Modern Tamil literature's resonance akin to Sangam's, says expert

Modern Tamil literature has the resonance and power of words that the Sangam literature possessed, according to George L. Hart, Professor of Tamil language, University of California, Berkeley, United States.

Just as the Sangam literature had mirrored the lives of people, modern writing in Tamil too had the ability to describe human conditions,

Professor Hart told delegates of the World Classical Tamil Conference on Saturday, expressing his admiration over the continuity in Tamil literary traditions.

Delivering a lecture on the uniqueness of classical Tamil here in the presence of Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and Finance Minister K. Anbazhagan, among others, the 65-year-old scholar, now involved in making annotated translations with extensive introduction of ‘Akananooru' and ‘Paitruppattu,' said the Sangam literature's influence could be seen in the subsequent literary creations of Nammazhwar and Kamban.

The hymns of Azhwars blossomed into the Bakthi movement of Vaishanavites which was exported from Tamil Nadu to the rest of the country.

That was how the “Tulsi Ramayana” could be seen as being influenced by the Sangam literature, he argued.

Kamba Ramayanam contained some amount of Sanskrit but many elements from early Tamil.

“Kamba Ramayanam is probably the greatest poem written in India,” he noted.

Tamil-Sanskrit ties

On the relationship between Tamil and Sanskrit, Professor Hart said the languages of south Asia, excepting Tamil, derived their traditions from Sanskrit or Persian/Arabic. In the beginning, Tamil, like most other classical literatures, developed from an oral culture. While the Sangam poets were aware of the Sanskrit epics, they did not imitate them but referred to them a few times. “The Sangam literature is entirely independent of Sanskrit and follows its own rules and traditions.”

Sanskrit literature

Sanskrit literature was predominantly other-worldly, mediating on lofty issues. Though Sanskirt poetry had always been beautiful, it, in later times, turned introspective. In contrast, Sangam poetry was always about here and now.

Though Sanskrit subsequently began to exert considerable influence on Tamil, Tamil literature had always been indebted to its beginnings.

The anthologies of classical Tamil formed a sort of template for expression, feeling and the use of language for later writers, just as the Vedas and Upanishads did for later Sanskrit writers.

Despite the two languages being different radically in their focus and conception of the world, they influenced each other and each took many elements from the other. They had very different and complementary ways of viewing the world, Professor Hart explained.