In this episode, we listen to words that bring about transformation, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Kalithogai 45, penned by Kabilar. The verse is situated in the ‘Kurinji’ or ‘Mountains landscape’ and relays good tidings to the lady.

விடியல் வெங் கதிர் காயும் வேய் அமல் அகல் அறை,
கடி சுனை கவினிய காந்தள் அம் குலையினை,
அரும் மணி அவிர் உத்தி அரவு நீர் உணல் செத்து,
பெரும் மலை மிளிர்ப்பன்ன காற்றுடைக் கனை பெயல்
உருமுக் கண்ணுறுதலின், உயர் குரல் ஒலி ஓடி,
நறு வீய நனஞ் சாரல் சிலம்பலின், கதுமென,
சிறுகுடி துயில் எழூஉம் சேண் உயர் விறல் வெற்ப!

கால் பொர நுடங்கல கறங்கு இசை அருவி நின்
மால் வரை மலி சுனை மலர் ஏய்க்கும் என்பதோ
புல் ஆராப் புணர்ச்சியால் புலம்பிய என் தோழி
பல் இதழ் மலர் உண்கண் பசப்ப, நீ சிதைத்ததை?

புகர் முகக் களிறொடு புலி பொருது உழக்கும் நின்
அகல் மலை அடுக்கத்த அமை ஏய்க்கும் என்பதோ
கடை எனக் கலுழும் நோய் கைம்மிக, என் தோழி
தடையின திரண்ட தோள் தகை வாட, சிதைத்ததை?

சுடர் உற உற நீண்ட சுரும்பு இமிர் அடுக்கத்த
விடர் வரை எரி வேங்கை இணர் ஏய்க்கும் என்பதோ?
யாமத்தும் துயிலலள் அலமரும் என் தோழி
காமரு நல் எழில் கவின் வாட, சிதைத்ததை?

என ஆங்கு,
தன் தீமை பல கூறிக் கழறலின், என் தோழி
மறையில் தான் மருவுற மணந்த நட்பு அருகலான்,
பிறை புரை நுதல்! அவர்ப் பேணி நம்
உறை வரைந்தனர், அவர் உவக்கும் நாளே.

Another case of the confidante sketching the situation to the man. The words can be translated as follows:

“Blocking the pleasant rays of the early morning sun, bamboos spread densely in the wide spaces, where adding beauty to the fragrant spring therein, blooms the flame-lily. Mistaking the flower clusters as a gem-spotted, lined hood of a snake drinking water, as if toppling the huge mountain, along with winds and a heavy downpour, thunder roars as clouds dash against each other, making that loud sound echo all around the fragrant, wide mountain slopes. Startled by this sudden sound, those sleeping in the little hamlets sit up awake in the lofty, soaring victorious mountain of yours!

My friend laments for togetherness with you that never diminishes in warmth. Is it because her many-petaled, flower-like, kohl-streaked eyes are like the flowers that bloom in the brimming pond of your towering hill, where even when winds blow forcefully, without swaying from their path, resounding cascades descend, that you made pallor spread on it and ruined it so?

My friend cries thinking it’s the end as her love affliction becomes unmanageable. Is it because her thick and curving arms are like the bamboos in your wide mountain ranges, where a tiger attacks and agitates an elephant with a spotted face, that you made it fade and ruined it so?

My friend sleeps not even at midnight filled with suffering. Is it because her desirable, fine beauty is like the flame-like flower clusters of the ‘Kino’ tree in your wide mountain, where hills soar as if they are about to touch the sun and where bees buzz around, that you made it fade and ruined it so?

And so, as I spoke of many such terrible wrongs he has done and chided him so, he decided to make his secret trysting with you scarce, O maiden with a crescent-like forehead, and instead came seeking your hand to our kin. They too welcomed him and decided on a day that would bring great joy to him!”

Time to delve into the nuances. The verse is situated in the context of a man’s love relationship with his lady prior to marriage. These words are uttered by the confidante to the lady, comprising within the words the confidante spoke to the man earlier. The confidante starts by describing the man’s mountain country as one filled with dense bamboo stalks that prevent the passing through of the gentle rays of the sun, and there, flame-lilies bloom near the picturesque springs. Seeing this flame-lily near the water and mistaking it to be a hooded snake about to take a sip, thunder roars so loudly that it makes the people living in the villages sit up startled, says the confidante. This is just to describe the man’s mountain country but within this description, we see how thunder is personified as having anger against a snake and this echoes the belief in Sangam people about the ingrained enmity between snakes and thunder that we have seen in many other songs. Also, we can note this interesting quirk in Sangam poets of focusing more on the sound aspect, which is thunder, rather than the flashier aspect of a lightning in this weather phenomenon.

Returning, the confidante continues with further depictions of the man’s country in her three layered format talking about the steady cascades descending town, mountains where tigers and elephants clash uproariously and were the hills were so tall they seem to touch the sun. Then, she asks the man whether his lack of grace to the lady was because the lady’s eyes were like the flowers in the ponds of his domain, the lady’s arms were like the bamboos growing there, and her beauty was like that of the fire-like Kino flowers. She means to ask whether the man thought how dare the lady be so beautiful as his country and that’s why he made the lady’s beauty fade and ruined it so! Another way of conveying to the man the distress in the lady’s heart and nudging him in the right direction. The confidante continues by saying that after hearing all this, the man decided that he should cease his secret trysting and instead seek the lady’s hand. When he did that, the lady’s kin accepted his request and have even decided on a wedding day that would bring great joy to the man, the confidante concludes. And thus, the confidante relays the success of her mission in changing the man’s mind, thereby bringing lasting joy to the lady. A friend, who is indeed a fortune to have in one’s life!