Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | iHeartRadio | TuneIn | RSS | More
In this episode, we perceive a subtle technique of persuasion, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 185, penned by Madurai Aruvai Vaanikan Ilavettanaar. Set in the mountains of ‘Kurinji’, the verse speaks in the voice of the lady to her confidante, in response to the confidante’s question about the lady’s changed state, even as the man was trysting with her.
”நுதல் பசப்பு இவர்ந்து, திதலை வாடி,
நெடு மென் பணைத் தோள் சாஅய், தொடி நெகிழ்ந்து,
இன்னள் ஆகுதல் நும்மின் ஆகும்” எனச்
சொல்லின், எவன் ஆம்-தோழி!-பல் வரிப்
பாம்பு பை அவிந்தது போலக் கூம்பி,
கொண்டலின் தொலைந்த ஒண் செங் காந்தள்
கல்மிசைக் கவியும் நாடற்கு, என்
நல் மா மேனி அழி படர் நிலையே?
‘It’s all because of you’ is the message this verse wants to convey. From the opening words ‘நுதல் பசப்பு இவர்ந்து’ meaning ‘pallor spreading on the forehead’, we understand that it’s a case of pining. The other symptoms follow in ‘பணைத் தோள் சாஅய்’ meaning ‘bamboo-like arms thinning’ and in ‘தொடி நெகிழ்ந்து’ meaning ‘bangles slipping away’. The phrase ‘இன்னள் ஆகுதல் நும்மின் ஆகும்’ meaning ‘she is so, because of you’ contains the core of the verse. A striking image can be seen in ‘பாம்பு பை அவிந்தது போல’ meaning ‘akin to a snake lowering its hood’. The eye-catching flower of this region is represented in ‘ஒண் செங் காந்தள்’ meaning ‘bright, red flame-lily’. ‘On the rocks, it lays’ says the phrase ‘கல்மிசைக் கவியும்’. Ending with the words ‘அழி படர் நிலையே’ meaning ‘this sorrowful state’, the verse welcomes us to listen with empathy.
Snakes slither and flame-lilies glow in this mountain song! The context reveals that the man and lady had been leading a love relationship and the man was trysting with the lady by night for a while. Even as this was happening, the confidante notices how the lady seemed to be losing health and asks her the reason why. To the confidante, the lady says, “My friend, why don’t you say, ‘Pallor spreads on the forehead; beauty spots fade; those long and soft bamboo-like arms become thin; bangles slip away; She has become thus because of you’? Appearing as if many striped snakes are lowering their hood, the luminous flame-lily shrinks and falls to the eastern winds, and then, lies scattered on the rocks in the land of the lord. Why don’t you tell him about the suffering-filled state of my fine, dark form?” With these words, the lady tells her confidante to inform the man about her state of pining, so as to nudge him in the path of seeking a formal union with the lady.
Why is the lady pining when she is, in fact, in the company of the man? To solve this mystery, let’s listen to the lady’s words closely. At first, the lady lists all her symptoms such as pallor spreading on forehead, glowing spots fading, arms thinning and bangles slipping. Then, she asks her friend to go tell about all this to the man. As is always the case, she connects to the man by rendering a description of his land, where flame lily petals appear as if striped snakes are lowering their hood and which, are then attacked by the eastern winds, making the radiant flame-lilies lie scattered on the rocks in the man’s mountain country. Doing an image search on a flame-lily will leave you wowed by the aptness of that comparison between hooded snakes and the flower’s petals. Returning, the lady concludes by saying the confidante must talk to the man about her ruined state.
To get to the core of the message, we have to zoom in on the scene of the flame-lilies. The attack of the eastern winds on the flame-lily is a metaphor for words of slander spoken by the village about the lady’s relationship with the man, which makes the lady lose her health further, akin to the scattered petals of a flame-lily on a mountain rock. Even as this metaphor becomes clear, we mustn’t forget another striking comparison in this scene. That image of snakes lowering their hoods infuses an element of danger and this symbolises the dangers the man faces in his nightly path, as he comes to tryst with the lady.
In short, the reason for the lady’s changes, even in the joyful company of the man, is the worry about the dangers he faces every night as he comes to see her. When the confidante shares about the lady’s changed state, the man too will wonder what could be wrong and then he would understand the lady’s anxiety about his safety and the love and care concealed in that worry. This would in turn make him give up the temporary pleasures of trysting and go towards finding permanent happiness by seeking the lady’s hand in marriage. And so, by expressing the simple thought of ‘I worry about you’, the long and winding path to true happiness is paved in this verse that vividly paints the many hues of the evergreen emotional landscape.
Share your thoughts...