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In this episode, we perceive a unique technique of changing a person’s heart, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Natrinai 386, penned by Thangaal Athireyan Chenkannanaar. Set in the mountains of ‘Kurinji’, the verse speaks in the voice of the confidante to the lady, reflecting on past events that reveal the lady’s good judgement.
சிறு கட் பன்றிப் பெருஞ் சின ஒருத்தல்,
துறுகட் கண்ணிக் கானவர் உழுத
குலவுக் குரல் ஏனல் மாந்தி, ஞாங்கர்,
விடர் அளைப் பள்ளி வேங்கை அஞ்சாது,
கழை வளர் சாரல் துஞ்சும் நாடன்.
‘அணங்குடை அருஞ் சூள் தருகுவென்’ என நீ,
‘நும்மோர் அன்னோர் துன்னார் இவை’ என,
தெரிந்து அது வியந்தனென்- தோழி!- பணிந்து நம்
கல் கெழு சிறுகுடிப் பொலிய,
வதுவை என்று அவர் வந்த ஞான்றே.
The verse opens with the words ‘சிறு கட் பன்றி’ meaning ‘a small-eyed boar’ and brings to fore, the hero of this mountain adventure. ‘துறுகட் கண்ணிக் கானவர்’ meaning ‘mountain farmers who wear neatly stitched flower garlands’ paints a vivid portrait of those ancient folk. The phrase ‘பள்ளி வேங்கை அஞ்சாது’ meaning ‘not worrying about the resting tiger’ evokes a feeling of fearlessness. ‘அணங்குடை அருஞ் சூள்’ talks about ‘a vow taken in the name of god’ and curiously, it reminded me of children saying the words ‘god promise’ to make someone believe them. It has been ingrained from a young age that it’s a vow not to be taken lightly for failing that would mean god’s wrath would descend down. Ending with the words ‘வதுவை என்று அவர் வந்த ஞான்றே’ meaning ‘that day when he came seeking marriage’, the verse invites us to know more!
The man and lady had been leading a married life when the man seeks the company of courtesans. The lady is infuriated by this action of the man. Soon, the man realises the error in his ways and returns home. Fearing his wife’s anger, he looks to the confidante for support. The confidante decides to help him. However, the lady is still fuming at the man’s actions. At this time, the confidante says to the lady, “The raging, small-eyed male boar feeds on the curved stalks of the millets sown by mountain farmers, who wear tightly stitched flower garlands. Then, it leaves to the mountain clefts, and without fearing the tiger resting in a nearby cave, it sleeps in the bamboo-filled slopes of the man’s mountain country. When he said, ‘I shall grant you a promise, pledged in god’s name’, you said, ‘people like you need not say such things’. My friend, indeed I was astonished when soon after, he came, so humbly, making our little mountain hamlet glow, seeking marriage!” With these words, the confidante in a hidden manner, nudges the lady to forgive the man and grant him entry to their house.
Now, for the nuances! The confidante starts by zooming on a small-eyed boar that has been feasting in the fields of the mountain farmers. Then, filled to the full with the rich millets, it decides it’s time to take rest and goes to sleep in the mountain clefts, without a bit of fear for the tiger resting in the nearby cave, the confidante concludes. She has elaborated this scene to describe the man’s mountain country but she’s sure to have buried more within, which we will unearth shortly. From the man’s mountain country, the confidante shifts her attention to the man’s words. He seems to have offered to take a vow in god’s name. Knowing the context, we can safely guess that this was during the time of their love relationship and perceiving the doubts in the confidante’s mind, the man had said that he would even take a pledge in god’s name promising that he would marry the lady. At that very moment, the lady had interceded and said that the man was a person of honour and there was no need for him to take such vows. The confidante seems to have been taken aback at these trusting words of the lady. But, even that was nothing compared to the way she was surprised when the man arrived, soon after, seeking the lady’s hand in marriage, making their little mountain village glow with festivities.
By shifting the lady’s mind to a time when she had unwavering trust in the man and how he too acted in a manner worthy of that trust placed in him, the confidante skilfully deflects the present fury seething in her friend. Within that scene of how the boar sleeps without the fear of the tiger, the confidante places a metaphor for how the man stands now at the gate of his home, seeking the lady’s forgiveness, without fearing the shameful looks of the neighbours. With these two images, the confidante hopes to melt the lady’s heart and nudge her into welcoming the man back to their home. Placing a protagonist in parallel to a boar is something unthinkable today. Over the centuries, our mental associations with these animals seem to have undergone a sea change, making such a comparison derogatory in most cultures. But here, in this Sangam verse, even a wild boar is esteemed enough to be called in comparison to the honourable man. The other vital lesson is the way the confidante summons a past moment to show the person who has angered the lady, in a glowing light. Now you are fuming at him but, remember that day when you thought so highly of him and how he too lived up to that belief, the confidante seems to say with a twinkle in her eye! With a sage’s calm perspective, the verse tells us that akin to a burst of water that puts out a fire, all it takes to rise above the flames of anger towards a person is to remember a moment of their past kindness and relive the regard felt for them then!
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