In this episode, we observe the perceptive eyes of the lady, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Kalithogai 73, penned by Maruthan Ilanaakanaar. The verse is situated in the ‘Marutham’ or ‘Farmlands landscape’ and talks about the deceptive actions of the man.

அகன் துறை அணி பெற, புதலொடு தாழ்ந்த
பகன்றைப் பூ உற நீண்ட பாசடைத் தாமரை,
கண் பொர ஒளி விட்ட வெள்ளிய வள்ளத்தான்,
தண் கமழ் நறுந் தேறல் உண்பவள் முகம் போல,
வண் பிணி தளை விடூஉம் வயல் அணி நல் ஊர!

‘நோதக்காய்’ என நின்னை நொந்தீவார் இல்வழி,
‘தீது இலேன் யான்’ எனத் தேற்றிய வருதிமன்
ஞெகிழ் தொடி இளையவர் இடை முலைத் தாது சோர்ந்து,
இதழ் வனப்பு இழந்த நின் கண்ணி வந்து உரையாக்கால்?

கனற்றி நீ செய்வது கடிந்தீவார் இல்வழி,
‘மனத்தில் தீது இலன்’ என மயக்கிய வருதிமன்
அலமரல் உண்கண்ணார் ஆய் கோதை குழைத்த நின்
மலர் மார்பின் மறுப்பட்ட சாந்தம் வந்து உரையாக்கால்?

என்னை நீ செய்யினும், உரைத்தீவார் இல்வழி,
முன் அடிப் பணிந்து, எம்மை உணர்த்திய வருதிமன்
நிரை தொடி நல்லவர் துணங்கையுள் தலைக் கொள்ள,
கரையிடைக் கிழிந்த நின் காழகம் வந்து உரையாக்கால்?

என ஆங்கு
மண்டு நீர் ஆரா மலி கடல் போலும் நின்
தண்டாப் பரத்தை தலைக்கொள்ள, நாளும்
புலத் தகைப் பெண்டிரைத் தேற்றி; மற்று யாம்எனின்,
தோலாமோ, நின் பொய் மருண்டு?

The lady voices her thoughts with conviction in this one. The words can be translated as follows:

“Adorning the wide shores, near the low-hanging rattle pod flowers on bushes, the lotus flower with huge leaves lets go of its tightness and opens its petals, akin to the face of a maiden, who savours the cool and fragrant toddy from a silver vessel, glowing with a blinding radiance, in the field-filled, fine town of yours, O lord!

There is no one at home to chide you for doing the wrong thing. When you come here trying to console me with the words ‘I have done nothing wrong’, I might have believed that if your garland, which has lost the beauty of its petals, because the flowers therein have shed their pollen on the bosom of maiden wearing bangles that slip away, had not told me otherwise!

There is no one at home to rebuke you for your wrong-doings. When you come here trying to confuse me with the words ‘I have no evil in my heart’, I might have believed that if the sandalwood on your wide chest, which has become smeared, because you had embraced the beautiful garlands of those maiden with dancing, kohl-streaked eyes, had not told me otherwise!

There is no one at home to say the right words whatever you may do. When you come here trying to make me understand with much humility, I might have believed that if the cloth you wear, which has become torn at the edges, because you had danced the ‘thunangai’ with those beautiful maiden wearing rows of bangles, had not told me otherwise!

And so, akin to the brimming ocean that stays the same no matter how many streams pour in their copious waters, your desire to be with courtesans seems to have no end; You may be able to convince and cheer up those courtesans, who are sulking with you. Do you think I can be conquered, after seeing the truth of your lies?”

Let’s explore 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 renders a crisp description of the man’s town, talking again about a lotus flower, blooming near the rattlepod bushes, and glowing like the face of a maiden, who has had tasty toddy to drink from a silver bowl. Then, the lady turns to the man and remarks how there was no-one in their home to correct his wrong-doings and set him on the right path. She then narrates how the man tries to convince her with words, claiming that he has done nothing wrong, with so much humility. She piercingly remarks she might have taken these words to be true if the flowers on his garland had not lost their glow, shedding pollen on other women; if the sandalwood on his chest did not appear smeared, owing to his embracing other women, and if his cloth was not torn because he had been dancing with those courtesans. The lady remarks how like an ocean that never gets filled no matter how many rivers pour into it, the man’s want for courtesans seemed to have no end, and she concludes with the sharp message that the man may fool the courtesans with his charming words, but she can look through his deception.

A verse which hints that the seeking of courtesans by the man was not a practice that was accepted as normal and some elders or wise people did indeed advise against that course of action, the absence of whom the lady laments in this verse. Another song where the subtle signs on the man’s exterior reveals his clandestine ways of pleasure-seeking to the piercing eyes of the lady!