CHAPTER FOUR

SEQUENCE OF THOUGHT

CHAPTER IV

SEQUENCE OF THOUGHT

An akam poet's conception of art experrence IS so challengingly compact

that there is no room for anythrng other than the most essentral w~thin each

poem These poems are the condensed vers~ons of the vlcissltudes of var~egated

emotrons captured at various contexts The ukam poet uses specific forn~s to

express h ~ s spec~al thoughts takrng extreme care In the arrangement of hls ~deas,

and the pattern that surts and semes hls poetrc miss~on Poet~c thoughts are

conce~ved In poetlc terns and hence matter and manner become mterdependent,

most often even inseparable An art experience communicated w~thin four lmes

by an akam poet 1s certainly drfferent from the one done In erght lines because

w~thin a larger canvas he can enjoy the luxury of employrng the rnulaiporui and

karupporuL to obtaln the opt~mum artrst~c elegance to the urzpporul expressed

Vlgorous debates are golng on about the imposs~b~irty of close adherence

to the form of the original, but the translators themselves are seen experlmentlng

wrth different formats to make less consprcuous the unavordable lacuna that

rsolates matter from manner In the11 versions Translation, though a demanding

process of creative ~mitation, cannot authorise any allowance to tamper wlth the

organic unlty of the orlgmal verse The logrc that operates behmd the use of a

speclfic pattern In presenting certaln thoughts by the poet of the orlg~nal deserves

utmost conslderat~on

The commentators often rearrange the sequence of thought presented In the

origlnal to ensure and enhance a better understand~ng of the verse, especially in the

case of akam poems Commentaries and interpretations of these classics are

invanably elaborate, essentially easy w ~ t h ample scope for add~ t~ons and omissions

of both relevant and melevant ~deas Sometimes the commentary becomes pitifully

prosaic and distorted Most of the translators of akam classlcs are heav~ly dependent

on the ava~lable modem commentanes and stay dangerously loyal to such

lnterpretat~ons by ~mitating the sequence of thought as presented by the

comincnrarors One has to constantly remember that the dnving motive beh~nd the

intellectual exerclse of wnting l~terary commentary of akam poems IS different from

the intellectual exerc~se of l~terary translations Cnlike the commentary, aesthet~c

delight is an ~ntegral component of any literary translat~on The reading aud~ence

for both the literary pursulrs are necessarily not the same

A Kuruntokn~ poem IS an express~on of "emotional thoughts" because nkam

thoughts are to be thought emotionally Tofkcipp~varn uses the word meyppiru to

niean the phys~cal expression of the emotional thoughts M P ~ ~ I I I ~ ~ ~ ' d~smbutes

the humdn emot~ons broadly under eight bas~c types, and each type IS funher

~lassified into four sub-div~slons ' MeyppdNoI' continues to give an aston~shngly

accurate list of many more inexplicable emotions exhlb~ted by men and women

through ~nnumerable expenences, both extraord~nary and ~nslgnlficant The

transference of a human expenence into an art expenence is the poet~c purpose of

akam genre Hence ~&cipp~vam spotl~ghts the s~gmficance of rne,kpPfu as the

operating force m the composition of a ceyyu.! a poem *

It 1s ~mperative on the part of the translator to sensitise h ~ s "contemporary

ears" to the emotton expressed through the vibrant volce of a Kuruntokat verse

Thus tt becomes clear that the sequence of thought In Kurun~okar IS dec~ded

by the slgntficance of emotlon I! contalns, and any indtscrimtnate and

lnsensltlve shuffltng of the arrangement of tdeas presented In the origtnal

durlng the "process" of translation 1s nothtng less than betrayal Sequence of

thought presented In the poems with stmlles and metaphors have to be translated

with d~sttncttve care because the okam poets Invest the karupporulw~th enormous

responstbtl~ty of enhancing the emotlon suggested If the translators overlook thls

assignment of the karupporu~ the back drop of nature would then become a mere

embellishment Fortunately for the translators, most of the modem commentaries

make a definite mention of the lmpltctt suggestion employed in the verse, e~ther

spec~fically as ufi~rar or LraccI or just as k ~ r p p u T h ~ s should positively mtnlmlse

the risk of the translator misstng the essence of t~ripporul T h ~ s chapter attempts

to analyse the logic behind the total or partial rejectton of the sequence of

thought presented In the ortgtnal by the translators In the11 verslons The study

also attempts to assess the su~tability of the format used by the translators In

transporting the ~ntermlnable e l ~ x ~ r of emotton conveyed in the original

KURUNTOKAI 4 and KURUNTOKAI 202

These two remarkable pieces pronounce the poignancy of the pathetic

senttment prrtv<<r2mar m a movlng manner Kuruntokar 4 has been used by

Uamporanar as an ~llustratton for hts commentary on Tolkdppryam 'Kalav~yal'

critf~ram log3 He describes e~gh t types of emotional responses expected of an

akam girl as she undergoes the punful separatlon from her man, a separatlon that

forms an lnev~table prologue to her marnage4 According to h ~ s commentary, these

responses are the most becoming of the noble beanng of the akam herolne

Kuruntokat 4 is used as an example for the meyppdtu, emot~onal response of

"mulirvu meynnrrutta!" meanlng "the glrl h~dlng her emotional outburst due to

suffering, from the knowledge of othersn5 It is very interesting to observe that the

same phrase "muflivu meynnmru~ta!" has been g~ven rn entlrely d~verse

commentary by Peracmyar

Kuruntokat4 by Kamaiicerkulatta is In the form of a reply glven by the

g ~ r l to her anxlous mend The glrl IS profoundly gneved at the Insensate beha~iour

of her man, and her ovenvhelmlng sorrow swells up as hot sprlngs from her eyes

The tears are hot enough to bum her eyel~ds because of the sad irony that the man,

who should wlpe away her tears, 1s respons~ble for her p ~ t ~ a b l e plight Her

plaintive statement, "nJmec neficC" which means, "my hean aches", reverberates

through the l~nes of t h ~ s s~mple short poem She uses t h ~ s powerful statement three

tlmes In a poem of four Ilnes, and the repetition brings out the intense grief

experienced by the girl as well as the Inadequacy of the human tongue in

recording subllme passlons Language appears to be too weak a vehicle to

transport the heavy emotlons of hean "n5mefi flerid" 1s no empty refram of

embell~shment, and hence the statement warrants a detalled analysis

According to Iyer's commentary for Kuruntoka~ 4, "nJrnefl neic2" occurs

In five verses in akam anthology7 Like Kurunroku, 4, In Kuruntokor 202 also the

phrase is used three tunes by the glrl who 1s put In a s~mllar predicament The

phrase IS found In use In a 11 8 and -01 31 2, and in Ainkuruncru 59,

but 1s used only once In each of these poems b) then respective speakers On deep

obsematlon one will not fall to notlce that verses from Nurrrnut and A~nkurunriru

do not express as protracted a passion as the one ponrayed in Kuruntokui 4 and

Kuruntoku~ 202

The girl who is the speaker m &MI 118 articulates her agony on seelng the

advent of the promlsed season of her man's retum, and states that the slght of the

flower woman selling hgrant flowers down the streets, hurts her heart because she is m

no posltion to adorn herself ulth those flowers T h s verse 1s by P& Pahya

Perunkatunko, and a belongs to pi.Jutrrrnu~ with its /&mi belng the sorrowfiil speech of

the girl on the arnval of the season of hls retum The meyppiru IS g/ukak tears caused

by sol~ow The phrase "m-me5 -mAcCn IS used m h s verse thus

v311'taj alari vantupata Entip

putumalar teruvut6:u nuvalum

notumalittikku ndmec nerice -118

.*312 IS the speech of the man and the poem belongs to pifali final

The berse 1s by Kdark ICLraeyi>rlyar, wh~ch expresses the man's suffenng durlng

hls separation from the girl on hls travel to procure wealth The man addresses his

heart wlth a powerful pronouncement of h ~ s passlon thus

nOkdy3~E namep peAcC

He proceeds to grleve at the posslble suffenng of the g ~ r l durlng the season of

windy cold wlnter because the girl is tender enough to shirer even dunng summer

The meypplitu of the poem is "grief at the thought of the girl's suffering "8

A~nkurunriru 59 is the speech of the girl's fnend, and the verse is the

eighth one in a bunch of ten verses under the title, 'rqh kiZ[rupparru ' The mend

directs a verbal attack at the man, who has come back from his visit to the

courtesan and is seen pleading entry into his house The man's visits to his house

ha>e become such a rarity that the girl suffers inconsolable pain caused by his

perfidious nature Many a time the girl's fnend had spoken for him and had made

the glrl forg~ve and accept him But this time, the girl's friend is compelled to

express her extreme gnef at hls apostate attitude She states that she can no longer

be a medlcine to the want of w~sdom of his confused brains She is gneved at her

inabll~ty to render words of solace to the plning girl, and this incapacity of hers

hurts her very much

ninakku marun tiklya y.3nigl yivatku marun Unmai ndrnen nerice

Ainkuri~nriru 59

me)ppdru of this poem 1s sorrow, glukat

It is obvious that the verses from Narr,ni7, and AmkurunJrg portray three

different aspects of cicrirna~ sorrow caused by separation, though they use the

same phrase, "ndmeg gefid" Rut the ardour of the passlon suggested through t h ~ s

powerful phrase is totally different in Kuruntokai 4 and Kurunrokal202

Kurunrokor 202 is by Allm NamnuUu, and the rtnat I S marutam with the

rurai belng the girl's refusal of admission to the man Into her house The gnl's

fnend advocated for the man but the girl would not l~sten to any more

recommendat~ons regarding h ~ s conduct She uses a beautiful s~mlle to make her

frlend understand the change that has come over her man's behdviour towards her

The man was once as sweet as the nerurin flowers in h ~ s love for the glrl but now

has become as harsh as the thorn begotten by the same nerurin plant wh~ch had

once put forth beautiful blossoms Thls change In her man's att~tude hurts her

heart ~rnrnensely, and the glrl uses the phrase "nrjmen geAc5" three tlmes to

fathom the gnef caused by his betrayal of f a~ th

Accord~ng to Iyer's commentary the repetition IS lnd~cative of the

continuous paln In the g~r l ' s heart l o Hence, the phrase, "n5rnej ne jd ' cannot be

treated as an ornamental refraln by the translators, but unfortunately that 1s the

calam~tous treatment received by the phrase m their hands Kurunfoka~ 4 has been

translated by Shanrnugam P~llal and Ludden and Kuruntokaf 202 has been

translated by Shanmugam Pillal and Ludden, M L Thangappa and A K Ramanujan

ndme; neAc8 n6meg neAce imaifippaaga kannir tinki amaitqr kamaintanai kztalar amai vilarikuta ndrneg nerice

ndmeg nericP ndrneg neAcE pgnpulattamagra ciriyilai neruricik katkig putumalar rnutpayantaanku igiya ceytanan katalar i ;gi ceyta cdmeg gericg Kuruntokai 202

The phrase "nJmen geici" has been translated In SIX different ways in both the

verslons of Shanmugam P~llai and Ludden, who have messed up wtth the

s~gn~ficance of the emotlon conveyed

As has been bnlltantly commented by iyer, thc refrall~ 1s born of the need

for tt, to tndlcate the unendlng sorrow of the girl It comes ~n qulck progression to

anlculate her agony to her fnend But Shanmugam Pllla~ and Ludden have not

enamoured the lntenslty of the emotlon conveyed In the or~glnal as they have

drstnbuted the phrase in thelr verstons In an ent~rely d~fferent way, optlng for a

d~stort~on In the sequence of though!

M y heart is aching: bearing tears that burn my eyelids like fire, my heart is sick with griej: Because our lover, who was born to wipe my tears aw'ty and comfort me, is gone, my heart is full of pain

(italics not In the ongtnal)

The outburst of uncontrollable agony that has been commun~cated through the

gtrl's earnest volce, and her cause, strengthened by the effecitve refram have been

lost In the verslon of Shanmugam Pilla~ and Ludden The translators have totally

lost the track of thought sequence of the o r ~ g ~ n a l because the glrl's heart ache 1s

netther caused by "beanng tears that bum the eyelids" nor by the "absence" of the

man suggested vaguely by the word "gone" The orlgtnal makes an ttltell~gent use

of the word "amarvu" to bnng out her pathet~c pi~ght. because "absence" of the

man 1s made acutely agontslng and inconsolable by the nature of his absence and

h ~ s att~tude dunng the absence

"Amar" means, "to crowd together, be close, be attached, connected, ~olned,

suffice, prepare (oneself), be su~table, appropriate, he coniplete, prepare," "amaivu"

- "helng acceptable, suitable, fitting " (DEDR 1934 (h)) The g~r l ' s speech would

mean, "our lover who should have been close to me to w ~ p e away the hot tears has

now become unsu~table In his behav~our " The change In the man's attitude IS

suggested through the phrase, "amaiw/arfikuiaI" Mere absence of the man may

not be the reason for the glrl's abstruse agony lyer makes a crisp comment

regarding the reason for the g~rl ' s gnef, when he states that, "tabvan

amatvr/arikurali/neicu n d d n~rkum" meanlng "because of the man's

unacceptable behaviour her heart grieves "

Unfortunately Shanmugam P ~ l l a ~ and Ludden have shuffled the order of

utterance of the phrase, "n8men gedci", and have rearranged II to read,

"rmarriyppagca kannir iinkr n6mec nedd" and have translated ~t as "beanng tears

that bum my eyelids l ~ k e fire, my heart IS slck w ~ t h grief' Though the refram has

not been used ~n Kurunrokar 4 as a plece of poctlc ad om men^. the repetition of the

phrase does not fail to ennch the pathetlc sentiment Shanmugam P~llal and

Ludden have translated the phrase In three d~fferent ways for no specific log~c or

reason, and the readlng aud~ence who may not have any access to the o r~g~na l , -111

surely be depr~ved of the chance to comprehend completely the passionate cry of

the g ~ r l The readers of Shanmugam P ~ l l a ~ and Ludden's vers~on may also treat the

lines,

my heart is aching; my heart is sick with grieI; my heart is full of pain.

as the translations of three d~fferent sentences In the onglnal and not as "three

different ways" of translat~ng a "single phrase"

Similarly Shanmugam Plllai and Ludden have lranslated the phrase,

"n8mefi fierid" In three ways in their verslon of Kurunroka~ 202 Thelr render~ng

reads thus

My heart aches; oh how my heart aches; as the small-leaved nerunci plant growing thickly in dry lands has fresh flowers sweet to tbe eqe, which produce thorns, so my lover who made my life sweet has hurt me so. My heart is aching.

(~tailcs not In the orig~nal)

The translators have not tampered w ~ t h the sequence of thought In thls

poem but have neglectfully treated a vital phrase, " i ~ o ' r e y r a " In a casual way as,

"has hurt me so" The verslon falls to h~ghlight the reason for the giri's sorrow

The contrast suggested through the s im~le in the ongi~ial also hints at the

distressing change in the nature of her man, and hls capaclty to inflict pain in he1

through hls unworthy and ignoble actlvlties Iyer's commentary makes a spec~fic

note of this aspect when it states, "taiaivan mnrir#k~ g/ukuralden neficam

wrunluni' which means "my hean gneves because of my man's unbecoming

The version of M L Thangappa has not followed the sequence of thought as

presented In the onginal Rather the verslon has completely ignored the significance of

the r e h n The verslon starts with the cmel change that has come over the man, goes

on to compare him with the nature of the neruic~ plant and ends In a tone of

drsappointment rather than distress

How cruel he has become - He who was sweet at first ! He is like the caltrop flower Blooming sweet and lovely first But growing hard and spiny In course of time My heart i s pained At this cruel change.

(Italics not in the original)

The intensity of pathos IS thoroughly diluted due to this shuffling in the

sequence of thought. There is no scope in M L.Thangappa's ~e r s ion for the

emotional crescendo that is brilliantly done in the orig~nal. The original, uith the

help of the catchy refrain "n6mec _neAcCV arrests the reader's attention and

instantly sensitises his ears to the plaintive voice of the speaker. The second and

third lines of the or~ginal bring to the reader's mlnd the appalling aspect in the

nature of an insignificant plant llke neruiici The phrase "purumahr

mupayanranku" suggests the unexpectedness about the change, a flower maturing

into a thorn. So, what hurts the girl is not only the capacity of her man to cause

pain but also her short-sightedness in anticipating such an unforeseen

transformation. Sundaranar aptly comments on this aspect as, "ii,v~ya(p~flaiyrim

pantu griy2miyicim ewu irankiyav<r2m" meaning "the girl regrets that she was

ignorant of this nature of the man". These two factors cause continuous paln and

hence the continuous use of the phrase, "n6mep l i e i d " . The third time the phrase

is used to spotlight the poignancy of the pain. None of these aspects are captured

by M.L.Thangappa in his version, and the end product is a feeble complaint in the

place of an emotional eruption.

A.K.Ramanujan9s version has also treated the refrain with utmost

callousness.

As the lovely new flower of the small-leaved cow's thorn

covers the meadows and gives birth to thorns,

my lover who was kind now does evil,

and I'm sick at heart.

A.K.Ramanujan's translation of the word "nerurici" as "cow's thorn" takes

away the delicate trace of surprise that is felt when a flower begets a thom. After

all cow's thorn can give birth to thorns only. The simile in the onginal uses flower

and thorn in juxtaposition to enrich the suddenness of the shocklng change

because pleasure and pain placed In apposition give a spec~al scope for paln to

become more painful. But A.K.Ramanujan's version has deliberately distanced the

lndlv~dual thoughts from each other that they appear pathet~cally stranded and

purposely scattered. The spontaneous flow of emotional thoughts has been

obstructed in the name of poetic translation, and the beautiful smile is dissected In

a descriptive style. The last line which might have been so designed to stay aloof

does the worst damage because it does prevent the reader from realising that

emotional thoughts of akam poetry undergo aesthetic evolution. These thoughts

come in a rapid succession, and for an akam poet isolating and arranging them in

an appropriate order is as important as allowing them to merge and flow.

A.K.Ramanujan3s version is a mere catalogue of thoughts, arranged to suit the

translator's fancy, giving a11 reasons for the reader to excla~m, "ndmec fietic?".

Coleridge makes a brilliant observation :n about "the

property of passion" when mind is "in a state of excitement". In "the heat of

passion" the speaker uses words that have "pre-existed in his former

conversations", making repetitions inevitable. Reframs can be abused in a poem in

the form of "unmeaning repetitions, habitual phrases, and other blank counters",

wh~ch merely help the poet "to prevent the appearance of empty spaces". But the

same apparent tautology can produce, "beauty of the h~ghest k i n d if the refrain

represents, "intense and turbulent feeling, In which passlon is greater and of longer

endurance than to be exhausted by a single representation of the lmage or incldent

excltlng it."" In the Kuruntokoiverse, the phrase "ncmec geric?" used as a

refram succeeds in produc~ng this "beauty of the highest kind".

T h ~ s verse by Nariverlluttalajyar is In the form of the girl's speech

expressing the strange and inexplicable nature of her love-sickness. The

predicament of the girl causes considerable anxiety to her friend, but the girl

herself is unsure of her reaction to the overwhelm~ng novelty of the experience

of separation. She describes the unusual behaviour of the eyes and In turn

attempts to fathom the reason for it.

According to the commentators, the turaiof the poem is one expressing

the pangs of separation which is suggested by the phrase, "prrivu 6<rlimaiM.

The t inaiof the poem is neytal and its u r~pporu i is anxious waiting in distress

because, "irarikd' means "to be distressed In mind, weep, feel plty, repent;"

(DEDR 694). Though all the poems of neyial iinaibring forth the emotional

dlstress of the glrl, the phrase "irankulam irankalnrmittamum" appears to be

rather a blanket phrase covering all the delicate nuances of thls subtle and

sublime emotion. To understand the sequence of thought as articulated by the

girl and her intense emotions, it would be useful to compare the poem with

Kuruniokai 4 and K ~ r u n t o k a i 6 . ' ~ Commentators like Arankanar consider the

meyppdu of all the three poems to be one of sorrow, desolation and

helplessness, but there is an obvious shade of difference in the emotion that 1s

exhibited in these ooems.15

The g ~ r l ' s e>es play a key role In demonstrallng her despondency In the

above mentioned poems. In Kurunrokat 4, the eyes briny forrh springs of hot

tears In Kurunrokai 6, the girl grieves that when her kith and kln are

blissfully asleep, she alone suffers from sleeplessness caused by separation,

while Kurunrokai4 is Indicative of the pain caused by the Indifference of the

man. Kurunrokai6 is the exposition of the imperceptive attitude of the world

around the girl to her down-heartedness.

Kurunrokai 5 presents an entirely different aspect of despondency. The

tone of the speaker does not suggest any self plty or suspicion about the man's

fidelity. The girl 's speech gives the reader an impression that she should be in

the initial stages of separation because with a great emot~onal stamina she

reassures herself and thereby her anxious friend also, that her foolish eyes fail

to accept the permanent presence of her man residing in them. She wonders ~f

the absurd~ty of her eyes is an automatic outcome of her love-sickness.

a tukol t6Ji k i m a ndye vatikuru kurankum inpi jar pugna i utaitirait tivalai arumpum t inir mellam pulampan pir integap pallitql unkan pdtolliv.!

The evolution of thought suggested through the speech of the girl

undergoes three stages of wonder that are dis t~nct and diffused at once. The

speech started with the sense of stupefication is followed by great fascinat~on

at the i ron~c rum of events, and i t ends with an undisguised wonder at the

novel behav~our of the speaker's eyes w h ~ c h once again leads to the sense of

stupefication.The speech of the girl suggests that she is still in the intial phase

of pirrvu

Arankanar's commentary does no1 highlight the del~cate nuances o i the

depress~on felt by the speakers of Kurunfoka~ 4, Kurunrokai 5 and

Kuruntokui 6. While commenting on the meyppdlu of Kurunrokai 5 and

Kuruntokui 6 , Arankanar states, "meyppdtum payanurn munnuiyav? ",

meaning the emotions expressed in these poems are the same as the one

expressed in Kurunrokui4, an observation which is unacceptable

The pointer phrase, "pir inteo" that occurs in the fourth line of the

poem has been interpreted in two different ways by the commentators

Arankanar and lyer do not spare any space for the finer nuances of the pangs

of separation in their commentaries. According to Arankanar, the phrase

"prrinrena" suggests the man's leaving the girl. His commentary states that

"pirinrd."efiaporufpattal~".'~ Iyer's commentary also uses the word

"pirintend' to mean "pirinrcinrikd'. The girl according to his ~nterpretation

states "raiaiva! piriv@d/ y e tuyi/o!inr.?." " meaning " I have lost sleep because

of his separation from me"."

Iyengar and Somasundaranar portray the girl wondering at the folly of

her eyes in not being able to identify the image of her man that resides

permanently in her eyes. The girl is amazed at the naivety of her eyes, which

though appear to be the organs of vision iron~cally fail to see her man In them

Both the commentators quote from A~nkuruniiru and Tirukkura! to

substantiate their interpretation.'' The commentaries of lyengar and

Somasundaranar read very convincing because they aspire to arrest even the

subtlest shade of an inexpl~cable e m o t ~ o n . ' ~

According to the speech of the girl, the man belongs ro the neylal tract.

where the herons rest in the sweet shade cast by the pucnai trees that are

surrounded by the breaking waves sprinkling droplets of water. The eyes of the girl

that resemble a many petaled flower refuse to sleep belie! ing that the man has gone

away from her. Arankanar treats the poem as an example of lmpllc~t s u g g e s t ~ o n . ~ ~

This poem has been translated by Shanmugam Pillai and Ludden,

P.N.Appuswarny and A.V.Subrarnanlan. Shanmugam Pillai and Ludden's

verslon 1s followed by a note describing the imagery present in the poem

The heron can sleep in the shade of the pugnoi tree, but she cannot sleep at all. The sad mood of the sea-shore poems is embodied in the imagery: the waves come in, like sobs, and the mist flles, like tears. The word used for sea-coast in this poem means also "loneliness, pulompu" (P.329)

Shanmugam Pillai and Ludden's verslon shows evidence of the

Influence of Iyer's commentary on their comprehension of the verse. They have

not tampered with the significance of the opening sentence whlch expresses the

girl's wonderment at the weird nature of her love-sickness, and thelr version

begins wlth a question, "Is this love-sickness, my friend9". Following Iyer's

commentary. Shanmugam Pillai and Ludden have translated "pirinrego" as "IS

gone", and "pal/ i /g/" as "many-petaled lotus" 2 1

I s this love-sickness, my friend ? My man from the sea-coast,

where the punnai tree blooms in the mist of broken waves and the heron sleeps in its shade,

is gone; and my eyes like the many-petaled lotus cannot sleep a wink

(~tal ics not in the original)

This version has no scope at ail for the wandernlent audible in the girl's

voice when she is surprised at the irony of the situation. In her man's land,

even migratory birds enjoy sleep in the shade of the puggai tree whereas the

same man is responsible for her sleeplessness. But this cannot be true. Her

naive eyes have failed to see his image permanently present in them. May be

lhls 1s what love-slckness is. The questlon regarding the strange nature of the

glrl's love-sickness is followed by the vital description of the man's land.

Shanmugam Pillai and Ludden have d~sturbed this logical sequence by

lntroduclng the details of the neytal tract in between the phrase "mef/arn

pufarnpnn" and the pivotal phrase "pirintena". The origlnal offers no such

allowance, and the whole phrase "rnel/arn pufarnpan pirinrend' will have to be

taken as one single thought, if it has to serve as the reason for the girl's

sleeplessness. In the same way the p u n p i s h a d e is meant to offer just a happy

haunt for the heron and in the original verse the trees do not bloom.

Shanmugam Pillai and Ludden have mlstaken the word "arumpu" that occurs In

the third line as a qualifier of punnor, but ~t should have been the word

"innifal ' instead. "arumpu" means, "to bud, sprout, spring forth;" (DEDR 187).

In this context it is the breaking waves (uraiiirat) from which sprlng forth

droplets of water (trvalar arumpum). " t i v o l n ~ " means "small drop, spray

raindrop, ram;" (DEDR 2794).

The sequence of thought presented In the orlglnal allows the karupporuf

and uripporufto operate In perfect harmony because it is the urrpporul, that

validates the presence of specific flora and fauna within the frame of reference.

Unfortunately Shanmugam Pillai and Ludden have not taken thls crucial aspect

seriously. The herons sleeping in the punnaz shade suggest the emotional

security and physical safety assured in the man's land. Hence they occupy the

second line and it is followed by the description of the unique nature o f the

breaking waves Waves breaking at the shores is a common sight but according

to the commentary of Arankanar, the business of the breaking waves sprinkling

droplets of water, is to disturb the sleep of the birds. Hence the water has been

rightly called " t in i r " , meaning, "water that causes d~stress". He has taken the

word " t in i r " as " t i + n i r " , where " t i " means "evil" (DEDR 2673) . The other

commentators have taken "rinir" as " t im+ nir", where "rim" means "sweet"

(DEDR 2674 (a)). Arankanar negates this stand statlng that firstly neyral tract

IS seashore because the man is identified as "mellam pulampag", and sea water

cannot be "cim + ni r " , secondly, like the man who is responsible for the

sleeplessness of the girl, the water of his land also causes distress and injury to

the sleeplng birds. Arankanar holds this as a va l~d reason for labelling the

description of the man's land as an implicit suggestion. Other commentators do

not have the same view. Yet no ava~lable commentary has distorted the

sequence of thought in the fashion in which Shanmugam Plllai and Ludden

have done, separating the man and his departure by illog~cal sequence of

descriptions. The sleepless girl is left to wonder why she "cannot sleep a

wink''.

P.N.Appuswamy's version does not start w ~ t h the girl's question about

the strange nature of her love sickness. The terse description made in the

orig~nal about the resting herons and the breaking waves has been translated in

the most elaborate fashion, and P.N.Appuswamy 11ke Shanmugam P~llai and

Ludden has given more prominence to the details about the seashore, and the

imagery of the herons has been given very little importance. The key word

"pirincena" has been detached from its context and hence rts sign~ficance is

lost considerably

The gentle chief of that land by the sea, Where lapping waves break Upon the pleasant beach And water by thelr spray the mast-head trees Which richly bloom, And where in the shade Of the sea-side groves Nesting herons sleep, Is parted from me:

(Itallcs not in the original)

The phrase "meliam pulampag pirinrefla " has been groundlessly

wrenched distorted, and much like Shanmugam Pillai and Ludden's version,

karupporulhas been used by the translator not as an augmentation of the

rmotlon expressed but as an ornamental piece of descrlptlon Saddenlngly, the

phrase, "Is parted from me" IS physically so distanced from the subject that it

makes the reader wonder if the girl is parted from the nesting herons. The

impact of Iyer's commentary is perceptible as P.N.Appuswamy has also

translated, " p a N ~ q l unkan" as, "eyes soft as lotus petals". The version

concludes with a feeble whlne, "Is this the thing they call love, my dear?"

A.V.Subramanian's version has also discarded the logic in the sequence

of thought presented in the original by choos~ng to brlng to the fore the second

and third lines of the verse. The translator has completely failed to comprehend

the akam poets' need for uslng an implicit suggestion in the context.

In the shore of the sea where he rules Budding blooms e r e rich with the water Sprinkl ing on them from the restless waves, Buds on trees giving greatful (sic) qhade T o flocks of cranes which find shelter And sweet s lumber through all the day.

A.V.Subramanian has translated the word, "pirintecd' as

Bu t he goes on his travels, leaving me T o sorrow in barren loneliness.

Omission of v ~ t a l thoughts that are In the orig~nal is as great a rnlstake

as the addition of irrelevant ideas into the corpus of a verse.

Tell me, friend, can this, in t ruth

Be the love disease they talk about 1

IS A.V.Subramanian's version of "a/uko/ @/i kama nd)P " .

This verse by Palai PGiya Perunka,tunko is the speech of the anxlous

fr~end of the girl who is In a great emotional stress because of the separation from

her man. The man has gone in search of wealth. and the glrl's mend reassures the

girl that while travelling in the w~lderness of pdiat; the man will think of the girl

on hearing the call of the red-legged male lizard i n v ~ t ~ n g ~ t s mate. The clucking

sound of the male lizard will be like the sound made by the hlghway men wh~le

testlng the sharpness of their arrows with their finger nails

The implicit suggestion here is the reference made about the mating call of

the male i~zard, which should encourage the man to make a speedy return to his

distraught lady-love. Arankanar quotes this poem as an example for iruiccct;

whereas Iyer just makes a mention of the suggestive meaning as ' ' k ~ r i p P ~ . 2 2

ulllr kolJ6 t u i kalvar tam ponpugai pak J i ceppankonmar ukirnuti pur~tumdcai pdlac cenkk palli tagrunai payijum

ank* kalliyadklti rantdre

Arankanar's text has an interesting variation In the first line of the verse,

where the word "kalw? has been replaced by the word " k a n a d ' . HIS

commentary states the message of the fnend's speech to be "r~/i/kitiran/cir

kanavar upur kol?" meaning "won't the man think of you wh~le travelling

through the Arankanar gives reason for his considering the poem an

illustrative plece for iruicci As the poet makes a specific reference to the presence

of the lizard inviting its mate, instead of merely stating the landscape to be

wilderness, it is clear that a man, who already has abundant love for the girl would

never fail to react to the sound made by the male lizard. Hence he would hasten to

return to his

T h ~ s exquisite verse which highlights the compassion the resourceful fnznd

has for the girl, has been translated by Shanmugam Plllal and Ludden, George L.

Hart and A.K.Ramanujan. In the original, the ingenious friend begins her firm

speech of solace with a positive observation, "u/idrko//d/Q/I ", a question that

provides a strong dose of confidence to the mentally afflicted glrl. The shrewd

friend has a keen insight into the workings of human mind, and hence she projects

the positive aspects of this painful phase of love. Though her speech commences

with a question, the tone is one of conviction and sur~ty with the least trace of

doubt, because the confidence in her voice escalates as she describes the situation

that would kindle intimate thoughts about the girl in the man's mind.

Shanmugam Pillai and Ludden's version has not yaken into consideration

the psychological need behind putting forth a question of this nature. The tone of

the speaker here is totally different from that of the girl In Kuruniokai5, who also

pronounces the novelty of her love-sickness in the form of a question. In

Kurunrokai 5, the questlon is asked in wonderment whereas In this poem, the tone

is clearly one of certitude. A translator has to be sensltlve to this accent of

assuredness, to understand the implicit suggestion. Shanmugam Pillu and Ludden

have shuffled the sequence of thought by denying "u/ / i r ko//8 rd/l " its sanctioned

status. The question becomes one of feeble and doubtful inflection when it is

asked towards the end of the version.

The version also reads a running commentary of the man's travelling

O u r man is crossing the wasteland

where the red-legged lizard invites his mate from the cactus stem with a sound like that of robbers flicking their arrows with the tips of their finges to test the sharpness.

will he not think of us, my friend?

(Italics not in the original)

The u//uraiis totally detached from the unpporu/of the verse both in form and in

sense. The version does not bring out the relationship between the male lizard's

call and the speaker's conviction. Had the sentence, "Our man IS crosslng the

waste land" been a clause like "Our man while crosslng the wasteland," the

damage done to the sequence of thought, and thereby d~rectly to the significance

of the implic~t suggestion, could have been greatly minimised. Kuruntokai 67 by

AUnrNamnullai also starts in a similar fashion w ~ t h the question "u l l~ rko / /6

l@?, and there too Shanmugam Ptlla~ and Ludden have disturbed the sequence of

thought much in the same manner as in Kuruntoka~ 16.

Hart has translated "u//8rko//6 r@/in as "has he forgotten me, friend?"e

translator's dismaying negligence in ident~fy~ng the difference between

"forgetfulness" and "rumination" has a detrimental effect on the delicately

balanced unpporuL Though "utlu" means, "to thnk, think on, remember''

(DEDR 600), the speaker's faith in the man is so strong that even "remember" will

be an insulting cho~ce of word; "to think" IS the only appropriate option.

Has he forgotien me, friend Y Like the scraping sound When thieves turn against their nails iron tipped arrows to make them ready, a red-legged lizard calls its mate in the wilderness filled with lovely stemmed kalli where he has gone.

(italics not in the orig~nal)

Hart has retained in his version the sequence of thought as presented in the

original. But ironically the retention has served no avail. The word "p6la" has

been rightly translated as "l~ke". Yet, it does not save the verse from the inane

ambiguity that distorts the sprit of the yNumi because the version seems to say

that, "a red-legged lizard calls its mate when thieves turn against their nails iron

tipped arrows". Any reader who is unfamiliar with the akam conventions, and its

complex nature would necessarily wonder at the irrelevance of the employment of

this imagery while expressing the emotion of thrust. The ingenuity of the simile is

so exquisitely appropriate that, the reader of the original will be s t u ~ e d on

identifying "the sameness" in the sounds produced by two different karupporul,

which belong to the same rnuta/porulbut are commissioned to underline a unlque

uripporurl It is rather saddening that George L. Hart had the least idea of any of

these while translating this verse

Kuruntokaipoems do not portray any delicate emotlon in excess, because

immoderate d~splay of a passion will never be felicitous of the akam persona who

operate within arntinai. A.K.Ramanujan's translation shows the girl's friend

overdoing her role as a source of solace by repeating a pathet~c plea, "will he not

really think of us" not once but twice

Will he nor really think of us When he passes the clumps of milk-hedge With their fragrant trunks and hears the red legged lizard call to his mate in cluckings that sound like the highway robber's fingernail testing the point of his iron arrow, Will he not really think of us, friend ?

(italics not in the original)

As has been already mentioned, the tone of the speaker is one of credence,

and the translator does not have any allowance to present it as one of misgiving

and disquiet. A.K.Ramanujan's introduction of the word "really" twice distorts the

unpporulof the verse. In an akam verse what is left unsaid IS as precious as what

is said. Repetition of the question gives only a negative emphasis to the chance of

the hero's abstraction to the girl's agony. A.K.Ramanujan's translation of

&ri/runrokai67 also repeats "uNdrkolf5c@li" two times, to begln and conclude the

verse, but instead of asking, "will he not really think of us", the girl's friend

questions, " w ~ l l he remember my friend 1".

A.K.Ramanujan has taken lyer's intepretation of the word "ariku?' that

occurs in the last line of the verse as "am - kdl" meaning "beautiful stems", yet

"clumps of m~lk-hedge with their fragrant trunks" is a deviant translation of the

phrase, "unkar ku//ijw?ik@u ", with an irrelevant adjective like "fragrant", because

Kuruntokai poets do not use superfluous qualifiers to distort the spirit of the

poem.

Iyer's interpretation though a corect one ( am + k d meaning alaktya

at~yuQuraiya - having beautiful legs), is not appropriate in the context. On the

other hand, Iyengar's interpretation of "kdl" as "kdlam" or '>po!uru" makes the

phrase more meaningful, because the girl's friend in her concern to cheer up the

girl, may not speak about the beautiful stems of ka//~. Instead she may certainly

mention the "beautiful or suitable time for the man to think of the girl when he

travels through cactus grown wilderness". It is "good time" because it makes the

man think of reachtng the glrl early Arankanar's commentary explalns why he

calls the Imagery "~rutcct ", quotlng kom Tolkduu~varn 'k'oru/a~kdrarn ' *' It becomes ev~dcnt that even by rctalnlng the sequence of thought presented

In the ong~nal In the versions, the translators can fall thoroughly In arrestrng the

spint of the ongrnal When the sign~ficance of the emotlon conveyed IS lost,

sequence of thought, however much closely adhered to, uould only remarn an

empty verbal frame

Thls verse by N e t u v e d a n g a r bnngs to focus the adro~tness wlth whlch

the girl's fnend attempts to drscourage the man from meetrng the grrl at nlght The

frrend IS sure that thls klnd of an encumbrance would motrvate Ihe man to arrange

for an early marriage with the girl She after confirming the presence of the man In

the nerghbourhood, levels a charge at the moon stating that it w ~ l l do no good to

the clandestine relatronshlp between the man and the girl

On a moonl~t n~ght in the jungle, the dark boulders with the blossoms of

the w2nkui tree whlch have fallen on them appear llke tlger cubs The man nsks

such scanng slghts to meet the girl at nrght, and at thls juncture the moon with 11s

long wh~te rays 1s certainly unwelcome

It 1s lnterestlng to note that moonlight 1s one in the llst of obstacles that

hlnders the lovers from meetlng each other 26 Arankanar considers the Imagery

present 1n the poem to be [rarcct because of the suggestion ~t makes '' Iyer also

calls it "ker~ppu ", and Iyengar renders an elaborate and enlightening commentary

for t h ~ s verse

karunkil vCnkai viyuku tujukal irumpulik kurulaiyi~rdnrunkittitai elli varunar kalavkku nallaiyallai netuvennilave

The arresting Imagery In the first two lines gives a pen plcture of the hardships,

whlch the man willingly faces just to meet the girl at night All the commcntanes

highlight this beautiful simlle through whlch the girl's fnend attempts to drlve

home her message, compelling the man to exped~te h ~ s marriage a ~ t h the g~r l

Arankanar states that the Jnkaz flowers on the boulders glve a false threat by

resembling the tiger cubs In the same way the man also gives a false scare to the

girl that he is not lncl~ned to marry her ~mmedlately Hence if the girl Insists, he

would certainly give his consent 29 lyengar, on the other hand, interprets the

phrase, "ka/avfrku nalfa~ya///ai" In an interesting way The moon light IS not good

for the kalavu aspect of love, and by saying so, the glrl's fnend means that ~t

should be good for the k~rpu phase of love Hence he should hasten to marry the

girl 'O The moonl~ght 1s an impediment because what ~t showed in the jungle is

untrue and what 11 intends showlng the people In the neighbourhood when the man

meets the girl 1s true 'I Ironically In both the places it proves itself to be

"na/la/ya//at" because its pnme aim is to Intimidate the lovers '*

This remarkable poem of four lines has been translated by Shanmugam

Pillai and Ludden, George L Hart and A K Ramanu~an A K Ramanu~an and

Shanmugam Pillu and Ludden have shuffled the sequence of thought by first

apostrophiz~ng the moon, and then sating that it does no help to the man They

have also detached the simile from the rest of the verse, and the imagery is offered

as the last in the sequence of thought Shanmugam P~llal and Ludden's verslon 1s

rendered as follows

0 long, white moonlight : you a re no help for the romance of this man who must come through the forest in the dark of the night

when the yellowflowers of the venkai tree fall on a bolder (sic) to make it look like a huge tiger cub

(italics not In the onginal)

They have translated, "netu vennl/av2" as "0 long, wh~te moonlight", but

in the original the speaker addresses the moon and not the moonlrght The word

"long" In then version clearly denotes the length of the l~gh t ray and not the

duration of time The g~rl's fnend in the onginal accuses the moon as "netu

venntluvu" because it would stay for a long penod of time mak~ng ~t ~mposslble

for the lovers to meet

Shanmugam P~llai and Ludden have also distorted the sense of the third

llne by translating, "kdmfai elf^ voruna?' as a slngle thought, but Ihe phrase "el11

vunmar" belongs to the key word "kalavu", because "rruvukkgrr " IS a very

significant phase in ka/avu The version unnecessanly compels the man to come

purposely through the forest, in the darkness of the n~ght The ennkar tree 1s also

put in a s ~ m ~ l a r pred~cament of being forced to shed "yellow flowers" on a

"bolder" "to make ~t look" like the tiger cubs The boulders with the ~nnkal

flowers strewn on them appearing like tlger cubs is purely co~nc~dental and not

deliberate Both the boulder and the ~?nkur tree are absolutely Innocent, and the

real culpnt IS the moonl~ght But Shanmugam Plilai and Ludden's verslon tampers

w ~ t h the passivity of the tree, thus tamishlng the beauty of a plcturesque simlle

A K Ramanujan also does the same blunder with the karupporulof the poem thus

0 long white moonlight, you do him no good a t all as he comes stealing through the night in the forest

where the blaek-stemmed vEnkal drops its flowers on the round stones and makes them look like tiger cubs in the half-light !

The absurdity of the verslon IS disheartening because not only has the

translator disturbed the sequence of thought but also has presented the karupporul

as functioning independently wlth a mind of 11s own This preposterous

presentatlon plays havoc with the sense of the poem and the suitability of the

s~mlle In the version, the e n k u ~ tree appears to have decided to "drop" ~ t s

flowers specifically on the "round stones" because 11 wants to "make them look

like tiger cubs", and the onginai makes no mention of "the half-light'"

The origlnal employs commendable loglc in the sequence of thought The

girl's friend states firstly the nature of the man's travel, secondly the need for the

travel and finally the nuisance whlch the moon may cause It should be

remembered that the addressee IS not the moon but the man, who will have to be

discouraged from such missions in future The last line of the origlnal poem bnngs

out the astuteness of the friend, who makes use of the moon to educate the man

causing him embarassment. A.K.Ramanujan's addition of the phrase, "in the half

light" with an exclamation mark ruins the suggestion made through the simile.

George L. Hart reta~ns the thought pattern of the original, but that does not

improve the quality of his version.

Flowers have fallen from the black-stalked venkai trees into round stones So they seem tiger cubs in the forest where he comes at night to do what he should not Better that you were not here 0 long white light of the moon

(italics not in the original)

Prepositions are dangerous little dynamites powerful enough to cause

irrepairable damage to the sense of any utterance "Into" suggesrs the permeable

state of the stones, rather a pathetic state for stones. But the most unpardonable

distortion 1s seen in the translation of the word "kalavd', which has been rendered

as, "to do what he should not". The akam conventions do not condemn the

clandestine relationship between man and woman as immoral or illicit. It has been

held on par with "kgpII' because "ka/avd' prescribes a stnct code of conduct for

the lovers. Hence is is called ka/a!q/ukkarn, where " ~ l u k k a m " means, "acting

according to established rules, good conduct, decorum". (DEDR 850). Instead of

~nforming the moon that its presence is not good, the version says that its absence

would he better, which is a contortion of the impllc~t suggestion made." It is

unfortunate that translators repeatedly overlook the significance of the unppoplin

After the departure of the man In search of wealth for lus mamage w ~ t h the grl,

the glrl's body and rmnd show obv~ous symptoms of klmunij, love sickness Her

perturbed fnend bles to comfon the girl feanng that she may not survive the sorrow of

separation, and as a reply to her amlous fkend, the gul remirusces how radiant her

appearance was before she rejolced w~th her man Her self appreclatton 1s no valn

glonficat~on and is a dellberate attempt to escape from the overwhelming emotlon of

self pity Thls verse by Maturai &ff&@r Gntampotallar glves an lnslght into the

delicate aspect of the gxl's dlshubed psychophys~cal compatib~l~ty

pfivotu puraiyun kannum vcyena vi~alvagap peytiya tdlum pi~aiyena matimayak kupiu nutalu nacjum nallaman vi j i t t l i yalkalum tayankutirai poruta t2jai venprik kurukega malarum peruntufii virinirc ccrppanotu nakda vlinkZ

It is natural for a depressed mlnd to recollect the delightful moments of the

past to denve suffic~ent stamlna to llve through the pnlnful present So the speaker

summons up speclal memorles of her youthful appearance before she attempts to

descnbe the nature of the neytai tract to whch her man belongs She closes her

succlnct self appriusal w ~ t h a stunningly suggestive phrase, "nakda vrinke" The

word "naku" means, "to laugh, smile, rejolce, bloom as a flower, open, expand,

shlne, glitter," (DEDR 2944) In his commentary for this poem, lyer treats thls

panlcular word as a euph~mlstic term that ~nd~ca tes the nature of relat~onsh~p the

girl had w ~ t h the man 34 Iyer also gives a l ~ s t of akarn verses where "nakai' IS

used w ~ t h the same connotation 35

The bashful smlle of the girl plays an Important role In the imt~al phase of

kalavu In the first spontaneous union of the lovers, ryqrkarppunarcn, "muruvar

kunppunanal" IS a sub-phase, where the girl 1s seen smlllng boldly suggesting her

w~llingness In this context "nakar" does mean "sm~le" But, as Iyer puts 11, the

word IS used In Kurunroka~ 226 to suggest ~ygrkatppunarccr Hence, the most

appropnate meaning for "nake~" In t h s context may be "rejoice"

T h ~ s verse has been translated by Shantnugam Pllla~ and Ludden, and

A K Ramanujan, and both have started their versions w ~ t h the concluding thought

presented In the orlglnal and have made a cho~ce of the word "laughter" as the

meanlng for "naku" Along wlth the disturbance In the sequence of thought

A K Ramanujan's verslon suffers a heavy distortion In the meanlng of the poem

Before I laughed with him ntghtly

the slow waves beating on his wide shores and the palmyra bringing forth heron-like flowers near the waters,

my eyes were like the lotus my arms had the grace of the bamboo my forehead was mistaken for the moon.

But now (~talics not in the or~gmal)

A K Ramanu~an's unnecessary addition of the word, "n~ghtly" dlstorts the

sense of the verse ser~ously The translator's lack of knowledge In akam

conventions 1s made conspicuous not only through h ~ s thoughtless inclus~on of the

word but also from his commentary for the poem In the 'Aftenvord' of

T- 36 More unfortunate 1s Kam~l V Zveleb~l's quotlng of thls

verslon of A K Rarnanujan as an ~llustratlve plece for "rravukkuri', a sub-phase In

kalavu, that specifies the nature of n~ght tryst -?'

The onginal does not make any reference to the man rneetlng the g ~ r l at

n~ght, and as has been already ment~oned, the word "nakai" suggests

ryarkarppunarcc~ where the g~rl ' s bashful smlle, and the man's words of pralse of

the f e m ~ n ~ n e charm of the girl are Integral components 38 The urzpporuf of the

verse IS one of sorrow, and hence the speaker 1s seen mak~ng an earnest attempt to

relive the pleasant moments of the past by recollecting her man's words of pralse

This psychological need to boost her low morale IS the immediate reason

ior her l ~ s t ~ n g out her phys~cal chams wrthoul any [race of vain glorlficatlon

A K Ramanujan's version has defeated thls purpose completely

The imagery that descr~bes the landscape of the man's dwell~ng IS

considered very s~gnlficant by commentators l ~ k e Iyengar and Somasundaranar

Somasundaranar states that the thorny palmyra shrubs put fonh brill~ant wh~te

flowers that look hke Innocent herons, and much In the same way the man who IS

capable of putting the g ~ r l to misery by staying away from her. d ~ d utter once

words of goodness and Innocence that he would not 11ve w~thout her 3 9 Iyengar

glves a d~fferent interpretation for the imagely statlng that, as the girl says, "c</ar

venprik kurkya mahrumperunt~ra~ meanmg, "the seashore where the r~faf puts

forth whlte flowers", ~t IS obv~ous that the tglai plant d ~ d put forth flowers In

real~ty but the blossoms were mistaken for herons and hence left unused In the

same manner the glrl wonders ~f her youthful charm w ~ l l also go wasted ~f the man

does not arrange for an early marnage 40

Though the lnterpretatlons vary provldlng enough scope for the reader to

der~ve aesthetic pleasure, all the commentators agree upon the ut111ty and relevance

of the Imagery In the glven context But, A K RaInanujan has detached the imagery

from the corpus of h ~ s vers~on by provid~ng no loglcal sequence between the

openlng clause and the descrlptlve lines on the neytal tract The openlng Ilne,

"Before 1 laughed w ~ t h hlm n~ghtly", galns completeness only when read along

with the three concluding llnes that speak of the girl's grace The Imagery hangs In

between these loose and redundant He has also spl~t the ~magery whlch is

presented as one thought In the ongrnal Into two unrelated groups of words palred

wlth the help of a conjunction The breaklng waves toss and dash agalnst the

palmyra shrub at nlghts unceasingly whlch puts forth wh~te floaers that resemble

herons T h ~ s lmagery has been considered by Iyengar as suggestlve of the glrl

belng harassed at nlghts by the strong emotion of love for the man 41

The last word of the fourth Ilne of the onglnal IS "aikaP' whlch means

"mght" (DEDR 199) "a/ka/um tayanku aroi porufa rglai renpu " 1s part of the

Imagery where the word "alkar' refers to the unendlng onslaught of the waves

One wonders ~f A K Ramanujan had unfortunately clubbed thls word w ~ t h the vltal

phrase wlth whlch the verse concludes, and read It as " a / . / u m nakriavJnkP' This

IS the only way through whlch he could have amved at a clause l~ke, "Before I

laughed w ~ t h h ~ m nightly"

The influence of the commentators 1s obv~ous in the way In which

A K Ramanujan closes the verse as "But now" All the commentators conclude

then commentary for the verse as "u~n11u1 lppdru k ~ n r u r u " meaning "But now

that stage (of well bemg) IS over" Though no such statement IS made In the

onglnal, commentators derive the suggestion from the word ''mud' 42

A K Ramanujan's version has also left untranslated the phrase of preetlng,

"V@I r4I1" which 1s a val~d ~ntemal ev~dence that helps In ~dentifylng accurately

the tura, of the poem It IS a costly mtss on the part of the translator because

register decides the manner and matter of a speech

Shanmugam Pilla~ and Ludden's version does less damage to the sense and

spirlt of the poem though the pnorlty of thoughts has been d~sturbed

Before I laughed with that man from the shore,

where the ocean stretches along a wide beach and white flowers of the tazai shrub beaten by shining waves night after night bloom like herons :

my eyes were like flowers; my shoulders were beautiful and victorious like bamboo; and my forehead was like the crescent moon -- it made even wisdom confused. They were so beautiful : but now, my friend ....

The comparable attnbute of the heron with the rglur bloom can only be ~ t s

white colour, as has been specifically suggested by the adjective "pen ", which

means "white". Iyer observes that the girl says "venpu" to eliminate any reference

to "cenrafal', the red-coloured flower of r a l u ~ ~ ~ Yet Shanmugam Pillai and

Ludden, in their commentary that follows the verse write that," Blooming like

herons could mean either that their colour is wh~te like herons, or that the flowers

are shaped like heron's back"

The original leaves no room for the flowers to be mistaken for heron due to

their shape because ~nspite of the employment of exquisite implicit suggestions a

Kurunrokaiverse has never been ambiguous. But one should accept the fact that

Shanmugam Pillal and Ludden's version of the Imagery does more Justice to the

or~glnal than that of A.K.Ramanujan because Shanmugam Pllla~ and Ludden have

taken care to provide the opening statement In their verse an essent~al logical l~nk

with the Imagery that follows.

Unlike A.K.Ramanujan, Shanmugam Pillai and Ludden compare the eyes of

the girl to "flowers".44 But the phrase "v[ruf vu~uppeyf~ya r6/u/um" has been

carelessly translated as "The shoulders were beautiful and victorious like bamboo",

showing the Influence of Iyer's commentary. "M1irikiiaipp61u vqr~y+ura@a

~ i a k u ~ p e ~ ~ a f ~ a / u m " is the interpretation given by the commentator which

should be rearranged as "mririki/u~pp(a qlaku@~[ru ~ ~ r ~ y u ~ y u r a ~ y u r6fkufud' to

avoid unnecessary ambiguity. Otherwise, both "beauty" and "victory" would

become the attributes of bamboo and would distort the delicate sense of the verse.

lyer, Iyengar and Somasundaranar interpret " v l rd as "victory" and give reasons

for thelr cho~ce of meaning 45 '' @r(~l' has yet another meanlng as "strength"

(DEDR 4466), and hence " viye~a v~ral wpappu" may mean also "strong md

beautiful as bamboo" This lnterpretatlon seems more appropnate, because ~f the

girl happens to call her shoulders "vlctonous" she could do so only after

comparing ~ t s beauty with those of other women Unfortunately thls is exactly

what the commentators highlight 46 In that case the girl w ~ l l have to be guilty of

vanity and self augmentation, which w ~ l l rnlsrepresent the tone of the uripporul

Even if one takes the words of the girl to be those of the man after

iygrkatppunarrci the commentators' Interpretation of the phrase appears

unacceptable Seemingly ~ns~gn~f ican t qual~fiers may play serlous roles I n

sustalnlng the sens~bility of the verse thus mak~ng the rnisslon of translation

warrant extreme v~gilance In the phrase "p~raiye~emoti mayakkuru nutalum",

"marimoyakkam" has been rendered as "wlsdom confused", an unpoetlc way of

acknowledging the bewltchlng beauty of the g ~ r l Shanmugam Pillai and Ludden's

verslon also concludes as, "but now my fr~end " suggestlng a transformation in

her appearance, whlch is deliberately left unsdid in the orlglnal

Sequence of thought In a Kurunrokai verse is ~ t s most cardlnal aspect as ~t

dec~des the very "bemg" of the poem Any illogical Interference w ~ t h 11s ~ntell~gent

organlsation w ~ l l lnvlte irrepairable damage to the essence of the verse On the

other hand mere meaningless adherence to the sequence of thought does not

guarantee a successful transference of the subtle spint of the poem either On

many occasions the translators have proved extremely loyal to the sequence of

thought In the orlglnal by retalnlng ~t fully In their versions, yet they have faded In

retaming the essence of the onginal m the~r renderings The most important

reasons behlnd such literary m~shaps are the ~nd~scnm~na te use of half-l~ne

constructlons, lnappropnate punctuatlon marks, madequate knowledge of a h m

conventlons and the Improper readmess to compromise w ~ t h the ava~lable list of

inexact "synonyms" Each one of these vanous reasons can contnbute greatly to

the dlstort~on of sequence of thought and thereby the sense of the poem The half-

l ~ n e constructlons allow l~nes to swell and shr~nk, splitting and scatterlng words

and phrases, thereby letting lines funct~on In isolat~on Independently In such a

format empty spaces speak eloquently after sllenc~ng the words 4-

NOTES AND REFERENCES

' flamoriranam Tolkd~plyam 'PorulaNkdram', meyppitfzya/ ctiN/ram 247

naka~yd qlukat titwra/ maruth

accam perurntram wkuh u d a r yegru

apptl erram rneyppaP?reppa

Uampnranar wh~le comrnentlng on thls criffiram quotes from Ceyirrtyam the

definlt~ons for meypp6ru thus

uyppn ceytaru kJnpork keyfufal

meyppdfenpa meyunararnf6r?

meanmg, the transference of the emotlon felt by the sufferer to the onlooker 1s

called meyppdtu, the man~festat~on of the physical expression of the emotlon

llampiiranam T o / k i ~ o ~ w m 'Poru/af~kdram' . Ceyyu/iya/ ciirtiram 109

uytfunar vzgraf t a b varu porunmayilr

meyppara muftppafu meyppdrdkum

llamparanar sums up h s commentary for this citfiram saylng that, "ceyyur

ceyvdr meyppdfu t&rac ceytal ~ntume~pafu karuttu " meaning that the

composer of a poem should compose In such a v.ay that the emotlons are

brought out clearly

Nam~riranam Tolkrippr wrn ' Porulankiram' . Kaia viya/ crift~ram 1 96

' Takanobu taka hash^, - and Poet~cs Literarv Conventions of Tam11 Lo\e

Poetrv (Utrecht Univers~ty of Utrechet) 247

According to Takahashi, Tolkduptwm does not descr~be thls theme In detail

although in many places there IS a mention to some of ~ t s sub-phdses

A ~ ~ D D O N ~ Vllakkam 169 calls t h ~ s theme wraivifai valfrupporu/vay(rplrlvu

flamp~iranam To/k i~p i wrn 'Poru/arrkriram', ka/av/ya/ cdrr,ram I09

" rnunwu meynnrruffa/"

Ilamparanar quotes Kuruntokor 4 as an ~llustrative piece to h~ghlight the girl's

endurance of her agony without lottins it surface, thereby betray~ng hor patn to

others

Peranrrvum Tobkip~twm 'Porulat~kdrurn'. Kalavryal riirr~ram 109

"muntvu meynntruttal"

This phrase expresses one of the most powerful emotions that comes under the

11st of emotlons shown by the glrl after the man's promlse of marriage with

her Tolkdpptvam glves a detailed list of the lntrlcate emotlons under the

heading " varatvukku ntmtnumJga meyppdtuku/" Peracuiyar gives the

commentary for the phrase "rnucrvu meynnnnirurrai" from an entirely d~fferent

stand He states that this phrase talks about the external manifestat~on of anger

and disappointment - "rulutmukalcu~ Kruppui ~ i ~ p u t u k kdicm~~ral"

U V Camlnata Iyer, Kuruntokal (Madras Kablr Press. 1947) 15

A Narayanasamy lyer, Narrlnal Nanuru (Tirunvelvel~ The South Ind~a Saiva

S~dhanta Works Publ~shing Society, 1962) 531

P V Somasundaran, Alnkurunuru (Tirunvelvel~ The South lndla Salva S~dhanta

Works Publishing Soc~ety, 1962) 82

l o Iyer, 429

" Iyer 429

'' lyer 129

13 S T Coler~dge, "B~ograph~a L ~ t e r a r ~ d Chapter XIV". Enellsh C r ~ t ~ c a l Texts,

16th Century to 19th Century, ed D J Enright and Ernest De Chickera

(London Oxford U n ~ v e r s ~ t y Press, 1971) 210

l 4 Iyer 15, 19

l 5 C h o u n p e ~ m a l Arankan, l(umnt0kaI Mulamum Uralvum (Velur Vidya

Ratnakar Press, 1915) 10-13

l 6 Arankanar 12

" Iyer 17

l 8 R Raghava lyengar, Kuruntoka~ Vllakkm (Annamalal Nagar Annamala~

University, 1993) 35 ,

P V Somasundaran, Kuruntoka~ (Tlmnvelvel~ The South India Salva Sidhanta

Works Publ~shlng Soc~ety, 1978) 11

Both commentators quote from T~mkkural 1127 and A l n k u r u n u ~ 169

l9 Iyengar 35-36, Somasundaranar 11

20 Arankanar 12

Il lyer 17

lyer Interprets "po//~tgi" as "pala ctglkalatyutalya ifitnaraippi" meaning "man)

petaled lotus"

22 Arankanar 25, Iyer 44

23 Arankanar 25

24 Arankanar 25-26

25 Arankanar 26

Arankanar cons~ders Kuruntokar 16 an example for iraiccr because

~o~kdppcvam 'Porulat~kdram', Poruhyal ciittrram 227 specifies that iralcct 1s

one of the ways of expressing the agony of the speaker

acpgru takuvaca craicctycr curtalum vacpqaryakum wruntzydp~/ut?

26 lralvanar Akao~orul Vilakkam cJfi~ram 16, P 101

The seven components enumerated by Nakklrar are called "~ravukkur, ~ta!yifu"

meanlng "the stnct protection" The seven obstacles are 1) Mother staymg up

2) The dog slttlng up 3) The vlllage belng up 4) The village belng stnctly

guarded 5) The Moon shining brlghtly 6) The owl hooting, and 7) The hen

28 Iyer 117, lyengar 97-98

29 Arankanar 9 1

30 Arankanar 91

" Iyengar 98

32 Iyengar 98

'' Iyengar 98

Iyengar renders a bnlllant commentary for Kurunfokai 47 where he states that

the moon IS no help to the kalavu phase of love The girl's f iend mentions

thls specifically not to encourage the man to choose some other time for

clandestine meeting but to remind him the need for an early marriage

George L Hart's verslon requests the absence of the moon thereby suggesting

to the man to look out for safer ways of meetlng the girl

34 lqer 477

35 Iyer 477

lyer glves a list of poems where the word "nukal" is used as a euphernistlc

term to mean the intimate relationship the glrl had wlth the man The term

occurs In Kurunroka! 169, 320, 381 and 394, &pyg 135, 187, 299

36 A K Ramanujan, The Intenor Lansdcaoe (Delhi Oxford Unlverslty

Press, 1994) 11 1

A K Ramanu~an quotes Kurunrokat 226 as an example for the poems that deal

w t h conventions Unfortunately the words of pralse of the man regarding the

beauty of the girl have been treated as "hackneyed phrases" by the translato1

The words of the man are certainly not empty flattery to win access to the girl

In the onginal poem, the girl 1s not blaming the man of falsehood But

according to the translator, phrases l~ke , "eyes like the lotus, forehead l ~ k e the

moon" are fine only when one rs happy In love

" K a m ~ l V Zveleb~l, -J- (Madras Inst~tute of

AsIan Studies, 1986) 32

Zvelebll unfortunately quotes A I< Ramanu~an's translation of Kurunfokai 226

as an example for the lover's place of meetlng at night, iruvukkurt

38 To/ka~uivurn 'Porulur~kdrarn'. Ka/uv~yu/criri~rams 98, 99

These two cPffrrums clearly define every poss~ble physio psycholog~cal

changes that take place In the lovers dunng iya_rkurppunurcc~ of wh~ch the

g~rl ' s smile, " rn~ruvolk~r~ppu" and the man's praising the phys~cal beauty of

the girl are very sign~ficant aspects

39 Somasundaranar 332

Somasundaranar interprets the Imagery In the poem Kurunfokui 226 as follows

z@laiyi.nuru mulluratya ma/ur friya apparn pdu rnulururn f q ~ v u p

e p u , innafiam pirrnfqa vipdkuvurn " n i n w ptriyZ~, plnyrp

v&l@ " ecar Niyap p@ru k g r i g i ~ epnurn kgrrppirru

lyengar 335

41 Iyengar 335

Iyengar Interprets the phrase, "aLI.aiurn ruyunkurrruiporufa /&I venpu" as

"iravutQrum kdrnakkaruld/ ula~kkupparurn fupnaik kurippafrn "

42 Iyengar 334, Somasundaranar 331, Iyer 476

" Iyer 1 7 7

44 Iyer has Interpreted " p J m puraryun kannum" as "fiimurui maluru~ yotto

kankulum" and thls has influenced A K Ramanu~an's translation - "my eyes were

like the lotus"

45 Iyer 476, lyengar 334, Somasundaranar 221

46 Iyer 476, lyengar 334, Somasundaranar 221

4 7 A K Ramanujan, Poems of Love and War (Delh~ Oxford Unlverslty Press,

A K Ramanujan's verslon of Kuruntokaz 370 1s an example for the damage

done to the sense of an akam verse through using an unsuitable format of half-

poykaiyimpalaninirak kqlumukai

vantu vaytbakkum tanturai yzranotu

iruppigiru marunkiname kitappin

villaka viralir poruntiyavag

nallakari ceri noru marunkiname

T h ~ s verse has been rendered thus

What the concubine said

When she heard the wife complain about the concubine's wiles.

In lily ponds, the plump colorful buds are forced open by bumble bees on his cool seashore.

I sit with him, we are two bodies.

We lie together, we are close as fingers around a bow.

He goes home .. I too am left with a single body

V~llakaviralinar ("The Poet of the

Fingers Around a Bow")