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In this episode, we perceive the moment of revelation about a subtle event in the past, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 84, penned by Mosi Keeranaar. The verse is situated in the drylands of ‘Paalai’ and speaks in the voice of the foster-mother, on learning that the lady has eloped with the man.
பெயர்த்தனென் முயங்க, ”யான் வியர்த்தனென்” என்றனள்;
இனி அறிந்தேன், அது துனி ஆகுதலே-
கழல்தொடி ஆஅய் மழை தவழ் பொதியில்
வேங்கையும் காந்தளும் நாறி,
ஆம்பல் மலரினும் தான் தண்ணியளே.
Droplets coat the lines of this verse! In the first few words ‘பெயர்த்தனென் முயங்க’, the verse talks about ‘the intention of trying to give a second hug’ and seems to freeze on that fine moment between a thought and its consequent action. The first of the droplets shine as sweat as can be seen in the words ‘யான் வியர்த்தனென்’ meaning ‘I’m sweating’. Curious how some words seem to live on, for thousands of years in the same meaning and some just change beyond recognition. In the contemporary Tamil word for sweating – ‘வியர்வை’, we see how the duo of meaning and word have lived on together, through the generations, as if they are eternal lovers. Returning to the verse, we see references to an ancient king ‘ஆஅய்’, whom we met in Natrinai 167, as he was offering bell-decked chariots as gifts to those who came to him in need. Here, he is mentioned as the ruler of ‘மழை தவழ் பொதியில்’ meaning ‘Pothiyil mountains, surrounded by rain clouds’. This phrase refers to the contemporary ‘Pothigai mountains’, the southern-most ranges of the Western Ghats, lying between the states of Kerala and Tamilnadu. Not one, not two, three flowers delight us in ‘வேங்கையும் காந்தளும்’ referring to the flowers of ‘the Indian Kino tree’ and ‘the flame-lily’ respectively as well as ‘ஆம்பல்’ talking about ‘the waterlily’. Ending with the words ‘தான் தண்ணியளே’ meaning ‘she is the cooler one’, the verse invites us to understand the story within.
A bouquet of flowers have delighted us in the first glimpse! What deeper meanings do they hold within? The context reveals that the man and lady had been leading a love relationship and they decide the only way to preserve their relationship is to elope away to the man’s village. Hearing that her girl had eloped away with the man, the lady’s foster-mother says, “When I embraced her again, she said, ‘I’m sweating’. Now I understand that it was nothing but aversion in my girl. She, who has the scent of ’vengai’ and ‘kaanthal’ flowers, that bloom in the raincloud-wrapped ‘Pothiyil mountains, ruled by ‘Aay’, who wears valorous armlets. The girl, who has more coolness than a waterlily!” With these words, the foster-mother recollects a recent event and expresses with regret, how she did not understand the lady’s heart then!
Time to explore the tiny details in the verse! The foster-mother starts by narrating to us what happened on a previous night. After giving a hug, she seems to have moved towards the girl to give another hug. At this time, the lady had stopped her saying that she was sweating. Thinking that her girl was just conveying the facts, the foster-mother had let it go. From that event that happened, the foster-mother turns to describe the nature of her girl, whom she says has the fragrance of the flowers that bloom in the courageous Aay’s domain, the Pothiyil mountains, and how the lady is someone who has more coolness than even a moist water-lily. It’s here that the foster-mother seems to stop and remark within herself, ‘Indeed, my girl has more coolness than a waterlily, and so it’s not possible that she was sweating. It can only mean that the lady disliked being hugged by anyone other than her man’. And thus, the foster-mother seems to wrap a lament within those words… ‘If only I knew!’
A needle-sharp attention to the tiniest movements in the heart is recorded in these Sangam poems! In a way, these poems seem like the refined instruments of the 21st century that now dare to peer at the smallest, the farthest and the imperceptible. Inspite of all our technology that measures impossible things in the outer world, we have lost connect within and verses from the past like this one, nudge us that the only tool to achieve understanding of this unseen, all-important entity called the mind, is attention!
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