In this episode, we listen to an animated conversation, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Kalithogai 39, penned by Kabilar. The verse is situated in the ‘Kurinji’ or ‘Mountains landscape’ and sketches the events around revealing a lady’s love to her kin.

‘காமர் கடும் புனல் கலந்து எம்மோடு ஆடுவாள்,
தாமரைக்கண் புதைத்து, அஞ்சித் தளர்ந்து, அதனோடு ஒழுகலான்,
நீள் நாக நறுந் தண் தார் தயங்கப் பாய்ந்து, அருளினால்,
பூண் ஆகம் உறத் தழீஇப் போத்தந்தான் அகன் அகலம்
வரு முலை புணர்ந்தன என்பதனால், என் தோழி
அரு மழை தரல் வேண்டின் தருகிற்கும் பெருமையளே

அவனும்தான், ஏனல் இதணத்து அகிற் புகை உண்டு இயங்கும்
வான் ஊர் மதியம் வரை சேரின், அவ் வரை,
“தேனின் இறால்” என, ஏணி இழைத்திருக்கும்
கான் அகல் நாடன் மகன்

சிறுகுடியீரே! சிறுகுடியீரே!
வள்ளி கீழ் வீழா; வரைமிசைத் தேன் தொடா;
கொல்லை குரல் வாங்கி ஈனா மலை வாழ்நர்
அல்ல புரிந்து ஒழுகலான்
காந்தள் கடி கமழும், கண் வாங்கு, இருஞ் சிலம்பின்
வாங்கு அமை மென் தோட் குறவர் மட மகளிர்
தாம் பிழையார், கேள்வர்த் தொழுது எழலால், தம் ஐயரும்
தாம் பிழையார் தாம் தொடுத்த கோல்’

என ஆங்கு,
அறத்தொடு நின்றேனைக் கண்டு, திறப்பட
என்னையர்க்கு உய்த்து உரைத்தாள், யாய்
அவரும் தெரி கணை நோக்கி, சிலை நோக்கி, கண் சேந்து,
ஒரு பகல் எல்லாம் உருத்து எழுந்து, ஆறி,
‘இருவர்கண் குற்றமும் இல்லையால்’ என்று,
தெருமந்து சாய்த்தார் தலை
தெரியிழாய்! நீயும் நின் கேளும் புணர,
வரை உறை தெய்வம் உவப்ப, உவந்து
குரவை தழீஇ யாம் ஆட, குரவையுள்
கொண்டுநிலை பாடிக்காண்

தலைவியின் மறுமொழி
நல்லாய்!
நல் நாள் தலைவரும் எல்லை, நமர் மலைத்
தம் நாண் தாம் தாங்குவார், என் நோற்றனர்கொல்?
புன வேங்கைத் தாது உறைக்கும் பொன் அறை முன்றில்,
நனவில் புணர்ச்சி நடக்குமாம் அன்றோ?
நனவில் புணர்ச்சி நடக்கலும், ஆங்கே
கனவில் புணர்ச்சி கடிதுமாம் அன்றோ?

தோழி கூற்று
விண் தோய் கல் நாடனும் நீயும் வதுவையுள்
பண்டு அறியாதீர் போல் படர்கிற்பீர்மன் கொலோ?
பண்டு அறியாதீர் போல் படர்ந்தீர் பழங் கேண்மை
கண்டு அறியாதேன் போல் கரக்கிற்பென்மன் கொலோ?
மை தவழ் வெற்பன் மண அணி காணாமல்
கையால் புதை பெறூஉம் கண்களும் கண்களோ?

தலைவியின் மறுமொழி
என்னை மன் நின் கண்ணால் காண்பென்மன், யான்

மீண்டும் தோழி உரைத்தல்
நெய்தல் இதழ் உண்கண் நின் கண் ஆக, என் கண் மன!
என ஆங்கு,
நெறி அறி செறி குறி புரி திரிபு அறியா அறிவனை முந்துறீஇ,
தகை மிகு தொகை வகை அறியும் சான்றவர் இனமாக,
வேய் புரை மென் தோட் பசலையும், அம்பலும்,
மாயப் புணர்ச்சியும், எல்லாம் உடன் நீங்க,
சேய் உயர் வெற்பனும் வந்தனன்;
பூ எழில் உண் கணும் பொலிகமா, இனியே!

A unique format containing multiple exchanges between two women! The words can be translated as follows:

“In the picturesque, gushing stream, she was playing with all of us. Suddenly, she was pulled by the current, and closing her lotus-like eyes, with fear, she lost control and was floating away. Just then, making his moist and fragrant garland woven with ironwood flowers sway, he leapt and rendering his grace, he enveloped her bejewelled bosom and brought her to safety. Since his wide chest embraced her bosom, now my friend has attained the pride of bringing down precious rain, if she so wishes.

To tell more about him: From upraised lofts in the millet fields, agarwood smoke rises. If the sky-high moon reaches the mountains there, thinking that the moon enveloped by the smoke is a honeycomb, they would mount a ladder to fetch the nectar in the forest-filled wide mountain country of theirs and he is the son of this country’s lord!

O people of the little hamlet! O people of the little hamlet! Tubers will not sprout underneath anymore; Honeycombs will not cover the mountain tops anymore; Stalks of millets will not flourish anymore; All because those who are living in this mountain have done a wrong deed. In this wide mountain valley, capturing the eyes of all, bloom the fragrant flame-lilies, and only because the naive mountain maiden with gentle, curving arms never miss their virtue in honouring their husbands, their kin never miss the mark, when they aim their arrows!

I said all this clearly, standing with virtue, to my mother, and she too expressed it to your mother. When your mother in turn took it to your father and brothers, they spent an entire day, with reddened eyes, gazing at their bows and their speeding arrows, and then finally calmed down, and rose to say, ‘No fault to be found in them both’, and nodded their heads in assent, O maiden wearing well-etched ornaments! For you and your love to be united, delighting the god that resides in the hills, let us embrace and perform the ‘Kuravai’ dance and sing about our state within!

Lady’s Response:

O good maiden! Until the good day arrives, those who can bear their shame in our hill, what penance did they do? Upon the golden-hued front yard, where the Indian Kino tree sheds its pollen, won’t I unite with him for real? When it happens for real, won’t my dreams of togetherness with him fade?

Confidante’s Words:

At the time of the wedding, will you and the man from the sky-high mountains pretend to not know each other in the past? If you pretend not to know each other in the past, should I too be as if I do not know your old relationship? Are those eyes, which cover themselves, without relishing the wedding joy shining on the face of the mountain lord, to be called eyes?

Lady’s Response:

I will take in the sight of my lord through your eyes!

Confidante’s Conclusion:

Let your blue-lotus-like, petalled, kohl-streaked eyes turn into my eyes!

And so,

When, understanding the right path, finding the right day, the man who knows not to make mistakes, arrives along with knowledgeable people, the pallor on your bamboo-like arms, the gossip and all the illusory togetherness will vanish. For the lord of the high mountains is about to arrive. May your flower-like, kohl-streaked eyes shine with joy now!”

Let’s delve into the details. The verse is situated in the context of a love relationship between the man and the lady, prior to marriage, and specifically on revealing the lady’s love relationship to her family. Both the confidante and the lady render their voices in this verse. The confidante starts the conversation by narrating the scene when the lady and man had met. The lady was playing in the river with her friends when suddenly she lost control and was pulled by the current. Just then, a young man leapt into the water, rescued her, hugging her jewel-clad bosom close to his chest. The confidante declares that because they both were united so, her friend, the lady had acquired the pride and power of bringing down rain whenever she so wished. This statement may be difficult to understand for many but what it implies is, the moment the lady was embraced by the man, she had accepted him as her partner for life and thereby assumed an aura of chastity, which had the power of making it rain as per one’s wish. People from the western world would be puzzled thinking ‘Should making it rain be considered a noble quality?’ Well, in a land, which looks up to the sky and its rains for the prospering of its wealth, it sure was considered a noble trait! 

Returning, the confidante continues her tale and now turns to talk about who the man was. She says he comes from a mountain country, where seeing the moon amidst the agarwood smoke that rises from the lofts on the millet fields, they would think it was a honeycomb and would place a ladder to go fetch that honey. The metaphorical implication of this description is that the man comes from a land where they would dare to even bring the moon to their home.

Next, the confidante goes on to tell all the bad things that are going to happen in their mountain village, saying tubers will not grow anymore, honeycombs will not spread anymore and stalks of millet will not flourish either. All because the people had done one wrong deed. She reminds the listeners that men of the mountain never miss their marks only because their maiden were such chaste women, who never failed to worship their partners! At this time, she reveals she has been saying these words to none other than her mother, who happens to be the friend of the lady’s mother. We then see a communication relay between the confidante’s mother and the lady’s mother, and thereafter, between the lady’s mother and the lady’s father and brothers. When the men receive the news, they feel angered at first, reddened their eyes become, and they sit pondering over it for a day, and then realise there’s no mistake on the part of the lady and the man. This tells us that the lady’s family had refused the man, when he came seeking the lady’s hand, and the confidante is solving that issue by revealing the lady’s relationship with the man. Narrating all this to the lady, the confidante invites her to perform a ‘Kuravai’ dance of prayer wishing for the happy union of the man and the lady.

As they are dancing, the lady asks, how can those who said no to the man bear their shame till the day comes? She imagines how she would unite with the man for real, in their front yard, where the Kino tree sheds its pollen. She asks would that really happen, and when that happens, will all her dreams of being with him vanish, replaced by the real? The confidante teases the lady asking whether the man and the lady would pretend not to know each other, and whether she too should pretend not to know about their past? Then she further pulls the lady’s legs saying, can the eyes which do not enjoy the sight of the man in his wedding glory be called eyes, implying if the lady is going to sit with her eyes bent, not daring to look up, how will she see the man and his joy? To that question, the lady replies that she would see the joy in the man with her friend’s eyes, and the confidante too agrees to let her eyes be the lady’s on that joyous occasion.

The confidante concludes these exchanges by summing up how the right things are happening and soon the man will find the auspicious day to come marry the lady, along with all the wise elders, and that will make the lady’s pallor and the town’s rumours disappear. The confidante ends with a blessing for the lady’s eyes to shine with joy for the man would be there soon, to be united with the lady!

In this verse, we witness a play-style narrative, with flashback, dialogues and dance. We also infer how doing right by love was considered critical for the well-being of many aspects of their entire world, such as their plants, produce and their prosperity. But most of all, we understand the role of the confidante in guiding the lady and her family in the right path that leads to both the lady’s happiness and justice to them all, according to their principles of life. In a subtle way, the role of women as peace-makers and joy-bringers is highlighted and this makes me think, our warring world could surely use more of this ‘she’ power!