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In this episode, we listen to a heartfelt request to ensure the welfare of a friend, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 115, penned by Kabilar. Situated in the mountains of ‘Kurinji’, the verse speaks in the voice of the confidante to the man, as he prepares to elope away with the lady.
பெரு நன்று ஆற்றின், பேணாரும் உளரே?
ஒரு நன்று உடையள் ஆயினும், புரி மாண்டு,
புலவி தீர அளிமதி-இலை கவர்பு,
ஆடு அமை ஒழுகிய தண் நறுஞ் சாரல்,
மென்நடை மரையா துஞ்சும்
நன் மலை நாட!-நின் அலது இலளே.
‘Take good care’ is the thoughtful message at the core! Beginning with abstractions, the verse talks about ‘பெரு நன்று ஆற்றின்’ meaning ‘if someone were to do a great good’. This is then contrasted with ‘ஒரு நன்று உடையள்’ meaning ‘she, who does only a little good’. In the words ‘அளிமதி’ meaning ‘protect and grace her’ is the essence of the request mentioned. From these matters of the heart, the verse moves on to tangible elements in ‘ஆடு அமை’ meaning ‘dancing bamboos’ and ‘மென்நடை மரையா’ meaning ‘soft-footed wild bison’. Ending with the words ‘நின் அலது இலளே’ meaning ‘she has no other but you’, the verse throbs with emotion.
What could be the occasion that makes the confidante say these deep words? The context reveals that the man and lady had been leading a love relationship and that the man decides that the only way to preserve their relationship was to elope away to his village. Accepting the situation, the confidante convinces the lady and brings her to the spot where the man and lady would commence their journey. As the man prepares to leave, the confidante says to him, “Is there anyone, who would not celebrate that person who has done immense good to them? Even if she does but little for you, with ceaseless love, without quarrel, you must protect her. Savouring leaves on dancing bamboos perched neatly in the cool and fragrant slopes, the soft-footed wild bison sleeps in your good mountains, O lord! Remember, she has no-one but you.” With these words, the confidante stresses to the man, the vulnerable state of the lady, and expresses a wish that he take care of the lady now and always.
Time to delve into the nuances! It’s an abstract rhetorical question that the confidante throws to the man. Say someone does another a lot of good, isn’t it natural and obvious for this person to be celebrated? Indeed, it’s impossible to disregard the importance of a person who has done immense good to us! Concealing a subtle ‘however’, the confidante continues and tells the man even if the lady cannot be that person who does so much good and even if all she can do is a little, still the man must celebrate her with undiminished love, and without any quarrel, he must care for her. By this, the confidante means, now when the lady is young and when she brings so much to the man’s life, it may be easy to cherish her. But, the confidante asks the man to look beyond the rosy periods of youth. Even in that old age, when the lady may not have much to offer to him, the man must continue to take the same good care of her, the confidante insists.
To describe the man’s mountain country, she talks about a bison that walks with gentle foot steps and one that seeks the leaves on the dancing bamboos and ends with the image of this bison sleeping peacefully in the hills of his domain. In that scene of the content bison sleeping, the confidante projects her wish for the lady to find all the comfort and security she needs in the man’s home. She ends with the final words that all the lady has, is the man! The verse marks a poignant moment when a lady leaves all the comfort and security of her birthplace and journeys only with the trust in the one she loves. It’s this feeling that the confidante shines the light upon to the man and hopes the man will remember this trust and love in the lady and render his protection not just when it’s easy to do so, in youth, but also, when it will be harder, with age! Is it a question relevant only to this man eloping with his lady in the Sangam period? Rather, it seems to be a question for all time, which can be asked of anyone, beginning their life’s journey with another!
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