Kalithogai 80 – Sweet child of mine

Sangam Lit

In this episode, we perceive the lady’s affection for her son, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Kalithogai 80, penned by Maruthan Ilanaakanaar. The verse is situated in the ‘Marutham’ or ‘Farmlands landscape’ and conveys a hidden message.

நயம் தலை மாறுவார் மாறுக; மாறா,
கயந் தலை மின்னும் கதிர் விடு முக் காழ்,
பயந்த எம் கண் ஆர யாம் காண நல்கி
திகழ் ஒளி முத்து அங்கு அரும்பாகத் தைஇப்
பவழம் புனைந்த பருதி சுமப்ப,
கவழம் அறியா நின் கை புனை வேழம்
புரி புனை பூங் கயிற்றின் பைபய வாங்கி,
அரி புனை புட்டிலின் ஆங்கண் ஈர்த்து, ஈங்கே
வருக! எம் பாக மகன்!

கிளர் மணி ஆர்ப்ப ஆர்ப்பச் சாஅய்ச் சாஅய்ச் செல்லும்
தளர் நடை காண்டல் இனிது; மற்று, இன்னாதே,
‘உளம்’ என்னா நுந்தைமாட்டு எவ்வம் உழப்பார்
வளை நெகிழ்பு யாம் காணுங்கால்

ஐய! காமரு நோக்கினை, ‘அத்தத்தா’ என்னும் நின்
தே மொழி கேட்டல் இனிது; மற்று, இன்னாதே,
உய்வு இன்றி நுந்தை நலன் உணச் சாஅய்ச் சாஅய்மார்
எவ்வ நோய் யாம் காணுங்கால்

ஐய! ‘திங்கட் குழவி, வருக!’ என, யான் நின்னை
அம்புலி காட்டல் இனிது; மற்று, இன்னாதே,
நல்காது நுந்தை புறம் மாறப்பட்டவர்
அல்குல் வரி யாம் காணுங்கால்

ஐய! எம் காதில் கனங் குழை வாங்கி, பெயர்தொறும்,
போது இல் வறுங் கூந்தல், கொள்வதை, நின்னை யாம்
ஏதிலார் கண் சாய நுந்தை வியல் மார்பில்
தாது தேர் வண்டின் கிளை பட, தைஇய
கோதை பரிபு ஆட காண்கும்.

Here, the verse flows in a slightly different format from the usual three-step Kalithogai that we have become familiar with! The words can be translated as follows:

“Let those whose affection has changed remain away! But for these unchanging eyes of mine to see and delight, come here, with the three-stranded, bright and shining ornament upon your soft head, pulling gently your handmade elephant that has never eaten a ball of rice, placed on a coral-studded platform with radiant pearls attached, akin to buds, with a well-etched, soft rope, making the pebbles in your anklets resound, my elephant-tamer son!

Making clear bells resound again and again, your stumbling, faltering toddler walk is sweet to see. But what is unpleasant is to see how another declares that ‘I alone remain in his heart’ and yearns for your father, letting her bangles slip away!

My dear! Seeing me with loving eyes, you mumble words with a lisp. Hearing those honey-sweet words is pleasant! But what is unpleasant is to see the pain of affliction in those, who pretend to suffer, so as to delight in the beauty of your father, without any respite!

My dear! When I show you the moon upon the sky, calling you with love as my moon-child, that is pleasant! But what is unpleasant is to see the fading lines on the loins of those, who have been forsaken without grace by your father!

My dear! I let you take the heavy earrings on my ears and part away, and to hold on to my flowerless, dry tresses, so as to see you pluck and tear the garland, around which bees which seek pollen buzz, upon your father’s wide chest, so that his eyes seek not those strangers!”

Time to delve into the nuances. The verse is situated in the context of a love quarrel between a man and a lady, owing to the man’s seeking of courtesans. In an unusual rendition, the lady says these words to her toddler son, while the man remains listening nearby. The lady starts by calling her toddler son, who is wearing a bright ornament on his forehead and playing with a toy elephant on a coral and pearl-studded platform. She mentions how the anklets on his baby legs resound aloud as he pulls the soft rope and walks to her. She tells her son that those whose love is changed can remain away but the love in her is unwavering. This is said to take a dig at the listening man, who has been away courting courtesans and just now, enters his home.

The lady then tells her son that his toddling walk, his honey-sweet words with a lisp, and showing that moon-child the moon, are all such sweet things to her, but what is unpleasant is to hear the talk of women who declare they alone inhabit the man’s heart, see the pain of affliction in courtesans who seek her husband without respite and to take in the fading beauty of those who have been abandoned by the boy’s father. Good thing the child can’t understand these words! Any case, these are meant to pierce like arrows in the ears of the listening man.

The lady says to the child that she never minds the little one, plucking away her earrings or pulling her dry, flowerless hair. These are unadorned because the man is not at home. It’s not as if he’s away on a mission to gain wealth or fight a war, but perhaps the lady is simply following the Sangam tradition of not adorning herself, when her man is away, no matter the reason. Returning, we find the lady concluding with the words that she hopes her son would pluck away the garland on his father’s chest as he plays with him, and thereby making the man forget his other women and remain there delighting in the joy of the bliss at home. Yet again, we see the powerful impact of the presence of a little child in the life of this Sangam couple!