Tamil Love Poetry by Martha Ann Selby

Author:Martha Ann Selby
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Poetry/General
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Published: 2011-12-24T05:00:00+00:00

Ten Poems Addressed to the Mother (Aṉṉāy-p-pattu)

In this decad, all ten poems end with the word aṉṉāy (mother). Once again, the vocative “mother” refers to the foster mother or either the heroine or girlfriend, depending on the context, as an intimate form of address. Every poem is set in the premarital context. In poem 211, the girlfriend accepts on the heroine’s behalf a beautiful dress woven of leaves from the hero. The heroine refuses it, and the poem is the girlfriend’s plea to her to accept his gift. In poem 212, the hero’s parents have come to arrange a marriage with the heroine’s parents, but they are ignorant of their relationship and issue a refusal. The girlfriend confronts the foster mother, asking her why they have refused and revealing to her the relationship by referring to the “mixed perfume” of aloe smoke and sandalwood. The heroine addresses the girlfriend in poem 213, after the latter has informed her that the hero is returning to ask for her hand. The heroine obliquely expresses her fear that she will wither like the puckering bases of the mango stems if he fails to return quickly. The girlfriend speaks to the heroine in earshot of the hero in poem 214. The hero has become anxious about the gossip and wishes to leave. As the jackfruit crushes the honeycomb, the sweet taste of both is ruined, and the girlfriend states this to make the hero realize that the heroine’s beauty will fade if he leaves. The context of poem 215 is similar, but the heroine is speaking to the girlfriend here, indirectly expressing her anger at her lover for leaving her at twilight. In poem 216, the girlfriend speaks to the heroine, audible to the hero, who is slow to propose. The girlfriend compares him to a stalking tiger, suggesting to the hero that the heroine can no longer take his attentions seriously. The girlfriend announces the hero’s return in poem 217, telling the heroine he has come to marry her. In poem 218, the hero has made an attempt to arrange the marriage, but her parents are ignorant of the relationship and refuse him. The girlfriend relays this to the heroine by making note, in the first three lines, of the good omens (the quivering eye and the tightening bangles) and by obliquely referring to the hero as the tiger that has “missed his kill,” she assures the heroine that he will return for a second try. In poem 219, the girlfriend assures the heroine that the hero will come back quickly to marry her, and in poem 220, the girlfriend catches wind of the fact that others are coming to ask for the heroine’s hand, and she says these words to the foster mother to get her to stop the proceedings, revealing that the heroine has chosen her own love.

211 You’re eyeing it as if it were an enemy, Mother,

and this gorgeous dress is sure to dry out,

woven as it is from the

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