Panmugam padaitha Kannagi

                                                               

During our primary, all we know of Silappathikaram as one of the five great epics in Tamil. During the high school, a talented Tamil teacher would engage us for a span of half an hour and narrate the epic. The epic would be so concise. In the future stages, the teacher would read the poem from the informative Tamil text. The poem, “Thingal Potruthum...” is one of the best eco critical poems in Tamil literature.

It is eco critical because, Ilango Adigal considers the sun, moon, the rain, the mountain and the place as a single entity. He is so philosophical that he shows these things as autonomous bodies and then gives priority to men.

When our ages rose, our curriculum also grew. The teacher would always tell us that she would want the whole day as the breathing space to speak about the epic. The Tamil book had critical pieces. The best is “Kudimakkal Kaapiyam” by The.Po. Meenachisundaram Pillai. He is a very gifted critic. He starts with the world classics, which revolved around monarchs. He could find this text unique because the characters hailed from ordinary living. He says that Madhavi, who is a ‘parathaiyar’ (Courtesan), is also given space by Ilango Adigal. The character has lived her life with only one man, who has been her love, which is paradoxical.

Kannagi is a very strong character in the whole of Tamil literary world. Though modern novels and literature emerge with ‘developed’ women, none can reach Kannagi in calibre. She had no degree, no source of income, did not demand financial back up from her parents. Still she managed to stay alone without blaming others.

She is called “Kannagi” because she did not know how to laugh with her lips. She is so delicate. Such a woman is multi faceted. She is a physician. The folklore associated with this epic records an episode where Kannagi takes a strand of hair from her head and stitches her husband’s neck and brings him back to life.

She is a philanthropist. When Kovalan enquires about her solitude, she felt sad only for not attending the people who came to her house because of the limited means she had. She could not offer anything to anyone because of the shortage of sources.

She is a lawyer. It is very painful, when some says that Kannagi did not hesitate to set fire to the city of Madurai. Some even go to the extent of classifying her as an inspiration for people, who burn public property.

Listen people, she prayed for the safety and seclusion of the righteous, the women, the children, the Brahmins, and the animals. Now you claim that there can be 100 criminals escaping but not a single criminal offended. This legal policy was proposed long back by Kannagi. She wanted no good soul to be affected. She is also a symbol of sisterhood. Madhavi is not affected because of the bane. She knew that Madhavi did not do anything wrong in her life other than listening to her mother.

Such a multi-faceted woman’s primary face is that of an egalitarian and not a coward woman.

   

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