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In this episode, we perceive a case of mistakes and their consequences, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 121, penned by Kabilar. Set in the mountains of ‘Kurinji’, the verse speaks in the voice of the lady to the confidante, conveying how she had been disappointed once before, mistaking sounds around for the man’s call to tryst.
மெய்யே, வாழி தோழி-சாரல்
மைப் பட்டன்ன மா முக முசுக்கலை
ஆற்றப் பாயாத் தப்பல் ஏற்ற
கோட்டொடு போகியாங்கு, நாடன்
தான் குறி வாயாத் தப்பற்குத்
தாம் பசந்தன, என் தட மென் தோளே.
‘Are you sure?’ is the doubt-ridden question in this one! Right at the beginning, this feeling is evident as can be seen in the words ‘மெய்யே, வாழி தோழி’ meaning ‘Is it true? May you live long, my friend’. The phrase ‘மா முக முசுக்கலை’ talks specifically about the ‘the male of a monkey with a black face’, possibly referring to a ‘Gray Langur’, found extensively in India. Two mentions of mistakes occur here – one, ‘the mistake of jumping without knowing the strength’ in ‘ஆற்றப் பாயாத் தப்பல்’ and two, ‘the mistaking of a trysting call’ in ‘குறி வாயாத் தப்பல்’. Let’s explore the bridge between these two shortly. Ending with the words ‘தாம் பசந்தன, என் தட மென் தோளே’ meaning ‘my curved and gentle arms have started pining’, the verse invites us to listen with empathy.
What do these glimpses of jumping monkeys and pining arms mean? The context reveals that the man and lady were leading a love relationship and were trysting for a while. To meet each other, they had agreed on a signal call. One day, hearing other sounds, the lady goes to the spot, thinking it’s the man calling her and comes back disappointed. Later, her confidante comes to her and announces the arrival of the man. To her friend, the lady says, “If it’s true, may you live long, my friend! In the slopes, there lives a male monkey, having a black-face as if kohl had been streaked over. Akin to this monkey, which makes the mistake of misjudging a branch’s strength and falls down with it, the man from the mountains made the mistake of not sending out the right call. And so, in pining they are – these curved, soft arms of mine!” With these words, the lady expresses to the confidante, her anxiety about whether the man had truly arrived to tryst with her.
Kohl-faced monkeys seem to be chattering about an intricate tale! Listening to the lady’s words closely, we hear her ask her friend with a certain hesitation in her voice that could the news her friend brings to her be true. Setting aside this question, the lady takes us to the mountain slopes and points to a denizen of this domain – a monkey with an appearance as if kohl, used to darken one’s eyes, has been spread all over its face. She also mentions that it’s a male monkey that she’s talking about. From the noun, the lady moves in the direction of the verb and describes what this monkey has been up to. Apparently, in its leaping to and fro, the monkey seems to have misjudged how strong a particular branch was and as a result, ends up falling down along with that branch. Now, we know why the lady chose a ‘male monkey’, for ‘female monkeys’ are known for their better judgement and are sure to avoid such mistakes! Returning to the central theme, the lady turns to talk about her special person and says because the man did not choose the right signal for their trysting, like those branches, her arms have become ruined with pining!
As I read and absorbed this verse, the English proverb ‘once bitten, twice shy’ kept popping in my head. Because of her prior disappointment, the lady looks upon the news of the man’s arrival, as announced by the confidante, with suspicion. Hopefully, the confidante knows the right words to reassure the lady about the arrival of her man. Another fascinating facet is how any incident of sadness seems to have an immediate physical reaction in the lady. Here she was disappointed because the man did not arrive and that’s surely in the realm of emotions but she then mentions that this causes her arms to start pining and lose their health instantly. Modern science has revealed to us that the mind is powerful and could be the origin of many of our physical ailments. But, in Sangam verses, this power of the mind is even more accentuated, in its instantaneous effects on the body. Perhaps, we could take this as a wise pointer from the past and probe the corners of our mind to truly resolve the many inexplicable illnesses of our body!
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