Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | iHeartRadio | TuneIn | RSS | More
In this episode, we listen to an angry outburst, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 336, penned by Paavai Kottilaar. The verse is situated amidst the lush ponds of the ‘Marutham’ or ‘Farmlands landscape’ and highlights the romantic rivalries in a rich town.
குழற் கால் சேம்பின் கொழு மடல் அகல் இலைப்
பாசிப் பரப்பில் பறழொடு வதிந்த
உண்ணாப் பிணவின் உயக்கம் சொலிய,
நாள் இரை தரீஇய எழுந்த நீர் நாய்
வாளையொடு உழப்ப, துறை கலுழ்ந்தமையின்,
தெண் கட் தேறல் மாந்தி, மகளிர்
நுண் செயல் அம் குடம் இரீஇ, பண்பின்
மகிழ்நன் பரத்தைமை பாடி, அவிழ் இணர்க்
காஞ்சி நீழல் குரவை அயரும்
தீம் பெரும் பொய்கைத் துறை கேழ் ஊரன்
தேர் தர வந்த நேர் இழை மகளிர்
ஏசுப என்ப, என் நலனே; அதுவே
பாகன் நெடிது உயிர் வாழ்தல் காய் சினக்
கொல் களிற்று யானை நல்கல்மாறே;
தாமும் பிறரும் உளர்போல் சேறல்
முழவு இமிழ் துணங்கை தூங்கும் விழவின்,
யான் அவண் வாராமாறே; வரினே, வானிடைச்
சுடரொடு திரிதரும் நெருஞ்சி போல,
என்னொடு திரியானாயின், வென் வேல்
மாரி அம்பின் மழைத் தோற் சோழர்
வில் ஈண்டு குறும்பின் வல்லத்துப் புற மிளை,
ஆரியர் படையின் உடைக, என்
நேர் இறை முன்கை வீங்கிய வளையே!
In this long trip to the fertile domain, we get to see many sights and also take a historic detour, as we listen to the new courtesan, say these words to herself, making sure the friends of the old courtesan, are in earshot:
“Amidst the Taro plant, with thick stalks, wide leaves and tubular stems, covered in moss, lives the starving female otter, along with its young ones. So as to slay its sorrow, and bring back the day’s food, the male otter tussles with the scabbard fish, and muddies the river shore. Waiting for this cloudy water to settle, young maiden drop down their intricately etched beautiful pots, and drinking clear, filtered toddy, talk about their husbands’ nature of roving with courtesans. In the shade of the Portia tree, with fully bloomed flower clusters, they perform the ‘Kuravai’ dance, and relax by the shores, filled with huge ponds, having sweet waters, in the town of the lord!
People say that those maiden, wearing well-etched ornaments, who arrived in the lord’s chariot, speak ill of my beauty. Akin to how a mahout lives a long life, only because the furious, killer elephant he wields never thinks of harming him, they do such things, owing to my grace. All this has transpired only because they and those like them joined together and took part in the drum-roaring festivities, filled with ‘Thunangai’ dances, and I happened to not go there. Had I gone there, akin to how the Caltrop flower follows the flame in the sky, he would have come behind me, mesmerised. If what I say isn’t true, then akin to the army of the Aryas, in the protected forests around the fort in the town of Vallam, guarded by many bows, ruled by the Chozhas, who wield victorious spears, rain-like arrows and raincloud-like shields, let the thick rows of bangles on my forearms with perfect wrists, shatter away!”
Let’s watch the sparks fly in this land of plenty! The new courtesan starts by describing the lord’s town, and to do that, she zooms on to an otter family living amidst the Taro plants and mossy rocks. We find a female with young ones languishing in hunger. To allay its mate’s suffering, the male otter sets out to find some good food, and in the process, ends up thrashing about with a scabbard fish. That pond where all this action is unfolding, naturally becomes muddy. Now, the town’s maiden, who come there to fetch water, seeing the disturbed waves, put down their pots, decide to drink up some toddy, and indulge in a bit of husband-bashing, talking about how their men seemed to rove around with courtesans. Then, leaving them to be, these maiden sing and dance ‘Kuravai’ and relax in the shade of the Portia tree. Sounds like girlfriends partying!
Returning, after that lively description of the man’s town, the new courtesan mentions how she has heard that the old courtesan and her friends had been speaking disparagingly of her beauty. The new courtesan connects the way a mahout enjoys a long life only because he is unharmed by his killer elephant to her forgiving the arrogance of that old courtesan and her group. Then, she thinks back to a festivity that recently unfolded in town with loud drums, and how she was not present at that event, while the old courtesan and her set had gone there and danced the ‘thunnagai’ dance with the man. The new courtesan says, if at all she had gone there, the man would have had eyes for no-one else, and would have followed her, exactly like how a ‘Nerunji’ flower follows the sun wherever it’s in the sky. Then, the new courtesan concludes this statement with an oath saying that if what she said wasn’t true, then let her bangles be shattered like the army of Aryas, in the hands of the mighty Chozha army at Vallam!
In essence, a boast about oneself to pay back the deriding words of another! Apart from these silly fights over a man, there are two interesting nuggets in this verse. One is historic in nature, talking about the defeat of Aryan armies, meaning invasion from the north, in the hands of the South Indian Chozha kings. Another is botanical in nature, revealing the principle of ‘Heliotropism’, in which a flower follows the position of the sun in the sky. This is most vividly observed in sunflowers, and in this verse, we learn that this ‘Nerunji’ flower, also known as ‘Caltrop’, ‘Devil’s thorn’ or ‘Goatherd’ is also one such, dancing to the tune of the orb in the sky! Some light on the awe-evoking aspects of our natural world amidst a ladies’ fight!
