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In this episode, we pay a visit to a seashore and perceive the symptoms of an age-old disease, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 5, penned by Nariveruthalaiyaar. The verse is situated in the coastal regions of ‘Neythal’ and speaks in the voice of the lady to her confidante, pondering on her state, after the man’s parting away.
அதுகொல், தோழி! காம நோயே?-
வதி குருகு உறங்கும் இன் நிழற் புன்னை,
உடை திரைத் திவலை அரும்பும் தீம் நீர்,
மெல்லம் புலம்பன் பிரிந்தென,
பல் இதழ் உண்கண் பாடு ஒல்லாவே.
Puzzlement seems to beckon us, as the verse opens with a question – ‘அதுகொல், தோழி!’ meaning ‘Isn’t it, my friend?’. The subject of this query becomes apparent in the phrase ‘காம நோயே’ referring to ‘the state of lovesickness’. Shifting the verse from the mind to the land appears, ‘வதி குருகு’, meaning ‘a seabird that dwells’ and its dwelling spot, ‘a sweet-shaded laurel wood tree’ in ‘இன் நிழற் புன்னை’. Making anyone who has played with abandon on a beach nod in recognition, the verse throws the spotlight on ‘உடை திரைத் திவலை’ meaning ‘the spray of crashing waves’. In the expression ‘மெல்லம் புலம்பன்’, the verse comes closest to naming a protagonist and this too, is not a name for any specific person but a generic name meaning ‘someone who lives on the soft shores’. This is an intelligent ruse in Sangam ‘Akam’ poetry to render no names to the described – something that enables any reader to relate to the emotion expressed. Ending with the words ‘உண்கண் பாடு ஒல்லாவே’ meaning ‘kohl-streaked eyes that do not close’, the verse offers a significant clue about the lady’s state of mind.
What could have caused these sleepless eyes in the lady? Let’s explore the context to find out. The man and lady seemed to have been in a love relationship when the man had parted away from her on some mission. The confidante worries how the lady will bear with the man’s parting. To her friend, the lady says, “Isn’t this the state of being lovelorn, O friend? In the sweet shade of the ‘punnai’, a resident seabird sleeps, and fine droplets of crashing waves bloom from the sweet seas in the gentle shores of the lord. As he parted away, my kohl-streaked eyes, akin to a many-petaled flower, seem not to close shut!” With these words, the lady opens up about her feelings since the man parted away from her.
Time for a deep dive! Coming straight to the crux of the issue, the lady wonders aloud to her friend if what she’s experiencing is a symptom of lovesickness. Keeping aside these troubles of the heart, she then, zooms on a seabird that seems to be dwelling in a ‘punnai’ tree, that thick-leaved tree abounding on these shores. The ancient Tamils, who had so many different words to describe the waterlily and the elephant seem to use the same word ‘குருகு’ for all seabirds. Could it be that a waterlily and an elephant were permanent fixtures in their line of sight whereas birds come and go, making the ancient Tamils refrain from naming what seemed not of their land? Returning to the verse, we notice the seabird in a state of calm sleep in the cool shade of this tree, even as the waves nearby crash on the shore and spread droplets of sweet water in the air. And, with these words, the lady describes the man’s address by the seas. Once agin, from the land, she turns within and talks about how the eyelids of her kohl-streaked eyes, which she equates to a many petaled flower, have not been able to come together, for long.
A case of insomnia, any psychologist or patient would say in a flash! Indeed, love and sleeplessness often seem to go hand in hand. The buzzing hormones within do lead to a state of obsession, which in turn, leads to sleeplessness. Here, we see the lady suffering from this very symptom of love that has remained the same over the centuries, be it two thousand years ago or the twenty-first century. Thinking tangentially, it’s not just love for a person that keeps one awake but even love for an idea. But, whatever maybe the cause, sleeplessness is a thing not to be taken lightly. For dreams no matter how lofty do not true without rendering the rest that the mind seeks. And indeed, the first and vital step to resolving this state of difficulty would be to accept there is an issue and probe the reasons for that, as does the lady in this verse, an insightful detective of the heart!
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