Thanipadal Thiratttu, an
old collection of classical Tamil poetry, contains a verse on
Kongunadu, which is attributed to the great Tamil poet Kambar.
However, if the people of the Kongu region read it, they will
certainly condemn the famed bard, as the poem portrays their land in
poor light.
The
verse points out that all streams and rivers in the Kongu region
being dirty, emanated the odor of mud. The uneven lands, full of
stones and thorns. Crudely named villages suffixed in 'Patti' and
'Thotti'. Kambanchoru
( A meal in bulrush millet), the regular food of the people and the
men bearing 'unfashionable' names like 'Bomman' and 'Thimman'. Worse
still, the poem describes the Kongu girls as 'dogs' and 'devils' and
tells a reader never to imagine leading a life in such a dark region
called Kongunadu.
Nevertheless,
eminent historian and epigraphist Pulavar Se. Rasu, in his new book
Kongunadum Kambaraum, disagrees with the opinion and asserts that
Kambar could not have written such a song, but any 'Vambar' ( A
person who intentionally provokes others) must have done it !
Citing
references from various pieces of classical Tamil literature, Rasu
says that the water of river Bhavani had the fragrance of sandal and
river Noyyal has been described as 'Manakkum Kanchi Maanadhi' ( The
fragrant Noyyal). As the water in these two rivers was once as clear
as crystal, even the ornaments, which the girls lost while swimming,
were visible in the depth of the rivers, when viewed even from the
surface!
Kambar, who
penned the work Mangala Vazhthu, an auspicious, long lyric,
which is recited in the wedding ceremonies of the Kongu Vellalar
community, Eaer Ezhupathu, a collection of 70 songs admiring
the occupation of agriculture and so on, had high regards for the
people of Kongunadu.
Moreover, with
its popularity, the poet's masterpiece Kambaramayana, had two
different impacts on the literary world of Kongunadu.
Emperuman
Kavirayar, a 17th century Tamil poet, rewrote the
Kambaramayana in a simple language, setting to the music
played on 'Thakkai' a traditional percussion instrument of Kongunadu
and appropriately titled his work as 'Thakkai Ramayanam'. On the
other hand, while Ramayana portrayed the Lankan king Ravana as the
villain in the epic, Pulavar Kuzhandhai, an eminent Tamil scholar and
a rationalist thinker of the Kongu region, made Ravana as the hero of
his literary work Eravana Kaviyam, which was banned in 1948.
However, after over a period of over two decades, the ban was lifted
in 1971.
Like Kambar
admiring the philanthropist Sadayappa Vallal in his Ramayana,
Emperuman Kavirayar too lauds a Kongu local ruler Aththappa
Nallathambi Kangeyan, a philanthropist, who commissioned the poet to
compose the Thakkai Ramayanam.
Admiring the
value of the work, T.A.Muthusamy Konar, the first historian of
Kongunadu, once expressed his wish to publish the literature and
advertised in his monthly journal Viveka Diwakaran that
whoever brought him the palm leaf manuscript of Thakkai Ramayanam, he
would reward him with Rs 10 !
Source:
Kongunadum Kambarum – Pulavar Se. Rasu, former head, department of
epigraphy and archaeology, Tamil University,Thanjavur.
Link to my article in The New Indian Express : http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/c/6596964
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