Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | iHeartRadio | TuneIn | RSS | More
In this episode, we perceive a bird’s call bearing the burden of a lady’s pain, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Natrinai 338, penned by Madurai Aarulaviyanattu Aalamperi Saathanaar. The verse is situated in the coastal regions of ‘Neythal’ and speaks in the voice of the lady to the confidante, rejecting her friend’s words, which asked her to bear with the situation, as the man stays away.
கடுங்கதிர் ஞாயிறு மலை மறைந்தன்றே;
அடும்பு கொடி துமிய ஆழி போழ்ந்து, அவர்
நெடுந்தேர் இன் ஒலி இரவும் தோன்றா;
இறப்ப எவ்வம் நலியும் நின் நிலை;
‘நிறுத்தல் வேண்டும்’ என்றி, நிலைப்ப
யாங்ஙனம் விடுமோ மற்றே, மால் கொள
வியல் இரும் பரப்பின் இரை எழுந்து அருந்துபு,
புலவு நாறு சிறுகுடி மன்றத்து ஓங்கிய
ஆடு அரைப் பெண்ணைத் தோடு மடல் ஏறி,
கொடு வாய்ப் பேடைக் குடம்பைச் சேரிய,
உயிர் செலக் கடைஇப் புணர் துணைப்
பயிர்தல் ஆனா, பைதல் அம் குருகே.
Opening with ‘கடுங்கதிர் ஞாயிறு மலை மறைந்தன்றே’, which means ‘the sun with its severe rays has vanished into the mountains’, the verse reveals a sunset after a blazing day of heat on the eastern coast of ancient Tamil land. ‘அடும்பு கொடி’, that ubiquitous creeper on a coastal scene called ‘beach morning glory’ makes an appearance here. The phrase ‘நிறுத்தல் வேண்டும்’ pops up like a command for it means ‘you must stop’! Further on, we are delighted with the ‘ஆடு அரைப் பெண்ணை’ meaning ‘a palm tree with a swaying trunk’ and makes us wonder about the intensity of the winds then. The verse ends with ‘பைதல் அம் குருகே’ meaning ‘that beautiful bird filled with sorrow’ and invites us to listen closely!
The man and lady had been leading a love relationship and the man had been trysting with the lady for a while. To thwart rumours spreading in town about their relationship, the man abstains from visiting the lady for a while. The lady is filled with yearning and suffering because of this separation. When her confidante tries to console her, the lady says to her, “The harsh-rayed sun has melted within the mountains. With wheels that slash away ’adumbu’ vines, his tall chariot resounding with sweet music has not appeared tonight. You say to me, ‘Your state is filled with immense suffering and yet you must stop this’. Although I try to compose myself, how can I remain so? For a seabird, after feeding itself to the full in the wide and spreading seas, arriving to our flesh-reeking hamlet, flying high to the soaring palm tree, which sways in the village centre, climbing on to the fronds, sends out a sorrowful call to its mate with a curved beak, beckoning it to come join it in its nest, as if its very life would part away otherwise!” With these words, the lady expresses the pain in her heart at the man’s parting, accentuated by the setting sun and the singing bird.
Now, for the nuances! The lady starts her words by mentioning the time of the day. It’s evening, when the sun has called it a day and is seen leaping into the heart of the western mountains. As we have seen, the evening hour is one filled with angst for the separated. The lady expresses this by talking about how the chariot wheels usually come flying to the trysting spot, chopping the ‘adumbu’ vines on the way, and that night, there was no sound of the bells that adorn the lord’s chariot. The snapshot of the lady’s loneliness is captured by the silence of that night. The lady then repeats what the confidante had just said to her, beseeching the lady to bear with the absence of the man, failing which slander would spread like wildfire in their hamlet, leading to unsavoury circumstances for the lady. Understanding the logic in her friend’s words, the lady tries to face those pain-filled moments with composure. Just then…
The silence of the night is broken by a bird’s call. Not just any bird but one that has had its fill in the sea and has returned to its nest atop the soaring palm tree in the village centre. Perched high above, it calls out to its mate to come unite with it, lest its life should part away! Hearing this sorrow-filled call of the seabird, the lady loses her resolve and asks her friend how can she bear with the man’s parting, when she is assailed so! The thing to be noted here is that it’s the lady, who, through psychological projection, pours her own loneliness and embellishes the bird’s natural actions with human emotions. Within that, she also conceals the angst that unlike the bird which seeks out its mate, the man seemed to be staying away from her. In the end, the verse seems to stress on the vital fact that emotions within need to find a path to expression, be it in a bird’s call or the wind’s song!
Share your thoughts...