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In this episode, we explore relationship dynamics in ancient times, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Natrinai 342, penned by Mosi Keeranaar. The verse is situated in the coastal regions of ‘Neythal’ and speaks in the voice of the confidante to herself, conveying a pointed message to the lady, listening nearby.
”மா என மதித்து மடல் ஊர்ந்து, ஆங்கு
மதில் என மதித்து வெண் தேர் ஏறி,
என் வாய் நின் மொழி மாட்டேன், நின் வயின்
சேரி சேரா வருவோர்க்கு, என்றும்
அருளல் வேண்டும், அன்பு உடையோய்!” என,
கண் இனிதாகக் கோட்டியும் தேரலள்:
யானே-எல்வளை!-யாத்த கானல்
வண்டு உண் நறு வீ நுண்ணிதின் வரித்த
சென்னிச் சேவடி சேர்த்தின்,
”என் எனப் படுமோ?” என்றலும் உண்டே.
Opening with ‘மா என மதித்து மடல் ஊர்ந்து’ meaning ‘considering a palm-stemmed horse to be a real one’, the verse immediately brings to focus, the ancient custom of ‘Madal eruthal’ or ‘Madal ooruthal’, wherein a young man mounts a horse made of palm fronds and rides it across town, proclaiming his love for the lady, a last-ditch effort at winning her heart. ‘என் வாய் நின் மொழி மாட்டேன்’ expresses ‘the inability of expressing something through words’ and reveals the constraints in communicating. The expression ‘கண் இனிதாகக் கோட்டியும்’ is a quaint one because it talks about the ‘act of someone narrowing and expanding their eyes in a fine manner’ to convey something non-verbally. The verse ends with ‘என் எனப் படுமோ? என்றலும் உண்டே’ meaning ‘will the question ‘what do you mean’ rise at least then?’ and intrigues our curiosity!
The man had seen the lady and fallen in love with her. Their relationship had proceeded with the support extended by the man’s friends but the man knew the crucial aspect in his relationship was winning the confidence of the lady’s confidante. So, he attempts to let the confidante know of his love for the lady. The confidante gets the drift but something else must happen before she can proceed to help the man in his relationship with the lady. And, that is, the lady must convey her acceptance of the man explicitly to the confidante. However, owing to her innate shyness, the lady does not do that easily. One day thereafter, the confidante, seeing the lady standing nearby, pretending not to see her, says to herself, “I gestured significantly with my eyes conveying, ’The man seems to mount a palmyra horse, thinking it to be a real horse, and he clashes with a mirage, considering it to be a fort’s wall. I cannot express this in words to you. But, my loveable friend, you must grace the man, who comes to our hamlet, seeking you’. However, she understood not. If I were to go myself to the seashore grove, where spreads a carpet of fine pollen, buzzing with bees, on which the bright bangled one treads on, and press my head on her red feet, then perhaps, she will concede and say to me, ‘what was that you were trying to convey to me?’” With these words, the confidante gently persuades the lady to open her heart and reveal the regard she has for the man!
Time to explore the intricacies in this nuanced verse! The whole song is firmly situated in context, as we have seen from the lengthy description of the setting, a while ago. The confidante starts with the message she was trying to convey to the lady and that is how the man seemed to think a palmyra horse was a real one and how he goes dashing against mirages as if they were fort walls. This is an exaggeration on the part of the confidante to convey how the man seemed to be losing his senses since he was not able to make any headway in his relationship with the lady. Then, the confidante comes to the essential problem in the situation and says she would not be able to say all this in words to the lady. However, the lady must grace the man, who comes with love for her to where they live. If the confidante can’t say it in words, then how does she do that? Apparently, she narrows and extends her eyes to convey all this information non-verbally. This makes me smile thinking that the confidante must be an expert ‘Bharatanatyam’ danseuse to convey such intricate information just with her eyes. She would have given the movie stars of today, a run for their money!
Returning to the verse, the confidante tells us that no matter how much she tried to hint to the lady thus, the lady failed to understand her. Then, she comes up with a plan. She wonders if she were to go to the seashore orchard, where there’s a spread of bee-buzzing pollen, and fall at the red feet of the lady, at least then, would the lady ask her what all that was about! The confidante expresses her understanding that the lady was filled with shyness to speak of her relationship with the man in front of her playmates and perhaps, she would open up when alone at the grove. Within that, she lowers herself by contemplating pleading at the lady’s feet and with that strong nudge, the confidante hopes to move the lady to open her heart to the confidante and thereby, allow the confidante to take steps to further the lady’s relationship with the man! After assimilating the verse, I couldn’t help exclaiming with awe, at the amazing web of communication and understanding that needs to unfold before a man can succeed in his love then! The man has to make the confidante understand, the confidante has to take the message to the lady, and the lady has to express her love and to top it all, although the lady has united with the man, she won’t tell her friend, as she’s filled with shyness. What complexity in this simple thing we call love! Indeed, it seems so to us, looking at the past but forget not, those in the future, may look at the very things we do today, and nod their heads in disbelief!
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