In this episode, we perceive a conflict between a lady and a man, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Kalithogai 116, penned by Chozhan Nalluruthiran. The verse is situated in the ‘Mullai’ or ‘Forest Landscape’ and portrays the relentlessness of a man’s pursuit.

தலைவி
பாங்கரும் பாட்டங்கால் கன்றொடு செல்வேம்; எம்
தாம்பின் ஒரு தலை பற்றினை, ஈங்கு எம்மை
முன்னை நின்றாங்கே விலக்கிய எல்லா! நீ
என்னை ஏமுற்றாய்! விடு!

தலைவன்
விடேஎன்! தொடீஇய செல்வார்த் துமித்து, எதிர் மண்டும்
கடு வய நாகு போல் நோக்கித் தொழு வாயில்
நீங்கிச் சினவுவாய் மற்று.

தலைவி
நீ நீங்கு! கன்று சேர்ந்தார்கண் கத ஈற்று ஆ சென்றாங்கு
வன்கண்ணள் ஆய்வரல் ஓம்பு.

தலைவன்
யாய் வருக, ஒன்றோ பிறர் வருக, மற்று நின்
கோ வரினும், இங்கே வருக, தளரேன் யான்
நீ அருளி நல்க பெறின்.

தலைவி
நின்னை யான் சொல்லினவும் பேணாய்; நினைஇக
கனைபெயல் ஏற்றின் தலை சாய்த்து, எனையதூஉம்
மாறு எதிர்கூறி மயக்குப் படுகுவாய்!
கலத்தொடு யாம் செல்வுழி நாடிப் புலத்தும்
வருவையால் நாணிலி நீ!

A song depicting a conversation between a couple! The words can be translated as follows:

“Lady
When I’m going to the dense grove nearby, with the calf, you catch hold of one end of the cattle tether, and standing in front, you block me! Are you crazy? Let me go!

Man
I won’t let you go! You are free to be furious with me, akin to a strong and fast young bull that shakes away those who come near to touch it, as it leaps out of the barn’s entrance!

Lady
You should leave! Akin to how a cow that has just birthed a calf would go menacingly towards those who come near its young one, my harsh-eyed mother is on her way! Save yourself!

Man
Let mother come! Let any other come! Even if your king wants, let him come! I shall remain steadfast, until you render your grace!

Lady
Whatever I say, you don’t listen to me! Standing there, akin to a buffalo that stands in the midst of a downpour, slanting its head, you have something to say in response to what I say. You confuse me no end! O Shameless one, when I go with the milking vessel to the field, seeking me, will you come there too?”

Let’s explore the details. The verse is situated in the context of love among workers and these words are spoken between a herder man and a herder lady. The lady starts by stating that the man was standing there, blocking her path, and pulling the rope of the calf, she was taking to graze in the grove nearby, she asks him if he had gone mad, and demands that he let her go. The man refuses and says he gives her permission to be as mad as a young bull in a barn, one which won’t let anyone come near it, and runs out of the barn with much fury. Catching on to his ‘young bull’ simile, the lady decides to repay him in kind by talking about how her mother was coming there, in the stance of a young cow, which has just delivered a calf, when it pounces towards someone, who decided to go near her young one. A furious mother is a force of nature, the lady seems to tell the man! But the man is unperturbed, for he says, ‘Let your mother come, let anyone else who wants to come come here, why even if your king wants to come here with his army, let him, I won’t budge from here!’.

The lady responds by bringing forth yet another simile, where she paints a picture of a buffalo standing in a downpour, without moving, simply slanting its head. This is one of those similes that had me cracking up, for it reminded me of an oft-used, familiar phrase in contemporary Tamil, which goes, ‘எருமை மாட்டு மேல மழை பெஞ்சமாதிரி’, meaning ‘akin to rain that pours on a buffalo’ to talk about how there’s no effect of one’s words on the person listening in front. A favourite line of Tamil parents, when talking to their teenagers! It’s fascinating to see such a phrase used in light conversations in Tamil land be a part of a classical verse two thousand years ago!

Returning, our lady is mad that the man is acting like that buffalo not responding to the downpour of her refusals. Finally, she ends with a question, asking the man whether he will shamelessly come following her when she goes to the fields with a milking vessel later! The last line is also meant to be a cryptic way of inviting the man to another, more favourable trysting spot. Yet again, the similes from this land talking about the animals and the life therein, delight us, and make us perceive the love that blooms in these wild spaces of the past!