor to say how the man seems to leave the lady and go back to his own village and points to how he seems interested only in trysting instead of seeking a formal union. Then, the confidante delivers the final blow saying that if you thought you have successfully hid all this from mother, you are wrong, for mother looks quite confused and not only that, her voice was harsh when she called you. These are words of warning to the listening man that mother knows and she will soon confine the lady to the house. In order to enjoy the lady’s company for long, the man must seek her hand in marriage and bring permanent happiness to them both, the confidante concludes. The highlight of this verse is how the confidante seems to capture the subtle, non-verbal cues and paints the inner landscape of both the lady and the mother, for the man’s understanding. Great is the ability to perceive mind spaces from those subtle traces on faces!
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