குறுந்தொகை - 2

D01115 - குறுந்தொகை - 2

Continuing the discussion of poems from குறுந்தொகை this lesson deals with another thirteen songs from this book. The items taken up are the same as before, namely, contents, techniques and forms. As in many poems of sangam literature the relationship between nature and human life can be seen in these poems too. They also point out the pain of separation experienced even by the hero. It is unavoidable to compare the past with the present when human nature undergoes a change. In at least two of the selected poems this comparison occurs.

Hero, heroine and her friend are the three characters figuring in songs dealing with love. Between them there happen of a number of mischievous games. The friend’s act of shocking the hero by lying that the heroine’s elder brothers are there, and another friend telling the heroine an imaginative story of herself being in love with someone can be seen in these poems. A beautiful scene of a well-knit family can also be enjoyed in one of these poems.

கோப்பெருஞ்சோழன் was a royal poet and his poem is a statement of the hero, dreaming about her. Can you have an interest in reading the name of a called poetess காக்கை பாடினியார் நச்செள்ளையார்? She makes the heroine thankful to the crow as the harbinger of the arrival of the hero. ஒக்கூர் மாசாத்தியார், another poetess whose poem is included in புறநானூறு also sings about the heroine’s statement of the arrival of the season in which the hero promised to return from his trip but so far did not.

யாரணங் குற்றனை கடலே? is an utterance to the wavy sea as if it is in distress. The heroine considers the sea as another heroine, having been deserted by a person, like heresy! நெருஞ்சி is a metaphor for the hero who loved the heroine before and left her in the lurch owing to his being with a prostitute.

Similes like ஓர் ஏர் உழவன் போல and இருள் திணிந்தன்ன and silent scenes like serving food for the newly married hero are noteworthy. Separation and conjugation enhance the love. The form of a poem is itself expressive of the feelings of the hero, heroine or her friend.

You will certainly enjoy the scenes of family, dream, omens and so on in these poems and will even be tempted to compose poems taking cue from them.