Dawn has come like a cruel sword to tear me apart from my lover’s arms (Tamil Sangam Poetry)

Vipralabdha Nayika, Guler, 1750-55, Painted in opaque watercolour and gold on paper

Last month I enjoyed a book of ancient Tamil poetry called “Love Stands Alone: Selections from Tamil Sangam Poetry” translated by M.L.Thangappa, edited and introduced by A.R. Venkatachalapathy. After delighting in these little gems of poetry for a few weeks now, I decided I would share a few of my favourites with you all.

Sangam literature is the earliest classical Tamil literature and referrs to the period from about 300 BC to about 300 CE and this is the time period in which all of these poems were written. According to the grammatical text Tholkappiyam and the poet of the same name who wrote it the subject matter of these poems is divided into two distinct categories: akam and puram; akam, as stated by the Tamil Lexicon, is defined as “inside, interior, heart, mind, breast, sexual pleasure, house, agricultural tract, the theme of love”. Puram is the opposite of akam and referrs to: outside, exterior, heroism, bravery, side, back, gossip and backbiting, partiality, place, tax-free land, wild tract”. In the context of these poems akam poems are exclusively on the theme of love and all its nuances; the joys of love, the forbbiden love, infidelity, separation and reunion. Another interesting term that is important for the proper understanding and appreciation of these poems is “thinais”; those are physiographical regions in which these poems and the love situations in them are set. There are five thinais; Kurinji, Mullai, Marutam, Neidal and Palai. Tholkappiyam also classifies the themes in the poems in three categories: mudhal (the first theme), karu (the seed theme) and uri (the essential theme). Mudhal tells us about the place and time so we can conjure the setting in our imagination and this is how the classification is made:

Kurinji: hills; night; cool season

Mullai: pastures and woods; late evenings; monsoons

Marutam: countryside and plains; mornings; all seasons

Neidal: seaside; nightfall; all seasons

Palai: wilderness and dried up areas during hot summers; midday; summer

Karu or the seed theme tells us about the specific deity, food, flora, fauna, drum, occupation, music that is specific for that particular physiographical region. And lastly uri is the very essence of akam poetry, the thing that defines it, and here is how the book describes it:

Kurinji: clandestine meetings of loversMullai: hopeful waiting of the wife Marutam: the infidelity of the man and the sulks of his wifeNeidal: the wife’s anxious wait for the husband’s returnPalai: the lover’s departure and travel through wilderness in search of wealth, education or adventure

I love all the nuances of love expressed both in Indian poetry and visual arts. Truly, when it comes to love in art; once you go Indian you don’t go back. After reading these poems as well as many others and enjoying the Kangra miniatures of Krishna and Radha’s love, European paintings with themes of love simply do not touch me the same way. Now, here are some of my favourite poems from the book:

Krishna and Radha embracing, gouache on paper, Pahari, probably Mandi, ca. 1820

‘Coo–coo,’ the rooster crows,and a chill runs through my heart.Dawn has comelike a cruel swordTo tear me apartfrom my lover’s arms.(what the girl said to herself)

(Marutam —Allur Nanmulla)

Vasakasayya Nayika, the expectant heroine, opaque watercolour on paper, Guler, ca. 1750-1760

I am here:my lovelinesseaten away by palloris lost in the woods by the sea.My lover is comfortable in his hometown.And the guarded secret of our loveis all over the village square.(what the girl told her friend, complaining of the lover’s dalliance)

All Over the Village Square, Neidal—Venputhi

Vipralabdha Nayika, Guler, 1760

Like the sweet milk of a cowspilt on the groundgoing to wastewithout being sucked by the calfor collected in a vessel,the speckled beauty of my complexionis being eaten awayby the pallor of lovesickness,neither enjoyed by my lovernor retained by me.(what she told her friend)

Palai—Velliveethiyar, Like the Sweet Milk

Krishna Adorning Radha’s Hair, 1815

Rainwater and Red Soil

Your mother and my motherdo not know each other.Your father and my fatherare not related either.As for you and me,how do we know each other?And yet,like the mingling of rainwaterwith red soil,our hearts have mingled.(what the lover told his beloved after their first meeting)

Kurinji – Chempulapeyanirar