Sangam Lit cover art

Sangam Lit

Sangam Lit

Written by: Nandini Karky
Listen for free

About this listen

 Reflections on 2000 Year Old Tamil Poetry© 2019 Nandini Karky Art Philosophy Social Sciences World
Episodes
  • Aganaanooru 170 – A message to the man

    Aganaanooru 170 – A message to the man
    Jan 30 2026

    In this episode, we perceive an attempt to enlist a unique messenger, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 170, penned by Madurai Kallitru Kadaiyathan Vennaakanaar. The verse is situated amidst the silent backwaters of the ‘Neythal’ or ‘Coastal landscape’ and etches exquisite scenes of life in this domain.

    கானலும் கழறாது; கழியும் கூறாது;
    தேன் இமிர் நறு மலர்ப் புன்னையும் மொழியாது;
    ஒரு நின் அல்லது பிறிது யாதும் இலனே;
    இருங் கழி மலர்ந்த கண் போல் நெய்தல்
    கமழ் இதழ் நாற்றம் அமிழ்து என நசைஇ,
    தண் தாது ஊதிய வண்டினம் களி சிறந்து,
    பறைஇ தளரும் துறைவனை, நீயே,
    சொல்லல் வேண்டுமால் அலவ! பல்கால்
    கைதைஅம் படுசினை எவ்வமொடு அசாஅம்
    கடற் சிறு காக்கை காமர் பெடையொடு
    கோட்டுமீன் வழங்கும் வேட்டம் மடி பரப்பின்
    வெள் இறாக் கனவும் நள்ளென் யாமத்து
    நின் உறு விழுமம் களைந்தோள்
    தன் உறு விழுமம் நீந்துமோ! எனவே.

    In this trip to the shore, we get to see the lady saying these words to an intriguing little denizen of the domain:

    “The seashore grove will not exhort him; The backwaters will not explain to him; The bee-buzzing fragrant laurel wood tree will not expound either; Other than you, I have no one, O crab! Desiring the wafting scent from the petals of the blue lotus, blooming like eyes in the dark backwaters, bees swarm around their cool pollen, and then brimming over with ecstasy, find themselves unable to fly. Such are the shores of the lord! Going to him, you need to tell him something. Upon the curving branch of the many-legged pandanus tree, with suffering, rests a little sea gull, along with its desirable mate, and dreams about white shrimp in the expanses, frequented by swordfish, when the fish hunt has ended, in the darkness of the midnight hour. Please go to him and ask him, ‘How can the one, who ended your sorrow at many such midnight hour, swim across through the sea of her own sorrow, caused by your parting, now?’”

    Ready to swim through the backwaters and eavesdrop on a conversation? Here we find the lady having a chat with a crab on the shore. She starts by lamenting to the crustacean about how neither the grove, nor the backwaters, nor the laurel wood tree is going to speak up in her defence, and tells the crab that she has no one else. What a way to make the crab feel special! Then, she describes the man’s domain by the seas and here we find bees drunk on the pollen of blue lotuses and unable to even flap their little wings, so sloshed in the sweetness of the nectar they are! Then, the lady insists to the crab that it must go to the man and remind him of how the lady had come to his rescue in the many hours of the deep darkness of night, when a sea gull dreams of feasting on shrimp, at a time when all the hunting of fish had ceased. She concludes by requesting the crab to question him about how the lady can bear her sorrow if he forgets all that she has done and continues to stay away!

    Flying back to the scene of those intoxicated bees, struggling to fly, we understand that the lady has placed it as a metaphor for the man being drunk on the pleasures of temporary trysting and forgetting his duty of keeping her happy. Brimming with excessive love for the man, the lady thus expresses it to the elusive crab on the shore. The beauty of this verse is in how it highlights a human’s attempt to see a friend in an element of nature, reminding us that the world awaits with open ears and a ready shoulder, if only we can open our eyes and heart!

    Show More Show Less
    5 mins
  • Aganaanooru 169 – A feast for pallor and pining

    Aganaanooru 169 – A feast for pallor and pining
    Jan 29 2026
    In this episode, we listen to a man’s worry about his beloved, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 169, penned by Thondi Aamoor Saathanaar. Set amidst the arid spaces of the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse sketches the consequences of parting in a visual manner. மரம் தலை கரிந்து நிலம் பயம் வாட,அலங்குகதிர் வேய்ந்த அழல் திகழ் நனந்தலை,புலி தொலைத்து உண்ட பெருங் களிற்று ஒழி ஊன்கலி கெழு மறவர் காழ்க் கோத்து ஒழிந்ததை,ஞெலி கோற் சிறு தீ மாட்டி, ஒலி திரைக்கடல் விளை அமிழ்தின் கணம் சால் உமணர்சுனை கொள் தீம் நீர்ச் சோற்று உலைக் கூட்டும்சுரம் பல கடந்த நம் வயின் படர்ந்து நனிபசலை பாய்ந்த மேனியள், நெடிது நினைந்து,செல் கதிர் மழுகிய புலம்பு கொள் மாலைமெல் விரல் சேர்த்திய நுதலள், மல்கிக்கயல் உமிழ் நீரின் கண் பனி வார,பெருந் தோள் நெகிழ்ந்த செல்லலொடுவருந்துமால், அளியள், திருந்திழைதானே! A trip to the drylands filled with striking events, where we get to hear the man say these words to his heart, in the middle of his journey to seek wealth: “Scorching treetops and ruining the land’s fertility, the hot sun spreads its swaying rays in those wide open spaces, where the carcass of a huge elephant that a tiger has attacked, fed on and abandoned, is carried by uproarious highway robbers on a pole, and what’s left over from that, is collected by salt merchants, who travel in hordes, bearing that elixir harvested from the resounding waves of the sea. They light up a small flame with their fire rods and add this meat to the rice cooking in the sweet waters of the spring. As her heart forsakes her and rushes to me, who has crossed many such drylands, with pallor spreading on her form, ceaselessly thinking, pressing her soft fingers on her forehead, with tears spilling over from her eyes, akin to water drops spit out by a fish, her thick arms wasting away, she would be worrying deeply in that evening hour of loneliness, when the sun’s rays diminish. That maiden wearing well-etched jewels is to be pitied indeed!” Let’s observe the changing scene in this domain and learn more! The man starts by describing the drylands that he has come across. He first talks about the relentless sun, burning and ruining everything in sight. Then, he points to a single spot and talks about three different events that have occurred right there. First, it’s a fight between a tiger and an elephant. The elephant loses out and is killed by the fierce tiger. After the tiger has had its fill of the beast, it abandons the carcass and walks on. Next, a bunch of highway robbers, who come there, carve out a huge portion of the meat and tying it on a pole, they carry it away. Finally, salt merchants arrive there, and of course, there’s still a lot of meat left, for it’s an elephant we are talking about. They set up camp nearby, start a fire with their fire rods, and then to the rice they are cooking in sweet spring water, they add the meat too. No spring water here, for sure. It must be something they have carried along in their carts. Thus, that huge elephant has now been fed upon by not one, not two, but three different parties in the scene. After that vivid description, the man turns to reflect on the lady and laments to his heart that she is sure to be worried immensely, wondering about his whereabouts, as pallor spreads on her body and her arms thin away. He paints a portrait of the lady sitting there with her hands holding her feverish forehead and tears spilling out of her eyes like water from the mouth of a fish. The man concludes by echoing how his heart throbs with pity for the lady’s state. In the scene of the elephant carcass that was abandoned by the tiger, being fed on by the highway robbers and salt merchants, the man places a metaphor for how the lady’s beauty abandoned by him is now being feasted upon by pallor and pining. The pain in parting felt in the intimate spaces of the heart is illustrated with the scenes of the wide open spaces in the drylands, highlighting the Sangam poets’ expertise in seamlessly connecting the inner world and the outer!
    Show More Show Less
    5 mins
  • Aganaanooru 168 – Resounding kitchen of yore

    Aganaanooru 168 – Resounding kitchen of yore
    Jan 28 2026
    In this episode, we perceive an attempt to change a person’s course of action, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 168, penned by Kotampalathu Thunjiya Cheramaan. The verse is situated amidst the soaring peaks of the ‘Kurinji’ or ‘Mountain landscape’ and portrays the dangers of treading through this domain in the dark. யாமம் நும்மொடு கழிப்பி, நோய் மிக,பனி வார் கண்ணேம் வைகுதும்; இனியே;ஆன்றல் வேண்டும் வான் தோய் வெற்ப!பல் ஆன் குன்றில் படு நிழல் சேர்ந்தநல் ஆன் பரப்பின் குழுமூர் ஆங்கண்கொடைக் கடன் ஏன்ற கோடா நெஞ்சின்உதியன் அட்டில் போல ஒலி எழுந்து,அருவி ஆர்க்கும் பெரு வரைச் சிலம்பின்ஈன்றணி இரும் பிடி தழீஇ, களிறு தன்தூங்குநடைக் குழவி துயில் புறங்காப்ப,ஒடுங்கு அளை புலம்பப் போகி, கடுங் கண்வாள் வரி வயப் புலி கல் முழை உரற,கானவர் மடிந்த கங்குல்மான் அதர்ச் சிறு நெறி வருதல், நீயே? In this little trip to the highlands, we get to hear the confidante say these words to the man, as he prepares to leave after his nightly tryst with the lady: “After spending nights with you, full of affliction, she remains with tear-filled eyes at other times; And so, you must give it up, O lord of the sky-soaring mountains! In the shadow of a peak called ‘Pallaankundram’, spreads a town called ‘Kuzhumoor’, filled with fine cattle. Here, rules a king called ‘Uthiyan’, the one with an unswerving heart, who has assumed the duty of charity. Akin to the uproar in his kitchen, cascades resound in the slopes of the majestic mountain ranges. Here, embracing its dark mate that has just given birth, a male elephant stands in guard of its calf with a swaying gait, even as a strong, harsh-eyed, striped tiger leaves its cozy den in the cave in loneliness, and steps out, roaring aloud amidst the mountain bamboos, in the dead dark of the night, when the mountain folk are fast asleep. Indeed, you must give up your trips through these small bushy paths, frequented by beasts many, at this hour!” It’s time for a midnight stroll through the mountains! The confidante talks about how the lady is all smiles and delight when she is with the man, during their nightly trysts, but the moment he leaves, she seems to be filled with suffering, with tears threatening to leap beyond the bounds of her eyelids. So, the confidante tells the man that he must give up something he’s been doing. Without directly telling what it is, she goes on to talk about a king named ‘Uthiyan’ and his town of ‘Kuzhumoor’, a town in the shadow of a peak called ‘Pallaankundram’, which translates as ‘the peak of cattle many’. No coincidence, the town is said to have many cattle indeed, echoing its wealth. The confidante takes us to the kitchen of this king’s palace and there’s a loud noise, lot of uproar, why because the king had sworn to uphold unceasing charity. That’s why his kitchen was always abuzz! The confidante has mentioned this fact only to place in parallel that uproar to the resounding roar of the cascades in their mountains. And here, she points to how a male elephant is embracing its female and guarding their newborn calf, even as the roar of a tiger that has left its cave resounds in the air. The confidante details how all this is happening in the middle of the night and it’s his walking in the dark amidst those narrow mountain paths that the man must give up! ‘Don’t you add angst to the lady’s heart’, the confidante seems to be telling the man, revealing how much the lady fears for the man’s safety, echoing her love for him. At the same time, telling the man that the lady cannot bear to be apart from him. In a hidden way, the confidante tells the man the only path forward was to forget this temporary trysting and seek the lady’s hand in marriage. ‘Marry her, marry her’ indeed, but interesting that we got to listen to the uproarious sounds in an ancient kitchen that never stops working, and keeps piling mounds and mounds of food, for all those who arrive at that doorstep, seeking! A capture of generosity and prosperity in one shot!
    Show More Show Less
    5 mins
No reviews yet