In this episode, we listen to an anguished question, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Kalithogai 72, penned by Maruthan Ilanaakanaar. The verse is situated in the ‘Marutham’ or ‘Farmlands landscape’ and provides insight about the prominent workers in a town setting.

இணைபட நிவந்த நீல மென் சேக்கையுள்,
துணை புணர் அன்னத்தின் தூவி மெல் அணை அசைஇ,
சேடு இயல் வள்ளத்துப் பெய்த பால் சில காட்டி,
ஊடும் மென் சிறு கிளி உணர்ப்பவள் முகம் போல,
புது நீர புதல் ஒற்றப் புணர் திரைப் பிதிர் மல்க,
மதி நோக்கி அலர் வீத்த ஆம்பல் வால் மலர் நண்ணி,
கடி கயத் தாமரைக் கமழ் முகை, கரை மாவின்
வடி தீண்ட, வாய் விடூஉம் வயல் அணி நல் ஊர!

கண்ணி, நீ கடி கொண்டார்க் கனைதொறும், யாம் அழ,
பண்ணினால் களிப்பிக்கும் பாணன் காட்டு என்றானோ
‘பேணான்’ என்று உடன்றவர் உகிர் செய்த வடுவினான்,
மேல் நாள், நின் தோள் சேர்ந்தார் நகை சேர்ந்த இதழினை?

நாடி நின் தூது ஆடி, துறை செல்லாள், ஊரவர்
ஆடை கொண்டு ஒலிக்கும், நின் புலைத்தி காட்டு என்றாளோ
கூடியார் புனல் ஆடப் புணை ஆய மார்பினில்
ஊடியார் எறிதர ஒளி விட்ட அரக்கினை?

வெறிது நின் புகழ்களை வேண்டார் இல் எடுத்து ஏத்தும்
அறிவுடை அந்தணன் அவளைக் காட்டு என்றானோ
களி பட்டார் கமழ் கோதை கயம்பட்ட உருவின்மேல்
குறி பெற்றார் குரற் கூந்தற் கோடு உளர்ந்த துகளினை?

என ஆங்கு
செறிவுற்றேம், எம்மை நீ செறிய; அறிவுற்று,
அழிந்து உகு நெஞ்சத்தேம்; அல்லல் உழப்ப;
கழிந்தவை உள்ளாது, கண்ட இடத்தே,
அழிந்து நிற் பேணிக் கொளலின் இழிந்ததோ
இந் நோய் உழத்தல் எமக்கு?

As in the previous song, though some interpreters consider this as the rendition of a concubine, I can only hear the lady’s voice in these words, which can be translated as follows:

“Upon a blue mattress with many layers, filled with the feathers of a swan that had happily united with its mate, placing soft pillows and bringing a well-crafted vessel with little milk, a lady feeds her delicate little parrot that was sulking with her. Akin to her blooming face, with bushes caressed by fresh waters, with the spray showering from the waves, near the flowers of a white water-lily that has bloomed facing the moon, a fragrant lotus bud blooms open, when a swaying tender mango fruit grazes against it, in the field-filled town of yours, O lord!

Did your bard, who delights you with his songs in the houses of those whom you seek, leaving me to cry, ask you to show to me, the wounds made by the nails of those who decided that you don’t care for them anymore and the marks of those whom you united with, the next day, as they smiled and left imprints of their lips on your arms?

Did your washerwoman, who became a messenger for you, shirking her duty of going to the river-shore to wash the clothes of the townsfolk, ask you to show to me, the marks of the glowing red lacquer thrown by those sulking with you, because you let other women in the stream play with your handsome chest as their raft?

Did that wise priest, who sings and upholds your praises needlessly in the homes of those who care not, ask you to show to me, the pollen that had shed from the thick tresses of the maiden, who attained your grace, as you caressed her hair, when she embraced you with delight and mangled her fragrant garland?

And so, I attained your grace when you united with me back then. Now, understanding it all, my heart breaks in sorrow; Even though I suffer so, not thinking about what has happened, whenever I see you, I break down and accept you. Isn’t this more disgraceful than suffering with that pain?”

Time to delve into the nuances. The verse is situated in the context of a love-quarrel between the man and the lady, owing to the man’s seeking courtesans, and speaks in the voice of the lady to her man. The lady starts as custom, with a description of the man’s town, where she first talks about a woman, who is placing pillows on blue mattress made with the feathers of a swan. The nuanced point I noticed here was the mention that this swan was one, which had happily mated with its companion. This made me think of the advertising tag I have seen: ‘Milk from Happy Cows’, and also about a monitoring device to note the stress levels of pigs, raised for their meat. Like the scientific food researchers of today, the Sangam folks too seem to have believed that one’s sleep would be peaceful if the feathers came from a happy swan!

Returning, we find the lady setting up the pillows on this bed and bringing a bowl of milk so as to feed her pet parrot that had been angry with her for some reason. Imagine how her face would glow with love and care! Just that way, a lotus flower had bloomed open because a tender mango fruit that was hanging low over it, caressed it, the lady says, and connects this scene to the man’s town. Then, she goes on to talk about three different people in this town: the bard, who sings in the houses of the women the man desires; the washerwoman, who sometimes turns a messenger for the man, instead of carrying out her usual duties of washing clothes for the townsfolk; and a priest, who sings praises of the man’s goodness in places they don’t care about it, meaning the lady’s home. She asks the man if the bard, the washerwoman and the priest asked him to show the signs of his being with other women, such as the scars made by courtesans he had angered and the imprints of the ones who has smiled on his arms; the marks of red lacquer thrown by some courtesans angered because the man played with other courtesans in the river stream, and finally, the pollen that had fallen on the man’s shoulders from the tresses of the courtesans he embraced. The lady concludes saying, even though all this is true, and she suffers so, whenever she sees the man, she accepts him and wonders aloud if that isn’t more disgraceful than the pain of suffering the man leaves her with!

Apart from the usual cries of the lady about the man’s infidelity, in this verse, we get a tiny glimpse of the different professions in an agricultural town, such as the bard, the priest and the washerwoman, and how they all seem to be dependant on the grace of the man, for in addition to their professional duties, they seem to take up the additional ones of celebrating the man and acting as his messenger. Another instance of the power, wealth and influence in the hands of this man of the town!