Thunukku

My thatha, in his late 20s saw a photograph of Thirumangai Azhwar once, in someone’s house, and could not get past it. So he went to Thirunagari — Thiruvali-Thirunagari, the Azhwar’s own town. There was a girl there. Twenty-one, carrying water back from the temple well or the nearby pond. He asked her the only thing he could think to ask. “Whose house are you from?” And she said, “உமக்கென்ன?” What’s it to you? That was my paati. Oh, this thunukku — that untranslatable Tamil word for spirited cheek, the sharpness that refuses to be impressed — is not uncommon over there. The women of Thirunagari have always had it. There is a pasuram in Thirunedunthandagam that knows it well. Parakala Nayaki — Thirumangai Azhwar in a woman’s voice — is describing the moment the Lord took her completely. நைவளமொன் றாராயா நம்மை நோக்கா நாணினார் போலிறையே நயங்கள் பின்னும்* செய்வளவி லென்மனமும் கண்ணு மோடி எம்பெருமான் திருவடிக்கீழ் அணைய* இப்பால் கைவளையும் மேகலையும் காணேன் கண்டேன் கனமகரக் குழையிரண்டும் நான்கு…