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Dear Healthy Margazhi Protocols

The second day Thiruppavai is one among my favourites. The hymn gives a set of protocols to be abide by, during the season. One should stay away from drinking milk and taking ghee. The direct translation means, “We would not eat milk or ghee”. This eat might sound poetical for a poet or a scholar. However, I take it seriously. Every time I drink milk, I gulp down but milk is not something to gulp down. It is more than eating. Drinking milk is a comfort.

          In our hostels, we had to take tokens for milk. We had many friends, who would forgo milk just to save 270 bucks, a month. (I beg your pardon for the “just”) Ghee, how sophisticated is that to hear the name and eat meal with it. Sorry for bringing my hostel repeatedly into the picture. We were chided for flaunting a ghee bottle in the mess when we were eating. When I complained about it to my mother, she gave me the right explanation (a mother’s usual business) and not a favourable explanation (which I expect). She said, “Girls, who cannot afford to buy ghee would be tempted and unhappy with their financial incapability, which is wrong on your part.” When I do not drink milk or in take ghee, there is probably a distribution of food. (May be to offer a paradox to Malthusian problem)

When Kodhai Naachiyar said that we would never have a flower on our hair and line our eyes, she is viewed as an epitome of devotion. Our school days were not what we saw in Kana Kanum Kalangal and Oru Adaru Love. We were not allowed to cut our hair short, roam around in pony tails, apply nail polish, line our eyes, put on lipstick and wear anklets. We had our schoolings similar to Krishna, Rama, and the Pandavas, who devoted themselves only to the art of learning. In the certain schools, there are rigid rules that stop us from adorning ourselves. When our cousins/friends from many other money minting fancy schools mocked at us, we could hardly defend because we did not know the philosophy behind the lines, Andal sung.

So from what Andal said, should I not look good? Andal tells her friend to come out of her room well dressed (Thetrame vandhu thiravelorembavai). Is dressing up the only way to look presentable? It is of course a no. To make this more simple, let us look at the way, Manikkavasagar calls women, “Elakkuzhali” (Girl, whose hair smells of cardamom).

The Thriuvempavai that starts with “Onni thila nagayai...” is rich in both shabtha alankara/ chandham (sound) and artha alankara/ porul (meaning). This particular hymn is enchanting because dialogue-like lines cascade within it. Many a times, I have wondered the way women are described in ancient Indian texts, 1. Silappathikaram- Kannagi, her lineage, her age and her father’s financial strength. 2. Sanga Ilakkayim- a girl, who is decked up with ornaments and long hair is used to paint an inscape in the eyes of the readers.... et al.

This piece is no exception, Onnithila Nagai means a smiling girl with bright eyes and vanna kili mozhiyar means girls with voices of colourful parrot. When the girl has beautiful bright eyes, why would she need a kohl to highlight them. Even though she is abstained from adding a flower, she is pleasant, because she has the voice of a parrot. It is joyful to know that sacrifices bring the beautiful and simple “reality” of life. In the lines of Keats, “Beauty truth, truth beauty.” When a bunch of Postgraduate students sat in the class to decode Keats’ lyrics, everyone came out with their own. I felt that beauty and truth are same just because they are permanent. Adding kajal or a flower can temporarily enhance a girl’s beauty but the true devotion towards the Lord can only enhance beauty permanently... (Face is the index of mind)

   There are preconceived notions saying sacrifices and love repel from each other. However, after reading “Tale of Two Cities”, one would never refuse. To devote her completely to the Lord, Andal would give up her pleasures like adding a flower to her braid, lining her eyes, and the very significant luxury, sleep. To devote you to something, there must be sacrifices. Now I understand why my teachers were particular about making us concentrate least on our appearance rather than giving us the “Freedom” to dress up however we wanted to.

 

 

 


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