But her red-lid eyes are cruel
Like death are they, like death. (Cilap.)
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The girl for her part deluded by his promises has given her heart to one who does not seem to care any more for her. There is no means of compelling him, and no one will believe her story for she was all alone when he made his advances and made those promises which he has not kept. But the girl remembers there was a witness, a single stork, but even that stork was so intent on the fish in the stream that it could not be cited as a witness: Alone were we; not another soul.
Should he deny, what recourse have 1?
With legs resembling panicum stems,
Intent on fish in flowing stream,
When he promised, there stood too a stork. (Kur. 25) |
This ancient love poetry is rich and robust in the sentiments which it expresses, and the words which it selects to convey those sentiments. Besides eroticism, it contains good psychology and good humour. It draws inspiration from everyday life and common scenes, and is rich in the sensuous and imaginative load it gives to words: Like a royal garland of kƒntal flowers is she,
And season's jasmines with water-lilies intertwined,
But by far, more fragrant, and smoother to my touch,
And sweet, of course, to my arm's fond embrace. (Kur. 90) |
Panegyric Poetry While love poetry formed one great stream, there was another great stream, namely panegyric poetry, the outpourings of court bards, or of poets who sang placing themselves in the position of bards eulogising a chief or king. The bards and minstrels performed important functions in a society in which clans predominated and feud-vendetta between them was common. Function of Bards The Tamil name for the professional bard is itself derived from the word pun, which stands for instrumental music. Instrumental accompaniment in India was an indispensable feature of early song and dance as in Greece. The bards in the Tamil country were differentiated by the kind of musical instrument they played, the large |