What does tolkappiyamm say about the ways of living of people during Sangam age? Don't give spam otherwise won't mark brainliest
Answers
Explanation:
For around 3,000 years, Tholkappiyam, the oldest available literary work in Tamil, has governed Tamil grammar. But the Sangam-era literary classic was penned with a larger purpose — to serve as a guide to life itself. The principles laid down are mostly forgotten and it only survives as an account of ancient Tamil life, say researchers.
The text was back in the news last week when lyricist Vairamuthu read out his essay on the ancient wisdom preserved by Tholkappiyam. While more than a thousand people turned up at Muthamizh Peravai Hall, Adyar, to listen to him, few knew what he was talking about. Vairamuthu went on to speak about the virtues of the work. “Over the last few millennia, many including Kalapparars, Pallavars, the British, the Dutch, Nawabs and Nayakkars have ruled over this land. Each rule lasted only about a few centuries. Tholkappiyam’s Ezhuthu, Sol and Porul volumes have been ruling over Tamil for 3,000 years,” he said.
Sadly, though people remember violent conquerors and benign kings, hardly anyone recollects the teachings of the Tamil text. Written in three volumes, Tholkappiyam employs love as its most important theme and captures scenes from life in the Sangam age. Manonmaniam Sundaranar University former vice-chancellor K P Aravanan said, “Using Sangam literary works as a reference point, Tholkappiar paints a way of life where premarital love is natural. However, today, society, with some exceptions, frowns upon love before marriage.” Under ‘kalavial’, Tholkappiar wrote about courtship, followed by ‘karpial’ which speaks of married life.
Aravanan says that Tamil society still can adopt the way of life extolled in Tholkappiyam. “Tholkappiyam describes scenes from a casteless society. The way of life presented in the literary classic does not correspond with modern-day realities. The Sangam age society may appear utopian to us, in the same way, the present society would appear dystopian if observed from the perspective of the Sangam age poets.”
Information about the origin of Tholkappiyam has been much contested and many religious and political groups have laid claim to it. Tamil scholar and a disciple of former chief minister K Kamaraj, Nellai Kannan says, “Tholkappiyam upheld humanity by extolling virtues essential for the right way of life. Because Tholkappiar was considered to be born in Kanyakumari, Nadar groups claimed him as their own. How will Tholkappiyam get its due in a society where a person’s intellect and ability is judged on the basis of his caste and religion?”
Popular orator Suki Sivam says, “Only a miniscule minority is familiar with Tholkappiyam today. For several centuries, it has only been read by poets who end up discussing it among themselves. There was a time when common people were poets too. Knowledge related to language and literature was commonplace. Potters, weavers and salesmen would recite literary texts. They possessed a greater intellect and talent for poetry. But that quality has been diluted over the ages.”
Sivam considers that Tholkappiyam has an important role in reminding Tamils of their history and ancient way of life. “We have to know our history to know what we have lost. Discussing Tholkappiyam’s vision and poetic quality today is essential. This society does not know what it has lost,” says Sivam.
And it is not just a literary text that has faded from memory. The destruction of the world, as described in the work, shows the denigration of culture and humanity. For instance, the five types of landscapes described in Sangam literature cannot be seen today, points out Aravanan. “In the name of civilisation, and later urbanisation, we have destroyed the natural resources.”
Vairamuthu, the man rooting for a revival of the text now, also sought to project Tholkappiyam as a means of protecting Tamil sovereignty. “When Aryan domination in the south attempted to destroy Tamil culture, Tholkappiyam held together the roots. I want to see that day when Tamils will start reading Tholkappiyam on their mobile phones,” Vairamuthu said.