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In this episode, we relish a delightful conversation, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 47, penned by Neduvennilavinaar. The verse is situated in the mountains of ‘Kurinji’ and speaks in the voice of the confidante to the moon, passing on an indirect message to the man, listening nearby.
கருங் கால் வேங்கை வீ உகு துறுகல்
இரும் புலிக் குருளையின் தோன்றும் காட்டிடை
எல்லி வருநர் களவிற்கு
நல்லை அல்லை-நெடு வெண்ணிலவே!
Moonshine gets the spotlight in this verse! The opening words ‘கருங் கால் வேங்கை’ refer to ‘the Indian Kino tree, with a dark trunk’, an oft-mentioned tree in Sangam poems from the mountain land. The single letter ‘வீ’ denotes ‘falling flowers’ and it’s fascinating how the Sangam folks have different names for the different stages of a flower. Next, we encounter the word ‘துறுகல்’, which refers to a ’rounded rock’. Another element of nature, which appears here is ‘இரும் புலிக் குருளை’ meaning ‘cub of a huge tiger’. The hero of the verse is introduced with a quaint expression ‘எல்லி வருநர்’ meaning ‘he who comes at night’. An unforgettable phrase, made popular in the movie ‘Kaattru Veliyidai’ appears in ‘நல்லை அல்லை’, meaning ‘what you are doing isn’t good’, expressed in a mock-angry way. Ending with the words ‘நெடு வெண்ணிலவே’ meaning ‘enduring white moon’, the verse speaks to that celestial object that has beckoned the attention of many a poet and invites us within!
Falling flowers, tiger cubs and nightly trysts flash before us. The context reveals that the man and lady had been leading a love relationship and that the man had been trysting with the lady by night. One night, seeing him leave after his tryst, making sure he’s in earshot, the confidante says as if to the moon, “The fallen flowers of the black-trunked ‘vengai’ lying scattered on the round rock, make it appear like the cub of a huge tiger in the forest through which comes the man at night. To his covert relationship, you do no good – O lasting white moon!” With these words, the confidante indirectly conveys that the man should avoid nightly trysts and instead, move towards seeking marriage with the lady.
How does the confidante stitch in her message within her words to the moon? To know that, let us follow her words closely. Like an expert cinematographer, she focuses on the black trunk of the ‘vengai’ tree. She then, slowly moves up to the bright yellow flowers of this tree, which at the moment, are parting away from the tree. Following the trail of the falling flowers, we see them resting on a rock, smoothened and rounded by the forces of nature. The confidante takes a step back and shifts her camera, to make this rounded rock seem like a cub of a striped, huge tiger. Fallen flowers on a rock and a curled tiger cub – Here’s an instance of awe-inspiring creativity in connecting such vastly different elements! Continuing, the confidante says that’s how that rock would appear to those traversing that forest by night, like the man, for instance. After outlining the man’s activities, the confidante finally turns to the moon and says how by being so bright and lasting so long, she seems to be doing no good to the man’s tryst with the lady!
All we have ascertained so far is the confidante speaking to the moon and telling her that she’s upto no good! Where is her message to the man? For that, we have to focus on the scene in the forest where fallen flowers on the rock seem like a tiger cub. Through that reference, the confidante is pointing to the fears evoked during the man’s travel at night and further, with the moon shining so brightly, there is also the danger of the man’s tryst being discovered. In that single phrase describing the moon as long-lasting, the confidante points out how the moon does not appear and fade away in a short while but lasts the night and causes trouble to the man’s secret relationship. However, within that address to the man, the confidante weaves in the thought of how the moon would be the perfect companion, if only he would seek the lady’s hand and relish their relationship without any fear whatsoever. In a few words, the verse reflects those picturesque words to the faraway moon and in the moonlight, reveals the path to permanent happiness!
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