Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | iHeartRadio | TuneIn | RSS | More
In this episode, we relish scenes from a rain-soaked mountain landscape, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 90, penned by Madurai Eluthaalan Senthampoothanaar. Set in the hills of ‘Kurinji’, the verse speaks in the voice of the confidante to the lady, conveying a hidden message to the man, listening nearby.
எற்றோ வாழி?-தோழி!-முற்றுபு
கறி வளர் அடுக்கத்து இரவில் முழங்கிய
மங்குல் மா மழை வீழ்ந்தென, பொங்கு மயிர்க்
கலை தொட இழுக்கிய பூ நாறு பலவுக் கனி,
வரை இழி அருவி உண்துறைத் தரூஉம்
குன்ற நாடன் கேண்மை
மென் தோள் சாய்த்தும் சால்பு ஈன்றன்றே.
At the heart of this verse, is the sweet journey of a jackfruit! In the opening word ‘எற்றோ’ meaning ‘how is it possible?’, a sense of wonderment echoes aloud. The phrase ‘கறி வளர் அடுக்கத்து’ meaning ‘in the mountains, where pepper grows’, reveals the ideal terrain for cultivation of pepper, which is mentioned in modern articles as one, where there is copious rainfall, high temperatures and draining soil. This casual mention of pepper in the mountains in a two-thousand-year-old verse reveals the taken-for-granted gold of the land that has fuelled many a path-breaking expedition of Western explorers! Returning to the verse from our meanderings, we glimpse at ‘மங்குல் மா மழை வீழ்ந்தென’ meaning ‘as the dark clouds poured rain’, and see that essential ingredient for the growing pepper in action. From weather, the talk turns to that of wildlife and ‘a fuzzy-haired male monkey’ appears in ‘பொங்கு மயிர்க் கலை’. The sweet hero of the verse smiles at us in ‘பூ நாறு பலவுக் கனி’ meaning ‘the fruit of the jackfruit tree that wafts with the fragrance of flowers’. ‘மென் தோள் சாய்த்தும்’ meaning ‘making the soft arms thin down’ tells us that pining is afoot. Ending with the words ‘சால்பு ஈன்றன்றே’ meaning ‘it makes you feel complete’, the verse invites us to trek through these hills and sense the story within!
What do monkeys and jackfruits have got to do with the lady’s heart? The context reveals that the man and lady had been leading a love relationship and that the man had been trysting with the lady for a long while. One day, when the man arrives to visit the lady, pretending not to notice him but making sure he’s listening, the confidante says to the lady, “How can this be? May you live long, my friend! At night, on the mountainside, where pepper grows, thundering dark clouds, fully pregnant with moisture, had burst down as rain. Touched by a furry male monkey, a flower-fragrant jackfruit slips and falls into the cascades traversing down from the peaks and is brought to the river shores of the town in the man’s mountain country. Although the relationship with him has caused your soft arms to waste away, it still fills you with joy!” With these words, the confidante conveys to the listening man that the lady’s love for him was deep and true, and it was time that he took steps to marry the lady and take her home.
Time to explore the tasty morsels of this mountain song! With wonder throbbing in her voice, the confidante asks how could such a thing be possible. As is always the case with this mysterious friend, she does not reveal the cause of her amazement. Instead, she turns to describe the man’s land. The first thing she talks about is the pepper that grows in his mountains and then she turns to talk about the weather in this land. It turns out the previous night, the clouds that were rolling around with bursting wombs decided to deliver their rain children down on the land. As you can imagine, these weather conditions makes the scene wet and slippery and sure enough, when a monkey reaches out to grasp a jackfruit, it’s loosened from its twig and falls into the cascades. Fed by the heavy rains, these waterfalls are rushing downwards with much vigour and as they roll on, the jackfruit too journeys along and finds itself landing in the shores of the river, which is the spot where the town gathers its drinking water. To those coming to the river shore expecting water, wouldn’t this sweet food, handed to them, be a welcome surprise? After narrating these details as if to describe the man’s country, the confidante then returns to her initial wonderment and we understand that wonder is about the lady’s relationship with the man, which causes her arms to waste away in pining and at the same time, makes the lady complete with joy! As if asking how can these two contradictory things be caused by a single source, the confidante concludes her statement.
While that is the outward expression, the confidante means to tell something more to the man! She wishes to inform him that the lady is worrying about her relationship with him and even as that may be, her love is strong and it makes her determined to be in that relationship. In that scene of the jackfruit escaping the hands of the monkey, and journeying to be of use to the people by the river shores, the confidante is telling the man in a hidden manner that though many sought the lady, she seems to have fallen into the river of a relationship with the man and he must now, marry her and take her home, so that she can render her duty of hospitality that she was born to do! Thus, within the path this jackfruit traverses, the past, present and future of the lady is sketched with nuance and aesthetics, while also rendering to us, a song that delights all our senses!
Share your thoughts...