Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | iHeartRadio | TuneIn | RSS | More
In this episode, we relish a day in the life of a mountain monkey, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Natrinai 334, penned by Aiyoor Mudavanaar. The verse is situated in the hill country of ‘Kurinji’ and speaks in the voice of the confidante to the lady, conveying a hidden message to her about the man’s tryst by night.
கரு விரல் மந்திச் செம் முகப் பெருங் கிளை
பெரு வரை அடுக்கத்து அருவி ஆடி,
ஓங்கு கழை ஊசல் தூங்கி, வேங்கை
வெற்பு அணி நறு வீ கற்சுனை உறைப்ப,
கலையொடு திளைக்கும் வரைஅக நாடன்-
மாரி நின்ற ஆர் இருள் நடு நாள்,
அருவி அடுக்கத்து, ஒரு வேல் ஏந்தி;
மின்னு வசி விளக்கத்து வருமெனின்,
என்னோ-தோழி!-நம் இன் உயிர் நிலையே?
Opening with ‘கரு விரல் மந்தி’ which means ‘black fingered female monkey’, the verse instantly transports us to a wild mountain land. The frequently encountered expression ‘அருவி ஆடி’ brings forth the joyful image of ‘playing in the waterfalls’. ‘வேங்கை வெற்பு அணி நறு வீ’ makes the scent of ‘the beautiful yellow flowers of the Indian Kino tree’ waft near our nostrils. When we glimpse at ‘மின்னு வசி விளக்கத்து’, we see the ‘flashing light of the lightning’ streaking across the skies. The verse ends with ‘என்னோ-தோழி!-நம் இன் உயிர் நிலையே’ meaning ‘my friend, what is to happen to the state of our sweet life?’ and piques our curiosity!
The man and lady had been leading a love relationship and the man had been trysting with the lady by day. As there were plenty of interruptions to their courtship, the man sought the confidante’s help to tryst with the lady by night. The confidante agrees to his request and decides to take this message to the lady and says to her,”The black-fingered female monkey plays with its red-faced kith and kin in the waterfalls amidst the mountain slopes and swings on the soaring bamboos. Then, making the beauteous ‘vengai’ tree drop down its fragrant flowers on the rock springs, it delights with its mate. Such is the domain of the lord from the mountains! On the day the rains stop pouring, in the dark hour of midnight, carrying a spear, he plans to come walking by the waterfalls in the slopes, guided by the lamp of lightning that flashes in the skies! My friend, what is to become of your sweet life if that were to happen?” With these words, the confidante conveys to the lady, the man’s intention to tryst with her by night in an indirect manner and waits to capture the lady’s reaction.
Time to delve into the details! The confidante starts by sketching a scene from the mountains where a female monkey is seen playing in the waterfalls with a huge crowd of its red-faced relatives. After this rejuvenating splash in the water, the monkey takes to hanging amidst the soaring bamboos, perhaps in a bid to dry itself. And then, with the joys of the day behind it, the female monkey unites with a male on the branches of a ‘vengai’ tree’, making those fragrant flowers drop down in the springs beneath. This intimate scene from the mountains is mentioned by the confidante as a description of the lord’s mountain country but more there, for sure! Before we unravel her encoded message, let’s follow the trail of her words, which now focuses on a night when the rains have ceased, at a midnight hour when a deep darkness shrouds around. On such a night, a person is seen walking with a spear in hand, guided only by the light of the lightning spreading on the skies above. And this person, the confidante reveals is the man. She then, asks pointedly to the lady about what is to happen to the lady’s life if the man were to really do this!
The moment she says these words, the confidante would look up to read the reaction on the lady’s face! Why should there be a reaction? It’s because within that scene of the female monkey’s play and joy with its mate, the confidante conceals a metaphor for how at present, the lady relishes in the waterfalls with her playmates and swings on ropes tied to bamboos and in the future, she would tryst with the man by night. Instead of conveying the man’s request directly, the confidante places it within this picturesque scene to look within the lady’s heart. What fascinates me here is the time these characters seemed to have had not only to layer hidden messages and to unravel them, but to wait and perceive the tiny reflections on the face of the other. A verse that seems to tell us that the only key to a heart’s secrets is to pay true attention to the imperceptible, wordless ripples in the other!
Amazing
Amazing narration !!