#Andal

The Goddess works in mysterious ways.

Forgive me if the comparison invokes great distaste, but the speech on Andal that got heads roiling has brought about the same effect that Mr. H. Raja's speech had on Mersal the movie- Andal is trending now!
So when everybody is busy picking sides or watching the clash between the fervent believers, and the intellectual agnostics, the hallowed dame walks in unnoticed to get herself acquainted with the group of newbies abuzz with one ringing question: who is Andal?

I will refrain from taking you all the way down my memory lane to how my cousin and I as young girls were ushered by our late grandmother into the 4'o clock Margazhi mornings, abuzz with the sound of the alluring Thiruppavai verses sung with raw devotion by those unassuming women in that small, brightly lit Krishnar Kovil in Uthamapalayam. But this was where I first encountered Andal.

Andal to many Tamils like me is synonymous with her works of poetry. Some see the essence of the Vedas in them, some the yearning and the fiery passion of unrequited love, some the majestic, and mellifluous forms that Tamil assumes in the verses crafted with such perfect grammar, rhyme, and reason, and others see the sway a woman poet held over the rest, by virtue of her uncompromising devotion and surrender to the one passion that defined her being, that she came to be revered, and worshipped as the Goddess.

Each of them see in Andal what they choose to see. But Andal, smilingly adorning the pillar strewn temple in Srivilliputhur, replete with the fabled 'mirror well', and the 'hall of mirrors', will quietly tell you that what they see is simply a reflection of their own selves and their equation with the world they live in.

Without beating around the bush, if you want to know Andal (for whatever reason), and if you enjoy the reading business, get yourself copies of her works: Thiruppavai, and Naachiyar Thirumozhi. A decent depth in understanding the Tamil language should help you understand and even appreciate the finesse in these works of poetry.

For those who do not read Tamil or prefer some handholding, please see Andal: The Autobiography of a Goddess.
Andal's works are too good to be brushed aside. So read them, if you read.

P.S.: You may want to check out this article for some more quick info.

Comments

  1. JayanthyJanuary 12, 2018 at 6:55 PM

    Yes, I have always found Andal, a pious woman, to that reverent goddess whom I cannot take my eyes off.

    This reminded me of how Thirupaavai entered my life. I listened to the verses every morning from a nearby temple as a school student. I didn't really know the meaning, but some of the verses were memorable and somehow remained in me. Just before 5 years, I took up reading the verses along with the meaning. Thanks to Velkudi Krishnan, he had explained it beautifully and I loved imagining the whole Thirupaavai. The article in Women's Web is fantastically written and I am looking forward to read the book.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Other Side of the Feminine.

Loving, nurturing, patient and tame. That is what a woman is perceived to be, expected to be. The face of the moon, to the world below, she is. But what of the other side?  Why is Gauri worshipped and Kali feared in many parts of the world? Why is mankind afraid of the wild, uncontainable form of the feminine? Why are the protective, sacrificial and persevering aspects of a woman highlighted and celebrated as against the downplay of her territorial, defensive and vengeful attributes of self-interest? When Gauri as a concept is conceivable and agreeable, man relents to fear and denial when confronted with the notion of Kali.  Gauri exists because Kali does. Mythology warrants that Gauri arose from Kali. Woman is by nature powerful, sovereign, independent and untamed. For she is nature personified. Nature does not perceive favourites. It protects and destroys simultaneously and nonchalantly, with an absolute sense of definiteness.  Nature sets...
Read more

The Angry Goddess who we love, unabashedly.

Image
Dark, unclad, red-eyed and undomesticated. Wild and sovereign, magnificent beyond all possible definitions. Immeasurably beautiful and terrifying beyond comprehension. The figure that evokes fear, confusion and even repulsion in the uninitiated, is the same form that evokes love that knows no depths in the hearts of the faithful who behold Her as the Eternal Mother. Image depicting Mother Kali of Kalighat temple, Kolkata. I was inducted into Kali worship at a tender age, when I was taken to a humble, unassuming shrine in Theni, housing a 3 foot high figurine of the female deity identified as Veeramaakali Amman (Veera - Valour; Maa - Great; Kali Amman - Mother Kali : adds up to 'Mother Kali of Great Valour'); my maternal grandmother (Ammachi, as we say in Tamil), said : "They call Her the powerful, angry Goddess; but you should regard Her as your own Mother, fearing Her only when you go wrong." As it is, I developed a genuine affection for the Angry G...
Read more