Any person who is familiar with Tamil as a language and a culture would tell you, how long and complex the literature of Tamil Nadu is. Though Tamil is the mother of many southern languages, over the years, distinct languages have taken birth out of her, just as Tamil herself has undergone changes evolving and taking on words from other languages and sometimes remaining pure and excluding influence just as its sister language of Sanskrit in the north. Together both these languages are the oldest ones, with Tamil remaining the one which is still spoken and written. If one traces the origin of this language in its written form, then we would go on a journey thousands of years ago, to the texts which first recorded the script. Sage Agastya is considered to be the father of Tamil language who created the first comprehensive dictionary of words as well as the text of Siddha medicine which is the indigenous system of medicine entirely based on locally available herbs and produce in the Tamil forests. The classic text of Tolkappiyam served as the grammar text then which is dated to the Sangam golden era of Tamil literature between 1st century BC and 4th century A.D. However poetry and literature are certainly known to precede a grammar text and are claimed to have existed several millennia before Tolkappiyam.
Land was divided into
five parts and ruled by three dynasties of rulers – Chera, Chola and Pandyas
who were good administrators and patrons of literature, architecture and art.
Elected local chieftains existed under the kings whose strength and sense of
justice was responsible for holding much of the kingdoms together. In terms of
conquering land, one of the Tamil rulers was named the “conqueror of Ganga” for
his victories in the north. Well known poets included Elangovadigal,
Thiruvalluvar and Auvaiyyar in the period of the flourishing of these
dynasties. The first poet was known as the author of one the five major epics
of Tamil literature – chilapathikaaram which is a poetic tale of a husband and
wife whose lives span across the three kingdoms with rich descriptions of the
prosperity of the land and the keen sense of justice of the ruler who upon
realizing his mistake gave up his life in place of the one he had taken. Apart
from traditions of the followers of Shiva and Vishnu, the religious influences
of Jainism can be seen in the text of Manimegalai which is also another epic
out of the major five called Aimperumkappiyangal.
Thiruvalluvar’s merit
is mostly appreciated in the precision and wisdom of his pithy couplets
composed which total up to 1330 spread across three sections of 133 chapters
with ten couplets each about Aram– or way of living righteously, Porul – way of
earning material prosperity, and Inbam - way of achieving success and
enjoyment. This collection of poetry is called Thirukkural. Today, a statue of
133 feet in height of this poet bard can be found in Kanyakumari at the
southern-most tip of the state which incidentally saved a lot of people when
Tsunami struck in 2006.
"The mark of
wisdom is to discern the truth from whatever source it is heard." -
(Tirukkural)
The next important
development for the literature of this language is the rise of the Bhakti
movement which gave birth to saints Kabir and Namdev in the north as it made a
host of Tamil poets popular among the masses in the name of Shaiva and
Vaishnava traditions such as Andal, Nammalvaar, Thirunavukkarasar,
Njanasambandhar and Sundarar amongst others. Their work is seen in two major
texts of Thevaaram, Thiruvampavai and Thiruvasakam of Shaiva tradition, and
Divyaprabandham and Thiruppavai of the Vaishnava tradition.
The international
relations with the Tamil people involve Christian missionaries who learnt the
language and translated stories from the life of Christ, and older texts indicate
a flourishing trading route between Tamil hinterlands and Greece, Rome and
beyond which captured in the older epics of Tamil literature.
The social movements of
contemporary times whether it is that of Bharathiyaar and Bharatidasan during
the freedom struggle of India or that of Periyaar who was a social reformer,
the leader of the Dravida Kazhaga movement for the empowerment of oppressed
castes, conservation of the Tamil language against being overtaken by other
languages of the north, against superstitions and so on. He also changed the
script of Tamil language and influenced the masses through his writings in the
newspaper which he published.
It is from these varied
literary traditions that the politics and cinema of this land have also been
influenced and Tamil has sustained itself in the homes of rich and poor alike.
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