Old Tamil Poetry

Kurunthokai – 152

Those who chide me, know not a thing –
my passion’s like a hatchling
sustained by the sight of its mother;
if my lover forsakes me, it’ll wither
like an unhatched egg, for what else sustains it?

யாவதும் அறிகிலர், கழறுவோரே-
தாய் இல் முட்டை போல, உட்கிடந்து
சாயின் அல்லது, பிறிது எவன் உடைத்தே?
யாமைப் பார்ப்பின் அன்ன
காமம், காதலர் கையற விடினே.

He hasn’t come back and she is pining for him. Her frien asks her to stop wasting away. This is her reply. “All those who scold me know nothing. My passion is sutained by the sight of him, like how a hatchling of a tortoise sustains itself by seeing its mother. If he forsakes me and doesn’t come home, my passion will die like an egg abandoned by its mother. For what else sustains my passion but being near him?”

The similes are striking.

“தாய் இல் முட்டை போல் உட்கிடந்து செயின் அல்லது” – ”To die inside the shell, like an egg abandoned by its mother” ;
“யாமைப் பார்ப்பின் அன்ன காமம்” – “Passion like a hatchling of a tortoise” . Sustained by the sight of its mother is implied in the original. I have made it explicit in the translation.

Kurunthokai – 40

My mom and yours, what are they to each other?
My dad and yours, how are they related?
You and I, how do we know each other?
Yet, like rain fall on red earth,
our hearts in love merged into one.
    
யாயும் ஞாயும் யார் ஆகியரோ?
எந்தையும் நுந்தையும் எம் முறைக் கேளிர்?
யானும் நீயும் எவ் வழி அறிதும்?
செம் புலப் பெயல் நீர் போல
அன்புடை நெஞ்சம் தாம் கலந்தனவே.

This is probably the most popular and most translated Sangam poem ever. Beauty of the poem lies in its simplicity and its unmatchable simile. They are from different clans / towns. Somehow they have met each other and fallen in love. He is leaving now after making love. She is afraid that he might not come back again. He drives away her fear with this poem.

“Our mothers aren’t related. Neither is my father related to your father. You and I didn’t know each other before meeting. Yet, we have met each other and fallen in love. Our hearts have now mingled together like rain water in red earth.” He says that despite not being related in anyway, we were destined to meet and fall in love. So there won’t be any separation between us.

The simile rain water on red earth (translated as Red earth and pouring rain by AK Ramanujan) makes this poem stand out. The rain water mixes with red earth and attains its color and characteristic. It cannot be separated back to rain water again. So have our hearts mingled together. Rain water and red earth aren’t related to each other. But their coming together makes the land fertile. Red earth is dry and waiting for the monsoon. Once the rain water falls on earth they become one and bring prosperity  to the land.

AK Ramanujan’s translation is most popular and was even put up as a poster in London Tube as part of Poems on the Underground. AKR as his wont, takes creative liberties with the structure of the poem. I prefer George L Hart’s translation which stays closer to the text. So why do I even translate the most translated Tamil poem. Because.

This poem has been used a lot in Tamil movies, most famously in Maniratnam’s Iruvar. This is my favorite

யாய் – my mother
ஞாய் – your mother
எந்தை – my father
நுந்தை – your father
கேளிர் – relative
செம்புலம் – red earth
பெயல் நீர் – rain fall

Kurunthokai – 131

Town of the the girl with big battling eyes
and swaying bamboo like strong graceful shoulders,
is far away and tough to reach; my heart,
if you rush ahead overcome with desire,
like a farmer with a single plow
rushing to seed the rain fed field, I suffer.

ஆடு அமை புரையும் வனப்பின் பணைத் தோள்
பேர் அமர்க் கண்ணி இருந்த ஊரே
நெடுஞ் சேண் ஆர் இடையதுவே; நெஞ்சே,
ஈரம் பட்ட செவ்விப் பைம் புனத்து
ஓர் ஏர் உழவன் போல,
பெரு விதுப்பு உற்றன்றால்; நோகோ யானே

This is one of the popular Kurunthokai poems. He is in a distant land, far away from his lady love. His job is over and he is about to go back home. His heart rushes ahead of him and wants to reach the girl with beautiful shoulders and lively eyes in double quick time. He admonishes his heart saying, “Her town is far away and tough to reach. Like a farmer with a single plow rushing to seed his wet green field, you are rushing ahead. This will cause me to suffer. So stay quiet”

The simile farmer with a single plow makes this poem stand out. The farmer with a single plow has to plough and seed his wet field before it dries off. So he rushes to plough his field as his time is short. So does our man’s heart rush towards the girl as each moment is precious. He had promised her that he will come back by monsoon. Monsoon has arrived. She will be waiting for him. But he is still far away. There is a long way to go before he meets her. The pain is aggravated by his heart rushing ahead of him and making him suffer.

அமர் – tranquil (or) fight, based on context. U Ve Saa takes it as fighting eyes in his commentary. AK Ramanujan uses eyes full of peace in his translation. I go with U Ve Saa’s commentary.

செவ்வி – fresh / season. I have used it as season to seed.

Kurunthokai – 132

She’s a spirited hugger, an alluring charmer,
with plump soft bosom and flowing tresses.
How can I forget her –  the dusky beauty,
who looks at me,
like a trembling headed calf of a milch cow
turning to look at is mother wistfully.

கவவுக் கடுங்குரையள் காமர் வனப்பினள்
குவவுமென் முலையள் கொடிக்கூந் தலளே
யாங்குமறந் தமைகோ யானே ஞாங்கர்க்
கடுஞ்சுரை நல்லா னடுங்குதலைக் குழவி
தாய்காண் விருப்பி னன்ன்
சாஅய்நோக் கினளே மாஅ யோளே.

His friend admonishes him for being love sick. He responds, “She’s quick to embrace me, she is attractive, with plump soft bosom and flowing tresses. How can I forget the dusky beauty, she who looks at me longingly like a calf looking at its mother” .

He says “she is quick to hug me” implying that she too is in love with him and he is not the only love struck one. He describes her physical beauty implying that their love is already consummated, so he cannot forget her. Her longing look is like that of a calf looking at its mother. He cannot break free of that wistful look.

Kurunthokai – 107

O’ Rooster with bright red comb
like a bunch of golden kantal* flowers!-
You woke me up from my blissful sleep,
with my man from the town that reaps
new wealth from wide seas;
May you suffer the pain
of being many day’s food to wild kittens
that hunt for house rats at midnight.

*Kantal – Flame lily / Gloriosa lily, the state flower of Tamil Nadu

குவி இணர்த் தோன்றி ஒண் பூ அன்ன
தொகு செந் நெற்றிக் கணம்கொள் சேவல்!-
நள்ளிருள் யாமத்து இல் எலி பார்க்கும்
பிள்ளை வெருகிற்கு அல்குஇரை ஆகி,
கடு நவைப் படீஇயரோ, நீயே-நெடு நீர்
யாணர் ஊரனொடு வதிந்த
ஏம இன் துயில் எடுப்பியோயே!

After a long time he comes back from his trip to earn money, and they both go to bed together. They fall into blissful sleep after a joyous night. With the rooster crowing, the spell of the night is broken. Obviously she curses the rooster. She thinks it couldn’t have dawned so soon. It must be just midnight. The rooster has crowed wrongly. May it be hunted by hungry wild kitten and eaten as food for days.

Kurunthokai – 269

My dad, having recovered from wounds
caused while hunting ferocious sharks,
has gone back to the blue sea.
My mom, in order to barter salt for rice,
has gone to the salt pans.
I think it would be nice
to have a friend, who won’t mind
the long distance and tiring walk,
to go and tell the man from cool long shores,
that if he wants to see me, this is the time to come!

சேயாறு சென்று, துனைபரி அசாவாது,
உசாவுநர்ப் பெறினே நன்றுமன் தில்ல-
வயச் சுறா எறிந்த புண் தணிந்து, எந்தையும்
நீல நிறப் பெருங் கடல் புக்கனன்; யாயும்
உப்பை மாறி வெண்ணெல் தரீஇய
உப்பு விளை கழனிச் சென்றனள்; அதனால்,
பனி இரு பரப்பின் சேர்ப்பற்கு,
”இனி வரின் எளியள்” என்னும் தூதே.

This poem is about one of the permanent problems in love – when and how to meet if you don’t have your own place. Her father, a fisherman, has been at home for many days, recovering from wounds caused while hunting sharks. Her mother too has been at home tending to him. So the girl has not been able to meet her lover. He comes and waits beside her house afraid to come in as her parents are there. Now everyone’s back at work and she has the house to herself – it’s now or never is the message she sends him through her poem.

Kurunthokai – 315

The man from rising hill country
where white water falls down
like moon’s reflection on the sea,
is like the sun – my friend!-
and my supple shoulders are like Nerunji.

எழுதரு மதியம் கடல் கண்டாஅங்கு
ஒழுகு வெள் அருவி ஓங்கு மலைநாடன்
ஞாயிறு அனையன்-தோழி!-
நெருஞ்சி அனைய என் பெரும் பணைத்தோளே.

*Nerunji flowers (puncture vine / goat’s head / caltrop) are small yellow flowers that follow the Sun.

Nerunji flower

He has gone away to earn. It will be months before he comes back. Her friend asks her can she sustain herself for him till he comes back. She replies to her friend, “My lover is like the sun to me. My supple shoulders are like Nerunji flowers that look up to the sun and move along with it. So I can sustain myself based on his words that he will come back.” The poet uses பணைத் தோள் – bamboo like shoulders. I’ve translated it with the characteristic of bamboo as supple shoulders.

His hill country is described as one where white water falling down the hills resembles moon’s reflection on the ocean. It was hard for me to understand the simile. So I searched for images and found they were similar. The imagery of Sangam poetry was drawn from what the poets saw around them.

Kurunthokai – 41

My friend ! When my lover is by my side,
I rejoice like the people of a festive town;
I lose my sparkle and languish,
like an empty house deserted by people –
where squirrels scamper  in the courtyard –
in that quaint town, when he moves away.

காதலர் உழையர் ஆகப் பெரிது உவந்து,
சாறு கொள் ஊரின் புகல்வேன் மன்ற;
அத்தம் நண்ணிய அம் குடிச் சீறூர்
மக்கள் போகிய அணில் ஆடு முன்றில்
புலப்பில் போலப் புல்லென்று
அலப்பென்-தோழி!-அவர் அகன்ற ஞான்றே.

When he is with her, she is joyful and soaks in the pleasure, like people of a festive town. But once he moves away, she feels all alone. The simile used by the poet is that of a deserted house in that town abandoned by people. The house is so deserted that the squirrels which hide in the roof come out to the court yard and play around. There is not a soul in sight. Complete emptiness. That is what she feels when he moves away from her.

Though she is surrounded by her friends and family, all of them don’t exist for her. He is the only person who matters in her life. Without him she feels like an empty house. The metaphor “அணில் ஆடும் முன்றில்” – “courtyard where squirrel scampers” signifies the emptiness in her life. The squirrel is nothing but her thoughts of him. They merrily skitter about in the loneliness she feels.