Mirthful Mangoes

Come summer! bring the sweetness of Mangoes to the country. Mangoes, the first of the Mukkani (The three prime or sweetest fruits, the others being Jackfruit and Bananas), forms a major part in the Indian delicacy, esp Tamil Nadu. Being a seasonal fruit, both ripe and unripe forms take a major place in everyday cuisine during the season. Apart from that Mangoes have sayings that are both favourable and against it. It has been a main fruit since the good old days where there was a split in Lord Shiva's family. That is one good story that has been passed on for generations and the main reason for Lord Murugan establishing Palani as one of his Arupadai Veedu (Six houses).

The story goes like this. Saint Naradha brought a special mango for Lord Shiva and both Lord Ganesha and Lord Muruga contested for the mango. And Lord Shiva announced, whoever circles the world first would receive the mango. Lord Murugan shooted first with mount the peacock to go around the world and win the fruit, but Lord Ganesha with his hefty body and a small mount the Moonjoor Rat, thought for a moment and went around Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi considering them to be the world. Lord Shiva pleased with the wisdom of Lord Ganesha, gave him the mango. And when Lord Murugan returned, he felt deceived because he was the one to encircle the world first, and he gave away all the wealth and position he had and stood as an Aandi (person who has nothing to his name) on top of a mountain called Palani, a place near Coimbatore. This story is told in order to emphasise the importance that one's parents must be revered and worshipped in the first place. But a mango getting a place in this story is its taste and the importance being given in the cuisine.

The ripe mangoes form an industry themselves and yields a major revenue for the country through exports too. Senthuram, Neelam, Malgova, Salem Gundu, Aapoos, Roomania, Imambus, Banganapalli, Alphonso, Gudhadhath, Manjal Naari are some major varieties that are sold both inside and exported out of the country. And India is a largest producer of mangoes in the world.

The ripe form, Maambalam, does not need a reason to be the prime fruit, but the unripe mangoes, Maangai, are also a major part South Indian cuisine. It forms part of the cuisine in various forms

Vadu Maangaai - Small mangoes that haven't grown yet, the ones that are a few days of forming into a fruit, rather tender mangoes. The preparation is almost similar to the spicy pickles, but they are just soaked in spicy water that is a mixture of chilly powder, mustard and fenugreek powder, gingelly oil, turmeric powder etc. This forms a good combination for all recipies prepared out of curd - plain curd, More kulambu etc. It really makes the mouth water for many people when they hear this combination, because the taste is irrestible. There are many varieties in Vadu Maangai like the Thirumoorthi variety, Palakkad variety, Go Maangai variety, but the Thirumoorthi mountain variety (Thirumoorthi malai vadu maangaai) is the most aromatic and tasty. The others are equally tasty but Thirumoorthi mountain variety is more popular. Even Kaalamega Pulavar has
mentioned about the Vadu Maangai, his song goes like this.



"Thinga Nudhalaar Thirumanam Polae Keeri
Pongu Kadal Uppai Pugatiyae Engalida
Aachaalukku Oorugaai Aaagamal Yaarukku
Kaaichaai Vadu Maangaai"

meaning, the ladies with the forehead, that resembles the moon after 3 or 4 days after the new moon, would split the vadu maangai and put the salt that is obtained from the uproarious seas, and then prepare the pickle for the elderly
mother. But the trees that Kaalamegam saw had vadu maangais still left in the
branches. So the poet asks, for whom did the mangoes grow in the tree and whom
are they waiting for instead of being a vadu maangai pickle for the mother of
their place


Mango Pickles - The next form of cuisine is the most common form - pickles. This does not need much explanation as mango pickles are popularly available. Avakkai - The most popular form of mango pickles, where raw mangoes are cut into small pieces being soaked in spicy masala.

Maangai Thokku - This form is more or less a pickle, but in this, mostly the fleshy part of the mango is used, boiled and cooked with spices and salt added. And this is great combination for all food items.

Maangai Vathal - Mangoes are dried out in the sun after soaking in salt water. And used in various food items whenever required. This form will be best for use, for many months, even years.

The other preparations include Maangai Pachadi, Fish - both dried and fresh - Kulambu, More Kulambu, Aviyal and many other mouth watering recipies that are seasonal as the mangoes are. Though recipes like More Kulambu, Aviyal are prepared without mangoes too, but the sour taste of the Maangaai, added more flavour that is irrestible to many mouths in the country.

Apart from it, Maangaai, is used as a cure for cold. This might sound counter-intuitive, because most people say that eating maangaai (unripe form) makes people catch cold, but there are people who use it for a cure too. The preparation is that the mango is cut and cooked in plain water. After being cooked, the cooked maangaai along with the water being used to cook and it is said to relieve people of cold.

Well, enough of this mouth watering cuisine! We have aberrated too much from what we were about to look, the sayings that are both favourable and unfavourable to the mango. First, lets look into the favourable saying. It goes like this



"Maatha Ootadha Soru, Maangaai Ootum"

meaning, The mango will feed the food that one's mother does not feed. This had two meanings in it. The first one being the quantity of food intake, esp by children. The taste of the various forms of mango cuisine makes people, esp children to take in more food that helps them in their growth. The saying is because, the children or people who don't listen to their mother's request to eat a little more food would eat just for the taste of Maangaai. The second meaning being, the richness minerals and vitamins that the mango delivers is not attained by the normal food that one's mother provides.

Maatha - Mother
Ootadha - negative Ootum meaning Feeding
Soru - Food
Maangaai - unripe mango
Ootum - feeding

How true about the aforesaid saying. Now what is it about the saying that is unfavourable. The saying goes like this



"Naa Ularum, Pall Koosum, Maangai Unbaare Maru"

meaning, the tongue will start to blabber, the teeth will feel more sensitised. So, the eaters of mango please avoid it. This might be counter-intuitive about the mango, but it is indeed true. The sourness of the mango makes the tongue stiff that is will not be able to utter some words that requires turning and curling of the tongue. Also the sourness will make the teeth feel more sensitised and to most people it is not tolerable, however they cannot resist the taste and will not stop eating.

Though both the sayings are true indeed, Mangoes are a primary part of our daily delicacy during the mango season. As rightly classified by our ancestors as the first of the Mukkani (Maa, Palaa, Vaazhai - Mango, Jackfruit, Bananas), the mango is truly a great fruit to be relished when it is becomes available. Don't miss the mangoes this season!!!

More to come, until then...

Dasavatharam - Its message to Humanity

Dasavatharam meaning The Ten Incarnations. No we are not talking about the movie, but the legend that has been passed down for generations till date. The legend about the 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu to save the life and humanity on earth from the monstrous demons and ruthless giants. This might sound like this is for the persons interested in mythology. But to me, these avatarams or avatars are not just legends, they carry a message that is so indepth and subtle. The subtlety of the message is that it might superfically seem to convey that God is here to save people in trouble, but actually, it contains the message about the origin and the evolution of life on the planet that lead to the humans. The avatarams are not just incarnations but has to be construed as transformations that life forms took in the planet over time. The avatarams are

1. Macha Avataram
2. Koorma Avataram
3. Varaaga Avataram
4. Narshima Avataram
5. Vamaana Avataram
6. Parasurama Avataram
7. Rama Avataram
8. Balarama Avataram
9. Krishna Avataram
10. Kalki Avataram

The Macha Avataram is the Fish Avataram, Macha means fish. So life on the planet start from aquatic creatures like fish and so on that live solely on water. This also means that life existed in the planet even before fish took form, so the major transformation is a complex living being, that had a skeleton and a spine that formed the basis of evolution, Vertebrae and Invertebrae.

The Koorma Avataram means The Turtle Avataram, Koorma means turtle. The next transformation is of course the amphibian, that was able to live in both land and water. This was a great change that became the beginning of diverse life forms on earth

The Varaaga Avataram mean The Boar Avataram, Varaaga means boar. This evolution is about the beings that got totally transformed into land living creatures, so that their aquatic past got erased completely from their creation. These are the primitive herbivores that lived on eating plants.

The Narashima Avataram means the Human Lion. This is about the species that is a hybrid from of the previous evolution, but that which created the Predator-Prey relationships. These creatures started hunting other creatures for their living

The Vaamana Avataram means a short human Avataram. This was a missing link in the evolution chain. They were mythological creatures, until scientists found the Hobbits, that form part of the early human ancestry. More about Hobbits, here and here.

The Parasurama Avataram is the avataram depicted as a man carrying an axe to take revenge of demon ancestry. This avataram indicates the early primitive humans using primitive tools like axe, spears. Rather the old stone age and the new stone age.

The Rama Avataram, depicts a more civilised human with better tools like bow and the arrow and other mechanical tools to make life easy. This is the beginning of the societal nature of living of humans, that has the social welfare of their groups and clans as the prime motive.

The Balarama Avataram, is the next avataram, depicted as a human carrying a plough. This indicates that advancement of humans into cultivating their own food for their living. Until then humans had been hunting and eating fruits from trees until this transformation, where the humans learnt how to cultivate their own food.

The Krishna Avataram is the avataram that is more concentrated over diplomacy, art of war, conquests and where humans started to use their brains to invade and conquer territories. More of industrial and organised growth was in this transformation.

The Kalki Avataram, the most modern of Avataram. People say that this avataram is yet to happen. And this avataram is where humanity is heading towards. The avataram is depicted as a human on a horse with a sword and other costumes of war that is considered to be more modern. We do not know how that form is going to be in reality. Time has to tell the answers.

All these avatarams have a legend behind them, when Lord Vishnu saves the world. The motive of the aforesaid explanations are not to dispute that those legends are false. But to explain that they contain a hidden message along with all the virtues that the legends about the Dasavatarams have. I believe that those legends have happend and there are proofs that exist even today about the happenings mentioned in the legend like the bridge to Sri Lanka (The Rama Avataram), the Kurukshetra war (Krishna Avataram).

Our ancestors have been so intelligent enough that they were able to including the message about the evolution of life, in the form of legends. The rigorous statements and discoveries might fade away over time because all might not be able to understand what those discoveries state. But these legends and fables will convey this hidden message and the legend for generations to come without any change and will not fade away over time.

More to come, until then...

Classy Kaalamegam - Part 5

Another feat of Kaalamegam in his pun filled songs is the ability to compare and represent different things in the same song. He uses the words so gracefully that he describes two things in the same song, like Castor and Elephant, Hay and Elephant, Snake and Banana, Snake and Gingelly seeds, Snake and Lemon etc. This feat is really remarkable and this is what has earned Kaalamegam his reputation. Lets see two of those songs.

The first song goes like this



"Vaari Kalathu Adikkum Vandhu Pinbu Koattai Pugum
Poril Sirandhu Polivaagum Seerutra
Sekkola Maynee Thirumalai Raayan Varaiyil
Vaikolum Aal Yaanaiyaam"

The first meaning, refers to hay, Hay is being beaten in the fields after harvesting (Vaari Kalathu Adikkum) and then the hay stack is brought into the fort (Vandhu Pinbu Koattai Pugum). The bigger the haystack the brighter and better it looks and it also indicates a good harvest (Poril Sirandhu Polivaagum). The haystack is big indicating the fertile nature of the bright coloured mountain regions of Thirumalai Raayan's territory (Seerutra Sekkola Maynee Thirumalai Raayan Varaiyil).

The second meaning is about the elephant. The elephant in the war field, thrashes soldiers on the ground (Vaari Kalathu Adikkum). After the war it goes into the fort victoriously (Vandhu Pinbu Koattai Pugum). Being a war machine, it has a very good reputation in times of war (Poril Sirandhu Polivaagum). The elephant being in the army indicates the power of the Thirumalai Raayan (Seerutra Sekkola Maynee Thirumalai Raayan Varaiyil).

So the delicate use of the words that convey different meaning that is applicable to both haystack and elephant respectively makes the poet to compare them as equal Vaikolum Aal Yaanaiyaam), because the usage of the same words to describe them

Vaari - Pull and lift by holding the legs or the bottom most part of the thing
Kalathu - Rice field (context of haystack), War field (context of elephant)
Adikkum - Beat, Thrash
Vandhu - Come
Pinbu - Later
Koattai - Fort
Pugum - Enter
Poril - haystack, War (context of elephant)
Sirandhu - Best
Polivaagum - Glitter, look better, have a reputation
Seerutra - Orderly
Sekkola - Bright looking
Maynee - Body, landscape
Varaiyil - Territory
Vaikol - Hay
Aal Yaanai - Aggressive Elephant

The comparison has nuances are seamlessly intricate, and are really out of this world.

The next song is about Snake and Gingelly.



"Aadi Kudathadaiyum Aadumbodhay Eraiyum
Moodi Thirakkin Mugamkaatum Odi Mandai
Pattril Parapara Vennum Paaril Pinnakkum Undam
Uttridum Paambu Ell Enavae Odhu"

The first meaning is about the snake. The snake dances and then goes into the pot that the snake charmer has (Aadi Kudathu Adaiyum). While dancing it makes a hissing noise (Aadumbodhay Eraiyum). When you open the lid it shows it face (Moodi Thirakkin Mugamkaatum). If you run behind it and catch its head it just curls around the person catching it (Odi Mandai Pattril Parapara Vennum). In this world, snakes have a split tongue (Paaril Pinnakkum Undam).

Now the meaning for gingelly. Gingelly will get crushed in the oil mill and will reach the pot as oil (Aadi Kudathu Adaiyum). When it is being crushed, it makes a noise (Aadumbodhay Eraiyum). When the lid of the pot is being opened, it shows face of the person opening of the lid as a reflection (Moodi Thirakkin Mugamkaatum). When you pour it in the head and rub it cools the body immediately (Odi Mandai Pattril Parapara Vennum). In this world, the oil cake remains after crushing (Paaril Pinnakkum Undam).

Aadi - Dance (context of snake), Crushing (Context of Gingelly)
Kudathadaiyum - Kudathu (Pot) + Adaiyum (Reach and settle)
Aadumbodhey - while dancing
Eraiyum - Make noise
Moodi - Lid
Thirakkin - Open
Mugam - Face
Kaatum - Show
Odi - Running (while chasing for snake, and pouring in the head)
Mandai - Head
Pattril - Catch
Parapara Vennum - Curls around for snake,
Paaril - In this world
Pinnakkum - Split tongue for snake, Oil cake after crushing
Undam - Having
Uttridum - Existing
Paambu - Snake
Ell - Gingelly
Enavae Odhu - Tell as so

Kaalamegam, truly a great poet of all times and his poems truly represent his literary knowledge and eloquence. He stands out of the crowd and his name will live for ages in the minds of all the people who read Tamil Literature.

More to come, until then...

Classy Kaalamegam - Part 4

Kaalamegam being well know for his pun in his song, did not spare even the Gods from his pun. His pun also includes a form of poetry in Tamil Literature called the Vanja Pugazhchi Ani, in which the poet would seem to have sung a song in praise of someone but actually the inner meaning of it would have cursed or denigrated the image of the person; and vice versa. Kaalamegam has sung many such songs and two of such songs fascinated me, just because of the use of language in it.

The first song is about Lord Murugan. Though the song might sound very insulting in the first look, the more indepth study has a good meaning in it. The song goes like this



"Appan Iranthunni Aathaal Malai Neeli
Oppariya Maaman Uri Thirudi Sappaikaal
Annan Peruvayiran Arumuga Thaanukku
Ennum Perumai Ivai"

The superficial meaning is His father is a beggar who lives by begging food. His mother is a mountain devil. His incomparable uncle is a great thief. His flat footed brother has a large tummy. These are things that Lord Murugan has to be proud of.

But the actual meaning is His father took the form of Bichaadanar, meaning person begging food. This means that He did away with the feeling of acquiring wealth and lives a simple live getting food what others provide. His mother Parvathi, means mountain Goddess, is a queen of the mountains. His incomparable uncle, Lord Vishnu, stole butter from the pots called Uri, which is the major play of Lord Vishnu in his Krishna Avatar. His brother, Lord Ganesh, is an elephant that has flat feet and a big stomach. These are the things Lord Murugan has to be proud of. Because His family, has people who are all popular, which is not easily got by others.

Appan - Father
Irandhu - Beg
Unni - Person who eats
Aathaal - Mother
Malai - Mountain
Neeli - Mountain devil, another name for Goddess Parvathi, a plant called Karu Nochi
Oppariya - Incomparable
Maaman - Uncle, either Brother of mother or Husband of Father's Sister.
Uri - Stacked up pots that are used to store butter
Thirudi - Thief
Sappaikaal - Flat feet
Annan - Brother
Peru Vayiran - Peru (Big) + Vayiru (Stomach); Vayiran - person with a big stomach
Arumugan - another name for Lord Muruga, which means Six faces
Ennum - Thinking
Perumai - Pride
Ivai - Pronoun to describe a group of things

There is another song that has a similar impact, but that was sung to denigrate, but when the person concerned came and apologised for his mistake, the meaning was totally the opposite and was in praise of him. The song goes like this




"Kaththukadal Soozh Naagai Kaathaan Thann Sathirathil
Aththamikkum Podhil Arisi Varum Kuthi
Ulaiyil Ida Oor Adangum Ore Agappai Annam
Elayil Ida Velli Mulaikkum"

The first meaning is, In the Sathiram of Kaathan in Naagapattinam which is surrounded by noisy sea waters. Rice will arrive only in the evening. The people in the town would have gone to sleep when the rice is being put in the boiler after husking. The pole star called the Vidi velli, that indicates dawn, will rise when a scoop of cooked rice is being served.

The people working in that Sathiram, told this song to Kaathan Varunakulaadhithan, the owner of that Sathiram, who realised his mistake of not providing food correctly to the people who come to his Sathiram, went to meet Kaalamega Pulavar and apologised his mistake and asked him to rewrite that song. Kaalamegam told that there is no need to change the song as the song has the following meaning .

In the Sathiram of Kaathan in Naagapattinam which is surrounded by noisy sea waters. Rice will arrive throughout the day till dusk, normally in other places, it arrives only in the morning. This shows how busy that Sathiram would have been and how many people would have been fed by the Sathiram. When the rice is put into the boiler for cooking after husking, the noisy crowd of the town will become quiet expecting the food any moment. And when the scoop of food is being served, the smile that is comparable to a bright star will be found in the faces of the people who are waiting for the food

Kaththu - Noisy, Making noise
Soozh - Surround
Naagai - Nagapattinam
Kaathan - Kaathan Varunakulaadhithan
Thann - one's own
Sathiram - Place where free food and accommodation was available
Aththamikkum - Dusk
Podhil - Word indicating time
Arisi - Rice Varum - Arrive, come
Kuthi - Stab, Strike, Punch, in this context husking
Ulai - Boiler
Ida - Put
Oor - Town, city
Adangum - Settle down, Sleep, Become silent
Ore - One
Agappai - Utensil used to serve food, a scoop
Annam - food
Elayil - Plantain leaf
Velli - Silver, Pole star, in a funny context, Shiny teeth
Mulaikkum - Grow, Raise above

Awesome work by Kaalamegam, how eloquent he should have been to sing a song that has two diametrically opposite meanings. He is really a bestowed person with the gifts that most of us yearn to acquire. He is true a remarkable person whose name will stay in the hearts of millions for the ages to come

More to come, until then...

Classy Kaalamegam - Part 3

Kaalamegam was a true poet, in the sense, he amassed wealth by singing songs in praise of Kings and Gods at all the places he went. But he was so merciful and had a helpful tendency that he would give away that money to the needy and poor and go off other places. This behaviour of the poets of the Sangam age is also one of the reasons, for so many songs in Tamil Literature. Mostly poets would sing songs in praise of kings. Those kings used were lavishly generous that they gave lots of money, gold and other prizes to those poets and would even provide them a job in their kingdom. The poets getting all those possessions would not keep it to themselves, instead they would give those to the needy neighbours and relatives to help them get out of their misery, problems etc. And the interesting part is that they would not worry if they poets give away all their amassed wealth and they themselves are lead into misery. They had the confidence in their knowledge and poetic abilities and of course the kings' generosity, so they could sing a few songs in praise and earn the money. Kaalamegam was one such poet, who would earn a lot of wealth and give it away to the poor and needy. He led a simple life and would stay at any place, be it a small hut or a temple mandapam or even Sathiram.

So what has this to do with Kaalamegam's tussle with Kambar. Well, it was just to mention that characteristics of the the poets. Kambar too was a poet with a merciful and helping heart, but he held high positions in the kingdom, to being the head of the poets and being advisor to the then kings. He was held in high respect.

Though some literary and historical people say that Kaalamegam and Kambar belong to different periods and Kambar lived a century before Kaalamegam. Some say that they were contemporaries. In those days, casteism was prevalent and there was a class difference between higher and lower castes. Not only in those days, even today, it is much like a cold war, where people organise communal societies for their welfare. Let us not aberrate from what we were to see. There is even an argument about the caste of Kambar, some say that he belonged to a higher class and some say that he belong to a lower caste called Valaiyar. Well, lets not bring any caste disputes or arguments here. And let us not probe into the truths about this. We shall just see the interesting legend that has stayed for years since Kambar's and Kaalamegam's time. And this will not cause any harm to the respects that both the poets have earned in history.

Well, the legend goes like this. Once upon a time, Kaalamegam was taking rest in the temple mandapam. By then, Kambar with all his servants bearing him in a palanquin, went on a rounds around the city. Kambar was accompanied by his wife. When he reached the temple. He saw Kaalamegam sitting in the temple mandapam. Judging by the appearance of the Kaalamegam, Kambar's pride knew no bounds. He holding a higher position in the kingdom and Kaalamegam being so simple and not so popular as him increased his pride. So he just looked slyly at Kaalamegam as if he was denigrating him. Kaalamegam provoked by this act, stayed cool and just started to sing and he sang the first line of the song




"Kambaa! Kalaignaa!"

meaning, Oh Kambaa, a great poet and artist. But Kambar knew that Kaalamegam was provoked and he is intending to insult him. Asked his palanquin bearers to stop immediately. Came rushing to Kaalamegam, gave a bag of gold that he had with him, praised him and went silently. The others just considered this act of Kambar's as being generous and Kambar having a great respect for a fellow poet. But only Kaalamegam and Kambar knew its inner meaning.

Now Kaalamegam on seeing Kambar coming to him, stopped singing after the first line and he too paid the same respect that Kambar gave him in front of the other people. The people around thought that, though Kaalamegam being a great poet, was humble enough to praise a contemporary poet in front of the people. So both the poets, maintained their political correctness and decency, but the insults we known only to them .

Kambar got back onto the palanquin, and his wife asked in curiosity, why Kambar gave the bag of gold for Kaalamegam who just sang a simple one liner about Kambar. Now Kambar explained that had he not rushed to give the bag of gold. Kaalamegam would have sung the next line which would have been a great insult to him, because he is from a lower caste. The song would have been like this






"Kambaa! Kalaigna!
Vambaa! Valai Payalae!"

meaning, Oh Kambaa, a great poet and artist. Poking fun at me? You Valaiyar (low caste) kid! Had Kambar left Kaalamegam to sing the next line, it would have insulted him for the position he was holding in the kingdom. The point of the legend is not about the casteism, but the shrewdness and meticulousness of the both the poets that they maintained the decency of each other in a public place.

There is also another instance where Kaalamegam criticised Kambar on the use of the language his songs. The song goes like this









"Naaraayananai Narraayanan Endrae Kamban
Oraamal Sonna Urudhiyaal Naer Aaga
Vaar Endral Varr Enbaen Vaal Endral Vall Enbaen
Naar Endral Narr Enbaen Naan"

meaning, for the reason that the Kamban wrote Naaraayanan as Narraayanan, I will make the mistake as he did by uttering the word Vaar as Varr, Vaal as Vall and Naar as Narr.

Why Kaalamegam said this, is because he felt offended when Kambar mentioned as Lord Vishnu as Narraayanan meaning residing in a human (Kambar referred Lord Rama in this context, however) but Naaraayanan means the one who resides in a water body. Kaalamegam felt that Kambar should not have used the word Naaraayanan to mean it differently altogether. So Kaalamegam instead of criticising Kambar directly, he said that Kambar being a great poet, pertaining to the usage of the words, he used. Kaalamegam too would follow, Kambar's track. This not only criticised Kambar but also in a decent manner.

Poets in those days were shrewd enough to understand these indirect and hidden criticisms, so were Kambar and Kaalamegam. Though they had tussles between them, they are poetic stalwarts history has ever seen. They had respect for each other and stand out as great poets of all times.

More to come, until then...

Classy Kaalamegam - Part 2

Kaalamegam really is a great poet, as we saw in the previous post his eloquence is unmatched. Now let us see the meaning of the last song in the previous post.








"ThaadheeThoo ThoTheedhu Thaththaithoo Thodhaadhu
ThaadheeThoo Thothitha Thoodhadhae Thaadhotha
Thuthithath Thaadhae Thudhithuthae ThothTheedhu
Thithitha Thodhith Thithi"

As usual, lets rephrase this song to have a better understanding

"Thaadhee Thoodho Theedhu Thaththai Thoodhu Odhadhu
Thaadhee Thoodhu Othiththa Thoodhu Adhae Thaadhu Oththa
Thuthi Thathaadhae Thudhithu Thae Thothu Theedhu
Thithitha Thodhi Thithi"

meaning, the servant girls will not act as messengers correctly and they will not convey the message correctly to her lover. The parrot that she has as a pet will go as a messenger for her, though it talks beautifully. Even if the servant girls take the message, it will get days for the message to be conveyed back and forth, so it will not be useful. The skin is becoming pale as a lesions start to appear and spread all over her body as the nectar from flowers would spread if poured. Worshipping the Gods to have a peace of mind is not going to help either. So just utter my man's name to make me feel better.

Thaadhee - Servant girl
Thoodhu - message conveyed
Theedhu - Bad, Not useful
Thaththai - Parrot, Young woman (in this context, parrot)
Odhadhu - Negation of Odhu meaning Utter, chant, convey
Othiththa - Procrastinate, postpone
Adhae - Reflexive Pronoun, indicating the subject mentioned previously, in this case, the message to be sent to her lover
Thaadhu - Nectar, Ore
Oththa - Resembling
Thuthi - Lesion appearing in the skin, lichens
Thaththaadhae - Negative of Thaththu meaning spreading
Thudhithu - Praise, Worship
Thae - God, King, Head of a family etc
Thothu - Climb, Grasp, Clasp. In this context, grasping the feet of God
Thithitha - Tasting good, Sweetness
Odhi - U?tter, Chant
Thidhi - Exist, Stay

The song reflects the sadness in the mind of the young woman who is separated from her man. Her mother comes to her consolation telling her to just divert her thoughts into divine aspects, but the girl is refuses all the options and settles down saying that her lover's name soothes her more than anything else in the world.

This reflects a marvellous piece of work by Kaalamega Pulavar. This is not all, Kaalamega Pulavar has gone to various extremes, in the following song, he using a single word (Aaruthalai) in different meanings so beautifully and elegantly associating Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu, Lord Vinayagar and Lord Murugan and the worshippers of Lord Shiva in a single song. The song goes like this








"Sankararukku Maaruthalai Shanmugarkku Maaruthalai
Aingararkku Maaruthalai Yaanadho Sangai
Pidithorkku Maaruthalai Pithaa Nin Paadham
Padithorkku Maaruthalai Paar"

meaning, Lord Shiva has a river in his head, Lord Murugan (Shanmugan meaning Six faces) has six faces. Lord Vinayagar has a different head. Lord Vishnu on the other hand has a Water source as His home. And the worshippers and disciples of Lord Shiva get consolation or in other words have a great good change in their lives as result of their worship

Sankarar - Lord Shiva
Aaruthalai - Aaru (River) + Thalai (Head) - Lord Shiva having a the Ganga River in his head
Shanmugar - Lord Murugan
Aaruthalai - Six heads
Aingarar - Having five hands - Lord Vinayagar
Maaruthalai - Maaru (Changed) + Thalai (Head) - Lord Ganesh has an elephant's head that is different from the other Gods
Sangai Pidithor - Sangu (Conch) + Pidithor (Holder) which is Lord Vishnu
Aaruthalai - Aaru (River) + Thalai (Head) - Lord Vishnu having a Water body as his home. His other name Narayana means person residing in water.
Pithaa - Another name for Lord Shiva
Nin Paadham - Your (Lord Shiva) feet
Padithor - People who have realised, learned etc
Maaruthalai - Can be interpreted in two ways. Aaruthalai means Consolation, Solace. Maaruthal - Change or betterment in life

Truly Kaalamegam stands out of the crowd and his proven his mastery of poetry. He is a man to be honoured for ages come. There were other interesting incidents that happened in the life of Kaalamegam, one such event is the tussle with Kambar, the Kavi Chakravathi. Usually when poets fight, it will be a war of words that will be very interesting and of course they maintain the diplomacy, political correctness and the decency, yet insult each other with words very tactfully that makes things more interesting. Lets see more about this in the future posts.

More to come, until then...

Classy Kaalemegam - Part 1

Kaalamega Pulavar is known for his great poetic knowledge. We already seen a bit about him in the Power of Aram, where he appears to be notorious for singing Arams against persons. But actually he is revered as a great poet of all times. His original name was Varadhan and he was serving the Vishnu temples and was a Vaishnavite. He had fallen in love with a lady called Mohana, a Dancer among the group of dancers called Deva Daasis, who was a Shaivite. In those days, there was a strong opposition between the Shaivite and Vaishnavite followers. Initially Mohana fell in love with Varadhan but her Shaivite friends started insulting her for having relationship with a Vaishnavite whom the Shaivites hate. So Mohana avoided Varadhan for this reason and this made Varadhan to become a Shaivite and he became one. Later one day, Varadhan was waiting in a temple mandapam for Mohana to return. At that time, Goddess Parvathi, took the form of a young girl in order to bless a disciple who prayed rigorously. She appeared before that disciple and asked him to open his mouth so that she can spit the divine mixture of betel leaves etc called Thamboolam. The disciple did not realise that the young girl was Goddess Parvati incarnate and shooed her away for disturbing his prayer. Goddess Parvathi thought that the disciple's mind is not mature yet to attain the knowledge he wishes. So she went back and on the way she saw Varadhan sleeping in the temple. She went near him and asked to open his mouth. Varadhan just getting out of his sleep opened his mouth without any question and the Goddess spit the Divine mixture, indicating Her grace for him. From then on, Varadhan got the ability to sing songs in a twinkle of an eye and later on became a poet who would shower poems as the heavy clouds would shower rain and hence the name Kaalamegam.

Kaalmegam's use of pun in his songs is so remarkable and so seamlessly merged with the real meaning in the songs, earning him the name "Silaydai Pulavar" (see Interesting use of Pun in Tamil Literature). But he is much more famous for another form of songs, that is using only the letters in the sequence of alphabets. For eg, some of his songs would use the letters in the Ka sequence only (Ka, Kaa, Ki, Kee and so on). This is the most difficult of all songs that to my knowledge he is the only one who has sung such songs. Now lets get into his songs. The following song uses only the letters in the Ka sequence

"KaakaiKaa KaaKoogai Koogaikkaa KaaKaakkai
Koakkukkoo Kaakkaikku KokkuKokka Kaikaikkuk
Kaakaikkuk KaiKaikkuKaa Kaa"

A very tough song to understand, lets rephrase the song as follows

"Kaakaiku Aagaa Koogai Koogaikku Aagaa Kaakkai
Koakku Koo Kaakkaiku Kokku Okka Kaikaiku Kaakkaiku
Kaikku Aiykku Aaga Kaa"

Still tough ain't it. Well lets see the meaning of the song. It means in the night the crow's enemy is the owl that can see in the night, whereas the crow cannot. In the day, the crow is the enemy for the owl as the crow can see in daylight whereas the owl is nocturnal. However the owl is more stronger than the crow. Likewise the king who wishes to protect his country from enemies by waiting like the stork that waits patiently to make its meal before making an attack, will sometimes be defenceless the owl though he is more powerful than the enemies are.

Kaakai - Crow
Aagaa - Will not go together, disagreement, enemity, inability to do,
Koogai - Owl
Ko - King, Cow, God. In this context, King
Koo - Land, Territory, Country
Kaakkai - The act of protecting (Kaaval)
Kokku - Stork
Okka - Resembling in action or appearance
Kaikkai - Opposing the enemies
Kai - Talent, Hand
Aiy - King
Kaa - Protecting

Very great usage of the language and the eloquence exhibited is really marvellous. This is not all to Kaalamegam's credit. The next song, that uses the 'Tha' sequence, goes like this

"Thathithaa Thoodhi ThaaThoodhi Thaththudhi
Thuthi Thudhaithi Thudhaidha Thaadhoothi
Thithitha Thithitha Thaadhedhu Thithitha
Theththaadho Thithitha Thodhu! "

The song is sung as a question to the bee. The meaning of which is as follows, You go jumping from flower to flower tasting the nectar from the flower. When jumping from a flower to a flower, you squeeze the flowers oozing the nectar out of them and then drinking that nectar. You have drunk nectar from various flowers. Which of those flowers had a nectar that tasted sweet? Tell me those flowers that had the nectar that tasted sweet.

Lets rephrase the song to have a better understanding

"Thathi Thaadhu Oodhi Thaadhu Oodhi, Thaththudhi
Thuthi Thudhaithi Thudhaidha Thaadhu Oodhi
Thithitha Thithitha Thaadhu Yedhu Thithithadhu
Yeth Thaadho Thithithadhu Odhu! "

Thathi - Jump, Hop
Thaadhu - Nectar from flowers
Oodhi - blowing, drinking. In this context, drinking
Thaththudhi - form of root word Thathudhal, meaning hopping
Thuthi - Drink, Eat
Thudhaithi - Crushing, Forcing together
Thudhaidha - Pouring of liquid when squeezed, esp oozing of nectar from flowers
Thithitha - Sweet Taste
Yedhu - which
Odhu - tell, utter, chant

The above song really elevates Kaalamegam as one the greatest poets in the history of Tamil Literature. And being gifted with such a prowess is really marvellous. And composing poems with an indepth using a single letter sequence, is really a great feat to be admired. The next song of Kaalamega is left as an exercise for the reader. Just kidding, will post the meaning of this song in the next post.

"ThaadheeThoo ThoTheedhu Thaththaithoo Thodhaadhu
ThaadheeThoo Thothitha Thoodhadhae Thaadhotha
Thuthithath Thaadhae Thudhithuthae ThothTheedhu
Thithitha Thothith Thithi"

More to come, until then...