The migrant workers of India and other poems

Inkspire brought out three of my poems in its 2020 Winter collection. https://www.inkspiremag.com/2020/11/poetry-migrant-workers-and-other-poems.html. Thanks Shweta for the publication. The migrant workers of India The train they wanted to ride home rode over them. Dry rotis, torn flip-flops were all that was left of them. Besides, of course, their mangled dreams. They were spawned when the …

Decoding the Battlelust: A Note on the Provocations to War in the Purananuru

A research article of mine has been published in Shanlax International Journal of Tamil Research. Interested readers can download the article from this web address: http://www.shanlaxjournals.in/journals/index.php/tamil/article/view/3267/2826 Your comments are welcome

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Vanchi or Aggressive Battle to Annex Terriory

If ulignai is seizure of enemy fortress and nochi is its counterpart, vanchi is a full-scale war launched by an ambitious king with the intention of annexing enemy territory to expand his kingdom. Botanically known as calamus rotang, the flower, vanchi, was worn as garland by the aggressor. Turais of vanchi The subdivisions of vanchi …

Vetchi or stealing the cattle

Picture courtesy: pinterest.com A Small Stone inside the Sandal Like a small stone inside the sandal he troubles the enemy. Legs, well-toned, stomach, flat, chest, broad, eyes, active, beard growing on his chin like clump grass, hair covering his ears, jaw jutting low and flat, who is this man who carries a bow? He hasn’t …

Mutu Mozhi Kanchi

Picture courtesy: alamy Who give food, give life itself You were born into the lineage of strong men who, by bringing this wide world rimmed by the resounding sea under their rule, established their fame. May you live for millions of years! The ribbon fish jumps up to snatch the flower of the short kanchi …

The Dwarf and the Hunchback

    Picture courtesy: https://unsplash.com/search/photos/owl Peruntinai, which means a great or huge aspect of human love, poses quite a number of contradictions: the very few number of poems which fall under this genre and the kind of profane love it talks about make one doubt whether the name was given in jest or irony. The …

Viraliyatruppadai

Picture courtesy: Wikipedia Acting as a sympathetic guide, the poet tells the virali, the feminine equivalent of the bard, to seek the patronage of a particular king or chieftain to seek redress to her poverty which seems to accompany the poets and bards all through their life. The virali plays musical instruments, composes poems and …

Kudinilaiyuraittal

Picture courtesy: http://www.flickr.com Rather than praising the King or the Chief, this subgenre praises the antiquity and valour of the subject, and why he must be singled out for special honours. Elaborating the situation further, a commentator says that this poem belonging to Karandai Tinai, has the recovery of cattle stolen by the enemy king …

Vannmangalam

Poems of this category praise the sword and the other weapons of the king, narrating their history or condition, chronicling the famous battles won and so on. This Purananuru poem of Avvaiyar is noted for its shrewdness: seemingly praising the immaculate weaponry of Thondaiman, the opponent of Adhiyaman, and lamenting her own Chief’s broken state …