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In this episode, we perceive the depth of bonding between the man and the lady, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 57, penned by Siraikudi Aanthaiyaar. The verse is situated in the coastal regions of ‘Neythal’ and speaks in the voice of the lady to her confidante, expressing her angst at being placed under guard at home and prevented from trysting with the man.
பூ இடைப்படினும் யாண்டு கழிந்தன்ன
நீர் உறை மகன்றிற் புணர்ச்சி போலப்
பிரிவு அரிது ஆகிய தண்டாக் காமமொடு,
உடன் உயிர் போகுகதில்ல – கடன் அறிந்து,
இருவேம் ஆகிய உலகத்து,
ஒருவேம் ஆகிய புன்மை நாம் உயற்கே.
‘Born as two and united as one’ rings the tune of this verse! The first line stating ‘பூ இடைப்படினும் யாண்டு கழிந்தன்ன’ meaning ‘even if a flower were to come in between, seeming as if a year had passed by’ dwells on relativity as seen in the eyes of the ‘நீர் உறை மகன்றில்’ meaning ‘water-dwelling birds’. ‘Makandril’ or ‘andril’ have been referred in many Sangam verses, with a description that they are ‘an inseparable pair of birds’, said to die if the other went missing. Whether such birds really lived or was an imaginative inference of Sangam poets is debatable! Returning to the verse, ‘உடன் உயிர் போகுக’ is a stark phrase wishing ‘for the lives to part together’ and simply, denotes the intensity of emotion. Ending with the words ‘புன்மை நாம் உயற்கே’ meaning ‘to overcome this misery’, the verse invokes our empathy.
Inseparable birds flutter their wings to speak on behalf of the protagonists. The context reveals that the man and lady had been leading a love relationship and they had been trysting for a long while. Perceiving the changes in the lady’s form, her parents place her under strict guard at home and she’s prevented from meeting with the man. Deeply anguished by this state of affairs, the lady says to her confidante, “Even if a flower were to come in between, it would seem like a year had passed by, for the water-dwelling ‘makandril’ birds. To savour their kind of union, without any separation and with unending passion, let our lives part away together. As two, we are born to perform our own duties in this world. Lives parting away together seems to be the only way to escape from this solitary suffering!” With these words, the lady expresses how it’s better for her life to part away than to endure this state of pain without the man’s company.
Why could the lady be expressing such drastic thoughts? Let’s listen to her closely and unravel that answer. Bringing before our eyes, a pair of ‘makandril’ birds floating on the waters, the lady zooms to a point, where a flower, perhaps a blue lotus or lily, comes between the path of these birds. That together journey is interrupted for a moment when that flower separates these two birds. But, only to us, it seems like a moment, whereas to those birds, it would seem like an entire year has passed by, the lady tells us. She goes on to explain the kind of relationship between these birds that sees no separation and with a love that’s unending. After describing the life of these birds, the lady says that’s the kind of life she wishes for, and for that, the only way seemed to be for her life to part away with the man’s.
While the lady is thinking about death, her thoughts turn in the direction of birth and she reflects on how she and the man took two different forms to perform their duties in this world, of which one is rendering joy to the other. But now, finding herself in a state where she’s all alone, and unable to fulfil what she was meant to do, the lady finds herself wishing that her life would part away! Reflecting on this point, we see how the lady seems to be preoccupied with one thing, which is being in the man’s company. Everything else – her life, her friends, her parents seem to pale before this single-minded devotion. The verse only shows that it’s a natural feeling that may occur to anyone and the right thing to do would be to express even such stark thoughts to a trusted friend, whose consolation and care could turn out to be an effective remedy. In contrast, it makes me realise how much richer a woman’s life has become today – So much fills her life and fulfils her that she need not be thwarted by any man’s absence. In a way, grateful that this glimpse from the past has made us celebrate the emancipated path of today’s woman!
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