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In this episode, we perceive a unique way of allaying anxiety about separation, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 137, penned by Paalai Paadiya Perunkadunko. The verse is situated in the drylands of ‘Paalai’ and speaks in the voice of the man to the lady, in response to her fears about his parting away.
மெல் இயல் அரிவை! நின் நல் அகம் புலம்ப,
நிற் துறந்து அமைகுவென்ஆயின்-எற் துறந்து
இரவலர் வாரா வைகல்
பல ஆகுக!-யான் செலவுறு தகவே.
‘It’s inevitable but I don’t want it’ is the secret message encoded here. The opening words ‘மெல் இயல் அரிவை’ meaning ‘soft-natured young girl’ celebrate the character and youth of the female protagonist. In ‘நிற் துறந்து அமைகுவென்ஆயின்’, stands an if-clause talking about ‘the condition wherein I were to stay away, parting away from you’, a thought not welcome in the lady’s mind, no doubt. ‘இரவலர் வாரா வைகல்’ talks about ‘a day when supplicants do not arrive’, making us wonder about the importance of this mention. Ending with the words ‘யான் செலவுறு தகவே’ meaning ‘the state of having to travel away’, the verse invites us to know more!
A verse unusually bereft of any references to the natural world! The context reveals that the man had met the lady and fallen in love with her. The lady, too, reciprocates his feelings. After their union, the man senses the fear in his lady that he would leave her. To the lady, the man says, “O gentle young maiden! Making your good heart lonely, if I happen to forsake you and part away, then let the days when supplicants forsake me and stay away be many – for that deed of leaving you and journeying on!” With these words, the man reassures the lady that he has no intention to part away but if he has to, he will do all to return to her, without delay.
What has a man’s parting away got to do with supplicants staying away? Let’s listen closely to the man’s words to unravel the mystery. The man makes a simple statement to his gentle, young lady. He says that if he had to leave the lady, then may no supplicant come to his door for many days. This statement has the tone of a punishment to the man for hurting the lady and choosing to part away instead of keeping her happy.
Isn’t it puzzling to see that the man wants people seeking something from him every day? In modern times, especially when living in cities, if someone or the other were to come home every day asking for food or favour, wouldn’t that be considered an annoyance? Whereas here, that is celebrated as the best possible state. From this, we can infer that Sangam people considered a day spent without helping another person as a day wasted. When the man wishes such a state on himself, the lady would feel reassured that the man cares much for her and wouldn’t part away unless there was a strong reason for the same. A tiny verse that goes on to demonstrate the vast generosity of the people in the Sangam era, seeds of which live on in the renowned Tamil hospitality of today!
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